I'm fairly new to this forum. I've looked at a lot of sample and demo wedding videos that have been posted, and I most say that a large majority of them are simply awesome. I love the way they look, the music, the live audio snipets, graphics, etc.

I've been a wedding videographer for 20 years, and while I thought I had a great product, I feel ashamed when I compare my work to the ones I've seen. I guess I've been more a standard or traditional videographer and the videos I've seen are more cinematic or like a movie trailer. I would really like to incorporate more of your elements into my videos.

Here's a few sample of my highlight videos:
Focal Point Productions, Inc. Examples (http://www.focal-point-productions.com/fppclosinghighlights.html)
Focal Point Productions, Inc. Examples (http://www.focal-point-productions.com/ClosingWeddingMontage-Binder.html)

So, tell my your secrets!!
- What equipment do you use?
- How many cameras are most of your events?
- Do you stage or set up things or do they naturally occur?
- Do you have a traditional flow our outline for how you put the videos together?
- I assume what I've seen are more of the highlight or trailer videos. What does the entire video look like?
- How many hours of coverage is standard or normal?

Any other info would be helpful. Thanks.

I'm fairly new to this forum. I've looked at a lot of sample and demo wedding videos that have been posted, and I most say that a large majority of them are simply awesome. I love the way they look, the music, the live audio snipets, graphics, etc.

I've been a wedding videographer for 20 years, and while I thought I had a great product, I feel ashamed when I compare my work to the ones I've seen. I guess I've been more a standard or traditional videographer and the videos I've seen are more cinematic or like a movie trailer. I would really like to incorporate more of your elements into my videos.

Here's a few sample of my highlight videos:
Focal Point Productions, Inc. Examples (http://www.focal-point-productions.com/fppclosinghighlights.html)
Focal Point Productions, Inc. Examples (http://www.focal-point-productions.com/ClosingWeddingMontage-Binder.html)

So, tell my your secrets!!
- What equipment do you use?
- How many cameras are most of your events?
- Do you stage or set up things or do they naturally occur?
- Do you have a traditional flow our outline for how you put the videos together?
- I assume what I've seen are more of the highlight or trailer videos. What does the entire video look like?
- How many hours of coverage is standard or normal?

Any other info would be helpful. Thanks.

Canon DSLRs
2 cams for the ceremony (one camera operator all day)
Do not Stage
Try to make each video unique
I have a 1 song Trailer, 15-20 minute Feature and the entire ceremony and live reception. (about a 2 hour video)
10 hour day coverage but many times go overtime

Other info: No dissolves or Slow Motion.

I use all DSLR's. Two Cams on Ceremony and One at reception is the minimum. I will bring in a second or third if the venue is amazing and eat the cost. This has paid back ten fold.

After going to DSLR's my work clearly stands out from people who use video cameras in my opinion.

Some stuff is staged and we usually do it while the photographer is taking pictures. Nothing is ever staged at the reception or ceremony.

Our video is chronological and is about 60-90 min long depending on the length of ceremony and speeches. We only offer Documentary Editing for now.

We shoot "up to 10 hours". We don't split hours up. If there is a huge gap between ceremony and reception then it's $25/hr per videographer and assistant.

We let our couples choose 6 songs for their video and we choose where they go. This is the best way to do it.

We will use photos from the photographer if they can get them back to us in a reasonable time or before we are done editing. If not, then we take stills from our video which we pick.

Some people don't tape formal pictures being taken. We do but we tell them this takes away from us capturing other exciting stuff like Cocktail Hour, the venue etc.

Turn around time is 3 months minimum and up to six months during busy season even thou we normally turn it around in 2-4 months.

We do 45-50 weddings a year and I haven't paid for any advertising.

We no longer offer a photo montage of their wedding pictures. This is because the photographer can take forever to get them to you while the couple is waiting for the video. It's a pain. Don't offer this service unless it's extra. We charge $250 for that and the montage is done in iMovie!

