Scot & Kristin Manwiller whose wedding we filmed in June, are to be featured in the January wedding issue of Berks County Living magazine. Their wedding can be viewed here.

As weddings are seasonal here in the Philadelphia area, most of our work comes between April and October (although off-season weddings are becoming more popular). So by November we usually have a fairly good idea of how the year went.

This year was very good for us. For the first time we had to stop taking reservations for the current season due to demand. We also completed the transition to high definition and are now recording, editing, and delivering in HD.  Since even Wal-Mart is selling HiDef televisions and Blu-ray players, it was a necessary move. To tell the truth, I love it. The clarity and color definition that we get from HD just can’t be achieved with our old equipment. It really is a pleasure to work with wide screen rather than being constrained by the old 4:3 aspect ratio that television has had for 60 years. Another technique that we use is to record in 24 frames per second progressive scan. What this rather geeky sounding term means, is that we are recording in the same manner as a film camera. The result is that the images are much more film like than we have ever been able to accomplish in the past.

Our editing style continues to evolve. Looking at what we did two or three years ago, I can see that although the basic structure is similar, today’s projects are much stronger emotionally as well as having a much tighter structure. I have actually simplified our editing by remembering the old adage of “less is more”. We don’t use a lot of effects or fancy titles, as we prefer the story to carry the production.

We have also continued to add services. With the Deluxe and Ultimate packages our clients now get their video uploaded to our website. We also provide an Quicktime version of the video that can be played on an iPod, iPhone, or any computer. The other extra is a Blu-ray version of the Wedding Highlights program with these packages. This is of course, in addition to the standard DVDs (which look fantastic on an HDTV).

Looking forward to the 2009 season,  we plan the following enhancements to our services:

• Delivery on Blu-ray disc for all video, not just the Wedding Highlights as we currently do. For next year we will continue to deliver on Blu-ray only with our higher priced packages, although we do plan to offer HD delivery as an extra cost item with the Basic Package.
• Increased web presence. We would like to have more video available for our clients sooner on the web. One possibility will be to put a short “trailer” of the wedding on the web within two weeks of the event.
• More add-ons. We would like to introduce a “Video Wedding Invitation”. Another possibility will be to send a short highlights video or trailer to all the guests after the wedding. We can even add a thank you video by the couple.
• Same Day Edits. A video of the getting ready and ceremony portions of the wedding day to be projected at the reception. This is a longer term goal for us, as we will not do an SDE without being prepared and having the resources in place. But it is something that we do want to add at some point.

Congratulations to Lisa and Ken Yost on their marriage at the Sheraton Reading Hotel, Reading PA on Saturday. Beautiful ceremony and a lively reception (the dance floor was full most of the night).

One of the first questions that comes up when talking to prospective clients concerns what is offered in each of our packages. Our web page provides a capsule description which I will expand on in this post.

Lets start with the Basic Package. This is our least expensive offering and is described on the website as follows:

“With the Basic Package your wedding day is filmed and edited in a simple, straightforward style. We provide full coverage of the ceremony and main reception events, and complete your video with a short recap of the day set to music.”

The market for our Basic Package are couples who are looking for a high quality, low price package where just basic coverage is desired.

As this is our lowest priced offering, we do much less editing than with our more expensive packages. The ceremony and main reception events are presented as filmed. We always clean up the edit, removing extraneous footage, but leave most of what was taped in the final cut. We also apply color correction and audio sweetening to the edit to make sure that it looks good and sounds good.  Then we add a short (3 to 4 minute) recap of the day’s events set to music at the end of the edit. This is the only “artistic touch” that is included with this package.

The Deluxe Package offers much more. Here is how it is described on our website:

Our most popular package. With the Deluxe package we include our Wedding Highlights Program. Combining fablulous imagery, music and sound, we create for you a personalized film that captures the essence of your wedding day.

This package is designed for couples who want something special to remember their wedding day with. The centerpiece is the Wedding Highlights Program. What we do here is to distill the day down into a 20 to 40 minute film. The approach here is to capture feelings and emotion. We aim for a more cinematic approach which makes the Highlights Program into a wedding day movie rather then just a documentary. Some examples can be found here.

With the Deluxe Package you get coverage for the bride and groom getting ready, as well as a “documentary style” edit of the complete ceremony and main reception events. We also put your own personal page on our website complete with the Wedding Highlights Program and ceremony coverage.

Recently we have added a High Definition Blu-ray copy of your wedding to the Deluxe Package as well as iPod / iPhone compatible versions of the wedding highlights. This is in addition to the regular DVDs

The Ultimate Package is just that, The Ultimate. I won’t describe it here, but if you want anything else (within reason) that is not provided in the Deluxe Package, just ask. We can do it here.

All the bad economic news of the past few weeks has a lot of people nervous, couples planning weddings among them. The big wedding becomes a much smaller affair, photographers, videographers, and DJs are booked closer to the event, perhaps video or photography is eliminated. As a professional videographer I certainly hope that brides and grooms will want video at their wedding. There are some compelling reasons to keep it. You might spend a lot of money on flowers, or table decorations, but will they tell the story of your wedding years later? Even photography can’t capture the actual vows, or what the bride’s father said during the toast.

It reminds me of the time right after 9/11. My wife and I were planning our wedding and in those months of uncertainty, we went from having a string quartet and a reception at an expensive restaurant to something much more reasonable.  We also dropped the idea of a Caribbean honeymoon and drove to Canada instead.

