Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Why Should I Bother With A Wedding Video?? An Incredibly Earnest Case For The Videographer (Sponsored by Love + Brain)


As you may have noticed, I never post wedding videos on the ol blog. I mean, who the eff wants to watch someone else's wedding video??

But Courtney of Love + Brain makes a compelling argument for why you should bother with a wedding video for YOU. (In fact, she actually makes me want to edit the footage from our wedding that I still haven't seen...)

Here she is....

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a video worth? As you struggle to cough up the funds for a “must have” wedding photographer, it’s hard to imagine shelling out even more cash for a wedding videographer.

Hi, my name is Courtney Arcese, and I'm 1/2 of Love + Brain Films, an indie wedding videography team based in Brooklyn, New York. I’ve been there. And I get it. As a former bride-to-be, I understand how stressful it can be to wrestle with a wedding budget. The following are, I hope, a few good reasons to consider saying, “hell yes!” to videography on your big day.

Style

Indie and intimate? Glamorous and cinematic? Whatever you and your groom’s wedding style is, there is a videographer or videography team perfect for your special day. There may be a lot more wedding photographers than there are videographers out there, but the diversity within videography is impressive. Check out an awesome wedding blog, 100 Layer Cake (full disclosure: I’m a vendor on their site!), which is an incredible resource to see film styles from Super 8 to HD movie productions.

Technology

Photographers capture singular moments, but videographers are able to capture the memories within the movement. Using wireless mics and videocameras with interchangeable lenses, we can document your wedding day and create beautiful films that are on par (or..... almost on par) with blockbuster movies. Videography allows you to watch and re-watch yourself and your partner recite your vows, hear and re-hear the words from your maid-of-honor’s speech, and scrutinize your first dance (moves that you practiced for six months after you bought ballroom dance lessons on Groupon).

The Future (and for your unborn children, of course)

Have you seen your grandparent’s wedding video? Your parent’s wedding video? I’m going to guess no, since wedding videography wasn’t widely available when our parents + grandparents were our age. But how amazing would it be now, to have video of them tying the knot? Consider it a digital heirloom. Do your kids and grandkids a favor; let’s hope they thank you when you’re old.

...But Why Is It So Much #$%*-ing Money?

A videographer’s equipment ain’t cheap. Top of the line DSLR cameras (what most videographers use for weddings) cost $3,000+ ... and they probably have two (or three) just for back-up on your big day. Lenses, the good ones, are anywhere from $800-$2,000 each! Videographers, depending how long they’ve been in the biz, have a handful of different lenses that allow them to capture moments and provide different effects for the final video. Videographers also have a wide range of accessories that help create fluid moving footage. Monopods, tripods and steadicams are all tools that we use to make our work look professional (not like your teenage cousin used her flip cam to record the entire day). Those accessories, along with editing software like Final Cut Pro, all add up to be a huge investment that videographers take on, because we want to provide a professional service to couples.

Alternatively, the wedding video sector is still continuing to evolve and grow, and there are always options like hiring a newbie, or negotiating a deal with a videographer that allows them to capture a unique wedding or gives them option to travel (hello! destination weddings, anyone?!). I can’t speak for all videographers here, but I almost always have a little room to negotiate for the right couple or situation. Things like off-season weddings or non-Saturday weddings are also all great ways to find a deal!

Conclusion

Whether or not you’re on a budget, videography can be a big financial commitment (though not necessarily as big as you think). But hey, it’s your wedding day and it’s hopefully only going to happen once. You’ve spent a whole lotta time preparing for this one day, so rally the troops, cut a few non-important people off your guest list and invest in capturing your day through video. Your wedding day will fly by, but you can continue to enjoy and remember how amazing it was!

p.s. If you couldn't be bothered to read the above, you can watch this cheesy stop-motion movie I made as an alternative.



Gaaaaaaaaaah it's a letter to esb! I am so famous!!

Photo of Courtney and her husband Brian (the other half of Love + Brain) by For You Love Me

29 comments:

  1. ew calling yourself indie but I totally agree, I think it would be very cool and cheesy for your future kids and grandkids to watch your wedding movie.. although who knows what format videos will be in 30+ years?

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    1. Yeah, I don't understand what "indie wedding photography" means. I hate how the word doesn't seem to be an abbreviation for "independent," but rather an impossibly defined lifestyle.

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    2. of course these were going to be the first two comments.

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    3. Of course you're going to snark from your high horse about the predictability of the first comments on a wedding blog. Of course.

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  2. I am going to respectfully call bullshit on this, especially since this site (and its commenters) are so quick to point out that weddings aren't (and shouldn't be) photo shoots, fashion spreads, and other image-based expressions of impossibly hip love.

    I think wedding videography is a lovely thing for those who want it (and can afford it), and kind of insufferable for those who don't. Besides, how many commenters here have copped to never/rarely reviewing their wedding photos? And being annoyed by the brides who use social media and technology to overshare? Multiply that times 1000 and that's a wedding vid.

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  3. Gah with the word police. You told us we had to stop using the word "vintage" and now we can't say "indie" either?

    Would you prefer "HIPSTER"?

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    1. Anon, you are obviously just a vintage indie mid-century modern boho artisanal hipster. Get over yourself!