We no longer offer a photo montage of their wedding pictures. This is because the photographer can take forever to get them to you while the couple is waiting for the video. It's a pain. Don't offer this service unless it's extra. We charge $250 for that and the montage is done in iMovie![/QUOTE]

Kelly, I started offering Still Frames from my footage for $250. We edit to 1-song. I just had a bride and groom (potential clients) and they wanted to show their photographer my "stills" because they were hoping he could shoot like me. lol. I had to explain to them that I capture 24 pictures a second and their photographer would never be able to capture the images I can. Hey, photographers are offering fusion, we can offer stills.

We've included a CD with 100+ stills grabbed from the master HDV file for the past couple of years and it's been a much appreciated added value. It takes less than 30 minutes to grab, an automatic batch process in Corel to re-frame to 16:9, all of which can be done whilst we're doing something else during the packaging stage.

It means that with the DVD of their honeymoon which the clients record on a camcorder we lend them, their Wedding video DVD disk (usually a dual layer, and one of five included in our package) consists of a loaded triple DVD case which really does feel good value. The triple case is the same spine width as the others so no extra time making a special insert.

We intended to add an album of the same pics, one to a page (again automatically set up so it takes us little time) but we're taking a completely different approach to our business and our package in the new year so it didn't happen.

- What equipment do you use?
2 Canon t2i DSLR's, 3 Panasonic 150's, 1 flipHD (a POV cam), zoom h4n, wireless lavs

- How many cameras are most of your events?
6 cameras at wedding, 3 at reception

- Do you stage or set up things or do they naturally occur?
Both.

- Do you have a traditional flow our outline for how you put the videos together?
Chronologically.

- I assume what I've seen are more of the highlight or trailer videos. What does the entire video look like?
I give a highlight video (3-5 min), a complete wedding video (however long the ceremony is), and a journalistic style reception video (1-2 hours)

- How many hours of coverage is standard or normal?
Depending on the package is when I show up. For standard wedding it's 2 hours before and I stay till the reception is done.

Thanks for the info everyone. I'm really amazed that almost everyone uses DSLRs. I know they give terrific images, I just would have thought that a dedicated video camera would give you more and easier controls then a camera that's primary use is for stills.

My photo montage doesn't include pics from the photographer, but 40-50 pics of the B&G growing up and then as a couple. I also include a 1 song highlight video and another video montage that goes in between the ceremony and reception.

I've seen in some videos where the bride and groom read a letter to each other or exchange gifts and the audio (and some of the video) is used throughout the trailer / highlights video. Are those staged?

I know markets and package offerings are all difefrent, but is anyone willing to share their prices?

My regular package is $1,500 and includes 5 hours of coverage, 1 camera, 4 copies, opening photo montage, and highlight montage. Extra hours are $115 per hour.

Another question. With the zoom h4n, does you use the internal mic or external? Any recommendations?

Lots of input here on DVRs. Because of what I read there, I went with Yamaha Pocketrak CXs and Giant Squid mics.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/wedding-event-videography-techniques/477702-digital-voice-recorder-wireless-mic.html

With the Zoom h4n I get a direct feed from the house. Yesterday for instance, I filmed a wedding. At the church I got a CD and a direct feed to a cam, but at the reception I went directly to the zoom. Beautiful feed that I can lay down for toasts, prayers, etc.

The H4N is used to record from the House for ceremonies and the DJ for speeches. No mic is ever hooked up to it. I then use two H1N's which are amazing. I hook one up H1N to the pastor and a wireless to the groom that sends a signal to the H4N. Then the other H1N is for either the quartet or for the 'readings'. I do it this way so that the vows are seperated from what the pastor is saying. That way I can adjust the brides quiet voice and not worry about the pastor cutting her off during the vows. Then my assistant can adjust the volume for the voice of the bride and groom cause with the H1N you can't monitor the audio, but this isn't a problem since the mic is close to his face.

My prices start at $2150 and it includes up to 10 hours of shooting, Documentary style (60-90min), 3 copies of the DVD (which is plenty), 2 cam ceremony, 1 cam reception.

The DSLR video look is amazing I agree. But in doing my tests, capturing live audio was a challenge even with the external recorder and mics. How do the DSLR shooters feel about capturing audio with their setups? Easy? Hard? I really looking forward to the new Panasonic AG-AF100 which allows audio capture with XLR's.