Looking at the number of weddings that I have this year and the time it will take to edit them, I realized that unless I change the way I edit, there will be a big backlog and some unhappy clients by the end of the season. So here are a few things to do that will help cut the number of editing hours:

1. Capture while doing something else. As I use a tape based workflow, capturing video from tape takes from 5 to 10 hours, depending on how many tapes there are to capture. As I have two computers to work with, I can capture to one while editing on another (savings 5 to 10 hours).
2. Color correction. I can be more efficient by doing basic color correction up front. Then only tweak color to achieve a particular effect. Also getting the white balance right while shooting will cut lots of time out in post.
3. Right now I spend about 20-25 hours working on the short form (Highlights) video. I spend a lot of that time looking for the right footage and the right audio (sound bites etc). If during the first pass, I mark the best stuff, it will be right there to drop into the timeline.
4. DVD authoring. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel. Create some nice templates and stick with them.
5. For the Deluxe Package I used to create an entirely separate long form edit. No more. Now the ceremony, main dances, toasts, cake, bouquet & garter are extras on the DVD. There is no need to make them into a single video when the short form highlights video tells the story.

Now if I can just stick to these ideas, There will be a lot more time spent not editing.

EventDV this month did an excellent article on what is called the “New Documentary” style. In the beginning wedding videographers would just record the day as it happened. Then after Non-Linear computer editing systems became popular, videographers had the opportunity to be more creative. So the “Cinematic” video was born. Instead of just covering the day, now a small movie with lots of music and effect (slow motion, black & white etc) could be done. The problem here was that after awhile it was all music and not enough story.

That is what the New Documentary style is all about. Use the music and effects only as needed to move the video forward, and to establish a style.  Use lots of actual dialog and voice overs to tell that story. The EventDV article explains it much better than I can.

As for myself, I am starting to move in that direction. I looked at some of my early wedding videos and realized that I was already employing the elements of the New Documentary style. They didn’t have the sophistication of my more recent work, but they told the story in a natural and interesting way. So look for some modest changes in the way I edit wedding videos over the months.

While most couples are not asking this question (at least no one has asked me yet), we are moving rapidly into the world of high definition television. It is getting difficult to even buy a standard definition television these days. Wedding videographers are also moving into the hi def world, us included. We are in the process of acquiring high definition cameras and editing systems. Is resolution everything though? No. I firmly believe that content is what counts.

The reason why most couples don’t ask their videographer about HD, is that it is the content that is important to them, not how many pixels are on the screen. They want their video to be a beautiful, meaningful portrait of their wedding day.

And that is how we feel. We know that people who ask us to film their weddings are asking us because our something in our work has touched them. Not everyone who sees our samples will like our style, but for some, that style is exactly what they are looking for.

Yes, we will be going HD in the coming months. But it will not change how we tell your wedding story.

I have been following the forums on Video University regarding the latest high definition camcorders from Sony, The EX1 and the Z7. These are remarkable cameras. They both record to flash memory rather than tape (the Z7 also records on Mini DV tape), and have many compelling features. But they are also expensive. B&H lists both cameras around $6500. With the EX1 you have to invest in some pricey memory cards to even record video which pushes the price up another $1500 - $2000. The Z7 uses (in addition to tape) the less expensive Compact Flash cards found in many DSLRs. But the reliability of these for HD video is unknown.

I am not going that route. We will be using the Canon XH-A1 ($3400 at B&H). The reason is cost effectiveness. While the A1 does not have the low light capability of the Sonys, it is still decent. It doesn’t record to memory cards, just tape. If we were doing a high volume wedding business, it might be different. The same with corporate video. It just doesn’t pay to spend that much money on equipment whose features we will not use. I want to make a profit in this business.

There is nothing that we can’t do with an A1 that we can with a Z7 or EX1. Yes we will have to use more light at receptions, but I have found that even the Sony PD170 whose low light capabilities matches the EX1, needs extra lighting sometimes. The XH-A1 is a capable, configurable HDV camcorder that does everything that we need to create beautiful wedding videos.

There has been a lot of press lately regarding the imminent demise of Toshiba’s HD-DVD format for high definition DVDs. The entire war between HD-DVD and Sony’s Blu-Ray format wasn’t good for the industry, as consumers were not interested in purchasing the next Betamax. Wedding videographers have been following this closely. Many have invested in high definition equipment, but have only been delivering standard definition to their clients due to the fact that few had purchased either a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player.

Hopefully this will change. Toshiba is about to cease production of HD-DVD. Netflix and Blockbuster are only renting Blu-Ray. Best Buy and Walmart have announced that they will exclusively carry Blu-Ray from now on. The only thing in the way of mass adoption by the public is the high price of Blu-Ray players. It is hard to find one for less than $350, where an HD-DVD player can be had for $150. The Sony Play Station 3 has a built in Blu-Ray drive, but it isn’t the most popular game console.

