...


Steve, stick to what you know, to put it bluntly. You don't go to the auto mechanic fixing your neighbors car and tell him he's taking too long to do a job you wouldn't know how to do if your life depended on it... You admit your ignorance of the total "picture", but you act as though you are an expert, please do us all a favor and go shoot a couple weddings, then come back and let us all know how it goes - you must have some friend or family member getting married?? You've got the hardware...

...??


I am sticking to what I know. You're acting as if there's something special about the wedding videography business that makes it unique in terms of how one should treat one's clients,that it's different from all other service-oriented retail businesses. The talents and skills to produce the product certainly are unique but the principles of good customer service and the business policies that grow out of them are not. They are universal. Customer service is customer service regardless of the product your business produces.

Really? those prizes for wedding videography? That would be wishfull thinking here, around these parts he wouldn't even manage to get 1 booking. Think I have to move to another country. :)
I'm willing to bet that there are very few in the country that are charging like that.

I'm willing to bet that there are very few in the country that are charging like that.

Do you mean in Belgium? if that's the case and if we are talking about weddings I'm willing to sell my house to you if you can't find one (1) videographer located here that charges 1k per hour. :)
the most expensive wedding videographer I know here charges for his camerawork only around 150 dollar per hour and that's considered a lot. he uses a Sony PDW-F355 XDCAM HD Camcorder.

The thread is supposed to be about turn around times not customer service. While everything in business is related, for the purpose of this thread if future posts could be just the time and if there's a reason for the time that would be great.

Personally, I found the initial thread interesting to hear what other professionals in other areas do.

Steve,
Since you're such an expert on customer service, perhaps you could start a separate thread to share your knowledge and tell all us wedding shooters that have been in business for years how we're doing everything wrong.

The thread is supposed to be about turn around times not customer service. While everything in business is related, for the purpose of this thread if future posts could be just the time and if there's a reason for the time that would be great.

...


Timely delivery is part of customer service. The original poster asked what a reasonable turnabround time would be, what turnaround time he ought to quote. What separates a "reasonable" time from an "unreasonable" time? Some of the posts seems to suggest that anything that doesn't cause the customer to walk out the door would be considered reasonable. I think there's more to it than that. Just because you can get away with something doesn't make it the right way to treat people. If you're the only game in town, you might be able to get away with times that would otherwise cause your client to go somewhere else if there was any competition around - that doesn't mean it's okay to take advantage of the fact he's over a barrel and it's your way or the highway. What is so contentious for you about suggesting that actually caring about your customer needs to be part of the decision process? Why is it so disturbing to you that I suggest it might be better to slightly reduce the numer of clients you book in order to prevent the bottle-necks that lead to prolonged delivery times that approach or exceed 6 months?

Steve,
What you seem to not understand with all your business wisdom is what type of business wedding videography is. You've been implying that all wedding videograpy is only a service business, that all wedding videography is the same and that the videographer the delivers the quickest turn around delivers the best customer service. This is just incorrect.

There are some wedding videographers that deliver "cookie cutter" products and you might be able to make the stretch that this business type is only about customer service and turn around. This is a Jiffy Lube vs. Pep Boys model where all the work is the same and quick turn around is a selling point.

With wedding videograpers that do custom work, the business model is not at all similar to this. The business model is that of an artist. Every artist needs a certain amount of time to complete their work. This amount of time varies with the artist and just because one artists creation time is shorter than the other doesn't make them better or worse than one who takes longer.

When a customer comes to me they are commissioning a one off piece of my artwork. I tell them how long it will take me to complete their commission. The clients who hire me accept this amount of time. The only part of this that has anything to customer service is me completing the best piece of art I can in the time I originally quoted. If I were to miss the quoted time or cut corners to speed it up that would be bad customer service.

As far as taking on less work to speed up turn around times, we have to make a living. In many areas the majority of weddings and social events tend to happen seasonally; northern areas the shooting season is summer, in the south it's winter. While these areas will have the occasional event in the off-season many times these events may not be ones in which custom videography is done. During season, I may be shooting (photo and/or video) 4 days a week. While I'm shooting, I can't be editing. I shoot approx. 20 weddings a year and take up to 6 months to deliver a completed custom video them. If I only did 10 a year and it would let me deliver them in 3 months, I'd have to double my price to financially be in the same spot. I'm not sure I could get ten people to pay double my price. If I tried and didn't get ten, it would leave a gap in my income.

The reason I and others on this tread are so annoyed with you is that you (who is not a professional wedding videographer) keep telling us what a reasonable turn around time is and that those who are not meeting what you think is proper turn around are delivering poor customer service. This is just downright misinformed and insulting.

My turn around time for video is 60 days for photography 90 days. We give clients the Digital Negatives, 2 weeks after the shoot, we choose the pictures that goes into the album. If they want a particular picture they can print them from the negatives, saves us the time from fickle minded brides.

