Contact some "preachers" who specialize in funerals, contact some churches, contact some funeral homes. :)

Funerals are good gigs if you can stand the mental bits.

I had one where they tried to throw themselves into the grave and shortly thereafter asked if I had gotten that all on tape.

Paid cash up front.

I had that happan to me too! This well-dressed 30 year old female, in the pouring rain, jumped, er I mean fell, on purpose, right in there! Six feet down! Yup. Got it all on tape. :)

Guys! This sounds like a fabulous documentary or short film! Can you imagine the comedy hijinks surrounding a group of funeral videographers? Fellows, I have written nine full length motion pictures screenplays that, at one time, were optioned (of course that means nothing). In any case, would you guys consider collaborating on a independent film about funeral videographers? Can youimagine the gags we could come up with? Get back to me! This is fabulous!

PD150 vx GL2
 

I own a GL2 and have had a PD150 for about 2 monhts now. Yes, the frame mode on the GL2 is nice for wedding (not sporting events). But I feel the PD150 to be a much better camera all around. Especially the XLR audio inputs and handy MIC switches. The lowlight capability is much better on the PD150, which is MY main concern at weddings. As for doing frame grabs off interlaced video, I just de-interlace the image and it seems to work perfectly. I use Media Studio Pro 7.0, but I think any software can do this also. I also like the manual zoom & focus rings. As well as the audio gain controls. The auto white balance seems to be better on the GL2 though. The PD150 has a much better auto-focus, and it has two ND filters, not just one like the GL2. The GL2 is my back-up, suited for long shots from a tripod.

Lester:

Thanks for the info. I was concerned about the quality of frame grabs and the quality of NLE software de-interlacing in general. You seem to be pretty satisfied with the results. I use Vegas 4.0 and have Pinnacle Edition 5 but have never used the Pinnacle product yet.

What???? Funeral videos????

You have got to be kidding right? What kind of sick bastard watches that??? LOL!!! Of course, I have to emphasize that I am really and truly laughing out loud as I am writing this…. …. ….. Well it took me about 10 minutes to write this paragraph alone…

… OK! This has to come out… LOL LOL LOL: I can just picture a widow, bored out of his/her mind, sitting in the couch one rainy Saturday with nothing better to do then zapping through the 534 channels of infomercials, thinking to himself/herself: “Gee! I feel like watching my spouse’s funeral video!”. Better yet, during a party… I’m pretty sure this would be considered party breaker. LOL LOL LOL A man invites is mistress, or new date to his home, and then says: “Hey! Do you want to watch my dead wife’s funeral video?” LOL LOL LOL

Oh Boy! My back is hurting me, so much I’m laughing!!! LOL LO LOL! Wow! I never though that!!! Adding Funeral Videos to my list of services. LOL!!!

Breath in… Breath out…

[15 minutes later]

OK! I’m fine now! …. LOL… well maybe not… LOL… I just can’t seem to stop laughing… LOL!

So! How much do you charge? I really got to know! Because I’m going to start offering that service if it’s good money. I just hope I wont laugh throughout the funeral… The camera shakes would be too awful. ;-) LOL

Must… Stop… Laughing.. LOL LOL LOL!

I had no idea I could laugh that much… and for such a long, long time. My head hurts.

…

It may not seem like it, but I’m really serious. Give us some details. And I’d really like to know the motivation behind people wanting to keep the most painful memories of their lives on video. As human beings, I though we cherished and tried to prolong all the happy moments that touched our lives; and tried to minimize as much as possible the sadness that afflicted us, once the mourning stage has passed.

Fred

I know of a funeral that was videotaped. The reason was that the person who died was a war veteran and was going to receive a 21-gun salute from the Air Force Honor Guard and such, but most of his family was six states away and broke, and couldn't make it to the funeral. So they wanted the funeral taped so that all who couldn't make it could still see how their beloved was sent off to the next world.

Very good example. That I can fully understand. Truly something to be taken seriously. I'm curious though, how do clients react to the business transaction part in times of mourning? Naturally, the videographer has to handle this delicately, but there must be some awkward moments, no? What are typical fees? Does anyone have a demo clip on the web I could watch?