Standard definition DVDs look very good on high definition televisions. With an upsampling DVD player (available for under $100), the quality is very good, not quite HD, but close enough for most people. If you have a really big 1080p television (over 50 inches), you will see a significant difference. If you have a smaller set, you may not. TVs are getting bigger though. I bought a 32 inch set 2 1/2 years ago for about $2000. That will get you a television twice as large these days.

So what does this mean for delivering wedding video on HD? I believe that in the future as prices drop on Blu-Ray, it will become the norm. There are those who don’t think that high def DVDs will ever catch on, that online delivery will take over. The problem with using the Internet is that the enormous bandwidth required for HD video may not be available. Also there is a significant portion of the population who still does not have broadband Internet.

Also people like to have something tangible. If everyone just wanted to rent movies, stores like BestBuy wouldn’t be stocking so many DVDs.

Since a wedding video is a keepsake, most couples would prefer to have a disk to keep. DVDs will be around a long time. As long as Blu-Ray catches on, it will too.

Our plan is to deliver both standard DVD and Blu-Ray in the future. This will allow our clients to watch their wedding on any DVD player, and also have a high definition copy to view on Blu-Ray.

By the way, lest you think of me as a Blu-ray fanboy, I bought an HD-DVD player in December. At least I didn’t purchase too many movies. I did get used to watching HD-DVD movies from Netflix. Now I will have to buy a Blu-Ray player to do that.

One comment that I often get from couples is that they will always have memories of loved ones who are now gone. That is one thing that your wedding video will do. There is much more though. What about the vows, the minister’s sermon, the readings? What about the best man’s toast? No matter how many pictures you have of your wedding, without video you can never hear those words again.

I will relate a story here about my own wedding. We didn’t want to pay for video, but we had a friend shoot with my camera (a Canon GL1). The resulting video was shaky, with poor audio, but because it was a very small church and reception location, at least the day was preserved on tape. I am happy that we do have a video. One of the bridesmaids gave a beautiful reading, and the minister did a funny, upbeat sermon. If we just had photography, we could never hear any of that again. I mentioned that because of the small size of the church, we had intelligible audio. But just barely. Two of our friends sung a song that they had written. But it came out too distorted to listen to. This is why we should have hired a professional. So say the least, this is before I became a videographer, although editing my wedding as well as my sister in law’s wedding the following year, got me thinking about wedding videography.

I am not discounting preserving the memories of those who are no longer with us. My father passed away last month, and although he really didn’t play much of a part in our wedding, at least I have him in the video when he was still vibrant and healthy.

So when you think about whether you can afford video, remember, while your photos will preserve the look of your wedding day, nothing but video can preserve the words.

Most professions have their organizations. Wedding videography is no exception. We currently have two, the Wedding and Event Videographers Association International (WEVA) and the 4Ever Group. Both of these groups represent the interests of the wedding and event videography industry. Both have annual conventions. Many videographers (myself included) belong to both. What they do not require however, is any form of professional certification or licensing. WEVA does offer a certification, but few have obtained it. Anyone who calls him or herself a professional videographer can join.

Does this mean that being a member of these groups says nothing about the professionalism of your videographer. Not necessarily. For one thing, membership dues are high enough that someone who is not making a serious commitment to this business is less likely to join. The other thing is that both organizations put a major effort into education. The 4Ever Group has their convention in January (just concluded), and WEVA has theirs in August (with a second smaller show this month). These are incredible opportunities to learn and to take event video to a higher level. I always say that the couple who’s wedding I am editing right after the WEVA Expo is lucky, for they are the first to get the benefit of all that I have learned there. Like any profession, education never ceases.

Besides WEVA and 4Ever Group there are a number of local organizations. These in my opinion, are even more valuable than the national organizations. For it is here that videographers really exchange ideas and learn from each other. As a group, event videographers are very open. The good ones do not feel threatened by their competition. As a result, ideas flow freely. In Philadelphia our local organization is the Greater Philadelphia Videographers Association (GPVA). It is one of the largest and most active in the United States. GPVA’s membership is also one of the most talented. This year four of our members made the EventDV 25 list of the top 25 event videographers in the world (Dave Williams, Tim Sudall, Glen Elliot, and Darrell Aubert). That raises the bar for all of us. I have learned from all of them, and it makes me better at my own work.

Finally there are the online forums. While these don’t qualify as professional organizations in the classic sense, they are a fantastic source of information. I have learned as much if not more here than from WEVA or GPVA. If your videographer frequents them, they will be ahead of the game. The two main ones are Video University, and WedVidPro.