What separates a "reasonable" time from an "unreasonable" time? Some of the posts seems to suggest that anything that doesn't cause the customer to walk out the door would be considered reasonable. I think there's more to it than that.

I haven't seen a single post that said that. If you have, please quote it the next time you decide to make an accusation like this. I've already stated what is "reasonable". What's reasonable is for me to figure out how long it will take me to create the type of product that I want to sell to my client, and then inform my client of that timeline, and then meet that deadline and make my client happy. ONE MORE TIME .. I put this question to you .. if my customers are more than happy to wait 6 months for a personalized and customized product, then how is that poor customer service? Please, just answer the questions for once.


What is so contentious for you about suggesting that actually caring about your customer needs to be part of the decision process?

Why do you insist on continually insulting us? You keep assuming that we don't care about our customers because we take 6 months to finish their videos. PLEASE go read the reviews on my website and then come back and tell me if you think I don't care about my customers, and tell me if you think they are unhappy that their video took 6 months to complete. You continue to speak from inexperience and you're ruining any reputation you have left.


Why is it so disturbing to you that I suggest it might be better to slightly reduce the numer of clients you book in order to prevent the bottle-necks that lead to prolonged delivery times that approach or exceed 6 months?

Because you obviously don't understand that 99% of us aren't in a position where we can take less work and charge more. The fact that you don't understand this, or refuse to believe it, is what is really getting some of us upset. You have NO EXPERIENCE in this industry and yet you're trying to tell us all what we should be doing. How do YOU not see how that would be disturbing to US?

Do you mean in Belgium? if that's the case and if we are talking about weddings I'm willing to sell my house to you if you can't find one (1) videographer located here that charges 1k per hour. :)
the most expensive wedding videographer I know here charges for his camerawork only around 150 dollar per hour and that's considered a lot. he uses a Sony PDW-F355 XDCAM HD Camcorder.

No, he meant in the US. I'd bet the average wedding video sale in the US is around $1,000-$2,000.

Wow this thread is interesting...anyways my turnaround time is about 60 days but I let clients fully know that it could take as long as 3 months.

On a more important note: I believe (and I think all wedding videographers will agree) that it is our customer service that keeps us in business and helps it grow each and every year. I can't tell you how many referrals I get from people that are so happy to work with a professional that is UP FRONT and honest about his work. In all reality the bride and groom are putting their full trust in you that you will make a work of art out of their wedding day, and if you break that trust or continue to do so you will not be in business very long. So to put us down by saying we are not customer service oriented is just a load of bull and I take offense to it.

Hey Kale,
As much as we are all entitled to our own opinions, the beginning part of your statement is very childish. Your post would be good had you not written that.

back to topic
Last year I had a delivery time of 3 weeks and got some side effects from that health wise and quality wise. This year I've extended it to 4-8 weeks and have had 1 customer complain about it taking to long at 7 weeks :/ I clearly told her 4-8 weeks at the initial meeting. I'm sticking to 4-8 weeks as I'm not stressed out from it anymore.

Sometimes I come off a little harsh and I apologize, but I do take offense when someone is talking down on me or my profession when they DO NOT know what they are talking about.

Sometimes I come off a little harsh and I apologize, but I do take offense when someone is talking down on me or my profession when they DO NOT know what they are talking about.

No one is talking trash about you or your profession. I certainly have never said that ALL wedding videographers are giving poor service. Quite the contrary - many, probably most, are or they wouldn't be in business very long. But some are not, and one of the factors that would enter into that judgement would be if they made their customers wait for delivery for an unreasonably long time. 3 months or more - not a problem. 6 months to a year - way too long no matter how busy you are.

Wow... It's comical to me reading judgments from people who preface them by fully admitting they have no clue what the subject they're judging involves...

Unless you've worked full time as wedding videographer you should probably keep your opinions about turn around time and customer service to yourself. :) You might as well be hypothesizing about the existence of aliens...

I'll offer one analogy to go along with the whole cabinet thing...

A couple wants cabinets... they look at the work of a few cabinet makers. They decide that only one of the cabinet makers produces cabinets they like... He says it takes a year to get them installed... at that point the couple has to decide if they want to wait the year or have someone else, who's work they don't like as much, make the cabinets. It's the customers choice. It's that simple, end of debate. No one's putting a gun to the couples head and saying you WILL buy cabinets from me and you WILL wait a year. It can't be bad customer service if the customer knows what kind of wait they are in for.

Just pulling some random delivery deadline out of your butt doesn't mean that anything longer is unreasonable or bad customer service... It just means you won't be hiring me because your imaginary deadline is more important than the quality of product you receive in the end.

6 months to a year - way too long no matter how busy you are.

Steve,
You must be the the worst teacher/consultant in the world. Or, at least, the most stubborn. You are ignorant of the wedding videography business. You have never been in this business. You have been constantly trying to fit wedding videography into a business model that it is not. On this thread you have been told over and over valid reasons for 6 month turn around times. Yet, you refuse to listen and constantly respond by implying bad business practice for a turn around time that you have arbitrarily decided is too long.

