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Scott F

Scott F

Pug Life
Link here

(I'll cut n' paste in case it's gone)

Original Post:

Date: 2009-09-25, 1:02PM EDT
Reply to: job-zppuc-1391960221@craigslist.org

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I am looking to hire a wedding videographer for a wedding on April 10, 2010 for 5 hours. Person MUST have wedding video experience. Camera will be provided, but editing will be done by you. Please contact if interested. Thanks.


Location: Tampa, FL
Compensation: $300 for 5 hours.
Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
Please, no phone calls about this job!
Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

Response:

Wedding Videographer/Slave (WTF)

Date: 2009-09-25, 2:23PM EDT
Reply to: see below

$300 to shoot AND edit your wedding? Get real. I hope your plans for your marriage is more solid than this plan you have to screw a videographer/editor/slave......
I don't know many people that would even move from the recliner for $300....then throw in a bridezilla and her friends.......geez.
Pay up if you want someone to capture that special moment.
....I'm going back to the recliner now......
 
LOL... maybe he meant to post this in some third world country :)
And since he is so generous with the payment I'm really curious about what camera will be available for the job. Hi 8 anyone? hehehe
 
I would set up a tri-pod on the balcony for $300 and since it would be a one-take shot, no editing required and I would overdub the nuptials with me as the bride, groom, and pastor.
 
But the camera will be provided!

I'd think about doing it, but come wearing a wife beater and bermuda shorts. Charge an extra $1000 if they want me to change into the suit in my car.
 
They seem to be multiplying. Found one in Montreal:

http://montreal.en.craigslist.ca/tfr/1403946283.html

Hello,

looking for a cameraman to film a wedding on Sunday October 4.

Please call me for more info

(514) 892-8860



  • Location: montreal
  • Compensation: 200$
  • This is a contract job.
  • Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
  • Please, no phone calls about this job!
  • Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.
 
Can you imagine the train wreck that this will become? No matter how good the schmuck who shoots this does, Im sure it wont be good enough for bridzilla since she spent a whopping $200CA. Sad part is someone will take this job.
 
these guys are cheap; but it would be a good gig as a resume builder for a kid just learning to edit. then they would get what they are paying for.
 
I made a decision to not do weddings. Made the mistake of shooting a singing competition. The lady organizing it called 2 days before and tells me that their original guy pulled out. She said that I would make the money by selling dvd's. The last guy charged about $40.00 per dvd and she said about 20 something people bought one. So I figured I'd make a little money and get my name out.

She said the only thing was that I had to be able to tie into their soundboard because the last guy used his on camera mic and it picked up all the audience noise (no problem, I have a DVX100A).

I get there at 7:30 am and set up. The singing was horrid for the most part with some mediocre thrown in. The thing lasted about 10 hours! (took 2 dvds) To top it off their "sound guy" was just a dad who didn't really know what to do. They had about 6 wireless mic receivers so just about each kid had a mic on different channels. (they were singing individually) Some kids songs had louder music than vocals and vice versa. Guess they had more money than know how.

Instead of using one mic and set it once, they had all these mics set differently. We had to actually bring one kid back to re sing because it was so bad. I used my on board mic for the last few.

You know I made about a whopping $300 on that. Never again. Then to top it off, sure as shi* I had a few phone calls telling me that they couldn't hear their kid singing on the audio. I told them that the deal was I had to use the sound guys audio and was not responsible if they didn't know what they were doing. I had already wasted my time with it.

After all that, I wouldn't consider touching a wedding.
 
Tony B said:
I made a decision to not do weddings. Made the mistake of shooting a singing competition. The lady organizing it called 2 days before and tells me that their original guy pulled out. She said that I would make the money by selling dvd's. The last guy charged about $40.00 per dvd and she said about 20 something people bought one. So I figured I'd make a little money and get my name out.

She said the only thing was that I had to be able to tie into their soundboard because the last guy used his on camera mic and it picked up all the audience noise (no problem, I have a DVX100A).

