Sunday, March 29, 2009

Wedding Videos

Wedding videos is the industry I started in. I can't believe that up to now, weddings are still a big business. Just look for a niche that you can work in and you'll still make a good sum of money with all the competition.

But in producing a wedding video, there are some things you might consider in the post production. And these things will differentiate you from other video production because most of them are really not into making a well-thought-of but just making money. Most clients, especially in the wedding industry, would want to have a very personal touch in their wedding video.

First and foremost, never make it too long. When the client wants the full clip, let them watch the raw footage! Imagine the couple when one of their friends brings someone for lunch and suddenly the wife asks "have you watched our wedding video?" And their friends suddenly makes a face! Your clients would not want that, and especially you because the value of your work would just plummet! When editing the video, make sure it's just long enough to hold their attention while they are reminiscing. Nothing could be more painful than watching a two-hour video fast forwarding until you get to the parts you want to watch in a wedding video.

Secondly, make sure to get the memorable parts. Not just the common important parts of the scene like vows, and the ring in a wedding video. I recommend looking for candid shots as well like playing kids and smiling parents, these shots melts their hearts every time they see it... and yes you have to watch the whole thing for you to catch those scenes.

Thirdly, try to connect the scenes. Transitioning from one clip to another is not that simple, it takes some skills in noticing which goes after which. The basic and most used way is chronological, easiest to understand. Other methods might require you to transition elements like fading from a flower embroidery to the flower decoration in the church. Use your imagination. Editing is like story telling, once your videos tell the story well, it's easier for the audience to stay and watch up to the end of a wedding video.

Fourth and lastly, pick a song that the couple likes, not what you like. Often I'll see some videos where it's too mushy or cheesy for the couple. Sometimes, it's too classy. But to be sure, just ask them their selection of songs that they want in their wedding video. From their you could even tell what type of video or storyboard they would like.

Using the above suggestions, make sure that your primary purpose is to let the couple enjoy watching their wedding when their in their 50's. When they are old and trying to look back at their happy memories. You don't want them saying to themselves "I hate that video editor". But it's really hard to understand a concept without seeing any example, so here's one of the wedding videos I did where all the ideas above have been covered. Enjoy!