Wedding Videographers

Nexus · 27 Sep 2011 at 11:03

Do we have any on here?
I know there are a good few Photographers.

Anyways, the point in this thread was that I was wondering how many people saw Dragon's Den last night?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b015gtrc/Dragons_Den_Series_9_Episode_9/ (Right at the end of the show)

There were two women who were pitching their business which is a Wedding Video company, but rather than shoot it, they give you the camera and you shoot it yourself, they then edit it, with a final turnaround of 6-8 weeks! Although it apparently only takes them 3 days of actual edit time. They actually got investment from Hilary surprisingly, but luckily the other Dragons saw it as stupid.

They claim their main selling point is that they are cheaper than professional videographers, but their package starts at £749, which is just for the one camera, when you start adding the extras you need, it goes up even more. Further to that, given that you are giving one or two people at the wedding the responsibility of filming the big day, it might be easier just to hire or buy a camera if they have any skill at editing.

They also argue that their other benefit over Professional Videographers is that wedding videos are boring and has no banter from the guests.

Here's their website:
http://www.shoot-it-yourself.co.uk/

I think it's at ridiculous idea and while they claim they have never had anyone come back with bad footage, they are also only showcasing their best ones on the website. But even then, if you watch some of the videos they promote, they are full of iMovie style transitions and graphics, music which is choppy and drops in and out of levels.

I just can't see why anyone do this. Even a cheap Videographer would do a better job.

a1ex2001 · 27 Sep 2011 at 11:16

The business works because as with most things in the wedding industry quality doesn't really come into it, society in general is moving more and more that way we are mostly happy with shoddy domestic appliances poor quality MP3's and dodgy DVD rips.

The wedding industry is all about clever marketing and convincing people they need something which they didn't necesarily set out to purchase, you get added bonus sales for convincing people they are getting something quirky and different that there friends haven't had.

iamtheoneneo · 27 Sep 2011 at 11:19

its not a stupid idea though is it, they got the cash they wanted from a seasoned business vet and from their website their not exactly short on orders....so there's clearly a market.

The results are pretty good to from what I looked at.

bigredshark · 27 Sep 2011 at 11:20

I fully agree with them that most wedding videos are soporific and intensely boring, given that I think it's an interesting concept. Certainly I think you're more likely to capture chat and interesting moments in the hands of guests who know other people, which is probably worth more in a video than any number of beautifully shot but massively boring standard wedding videos.

I've no doubt pro videographers produce beautiful results but they're almost universally boring. Beautiful isn't enough and there's little original or interesting about a video of a wedding, no matter how beautiful unless it's got real personal touches and interest.

I'm not sure it'll catch on as a business but I think it's an interesting concept. Expensive for just editing a few hours of footage though.

Then again, I think you're generally stupid if you spend money of having a video made of your wedding, so I'm not best placed to judge.

Nexus · 27 Sep 2011 at 11:37

It's the whole chance aspect of it though that I think is wrong. Much like we've had threads on here before from people saying "I've been asked to Photography/Video my mates wedding, should I do it?"

It's that ultimately somebody, or two people have to become unpaid videographers for the day. It rests entirely in their hands if they mess something up or get bored and decide to just go and party, like you would do at a wedding anyway.

You have to take the ones on the website with a pinch of salt I believe.

Rojin · 27 Sep 2011 at 11:39

I can't say that I would be interested in the service, but the editing can make a big difference to the hours of boring video you shoot in a day. So I can see a market for it.

I don't know why but video just doesn't grab me. All the hours of video I've shot rarely gets watched more than the initial first viewing, yet photographs are regularly returned to. Actually the most watched videos I have are actually photo slideshows

Nexus · 27 Sep 2011 at 12:30

Rojin said:
I don't know why but video just doesn't grab me. All the hours of video I've shot rarely gets watched more than the initial first viewing, yet photographs are regularly returned to. Actually the most watched videos I have are actually photo slideshows

It's because Photos are timeless and everyone will want a fantastic photo of the wedding couple, taken by a professional on their mantelpiece. It can be seen everyday and by visitors to the home, where as a Video only gets watched when you want to watch it.

So while it certainly makes sense to get a proper Photographer, I can see how the Videographer can be an after thought. While it's not something I do, I'm sure there are plenty of pro wedding Videographers out there who will argue that their videos aren't boring. It's just about it being in the right hands and ultimately what you want out of it.

bigredshark · 27 Sep 2011 at 12:42

Nexus said:
While it's not something I do, I'm sure there are plenty of pro wedding Videographers out there who will argue that their videos aren't boring. It's just about it being in the right hands and ultimately what you want out of it.

I'm sure they will argue that they're product isn't boring! But practically, no matter how beautifully shot it is, what exactly is the video going to be off that you'll want to watch it more than a couple of times?

It's going to go on the shelf and gather dust. For this you pay thousands. :confused:

Get a better photographer for the money.

a1ex2001 · 27 Sep 2011 at 13:00

bigredshark said:
It's going to go on the shelf and gather dust. For this you pay thousands. Get a better photographer for the money.