I get there at 7:30 am and set up. The singing was horrid for the most part with some mediocre thrown in. The thing lasted about 10 hours! (took 2 dvds) To top it off their "sound guy" was just a dad who didn't really know what to do. They had about 6 wireless mic receivers so just about each kid had a mic on different channels. (they were singing individually) Some kids songs had louder music than vocals and vice versa. Guess they had more money than know how.

Instead of using one mic and set it once, they had all these mics set differently. We had to actually bring one kid back to re sing because it was so bad. I used my on board mic for the last few.

You know I made about a whopping $300 on that. Never again. Then to top it off, sure as shi* I had a few phone calls telling me that they couldn't hear their kid singing on the audio. I told them that the deal was I had to use the sound guys audio and was not responsible if they didn't know what they were doing. I had already wasted my time with it.

After all that, I wouldn't consider touching a wedding.
Click to expand...

A wedding with a cool couple is so much better than what you described above, and you'll make a decent amount of money.

Of course there the weddings from hell.. but I've found that those are usually the people paying nothing.. and expecting everything..
 
I'm not sure why but I cannot figure out public perception that it's okay to pay a wedding photographer $3000-$5000 dollars but offer a professional videographer less than a grand. As someone so astutely said (I think it was MattinSTL) that "videographers are on the bottom of the wedding budget food chain." I agree with this but why is that so? Part the problem might lie in the fact that we are in a relatively new age where high quality videocameras can be had at an inexpensive cost so we are in the dawn of high quality wedding videos. I think as wedding videos become more and more elaborate and happy brides begin to spread the word, wedding videography will eventually take its place as an important investment in wedding planning. But until that time, people are going to be satisfied by thinking that grandpa joe can just capture all the important moments for free. It says a lot that even the term "videographer" is not even considered a real word by most spell checks.

Last weekend, I went to a friend's wedding. She asked that I use our mutual friend's camera to capture moments that day. I didn't mind because I love her to death but what became apparent to me was how I went from wedding guest to lowlife wedding staff in an instant. I tried to get shots of the vows (knowing that 10 years from now, they'd probably appreciate it) but the groom urged me not to get too involved and "do not get in the photographers way". This is understandable as they were paying the photographer THOUSANDS of dollars and me?, I was just doing them a favor so they weren't expecting much. I certainly did not want to prevent someone whom they hired from getting his necessary shots. I'm just pointing out that for some reason videographers don't seem to be getting a lot of respect out there.

I wanted to get shots of the bride who was standing in the church's lobby waiting to walk the march. As I tried to open a door, I was firmly shooed away by (I think) her uncle who wanted me no where NEAR 'the family' in the lobby. huh? I'm trying to think in advance here and get the shots that I know she will be thrilled with down the road. But, I literally felt like I was imposing and being an annoyance. But, I was doing her a favor. I can't imagine how I'd feel if I was doing a job and being lowballed at the same time.

The only way I would ever do a wedding is if the pay was good and I was given free reign. I think its very important for a videographer and photographer to respect one another and allow each other to excel at their jobs. But, the videographer isn't nearly as mobile as the photographer. So, if he or she needs to set up 2-3 tripods throughout the church and or reception site to get stellar angles to minimize the risk of people or things getting in the way of the shot, he or she needs to do that.

Okay, vent over. I don't even do wedding videos. But, for some reason, I'm getting all fired up on behalf of the people who do.
 
Rick Meyer said:
I tried to get shots of the vows (knowing that 10 years from now, they'd probably appreciate it) but the groom urged me not to get too involved and "do not get in the photographers way". This is understandable as they were paying the photographer THOUSANDS of dollars and me?, I was just doing them a favor so they weren't expecting much.
Click to expand...
It is not the money. Still photographs are cherished, videos are not. A photo is what you can hold. A photo is what you can store. You can mail it. You can dig a photo 50 years after it was taken and look at all these people who might have already gone. You don't need a player or a TV, you don't care about the format compatibility, you do not need electricity to look at a photo. This is why a photo will always be more valuable than a video. Always. Well, maybe this will change after someone invents a flexible 6x4 video player with paper-thin screen, with a built-in battery that lasts at least a hundred years, that does not break apart when you drop it on the floor, that does not fry inside from an electromagnetic impulse of a nuclear bomb...
 
