© Copyright, Panache Video Productions, 1997 (Updated 2010) A wedding is a wonderful occasion!  So much planning and preparation goes into this special day that a video of the event, that allows you to relive your special day – even decades from now – is a great idea. A friend who happens to have a video camera is not the ideal person to entrust with recording your Wedding Video!  Producing a Wedding Video that will afford you lasting joy, requires costly equipment as well as a significant amount of skill and experience – particularly because everything happens only once and there are no chances for retakes. A word of warning: Fixing a badly recorded video will almost always cost more than it would have cost had it been done professionally in the first place -- and it still won't be anywhere near as viewable as a professional product. Bear the following in mind: The better the quality of the camera on which the proceedings are recorded, the better your video will be. So find out on what type of camera the video production company uses and make sure it is a 3 CCD camera. Good light makes for good picture quality:   If the proceedings are shot in dimly lit conditions, the picture quality will be grainy, no matter what camera is used.  Unless sunlight literally streams into the church, speak to your minister about allowing a camera light. Unfortunately however, lights are bothersome and, if used incorrectly, can interfere with the atmosphere you so carefully created  -- and annoy your guests.  Generally one very good video light is all that is required.   The experience of the camera operator is of cardinal importance.An inexperienced person will not deliver a quality product, no matter how good a camera is used. Since the essence of video is the close-up, ensure that your videographer is experienced enough to know this and that he/she understands that you want to see close-up detail of flowers, rings, stain-glass windows, hair decorations, candles, table settings, etc. Cameras and lights need electricity; inspect the locations where video will be recorded and ensure than there are electrical outlets available for the camera operator – and tell him/her where these are. The camera operator should provide his/her own extension cords and be able to shoot on batteries, e.g. outside.  However, as batteries, especially for lights, do not last long, the bulk of video recording will require access to a power outlet.   Avoid "sun problems": During daylight, in church and at the reception, make sure than the important people (the couple, speakers, singers, etc.) do not stand with their backs towards windows.  Unless massive video lights are used, the camera operator cannot successfully counter the effect of harsh sunlight; when there is sunlight (or another strong source of light)  behind someone, on the video, the person's face will be dark. At the reception, place the videographer fairly close to the main table (one table away), closest to the wall and on the side where there are power outlets.  This way, the videographer can sit close to where the light stands so that it is easy to turn on/off and can be 'guarded' to ensure that people do not trip over the cables/light stand.  It is not a good idea to have electrical cables running along the floor where people walk -  it also does nothing to enhance your décor! Do not turn your special day into something that looks more like a studio recording than a wonderful, festive and romantic wedding. Limit the video paraphernalia to the minimum. Two experienced camera operators, with a feel for and an awareness of detail, can do an excellent job.  Just like lights, cameras can spoil the atmosphere of a wedding and make it look more like a film set than a wedding. Therefore, the fewer cameras, and the smaller and more unobtrusive, the better.  The camera operators can also move compact equipment more quickly and, once the speeches are over, they can move around at the reception fairly unobtrusively.  We prefer to record at least the service and the speeches on two cameras; that ensures complete coverage, e.g. the speaker and audience, making for a much more  enjoyable DVD.. In order to have a professional product that will always be a pleasure to view, the video must be edited.  One cannot but get some bad shots at weddings -- just when you have focused on a person, he or she walks out of screen, guests bump against the camera operator and/or walk into the shot and fill it with their backs.  Such shots need to be edited out of the video.  The first time you see it, a person's back to the camera may not be that annoying, but imagine how it is going to bug you the 10th time!  During editing, harsh audio cuts can be mixed out and titles, graphics and music added and, of course, if more than one camera was used during recording, the best shots of both cameras are selected in the editing process. A little bit of music edited in at the beginning and end, and wherever else required, makes a world of difference to the flow of the final product.   You can usually provide the music of your choice on CD.  Do this before the wedding, so that the video company can edit the Wedding while you are on honeymoon.  Bear in mind that the music should probably be instrumental -- otherwise you will loose all the 'wild sound' (the sound recorded with the picture) of the people arriving; furthermore, the whole song probably won't be played and it is preferable to edit an instrumental to the desired length. Titles of your choice are added at the beginning and end of the video  (usually the names of the couple, date and venue) and if the wedding invitation records/scans well (gold/silver on white does not!), it can also be included on the video. Even if the invitation does not record well, it can be used as a background for the opening titles.   