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    2. Because it stops meaning anything definable! It's obnoxious! So, yes, if by "indie" you don't mean "independent" and actually mean "hipster" (which it sure as hell sounds like), then yes, "hipster" is the more apt term. Do we hate the word "hipster"? Yes! But that sure seems like the demographic that this videographer is catering to.

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  4. FWIW, the original subheader for this blog was "indie wedding planning with style"

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    1. Well, you should clearly just give up now then. JERK.

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  5. There honestly is not a place for videographers on a hipster wedding blog.

    $5k+ to video our wedding bc you paid a one-time fee for your equipment?

    You know, forget your memories, forget your beautiful photos, it's all about the videos now... Woof.

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    1. Love + Brain currently charge $1000 plus travel expenses. Which is why I thought they felt right for ESB.

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    2. Plenty of brides on here are talking about buying a dress for $ik or more.. if so they can afford a videographer (not to say they HAVE to get one). I don't get the strong negative reactions to this one - it's just an option people!

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  6. Wow, lots 'o snark out there with wedding videography. I, for one, think videos can be cool, depending on how they are done. We don't regret having a videographer one bit.

    For what we got (um, hello, a forever memory of the best day ever that we can watch whenever we want) I personally think it's priceless. Plus there are so many things that happen on wedding days that you don't see and this is one great way to capture a shit ton of it in a really lovely way.

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  7. i'm surprised there's so much hate for wedding videos! but at the same time, i totally get it, a lot of videos out there are cheeeeeeeesy. i'm planning an elopement and for us, and if we can afford it, it would be a priceless souvenir for our family and friends to see our wedding day at home.

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  8. I'd be a tad skeptical too if it wasn't for my dad (who coaches middle school baseball as a hobby) absolutely loving watching videos of his championship games. From like a decade ago. I think of wedding videography more like a really awesome home movie that will be fun to pull out down the road.

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  9. great post sounds great, indie is nice now whats everyone's problem? ill be adding them to my list. making sure my video is better than other peoples something that will always look modern

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  10. I really like your take on the issue... I now have a clear idea on what this matter is all about. Thank you so much....Dog Death

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    1. this comment is like a koan. i bet lady gaga has it tattooed on her rib cage.

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  11. i wish we had spent a little extra dough on a professional videographer. instead, we asked a family friend with a fancy video camera and a shaky hand to capture the day... aside from being a little creepy (nearly had to physically remove him from the room when my bridesmaids and i were getting dressed), he left us with something like 8 hours of unedited raw footage. any suggestions for video editors? i'd love a final product of the "indie" persuasion - though i'm not really sure what can be done with what we have. insights? thoughts? please?

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    1. I'd be interested in possibly taking on this project for you. I am not a professional videographer or editor, I work in iMovie and have created a few little personal films that I can show you. I've been wanting to cut a wedding video for quite awhile. Email me if you're interested... hellobelldean at gmail dot com.

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  12. I think encouraging people to cut from their guest list in order to afford more stuff is not necessarily a great marketing spiel - that was my reaction at least.

    Plus, I too do not like the term 'indie' used in this way. Annoying and meaningless (my reaction before everyone else said it.)

    Other than that, nowt wrong with filming life events, and professionals are, naturally, going to do a much better job of it than non-pros (speaking from experience). So if you want it, then get it!

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    1. Ugh, I somehow missed that exhortation in the first read. I suppose that might be where the "incredibly earnest" comes from.

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  13. I can't see the wedding video she posted since I'm at work. But my friend has a video of her wedding day played to music, no talking, or anything. It was about 8 minutes and I literally got chills. It was awesome. It was a small wedding and not a lot of people were invited and I thought it was really cool to see it and see how their day went. I also saw my parent's wedding on REALLY old video (from 65) and it was awesome. You got to see family that have long since passed and some I never knew. who ever taped that back in the day, awesome. So honestly, that would be a great reason to have a person video your wedding.

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  14. One of my very few regrets of our wedding is not hiring a videographer. We felt that we didn't have the budget but in the end I would happily have paid the money.

    We were at camp for a full weekend and a lot went on that I didn't get to see. We didn't have the photographer there on Friday (for the talent show and welcome dinner) and most of his photos from Saturday are really about the wedding or activities and less about the people and interactions and such.

    I get that no one ELSE wants to watch my wedding video (duh) but I would really really love to be able to relive it some myself.

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  15. If I had the money, I would have definitely loved a non-cheesy video of my wedding. But there honestly just wasn't anything else left to cut out. My cousin, unbeknownst to me, filmed the whole day on a flip camera. Professional it isn't, but it was fun to watch. Now if only my dad would give me a copy.

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  16. To me, this is just ridiculous. It seems like just another trumped up expense. Would it be nice if you can afford it? Sure, maybe, but come on, who can actually afford a normal wedding in the first place? When we're like "maybe we'll have a professional photographer but not sure if we can afford it" someone trying to convince me to shell out an extra thousand dollars because it's your day and you should spend extra if you want kind of makes me sick. Would I like a 24k wedding with an expensive dress and lovely pro photography and a catered dinner and videography? Sure. You know what I would like to do with that money even more? Pay our entire year's rent and food and bills for both of us. And no go into debt spending money we don't have. Because, you know, we paid rent last year.

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