Choosing a Wedding videographer is one of the key challenges many couples face as they prepare for the most important day of their lives.
What kind of calls can a videographer make at a wedding?
1. Lighting
- Low light: In a church, in a hall, in any place where a wedding is held, it can be quite dark, and the rules are that you should not use your own light. Moreover, it is the bride who may ask not to use the light, so as not to disturb the atmosphere of the sacrament.
- Lighting changes: A sharp change in light, from very bright lighting to semi-darkness. This can happen if the sun is abruptly replaced by dense clouds, and the ceremony takes place in a room where only small windows are the source of light. Also, if settings for bright fire flashes are used, they work for 10 seconds, then go out. It is important that the video does not have any overexposed faces, or too deep immersion in darkness. In my portfolio, you will see the ceremony and the first dance where such principles were applied.
- Strong back light: The source of such light can be the sun setting behind the couple, bright windows in the hall where there is no lighting, a white backdrop illuminated by a powerful searchlight and/or ultraviolet light. If the backdrop is silver-shiny, and the sun and strong ultraviolet light fall on it at the same time, and the level of illumination is different in its different parts…This is what you will see at one of the ceremonies presented in the selection.
2. Sound
- Fixing issues: It may happen that the music for the ceremony is from a small iPhone with a dying battery. This is not a joke at all. I witnessed weddings when the bride walked to the altar amidst the warning about a low battery in her iPhone, or other unforeseen issues. In this case, it was impossible to connect audio recording equipment to this device, and its sound was very quiet. However, there are ways to fix issues, in the final product with editing, to ensure the video has the best sound possible.
- Reducing Noise: There are rooms and churches with very noisy fans or air conditioners. But I have good news: you will hardly hear their noise at all in your final video.
3. Space and objects
- Adapting to the room: The room for the ceremony can be very cramped, and it is necessary to position the cameras so that they shoot a full video, and not the backs of friends standing at the altar.
- Camera Position: Fabrics, flowers, draperies and other decorations that almost cover the couple are beautiful, but the calculation of the location of the cameras becomes critical, since everyone wants to see their happy faces, not hanging draperies.
- Following Rules: There are strict rules for filming in a church. It is necessary, observing the rules, to still shoot an excellent video.
- Working in Tandem with the Photographer: Cooperation with a photographer is extremely necessary, both for creating high-quality photographs and for shooting a good video—it is necessary that the photographer almost or does not appear in the frame at all.
4. Surprises
Only an experienced operator can quickly and professionally respond to any surprise during filming. Sometimes something happens which the couple forgot to add on the wedding agenda, or sometimes a surprise is deliberately made by one of the partners. So, in my portfolio, you will see the bride’s song, where I had to instantly change the position and settings of all three cameras…I think you will appreciate what happened.
To customize your Video Services for your Big Day, contact:
Phone: (847) 529-2412, or email: dmitriyvideo@gmail.com