Common Q and A's

Q: How long should I have a videographer at my event?

A: Usually a videographer will start their day with you when the bridal party is getting ready. This way they can capture special moments like the mother of the bride buttoning her dress or the father of the groom putting on the groom’s boutonnière. At the end of the day, we like to stay until the first dances, cake cutting, etc are over. By staying this long we can ensure we have every piece of your wonderful day recorded and saved for you to enjoy years down the line.

Q: What should we expect during the pre-production stage?

A: During our pre-production phase, we start with a meeting to get to know you and your desired goal with the video. We schedule the shoot day and discuss your budget for how long our videographers will be on location. You pay for our time and we bring the skills and equipment. If necessary, we can also write scripts and storyboard our video project to ensure we are fully prepared.

Q: What should we expect during production?

A: The production phase is when the actual video is shot. While on location we set up all sound, lighting, and video equipment needed. We record all footage and sound such as voiceovers, B-roll, and interviews (if applicable). You can expect 1 or 2 camera operators and possibly an audio technician, 2 to 3 cameras, and microphones on the groom and officiant during the ceremony. The rest of the time we use 1 or 2 cameras and an audio recorder for speeches or any extra audio.

Q: When will I get to see a finished project?

A: After we have all the footage we can start organizing, cutting, editing, and coloring the clips and audio. This could take some time even with the shortest of videos. You have to remember that regular movies can take years to create! This may be a smaller project but it's better to wait for a masterpiece than to rush the video and it ends up being subpar. Usually, it will take up to one or two months to have a fully finished product but having a chat with your videographer about their schedule will get you a better estimate of time. Some months can be much busier than others, so patience is a must because most videographers work in the chronological order they shot in.

Q: How can I share my video without copyright issues?

A: Copyright can be an issue when it comes to wedding videos. Almost always videographers use music to tell a story and really push the emotion they are trying to convey. The copyright laws are as follows, you can legally use music in videos if you have permission from the person, people, or company who owns the rights. Since the publisher and the record label usually hold music rights, you'll have to get permission from both. This can be a major fee for you if you want a super popular song in your video. So, how do you make sure you are safe to share your video with friends and family without the big fee? Make sure your videographer has full access to non-copyright music! You may not be able to use the newest hit song but sites like Artlist and Epidemic Sound are subscription-based libraries with great music that videographers can download and use and you will never run into a copyright claim again!

Q: Can we have the raw footage?

A: Most videographers will let you have the raw footage either for free or for a cost. Usually, if a client wants extra footage I just throw a couple of clips they want specifically into a video and give it to my client. Like extra clips of the father-daughter dance or a couple of extra clips of the ceremony. It doesn't take much time for the videographer to do and it won't be a mass amount of storage space for the bride and groom to have to deal with.