Most couples have never hired Wedding Videographer before so they have no idea what to look for or what questions to ask. Here is a guide on how to select the right Wedding Videographer for you as a couple.
Style… The first think you need to identify with is the style of the Wedding Videographer. Take a look at their website samples and review their blog. Ask to see films from the venue that you are getting married at. Don’t bypass that videographer if they haven’t filmed at your venue though. That is often times a good thing because they see it as a blank canvas and it actually stimulates creativity to be able to film at a new location. If you are finding yourself sending who you want to hire samples of other videographers work then hire the videographer that you are sending samples of… If you are asking to change that videographers style then they aren’t the videographer for you.
Experience… It is really important to look at the experience of the company you are hiring. How many years have they been in business? Have many wedding seasons have they gone through. Do they specialize in weddings or all video production? You want to work with a company who specializes in wedding films. Weddings are a very different animal than commercial video production because they are live events. We get one chance to get the shot so live event experience is a must.
Videographers… Who will be filming your wedding? Do they have a staff of videographers that are trained to film weddings or do they just hire freelancers to shoot the weddings booked. Be very aware of this. Freelancers can operate cameras just fine but they may not be trained in filming weddings. Weddings are live events and require a specific level of expertise. It is important that your team of videographers is in sync that day and has experience with one another and is not just randoms hired to film your event.
A One Camera Package Is Never A Good Thing… The offering of Packages with one camera and one videographer is NEVER a good thing. Do not purchase this despite the temptation of the low price. It is very dangerous for your wedding film for so many reasons and you truly are selling you and your wedding film short.
What if something happens to the one camera they are filming on. Then what… All filming stops while they figure out a solution?
What if something happens to the one card they are recording on. If your wedding is filmed with one camera and one data card and the card fails… Then what? Your whole day that was recorded is lost?
So much is missed when filmed by one person because they can’t be in 2 places at once.
You only get one angle of everything.
Service… Who will you be working with throughout the process? Are you working with a sales person who just sells you on the service and passes you off? Will you be working with the owner or have access to the owner should the sales person leave? Your wedding film is a very important investment. Who is servicing you and how they are servicing you is of utmost priority.
Investment… You truly get what you pay for with wedding videography. There are a lot of low cost providers flooding the marketplace with some very cheap packages. A quality wedding film is definitely something worth investing in. If a company is significantly less than others in the marketplace there is a reason why. You need to look long and hard at their product and what your experience will be like with them. Quality wedding videography is not cheap and owning a wedding videography company is not cheap. There is a reason the pricing is the way it is for a legitimate company that may cost more. You may need to be concerned about the low cost providers ability to still be in business by the time your wedding comes if the price point is so low.
Watch Out For Fluff… You need to look at the meat and potatoes of the Collection or Package you are purchasing. There are things that videographers offer to make a Collection or Package look like you are getting so much that is truly of no value. For example the Raw Footage… Everything that is usable is going to be in your film or films. Everything else is what was on the cutting room floor. When you get the Raw Footage there isn’t a mountain of memories that was missed because if it was good it would have made it into the film. So pretty much is all of the stuff that didn’t make the film is generally the practice shots and out of focus stuff. See… No value… Plus are you ever going to really look at hours of footage? What would you do with it? What matters most are the deliverables and these are what you need to be asking for:
How many hours of videography are you getting?
How long is the Feature Film?
Are you getting a Wedding Movie Trailer?
How many Videographers will be at your wedding?
How many cameras will they be filming with?
Delivery… How the company delivers a finished wedding film is important. Are they delivering on old outdated technology like DVD’s and Blu Ray’s. Those are both dying technologies that in a few years won’t be around. Asking for a DVD is like asking for music on a cassette tape or CD. Everything is going towards streaming, downloadable films or URL based delivery methods. These are how you should be delivered your film at this point.
Videographer Phoenix, Serendipity Cinematography is a Arizona and California based wedding videographer focused on hand crafted wedding films.
Videographer Phoenix, Simply Cinema, specialize in simplified wedding cinematography for the budget minded couple in Arizona and California.