Does all of this mean that if your videographer is not a member of a professional organization that they are not as good as someone who is? No. There are a lot of excellent videographers who for reasons of their own, do not want to join. The point here is that being an active member of an organization (or online forum) indicates a desire to improve one’s skills and professionalism.

One thing that I notice when talking with other videographers or looking at their work it how different we all are, even if we are covering the same thing.  When viewing someone else’s video, I often think “why don’t I edit that way?” or “I would never thought of using that camera angle”. The fact is that as individuals, we each bring a different way of looking at things.

Like most of us, I am influenced by what I see my peers doing, as well as what I see on television or in the movies. All of this affects my own style. But that doesn’t mean that I am copying others. I have my own style because that is how my mind works. I can’t (and would not want to) get inside someone else’s head.  So, what I produce is my own way of seeing things. And that is true for everyone else in this industry.

 My style is what I would call “cinematic/documentary”. It uses a lot of music, soft imagery, slow motion. I believe that I appeal to the bride who wants a soft, romantic story of her wedding day. That said, I have been making some changes. I have been using less slow motion, and have been adding more fast cuts (particularly during the reception coverage). Why? Because of what I have seen others doing. I liked what I saw and want to incorporate this into my own style. But it is still my style.

What does this mean for the bride and groom looking for a videographer to cover their wedding? The important thing is that they find someone who’s work fits their personality. Some couples want soft/romantic, others fast/cutting edge, others do not want anything more than a basic no-frills record of the day, without any interpretation (we can give you that in our Basic Package). When shopping for a videographer, the first stop should be to visit their website. Many videographers have samples  right on the site (including us). If they don’t or you can’t view them online, call and ask for a sample DVD. Even if you can’t afford them, look at samples for the top videographers in the country (try Googling “EventDV 25″). Now most of us are not in that rarefied category, but we still produce very fine work. What it comes down to is simply what do you like. What moves you. It is a personal decision. There is no one right or wrong style. It comes down to how you would like YOUR wedding day to be recorded.

Beyond basic competence, it really is all about our style fitting your style. If you educate yourself on the range of styles that we are doing, it will be easier to find that videographer who is “just right” for you.

I haven’t been posting on this blog much recently. Work (both video and non-video) and family issues have been keeping me away from here. Well I am going to keep this blog updated on a more frequent basis. Currently I am working on a redesign of the bonnie-blink.com website using WordPress, not just for the blog, but for the entire site. This should go live in the next few days.

We have also made a few changes with Bonnie Blink Productions. For one thing we have started the move towards High Definition production. A Canon XH-A1 camera has been purchased and we hope to add another in the coming months. This will enable us to film an entire wedding in HD. While we will shoot and edit in HD, we will still deliver standard definition DVDs that can be viewed on any television. While it appears that BluRay will win the HiDef DVD format war, most people do not have BluRay (or HD-DVD) players yet. We hope to be able to provide HD video content to those who do however. One thing that the move to HD will do though, is to allow us to shoot in widescreen, perfect for those widescreen televisions.

We are also restructuring our Deluxe Package. In the past we have offered in addition to the Highlights video, a Documentary style video of the complete ceremony and main reception events. This was presented as a single long program, similar to what we deliver with the Basic Package. In the future we will be dividing this up into individual segments (ceremony, first dance, toasts etc.) for easier access.  Other than that, it will be the same content.

The 8 to 12 hours that we typically spend shooting on the wedding day is only a fraction of the time spent producting a wedding day movie. Most of it is in the editing phase. This often runs anywhere from 40 to 80 hours.

In the beginning, much of this is routine, even tedious. After the footage has been captured into the computer, I have to go through all of it and pick out what I want to use. Then it is assembled into a rough cut. The next step is to refine this into what we call our “Documentary Style” program. This means that we edit the day’s events in chronological order, keeping all the major events, but cutting it in a way that keeps the video interesting. At the end of this phase we usually have a program that is from 1 to 2 hours in length.

If our client has ordered the Basic Package, we have completed most of the editing. If they are getting the Deluxe or Premium Package, we have just begun. Here we start on the Highlights program. Even though this only runs anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes, it takes longer to edit. Why? Because this is where the artistry comes in. The Highlights program doesn’t document the day, it tells a story, the wedding story.

For me editing the Highlights is the biggest challenge. Distilling the essence of the wedding can be frustrating at first, but soon it all comes together and I have something that I am truly proud of. Most of all however, is what the couple will have. Perhaps fifty or sixty years from now, long after I am gone, they or their children and granchildren will still treasure it.

That is the real reward.