You could apply exactly the same argument to photographs, do a quick straw pole of people around you and you almost certainly will find that most of them haven't touched the photo's they spent a grand on in years except dusting round the one on the mantle.

rexehuk · 27 Sep 2011 at 13:09

Fully supported them when I saw them on DD, good on them for getting up and doing something different.

Not everyone wants a perfectly shot, cinematic wedding. Some people want to record actual fun and antics ^^.

bigredshark · 27 Sep 2011 at 13:11

a1ex2001 said:
You could apply exactly the same argument to photographs, do a quick straw pole of people around you and you almost certainly will find that most of them haven't touched the photo's they spent a grand on in years except dusting round the one on the mantle.

Sitting on the mantel piece where people can actually see it is already orders of magnitude better than a DVD which sits in it's case for years. At least glancing at a wedding photo reminds you of the wedding, glancing a DVD case less so.

Nexus · 27 Sep 2011 at 13:16

rexehuk said:
Fully supported them when I saw them on DD, good on them for getting up and doing something different.

Not everyone wants a perfectly shot, cinematic wedding. Some people want to record actual fun and antics ^^.

Maybe I'm just looking at it wrong then.

The way I'm seeing it is that I know a lot of people have video cameras, even HD ones. Further to that, most people have cameras that will record video, even some top quality phones do to. Infact, compared to their setup, in the hands of amateurs all they are really missing is a decent onboard mic.

PCs and Macs come with software to edit videos to the same standard as the videos you are paying for here and as one of the Dragons pointed out, requiring a professional Videographer to make a video is no longer a requirement, because anybody can edit quite easily.

So this is how I'm looking at it.
But perhaps not everybody is tech savvy enough or has, or knows a friend with a camcorder?

sunny007 · 27 Sep 2011 at 13:23

Now there will be some many copy cats now !!

Nexus · 27 Sep 2011 at 13:26

theone91 said:
Now there will be some many copy cats now !!

Well yeah that's the other thing about this.
I was surprised a Dragon invested because it's not like it's a product they are selling which they can patent. It's something that anybody can offer, you could even argue that people could do a better editing job.

rexehuk · 27 Sep 2011 at 13:31

Nexus said:
Well yeah that's the other thing about this.
I was surprised a Dragon invested because it's not like it's a product they are selling which they can patent. It's something that anybody can offer, you could even argue that people could do a better editing job.

Won't matter. They have the first run / tv appearance / dragon. They will make a killing in 1-2 years as it expands and the investment won't matter.

Fair to say those 2 ladies will have a nice comfortable life for a good number of years to come. Also you're not going to put your wedding in the hands of a new start-up that could go bust, dragon behind them means some level of credibility.

bigredshark · 27 Sep 2011 at 13:42

Nexus said:
requiring a professional Videographer to make a video is no longer a requirement, because anybody can edit quite easily.

anybody can edit badly, doing it well requires real skill. I'm not saying they're particularly good, I haven't looked at their videos but good video editing is far from easy.

a1ex2001 · 27 Sep 2011 at 13:48

bigredshark said:
Sitting on the mantel piece where people can actually see it is already orders of magnitude better than a DVD which sits in it's case for years. At least glancing at a wedding photo reminds you of the wedding, glancing a DVD case less so.

I'm not sure one small photo on the mantle piece usually a classic bride and groom shot justifies the £1000+ price of a photographer anymore than the DVD case on the shelf.

The whole industry is out of control really everything from chair covers to chocolate fountains and all to get on up on your mates.

D.P. · 27 Sep 2011 at 13:52

Im with bigredshark on this, wedding videos are a boring gimick and just aren't viewed tht much. This is true of most videos in general, unless it is a block buster movie, tv series etc where the actual video is just a tool to pervey the scene, or documenting something really unique.

It is also clear that 1 or 2videographers at a wedding wont captue the chit-chat and the funny moments as well as a guests.

What used to be popular years ago at weddings was putting a disposable film camera on each table at the reception so everyone could capture the moments. With the coming of cheap digital camera this idea faded but I think one could revive it by taking a laptop to the wedding reception and asking people to copy over their photos of the day. If soemone could professionally select and edit the best photos then I think that would be a great idea.

rexehuk · 27 Sep 2011 at 14:08

D.P. said:
What used to be popular years ago at weddings was putting a disposable film camera on each table at the reception so everyone could capture the moments. With the coming of cheap digital camera this idea faded but I think one could revive it by taking a laptop to the wedding reception and asking people to copy over their photos of the day. If soemone could professionally select and edit the best photos then I think that would be a great idea.

Or give groups of people a WIFI digital camera which upload to a central hub during the day. That would be quite cool.

a1ex2001 · 27 Sep 2011 at 14:19

rexehuk said:
Or give groups of people a WIFI digital camera which upload to a central hub during the day. That would be quite cool.

Simpler is to send out a blank DVD and SAE with your thankyou cards after the event and get people to send you everything. I know quite a few people who have had images taken by friends incorperated into their albums most pro togs are open to suggestion.