wedding client COMPLAINING about BS, what to do?

Changing things is how many of us make our livings. As long as you get paid for it, you are doing the right thing. Again, I'd mention the costs involved and let em know you are not into pirating copyrighted content as their requests lean toward.
I have found most wedding videographers have no problem with pirating music. The also don't seem to have a problem with backlogs of several months long. Don't fall into the category of low end vidiot.
 
Wedding videos = Chinese Water Torture, being dragged to the mall by wife or being forced to sit through a PTA meeting or bad family event from a distant cousin. I wouldn't wish wedding videos on my worst enemy.

That said, these changes seem very par for the course and not that big of a deal. The software issue is your fault, not theirs and we have all been in similar positions when we finish an edit, ship it, then think, "I am free, this is a good time to upgrade/update my software". Then the change requests come back and we tear out hair out. But definitely not the client's issue, it is your issue.

Dan
 
i have done a bunch of weddings before. however this is only the 2nd client i've had to deal with personally because my previous work was for other companies. it's definitely not something i want to stick with, it's one thing to have requests from somebody who knows what they are talking about ie. a director but when you are getting ridiculous and downright idiotic requests a line has to be drawn. true i didn't sit down with them beforehand to iron out the details, and even i couldn't anticipate these petty requests either so i take the blame for that, but i know a problem client when i see one and know it's a good idea to make the revisions and be done with it before more silly requests come forth. i wrote the clients back and said "no problem, i'd be happy to do it, your wedding was one my favorite shoots of the year bla blab bla and bla. And then they wrote me this:

Hey Paunch


Would adding some stuff mean starting from scratch, or would you be able to insert stuff wherever you wanted within the existing video? The reason I ask is, our dj from the wedding was taking video and pictures all night. We asked him if he would give us his pictures because our photographer missed some shots that we wanted, so he sent us a DVD - which we received on friday - containing the photos and also all the raw footage he took throughout the night. He was able to make a montage that we really love for his website. If we gave you a copy of that footage, would you be able to try and do something with it? Perhaps make another montage? I know it's difficult to say without seeing the videos, but is it something you would consider trying?

and so i rest my case, it's not worth the hassle because it doesn't pay enough. It's just a small industry with small clients with small pocket books and even smaller issues when it comes to the final product. I tried to be artistic and put forth a big effort to make a solid product that represents my skillset so i can get more work with it, but i realized that in the wedding business they will just want you to make changes that will end up ruining a perfectly good piece of art, and then you will be left with a crap product....now i see why most wedding vid dudes pump out crappy product again and again....because that's what wedding video clients want, CRAP.
 
Paunch said:
they will just want you to make changes that will end up ruining a perfectly good piece of art, ....because that's what wedding video clients want, CRAP.
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How was this request idiotic/ridiculous?

If they want more, charge more. To say adding another montage ruined a good piece of art is pushing it. This is their DVD, not yours. I recommend getting out of the industry if things like this irritate you.
 
more like the requests to extend clips, or pull music that was their original request in the first place. or adding footage to an already finished product with footage that wouldn't even match...
 
Paunch said:
Hey Paunch


Would adding some stuff mean starting from scratch, or would you be able to insert stuff wherever you wanted within the existing video? The reason I ask is, our dj from the wedding was taking video and pictures all night. We asked him if he would give us his pictures because our photographer missed some shots that we wanted, so he sent us a DVD - which we received on friday - containing the photos and also all the raw footage he took throughout the night. He was able to make a montage that we really love for his website. If we gave you a copy of that footage, would you be able to try and do something with it? Perhaps make another montage? I know it's difficult to say without seeing the videos, but is it something you would consider trying?

and so i rest my case, it's not worth the hassle because it doesn't pay enough. It's just a small industry with small clients with small pocket books and even smaller issues when it comes to the final product. I tried to be artistic and put forth a big effort to make a solid product that represents my skillset so i can get more work with it, but i realized that in the wedding business they will just want you to make changes that will end up ruining a perfectly good piece of art, and then you will be left with a crap product....now i see why most wedding vid dudes pump out crappy product again and again....because that's what wedding video clients want, CRAP.
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Well . . . it's not your idea of art which actually matters here. You're doing a workf-for-hire. Everything begins and ends with what the client wants.

That said, this request is probably asking for too much.
 
Originally Posted by Paunch:

"only the 2nd client i've had to deal with personally", "these petty requests".....

"I tried to be artistic and put forth a big effort to make a solid product that represents my skillset so i can get more work with it"'


Sounds like you just did your thing for your reel.




Don't do any more weddings.
 
Paunch said:
..now i see why most wedding vid dudes pump out crappy product again and again....because that's what wedding video clients want, CRAP.
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No, they don't want crap. They want something that commemorates a very important day of their life. They didn't get married to give you an opportunity to sharpen your skills or make something "artistic". You were hired to create something that they could look back on when they are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and see people that matter to them (some of which may be gone by then) at an event that changed the course of their lives. They have every right for that to look and sound the way they want it.

That is what matters to them. Not your vision of quality or art.
 
Paunch said:
it's not worth the hassle because it doesn't pay enough. It's just a small industry with small clients with small pocket books and even smaller issues when it comes to the final product.
Click to expand...


I don't think this is true. Sadly, (as has been mentioned in other threads before) brides will spend money for what they want to spend money on. It just so happens that in this day and age, the videographer winds up to be the very last meaningful thing the couple budgets for. So, if you charge little, they'll pay little. But, there are plenty of wedding videographers making a very good living off of this gig, some charging 5k, 10k, 15k, etc. They charge what their market and talent will allow.

Having said that, I do understand some of your gripes. You don't feel like you will ever be done with this particular project. It can be frustrating. The problem is the bride really doesn't know what she is asking for or how much extra work that entails. Some of her requests are unreasonable but she doesn't seem to be. I think you should take a deep breath, resign yourself to fix the basics and remember why she hired you; to commemorate the most important single day of her life.
 
I'd agree... wedding videos (or anything that involves client relations) isn't your thing. Stay away from them for your good and the good of any potential clients.

Or, take a hint from the DJ... who managed to DJ the event and at the same time outperform both the videographer and photographer in terms of pleasing the client! Touché to that guy!


But seriously, Paunch... to work with any employee or client, you're going to have to change your attitude a bit. You can't dismiss other people's concerns as "petty" or "BS" for too long and be successful in life.
 
Not sure if anybody else said this... but never... NEVER dump an edit after delivering the product! External HD is dirt-dirt-dirt cheap. I save all videos in an easily re-visited state for a year... sometimes longer. I've had people call up out of the blue with some odd request and they assume it's a one in a million chance I can handle it... and when I say "no problem"... it goes a long way for my reputation as a problem solver.

Oh and for photography? Weddings are great... DSLR makes it easy to blow clients away and not kill yourself in the process... but weddings videos still suck eggs... way harder to do, edit, and watch.
 
Yeah, I save everything for a while. Raw footage, project files. I can't tell you how many times that has turned into back-slapping, atta-boy-easy money.

Not to get too off topic, but I would speculate (having done only one wedding, largely based on my frank personality) that they are best approached as a vanity project for a client. I do a lot of work for non-profit marketing and fund-raising. I will sometimes debate a point with a client because I believe that my way will be more effective (hence raising more money for the client). So it is worth it to get the client to try things my way because there is some objective measure of effectiveness (it raises more money) But wedding videos are a unique animal in that there is no objectivity. You are making two people (well, one person really..at least most of the time) happy. They want to remember that day in an idealized fashion, the way that they want to remember it. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.

Probably one of the reasons I don't do them.
 
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