it girl wedding videography faq

What kind of equipment will you use?

Your wedding will be shot with a broadcast quality 3-chip Sony digital video camera. Our cameras are small and unobtrusive, so they won't distract you or your guests. They are sensitive enough to shoot well even in dim lighting, which means that we never use video lights of any kind. Our set up is small, versatile, and inconspicuous - all qualities that we feel are important to getting the sort of footage we want. For sound, we work with a range of professional microphones (including the option of discreetly placed wireless radio lapel microphones for excellent voice coverage) that can be tailored to suit your needs. The footage from your wedding will then be edited with titles, music, and polished transitions on a Final Cut Pro digital editing system. Finally, we will create a DVD of the edited piece with graphics and scene selection menus.

What do we get as an end-product?

You will get a copy of the finished piece mastered on DVD-R. You will also receive all the original mini DV camera tapes shot at your wedding for your own archives. For an additional fee, we are happy to make more copies, either on DVD or VHS, as well as to transfer the orginal footage to a home viewing format (VHS or DVD) if desired.

Is DVD-R the same thing as regular DVD?

Not exactly. Industrially pressed standard DVD's - the ones with the official DVD logo on them - are mass produced (or replicated) in big batches of 500 at a time or more. They are created by a physical process of imprinting the disk with a glass master - a process that is only cost-effective for mass production.We finish our videos using a laser-burned DVD duplication process, using a computer DVD burner (as do most other wedding video or small production companies working in DVD today). The difference in process is similar to the difference between industrial CD's and computer burned CD-R's. As with computer burned CD's, most of the time our disks will play without any trouble in your home player. We use high quality blank disks, burners, and software to ensure maximum compatibility with your home player, and we test every disk that we burn both on computers and on set-top home players, but even with all these precautions, we cannot guarantee 100% playback success. Older models of DVD players in particular may not be able to read DVD-R's properly. Most new models of DVD players specify on the player, in the manual, or on the manufacturer's website whether or not they are compatible with DVD-R. While we have not had difficulties with playback issues with our customers in the past, we feel that it is important to make sure our customers are aware of the possibility. On request, we are happy to send a sample DVD burned on our system that you can test on your home player. Additionally, if you are not able to play DVD-R's at home for any reason, we are happy to finish your project on VHS instead of DVD-R. Rest assured that we are writing this just to be cautious - 95% percent of the time, this is not an issue. Please see our longer DVD-R FAQ page for more information about DVD-R and player compatibility.

Why do you recommend two cameras instead of just one?

Our clients can choose whether or not they want the additional expense of a second camera on their wedding day. However, we strongly recommend considering a second camera. While we are both skilled videographers, there are still limits to what one person can cover alone - one camera can only be in one place at a time! Two cameras open up all kinds of new possibilities - wouldn't you like to see what the groom is doing while the bride is getting ready? What do your guests look like as they watch your ceremony? Shooting with two cameras allows us a tremendous amount of increased flexibility when we edit, gives us the option to capture things from as many different angles as possible, and, most importantly, makes sure that nothing is missed!

Can you recommend a good still photographer?

Yes! Two excellent wedding photographers that we like to work with are

Why are wedding videos so expensive, anyhow?

We know it seems very expensive! But if you think about the tremendous amount of work we put into a single wedding video, it starts to make more sense. People tend to think of a wedding as just one day, but after we spend the day with you shooting your wedding, our work is only just beginning. We don't just watch all the hours of your footage from beginning to end - we study it in detail, trying to find the best material and most beautiful shots. In the editing room, we aren't just stringing together a few highlights or clips - we try to make the footage tell a story with a beginning and an end, which is a long and labor-intensive process. We lavish the same care, high standards, and attention on our wedding videos that we bring to our documentary projects, down to the final details of sound mixing and titles. On average, the editing of a wedding video takes us anywhere from 40 to 80 hours, depending on the amount and type of material. Overall, our clients tend to feel that the expense is worthwhile - when else will you get a completely customized broadcast quality movie made just for you?

Do you also film gay weddings?

Absolutely! In fact, Irene began her career as a professional wedding videographer inspired by the passing of the Massachuetts gay marriage law, creating her first wedding videography site, Exclusively Gay Wedding Videography. Maria, through her work on a documentary about same sex marriage, has also been active in supporting gay marriage, and is now a co-partner of Exclusively Gay Wedding Videography as well. We are still very much committed to filming and supporting gay marriage, and encourage you to visit our sister site!