While true, Cranky, it's been told to me on numerous occasions that "hearing the voice of their grandmother again" meant everything to them. It's a dark selling point, but a selling point nonetheless.
 
I put the original post/link up cuz of the smart-ass response, not cuz it's anything unique. I'm sure these posts are on CL all the time. (Cheap-asses)


Rick Meyer said:
I'm not sure why but I cannot figure out public perception that it's okay to pay a wedding photographer $3000-$5000 dollars but offer a professional videographer less than a grand......
Click to expand...

That dynamic is changing. I know (and have worked for) a few wedding companies who cost a premium. Charge what the market will bear, but tap into the right market and ka-ching! If that's your thing.

I agree with most of what Cranky is saying. I see one of our wedding photos every day in our living room. Our wedding DVD, while nice to have as an archive, really doesn't get played much.
 
If I ever get married, I'll pay a reasonable price to the guy who shoots it, and it will be high-def or film. And they can set up wherever they want. They can pretend to be Martin Scorsese for all I care. Bring a RED, use it for your demo-reel. Bring some lights. Make it good.

I'll hand disposable cameras to all the guest and save the money on some joker charging me $3k for 50 still photos. I'll get a student from the local school who wants to make $500 for 4 hours work.
 
Deepfocus88 said:
I agree with most of what Cranky is saying. I see one of our wedding photos every day in our living room. Our wedding DVD, while nice to have as an archive, really doesn't get played much.
Click to expand...

I agree with most of what Cranky is saying as well, for now. I do think that there will be a time that high quality well produced wedding videos will surpass wedding photography in perceived value and budget priority. Though, it may take another 10-15 years.

I'll admit that wedding photos are currently more cherished, portable and better lend themselves to sharing a well produced video has the power to yield much more emotional impact. While I can admire the heck out of a photo few can actually make me cry.

Sure, compostion, lighting, shot design, editing, musical montages, and overall videographer talent helps but as Hawk said, its about seeing people talk as they did when they were at your wedding, or 10 years ago, or alive, etc. That's one of the many reasons that make them so potentially moving.

A couple years ago, I popped in a VHS tape from '95 the year before my father died. There was a room filled with the same people on that very tape and it was nothing more than (usually me) walking around with the camera saying goofy things or trying to get people to 'ham up' to the camera. There was an emotional impact in that living room that was palpable for everybody in that room. Seeing my father again, talking the way he had when he was alive, seeing all of us 10 years younger and how we spoke then or reliving the jokes we made, etc. For an hour that room was filled with nothing but smiles, oohs, ahhhs, laughter and most of all, awe. It was amazing. And that was a lousy VHS tape with absolutely no production values whatsoever. And now that I've lost my mother, the value of that tape has spiked dramatically.

I think the hassels that come with the technological aspects of the "video" will become much more simplified as time goes on. Already we have video capabilities pretty much everywhere we are; the home, the car, the iphone, the laptop, etc. So, while I agree with the assessment that photography is the most essential piece of wedding memorabilia for its distributive qualities, I think videography will eventually take its place. Sure, its easier to flip through an album than it is to sit down and watch a video but when they become more commonplace, there will be wedding movie parties, or anniversary viewings, etc.

So, I don't think you can say that photos will always be more valuable than video, imo.
 
There are some nice wedding videos out there. I saw this on DVinfo which seems to be where most of the wedding dudes hang out. I guess if you have a big fancy steadicam rig you can maybe get a little more respect.

 
Last edited:
for some reason, that video isn't loading for me

but, yeah, when I was doing wedding videos, I was always on dvinfo.net. There are some really knowledgeable people there. I learned a ton!
 
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