Included in the Deluxe and Ultimate packages is our Wedding Highlights Movie. It is sometimes difficult to explain to clients exactly what it is. Our goal here is to get to the emotional center of the wedding and create a short film that preserves the day, not just images and sound, but the feeling of the wedding.

We do this by taking the emotional highlights and putting them together with appropriate music in a free-form structure. Every story has a beginning, a middle and an end. These do not have to be in chronological order however. A well written story also has anticipation, climax, and resolution. Climax and resolution are the key points that the video is structured around. Often (but not always) the climax will the vows. Resolution creates the ending, leaving the viewer feeling satisfied that the story has been told and is complete.

In the past we have used a linear story line. The production starts with the getting ready segment, proceeds to the ceremony and then to the reception. It concludes with a closing montage of the day’s events.  We use voiceovers from the ceremony and reception (toasts, readings, the sermon etc) to reinforce and build the emotional center. Music is also an important part of this. We choose music that we feel will enhance the story as well as songs chosen by the couple.

We are moving towards using a less linear format. The goal here is to emphasize the emotional center. To that end we may not necessarily proceed from bridal prep to ceremony to reception. The video may end with the vows, or perhaps the first dance. It depends on what we have filmed, what we have as voiceover materiel and many other factors. In some cases we will not “time shift” the program if we feel that a linear storyline is best. The most important point is that the story must be engaging, coherent, and meaningful.

Our clients often wonder why a 20 to 40 minute highlights video takes much more time to produce then a two hour documentary style edit. This is because we spend many hours discovering the story within and bringing it out through artistic editing. The emphasis is not on just stringing together the wedding ceremony and reception, but bringing the wedding day film to a higher level. We hope that each couple, years after their wedding, will still play their Wedding Highlights and feel one again like bride and groom.

Here are some examples of our Wedding Highlights Program.

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.

I am writing this from the annual Wedding and Event Videographer Association Expo in Orlando Florida. For the past few years I have been attending this conference regularly. I am here to learn new things from some of the finest wedding videographers in the world.
This year we are really seeing the shift toward HD. Up to now it seems that the majority of video companies were still not filming in HD. This year more than half are. We made the move to HD a few months ago and I am glad that we did.
I look at the style of some of the top videographers in the business and I realize that what sets them apart is more than just technical excellence, it is that they have a unique vision, one that sets them apart. What I take away from this is that while I can learn much from the masters, our style is still our own and that is what makes Bonnie Blink Productions unique. We cannot be everything to all people. Some couples love our style, others will prefer the work of others. We will continue to define our vision while incorporating the ideas that we get from the best in the business.

Congratulations to Alicia Pizzo and Tim Johnston on their engagement. This is especially joyful for me as Tim is my stepson. He is also one of our videographers and is responsible for some of the fantastic camera work that we get at every wedding.

Alicia and Tim

EventDV this month did an excellent 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.

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.