Filming weddings Getting started

T

Turkeychuk

Member
Hey i was wondering if anyone here films weddings or birthday parties or special events for money. how did you get started and what kind of pay did you start getting. Please let me know what all is included. I have a friend interested in working with me as well. so we would have 2 cameras on the floor.
 
Hey there!

I run my own video business in Nagoya Japan and I have done some weddings myself. Key things to remember:

1. Present packages with listed prices that contain certain things:
- 5 min montage video
-Full ceremony, raw footage

Its up to you how you price it, but dont be too sympathetic

2. At weddings it is hard to pull it off as a one man team. You need atleast 2 cameras with good audio pick-up---or even better a sound guy.

Take a look at my site for some ideas: www.mackfilm.com
 
i got started by filming a friends wedding for free and making it up as i went. so you're already better off. but it did turn out good. I spent months edting that thing, making it as good as I could. Every cut and transition was meticulously refined. To this day, that video, with all its flaws, still represents my style pretty well.
After I had that video, I put it online, and started marketing myself. I would put biz cards on the windshields of cars parked in front of bridal saloons. I put ads up on my church website. I told everyone. Put ads up on craigslist.com.
Most of my work ended up coming from referrals. The second wedding I did I think I charged $450 for the whole deal. Then I went up to $600 for a while. Around wedding #8 or 9, I think I was up to $950.
I didn't shoot with any special audio (which I don't recommend, but surprisingly worked). I just used my DVX and a tripod, and that's it.

This is my number one piece of advice if you're planning on doing this for a while: Editing and music. I became obsessive with editing the videos. The edits were meticulously timed to the music I was using. I was marketing to a young audience. I was in the OC and all these youngsters had rich parents, so I found a real niche. To this day, I can't stand cookie cutter wedding videos. I don't necessarily love doing wedding videos, but I still occasionally do them, and I do them as hip and fun as I can make them. NEVER EVER USE A TOP 25 LOVE/WEDDING SONG. Use something with a beat and make it fun.

Sorry for being long winded... I'm not even going to proofread this.

Good Luck.
 
I also just started not knowing what I was doing. With each wedding I get better. Started using shitty equipment (handicams + imovie)... now just moving up the chain to a pro camera and pro editing. Started at $300 and moving up as I go and learning a lot!

Here's how my set up is:

-One camera always at the back on a tripod, one at the front with monopod. The person in the back doesn't even know what they are doing, they just need to zoom in and out basically so I hire friends that will do it for cheap.

-Get some extra cash by doing their reception slideshow

-Bring your business cards

-Video guestbooks are a hit! After the crowd starts drinking they will talk to the camera (video light highly suggested and always make sure your audio is on and working!)

-Stay until the couple leaves in their car or limo, it makes a perfect ending shot!

-Give them wedding highlights to a love song then the raw footage. No one wants to watch the hours of footage.

I'm filming one this Sat, yay!

GOOD LUCK TURKEY!!!
 
I agree with all of the above points. My business partner and I have shot and edited a number of weddings in Ottawa and Toronto and after a few of them it becomes pretty straight forward.

You may want to start off with lower than average pricing, but don't get stuck with a reputation for the lowest price in town, be sure to charge rates that reflect your hard work and talent - and that are comparable with your local competition.

I agree with the comments about using two cameras. My partner and I use three now - two DVX100B's handheld and tripod for the ceremony, and one Canon HV20 on a tripod just to capture the audience reaction during the ceremony. We learned early on that you can never have enough coverage for live event shooting - it will really, really help you in editing.

Always have some lights on hand - if the wedding is in a church, the lighting conditions are not always the best.

My suggestion for audio is wireless mics fed into a dedicated audio recorder (MiniDisc, DAT, etc) or right into your cameras.

As for music, make sure the client provides you with the music - don't just download and/or rip music as there are some legal issues there (unless you are using copyright free music, then it's fine). This may not sound like a big deal, but remember you are simply compiling footage of someone elses event, and using their pictures and audio to make a home movie - have everyone sign a contract so that you could not be held accountable for using copyrighted music and making money off of it. Nowadays you can't be too careful with the copyright laws.

Another suggestion is to meet with your client well in advance to go over the schedule for the day. Make sure you know exactly where to be and at what times, as the day of the wedding is usually chaotic. Try to get a liason from the wedding party that you can go to on the day of the shoot, so that you are not bugging the bride and groom who have a million things on their mind.

Finally, don't forget to charge all of your batteries :-)
 
Audio is everything. Put a wireless lav on the groom. I recommend the Sennheiser Evolution G2 100 series lavaliers.
 
do you guys think that 500 for just filming the wedding and putting it on dvd without editing is a decent price? and then 1000 for filming and editing?
 
500 is a good starting point if this is your first wedding ever. If you pay another camera operator, I would make sure that you charge the couple the extra amount. I have no problem talking a couple into a second camera operator, once I explain all the extra coverage they get from that extra person.

There are alot of good points to follow here, but I recommend several more. First off, I highly receommend pre-planning meetings and attenting the rehersal. If you know that is happening at what time, that makes the day alot less stressfull. Also, make good friends with the photographer, dj, clergy, and wedding planner. If I have several cameras running during the ceremony, it doesn't bother me if the photographer has to jump out in front of one to get a shot real quick. The dj will let you know when certain important things are going to be happening during the reception, so you can get set up in time.

I would not recommend using lights during the ceremony. It is best to stay out of the way as much as possible, and using lights will just draw all the attention to you. Its those videographers that jump around all over the place that give a bad reputation to the clergy, and then they end up setting stupid rules that make it even harder to shoot. I always explain to a couple beforehand that we don't use lights at the church, so if the footage comes out dark, they already knew about it.
 
if its your first wedding...i would start cheap. If your work is excellent and possible customers like your portfolio, then by all means crank up your price.
 
I've been doing wedding videography for quite some time now. My advice:

1) Know the value of the product you're selling. Don't low-ball if your product is worth more! A wedding video isn't something you pick up for a discount at Wal-Mart. It is an investment, as priceless as a photograph. It's like the cheesy slogan on my website says, "A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a MOVING picture speaks volumes."

2) Be prepared! I usually get as much detail regarding the ceremony and reception as possible.

3) Don't skimp on equipment if you can afford to get better stuff. Better equipment means a better product, and in many cases, a smoother production/editing process (which can also mean a quicker turnaround time, which can increase your chance of word-of-mouth referrals, which can increase your business, blah blah blah).
 
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