Insanely restrictive Church- any ideas?

[Peter Jefferson]

"The same way we have different ideas about how to do our job best, the same for church keepers, so they do what they think is for the good. "

According to SOME of them as individuals, who are about to perform a ritual as a spiritual leader, not for the good of the couple (apart from the actual ritual itself) Some fail to see that i too am there for the good of the couple...


"The difference is that working for God is not a job. "

Really?? As far as i know, and from the priests of different denominations i am friends with (believe it or not) they all get a weekly wage. How else do they pay their bills?? Oh hang on, their piggy banks magically fill up like the basket of fish and goblet of wine..
sorry i couldnt resist that one (its an old joke i have with afew of the Orthodox priests.. lol)If you think im blaspheming, im just JOKING. No offense is intended, and a bit of humour is needed on this forum.

They actually get quite a good pay by the way. FYI I studied theology in preparation to be ordaned as a Greek Orthodox Minister, which in turn brings me back to how i became friends with these now priests.. old school friends for want of a better phrase.. hence my Nickname on other forums being Padre...
Bit of useless info there.. Moving along

"It has a deep significance; as does a church wedding ceremony."

And what i do has deep significance BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the wedding, as i am a document archiver whos archiving memories as they happen and presenting them for what they were in an artistic and professional manner.. My work will be remembered for years to come.. which is one reason i got into wedding production in the first place...

" It is the ceremony that comes first, no matter what else is allowed. When the couple agrees to those rules, we are bound to work within the limits. The right thing to do is to discuss it all beforehand with the couple to realise their expectations and make them understand what may not be possible. "

I agree 100 percent. As for limits, everyone has their own, which in any case, should be communicated clearly and consisely to all parties involved

"You cannot get a good result by breaking the rules. "

I disagree

"You might be pleased by your fancy camerawork but everyone else involved is going to be spreading the word of how intrusive and disruptive videographers are. "

This comment is quite intriguing as id like to know what a professional video producer can do to disrupt a ceremony?? Dont get me wrong, theres the obvious things one can do to make himself look like a fool, but most of us here have enough common sense to know what we can do and more importantly WHEN we can do it..

I dont know about others, however from here, i fail to see an example of behaviour during a ceremony which can be deemed disruptive. There was one comment about walking in front of the alter, but NOT doing that is obvious..

"If you are lucky, your video will be seen by a handful of people. How many people are going to take away a negative view of the way you work?"

Speaking for myself, im yet to have someone tell me to stop doing what im doing. On the contrary, on many occasions i have had guests coming up and talking to me about how good it is to actually see a wedding video guy gettin into it and having fun and gettin awesome footage while doing it.
Other times, i have guests buying me drinks and thank me and ive had countless jobs booked on the day of someone elses wedding, simply by the way i conduct myself. Ive had almost a dozen bookings in as many months by people who havent even seen the finished footage..
First impressions last. Work hard, and SHOW that u work hard and you will be rewarded..

My system works well, people like it, the couples like it, and im yet to have a priest tell me off because of it.. and i guess from my history, i have a bit more confidence in dealing with the "difficult" clergy, as i see them as equals (as in HUMAN) and not superhuman beings sent down from above to spread the word..

All i can say is that its each to their own.
You work with what works for u, and if ur happy with the results, all the better.. however there is no excuse for complacency when it comes to gettin paid for a job... and allowing a member of the clergy with a big ego dictate what you do is well.. weak..
Especially if a photographer is given free reign...(which they usually are)
As far as im concerned, roaming flash fotography is far more disruptive than moving a dolly 10 cms in between readings...

But as i said each to their own.. im over this thread

[James Emory]

I wonder if there will be a problem when I bring in that 20 ft jib and did I mention that I may have to remove a pew to make it fit.

I had to shoot a formal chorale concert with multiple cameras in a very old chapel a couple of years ago. I know it wasn't a wedding but it was very upscale and in a holy place. I wanted to use my full size 20 ft jib. Well, it just wasn't going to fit in that side aisle with enough room to operate it. So, I suggested we temporarily remove a pew. The first response was, absolutely not! But, after some further discussion about what the jib would add to the production value, we removed the pew and replaced the space with individual chairs and the jib fit and worked perfectly. The client was very pleased with the finished product. I think if you act professional and communicate what you need to get the project done successfully then you will more than likely be accommodated.

[Stephen M. Crawford]

The Vicar for next Saturday's wedding seems to be one of those 'trendy young vicar' types. He described himself to the assembled rehearsal attendees as "I'm the Director here at St. watsits".

He asked me where I was 'thinking' of putting my 'tripod' and that he would recommend just 'here'. It was the logical position so I said Ok fine "...and I will place the other one over there inside the doors". He then told me it was "...very unusual for me to allow two". 'Really' I thought... and was getting ready for a fight. He then informed me he was "...being very accommodating" towards me, but there must be "...minimal movement". I assured him this would be the case and was how I normally work.

He then said... "I keep a black list of photographers and video men, and you wouldn't want to get on that would you?". "That's fine", I said, "no problem, I keep a black list of clergy and churches, and I don't suppose you want to be on that either!" :)