Finding a Columbia wedding videographer is not that
hard. Finding the RIGHT wedding videographer in
Columbia is much tougher, however. A couple of years
ago, one of the big search engines ran an article titled, "10
businesses you can start this weekend for under $500." One of
those businesses was (supposedly) the wedding videography
business.
Your wedding video | Columbia Wedding
Videographer
The truth is that you cannot be a
professional videographer for under $5,000 and
that is the low end. But that article spurred many people to
go to the local electronics store and buy a cheap camcorder, then
advertise themselves as a qualified wedding videographer. The
problem is that many of these weekend warriors have filmed some
weddings and their quality is very poor. It would be like
someone going to Sears, buying themselves some tools and calling
themselves a mechanic.
That being said, it is difficult to weed through
the muck to find a videographer who will create a professional
quality wedding video for you so I have created a checklist
to help you find out if the person you are dealing with is a
qualified, professional wedding videographer or a weekend warrior
with a camcorder looking to make a couple of extra bucks.
How to check a potential wedding
videographer
-
Ask to see a demo. Better
yet, ask to see 5 demos. Even better than that, ask if they
will bring 5 FULL wedding videos with them to meet with you.
(if they can't, then they probably haven't even filmed 5 weddings
and you don't want them filming yours.) If you don't like something
jot it down so you won't forget. With all of the
planning you are doing, it is better to have some good notes.
Remember, you are interviewing them for a job.
-
Ask to see or read some testimonials from
former customers. My experience is that most
people will compliment me about my work, but only a few
will take the time to write me a letter. If your
videographer cannot give you 3-4 REAL testimonials with references
to their phone number, they may have made them up.
-
Ask the videographer exactly what kind of
cameras they use. Camcorders are not good enough to
capture the day for you. You want them to use broadcast
quality video camera with 3 CCD technology. Even the cameras
that claim to be "High Definition" are do not process the
same amount of information unless they are 3CCD or
better.
-
Ask them if they work somewhere besides
filming weddings. I have found most of
the "videographers" in my area are really something else
during the week and just trying to make an extra buck on the
weekends. They simply do not have adequate time to
edit a wedding video properly because of their work
schedule. It takes 30-50 hours to edit, author, and render
DVD's from footage. (and I am pretty quick at it.) If
they don't spend as much time editing, you will end up with a video
that is chopped together and lacks that movie like quality you are
expecting.
-
Ask them who EXACTLY will be filming and
editing the footage. Many larger firms use
free-lance camera operators to film the events and then they
edit whatever footage they get. I personally film each
and every wedding and I also personally edit them.
Why? Because I can "see" the finished video in my head
as I film. I have a detailed, two-page shot list that I make
sure I record, and I edit the video to capture the feeling of the
day. How can someone capture the feeling of your wedding day
without actually being there. I have been asked several
times if I would be willing to let someone else film a wedding
and then just do the editing and my answer is always "NO". I
shoot the highest quality footage possible and I simply will
not leave that up to an amateur.
Wedding Videos are important
If you will follow some of the advice above, you
will find yourself in a much better position to booking the RIGHT
videographer for your wedding. And if you do find that your
wedding day is available, then reserve right away because the good
ones always book up.
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