Generally it is a better idea to use titles -- the invitation is seldom the correct aspect ratio for video and usually contains too much information in too small a space to be clearly legible on video. You could also include your family crest -- or whatever else you wish -- in the opening sequence.  If you would like the video to use the same font as the invitation, please get the font (unless it is common to all computers) for the video company from your printer. Discuss the editing process with the video company.  Some production companies have a penchant for all manner of 'romantic' effects -- if this is not your style, make sure it doesn't become part of your video!. The guests are important.   When watching your Wedding Video 50 years from now, it will be delightful to see who the guests where and what they looked like.  The camera operator/s should attempt to get at least one good  close up shot of every guest attending the wedding. The best time to record such shots is while the guests arrive at church  – which means the camera operator should be at the church before any of the guests arrive. He/she should, in fact, be there early enough to set up the lights, etc. in the church before any guests arrive.  Once this is done, the operator moves to outside the church to record everyone arriving. Meticulous prior arrangements are very important.  The camera operator MUST know exactly what is going to happen during the wedding and the reception.  Discuss the events with the camera operator beforehand, i.e. is someone going to sing in church and/or is a little ring bearer going to make an appearance, when will it happen and where will this person come from/stand?  Provide the video operator with a programme for the reception (and also with maps on how to get to the church, reception venue and the venue where the photographs will be taken!) Remember that the camera operator will be outside the church to record the bride's arrival just before the service starts; he or she needs sufficient time to get ready for your grand entrance (putting in a new tape to ensure that the tape doesn't run out during the service and setting the white balance after moving from sunlight outside to electric light inside the church).  Arrange that the video operator will signal the organist to start playing the Wedding March. If this is not done, more often than not, the recording starts only after the first couple of chords of the Wedding March. (One good examples of why a 2 camera recording is preferable!) Since still photographers are more mobile than video camera operators, they tend to walk in front of the video camera to get good shots. It is a good idea ask the photographer before to try and remember not to stand in front of the video camera! It is a good idea for the video camera operator to take a few shots while the photographer is busy taking photographs before/after the service – also because all the really important people of the day will be together – and stand still! Decide beforehand whether you wish video footage of the bride's (and groom's) preparations to be recorded.  This would normally be included in the Wedding Video package. Generally, approximately 7 hours of camera work (and 3 hours of tape) is required when preparations are included.  This usually yields a final video of  90  - 180 minutes  --  depending on how long the sermon and speeches were.   If the camera operator is required to stay for longer than 6 hours, you will probably be charged an additional hourly fee. To make doubly sure that the video is a success, ask a good friend or family member to keep tabs on the camera operator during the whole day; this person should go and introduce themselves to the camera operator at the church, before the Wedding ceremony commences. The idea behind this precautionary measure is that the camera operator then has someone to turn to in case he/she needs help of any kind.  It is also most useful if special guests that are attending the wedding (i.e. from overseas), are pointed out to the camera operator. A reputable video company will always have your completed Wedding Video ready for you by time your return from honeymoon.  If it is absolutely necessary, you could arrange with the company to have it ready in a shorter period of time – but you will then probably have to pay heftily in terms of over-time as editing a Wedding Video takes approximately five times longer than the eventual duration of the completed video.. Great photographers:                                                       Contact  Marlise Cronje  Rinus Dormehl  Peter Morey  Pre-recordings of music for your wedding:   e-mail Jannes Eiselen A DVD can be authored -- providing you with a menu, scene selection, etc. Approximately one hour and 20 minutes of video encoded at 6,000,000 bps will fit onto a DVD. This means that a 3 hour video will have to be split over two DVD's. Video companies generally ask for a 50% deposit when you make your booking and the balance upon completion of the video.  Remember to make your booking well in advance! Also remember that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well. Weddings are a huge expense these days -- but don't skimp and regret it for the rest of your life! Ensure that you receive a delightful, custom-made Wedding Video that will be well worth your money and bring you much pleasure over many years. Liesel Eiselen MANAGING DIRECTOR e-mail: panache@lantic.net www.panachevideoproductions.com