When hiring a videographer and choosing the style and type of package that you want, some things you want to consider are:
- Find out the experience of the person that will cover your event.
- Have they been to the venues, locations that you will have your affair? Are the familiar with the challenges that may come up on your wedding day. Rules, restrictions as to where they will be able to load, unload, shoot and capture your ceremony and reception. If a certain area is being occupied or used the same time you are can they adjust their shooting , exposure and schedule to get quality and creative footage to work with.
- Do they have backup equipment?
- Not just the camera: lighting, sound, stability devices, wires and hookups. Basically everything duplicated if for some reason something goes wrong there will be back up. When I cover an event I have the primary camera on a tripod/monopod and my secondary is usually within arms reach, at worst in the same room.
- Are they prepared to deliver high quality video and sound?
- Both are equally important to relive the special moments and depend on each other to tell your story. NJ Best Video shoots in broadcast quality HD format. Both cameras primary and backup are identical cameras so there will be no drop-off in quality. The external microphone, not the built in camera mic which is inferior to most external microphones. For projects where there is a key speaker, in a wedding it will be bride/groom and priest, there is a lavaliere mic which is highly sensitive and able to pick up any sound within say 5-10 feet. For events where a band or DJ is used I always set up a wireless feed so your get one channel of sound directly from the sound board. The sound is clear no matter which way the camera is facing or how far away. Now you have 2 sources of audio with the direct sound and the ambiance and emotion of the event.
- Do their video packages include a Chaptered DVD?
- Anything above the Basic, raw footage package should have this.
The old days of fast forwarding or jet searching to a point on the VHS tape is long gone. Each DVD has a main menu to start of your chaptered DVD. A creative icon, usually a photo or footage that was captured on your day will lead you exactly to the spot for easy access. If you have friends over and just want to show them the vows, first dance and cake cutting, you simply click on the respective icon and it is right there in front of you.
- Will you receive Unedited Footage?
- Some, not all, include this feature. I tend to shoot too much footage, so I have been told. I would rather capture something and not use it, rather than overlook something and regret it! We carefully choose the footage for the final production to allow it to flow creatively and consistently but also don’t want to overlook some of the footage which also were part of the day. Many people refer to this as the blooper reel.
- The Recap, also known as the flashback, summary, trailer, etc.
- This is basically a short video, teaser as to what your wedding day was like edited down to a few minutes. Accompanied with music, video and film effects, the most creative and important shots, this is usually one of the most popular features of the final production that can be shown to friends and family and not take up a lot of time.
- Do they work with a backup videographer?
- It’s happened only once, but the unexpected does come up. Personal illness, death in the family. What would I do? Call someone who belongs to my pool of videographers who is experienced, dependable, punctual, creative and trustworthy to give you what you paid for and expected when you hired NJ Best Video to capture your special day.