I have seen fewer bookings this year compared to last. It dismays me to think that we may not do as many weddings next year, but hopefully we will. As I mentioned many couples will book later. We are not cutting back on advertising or dropping our rates. Realizing that couples may not have as much money to spend, we have held the price on our lower priced package to where it has been for the past two years. And we will not cut back on service. Service costs nothing. Quality is free. No matter where the economy goes in the short term, things will get better. We intend to ride it through and strive for the best.

The September meeting of the Greater Philadelphia Videographers Association was held on Tuesday, Sept 16th at it’s new location, The Radisson Hotel Valley Forge in King of Prussia, PA. Turnout was good and we saw some new faces as well as some who we haven’t seen in awhile. The Matrox rep flew down from Montreal to showcase some of their products for event videographers. They also gave away  a $1000 door prize (I didn’t win ).

Al and Kathy Ritondo came down from North NJ to speak. Al and Kathy, in addition to their wedding videography, also produce podcasts for the industry. These can be found on their website. WEVA members can access Al and Kathy’s newer podcasts on the WEVA site.

After the meeting many of us went over to Chaamps for dinner and conversation.

Congrats to Mike and Liz Griffin on their wedding on Saturday. The ceremony was held at Sts. Simon and Jude RC Church in West Chester, PA. Music played an important role starting with the bagpiper who greeted the guests as they arrived at the church. The processional was accompanied by trumpet, and organ, and during the mass there was violin, piano, and a vocalist, all very well performed. After the ceremony, the piper played again for the receiving line.

The reception was held at the Desmond Hotel in Malvern, PA. A jazz trio provided entertainment during the cocktail hour and dinner, while the DJs kept everyone on the dance floor until the last dance, not an easy task these days. Good job!

An interesting note for us videographers. It has been a couple of years since we worked at the Desmond. My memories of the place are that it is a very spacious room with a large dance floor. Actually the dance floor was much smaller than I remembered (although still more than adequate for the guests). I looked at the last wedding that we did there and noticed that I was using a wide angle lens that made everything look more spacious. It shows how preception can be modified by the way that we shoot.

Here in the Philadelphia area, the wedding business is seasonable as it is in most of the northern states. Most weddings take place between April and October. However there are at least a few people willing to try for a winter wedding. Yes, there is a risk with the weather, but there are benefits. I have been learning this as my stepson Tim and his fiancee Alicia have chosen a January date.

For one thing most reception venues are often wide open. Photographers and videographers are more likely to be available and there is much less stress overall. There is also the chance that vendors may provide discounts for winter weddings. It depends on how business is at the time. You should ask, but don’t walk away from someone you like because they are not discounting their services. Consider the overall package and choose who you feel will do the best job. Don’t expect any discounts for a Christmas Eve or New Years Eve wedding however. These dates are in demand and many vendors would rather spend the day home with their families.

Another benefit is if you pick a date right after Christmas or New Years, you will often find that reception venues are still decorated for the holidays which will add a festive touch to the occasion.

The big issue is often weather. We have been lucky so far and have not been in a position where a wedding that we were shooting was snowed out. Part of this is that the Philadelphia region like much of the country has been having milder winters. If snow is in the forcast, keep in touch with your vendors. Let them know as soon as possible if there are any changes due to weather.

Another advantage of having a winter wedding is that your photographer and videographer may be able to deliver your photos and video sooner, as we may not have any backlog as we often do in the summer.

Here is a link to some photos from the 2008 Wedding and Event Videographer Association (WEVA) Expo at the J.W. Marriot Hotel in Orlando Florida. The Expo was held between August 11 and August 14, 2008. Many of the photos are from the GPVA party on 8/13. These were taken as stills from my HV30 camcorder using the little built in flash. Not too bad considering, although I did do a lot of red eye correction though before uploading :).

Link to photos here.

It sometimes amazes me that only about 20 percent of the weddings in the US have a videographer. Why is this? For one thing, video is fairly new. The wedding videography industry is only about 25 years old, where photography has been around for 150 years. Therefore when planning a wedding, couples think of the flowers, reception venue, and photographer, but too often get a videographer only if there is money left over. Yet few people who have had a video have regretted it. In most cases they consider their video the most valuable item that they bought for their wedding.

While photography is certainly worthwhile (and you should have a photographer), consider what you will not get with your wedding photos:

• There will be no record of the sounds of your wedding, no vows, no toasts, no readings, no music.
• You will have only moments in time. Your first dance will be just that, snapshots, not the dance itself.

It is said that sound has a greater impact than images. With video you get both a moving record of the day, and even more important, the sounds.

But today a wedding video is much more than just a record. Many videographers will go far beyond that and create for you, your own wedding day film. We have the skills and the talent to capture and enhance the feelings and emotions. While a skilled photographer can also use artistry to move beyond pure documentary, we can do so much more, by the fusion of imagery, the spoken word, and music.

Here in the Philadelphia area we have a wealth of talent, perhaps more than any metropolitan area in the country. There is a lot to choose from in this region. No matter where you live however the important thing is to find someone whose style you like and who you can afford. But don’t cut corners and pick the cheapest videographer. In fact consider hiring your videographer before your photographer. You won’t regret it, and your videographer will probably be able to refer you to a photographer whose style is compatible.

You wedding day movie is something that you will always have, like your photos. But unlike the photos sitting in an album, your video will allow you to see and hear your wedding day as it happened.