Can you not learn from others, especially those actually in the business? Do you know everything to a point that you are always right? How good of a teacher/business consultant could you possibly be if you won't listen to those who are actually in the business? I pity your students/consults.

If I, or other wedding videographers who posted on this thread with valid reasons for a 6 month turn around, were to hire you to consult about our business you'd put us out of business. Great consulting, thanks for the help!

I continue to be amazed at the hostility the simple statement that timely delivery is one of the aspects that defines good customer service has aroused. Retail service businesses are not so niche-specialized that they exist in separate universes from one another. The concepts that define good customer service applies to every service business no matter what the product. Good customer service means you set your target delivery times to meet the customer's desires instead of expecting them to adjust their expectations to yours. You are there for the customer's convenience; he's not there for yours. What is so disturbing about that concept to you?

oh dear,
there are alot of videographers here, perhaps we just want to tell other fellow videographers that it takes 6 months to a year so we can give out our own finished product quicker and get more business for ourselves.

peace :)

Steve I don't think you get the point everyone is trying to make and I doubt you ever will. This thread is pointless, to understand our timelines you would have to be in our shoes.

Steve I don't think you get the point everyone is trying to make and I doubt you ever will. This thread is pointless, to understand our timelines you would have to be in our shoes.

I think it is important to make a difference between videographers that only do weddings and nothing else and others that do weddings but also other video (corporate, event...)

If you only do weddings all your camera work concentrates on a very short period and you need to take on as much as you can to get through the slow periods like the winter when almost nobody gets married. This will result in long waiting times and hiring extra editing persons will be a very expensive cost if you only intent is to shorten the wait time. But if the client has no problem with that waittime when they are told in advance that should be OK, right?

Now even if I do understand all weddingvideographers point of view I tend to agree with Steven, I never let my clients wait this long and I do know what I'm talking about since I do video full time and for a living. For that reason I don't bet on one horse and do other types of video as well, like events or simple commercials. In that way I don't have to take on every wedding that passes but by doing other, equally paid video jobs, that take me 1/5 of the time to edit a wedding I manage to keep the waiting time below 2 months and I can survive from it.

6 months to a year - way too long no matter how busy you are.

Why? Why isn't 5 months and 3 weeks too long?

Steve, I think you are one of the most arrogant and stubborn people I have ever encountered. You admit you have no experience in the industry, and you are willing to just ignore what successful professionals in the industry are saying. All you are doing is repeating the same argument over and over, with no experience or facts to support it. Do you also give advice on how to build nuclear weapons in a timely manner?

I have lost all respect for you at this point. Multiple times I have put the following question to you:

If I have determined that it's going to take 6 months to created an outstanding product, and my clients are perfectly happy with waiting 6 months for such a product, and that is how long it takes me to produce the product, and my customers are overjoyed when they receive it, then how am I providing poor customer service?

I can only assume you refuse to answer this question because you know the answer would invalidate your entire argument.

Now even if I do understand all weddingvideographers point of view I tend to agree with Steven, I never let my clients wait this long and I do know what I'm talking about since I do video full time and for a living. For that reason I don't bet on one horse and do other types of video as well, like events or simple commercials. In that way I don't have to take on every wedding that passes but by doing other, equally paid video jobs, that take me 1/5 of the time to edit a wedding I manage to keep the waiting time below 2 months and I can survive from it.

Noa, that's great if you want to have a 2 month turnaround and your clients are happy with it. But what happens when a videographer in your area starts offering 2-week turnaround? Does that mean you are now providing poor customer service even if your clients are still happy with waiting 2 months?

One of the major points here is that not every wedding video is created equal. Some videographers invest very little time and effort in their projects, while others invest substantial time and effort and create a much more personalized and unique production. The point is that you can't make a blanket judgement on ALL videographers and say that they ALL have to finish their productions in "X" number of months in order to be providing good customer service.

It's amazing to me that Steve supposedly teaches customer service skills for a living, and yet doesn't understand the concept that some customers are willing to wait longer for a better product. We might as well start saying that if Steve's course currently takes 6 weeks to go through, that it's taking too long and should only take 3 weeks and provide the same level of learning. Nonsense, right?

I continue to be amazed at the hostility the simple statement that timely delivery is one of the aspects that defines good customer service has aroused.

The point is that your opinion of "timely" is just that... your opinion... Based on, apparently, not single thread of experience in the field which you've formulated it about...

One of the major points here is that not every wedding video is created equal. Some videographers invest very little time and effort in their projects, while others invest substantial time and effort and create a much more personalized and unique production.

No, they certainly are not... And it's definitely been my experience that the ones who gloat and harp about incredibly short turn around times typically aren't producing a product anything like what we deliver.

That's why I stated that as long as the client is happy with that waitingtime there is no problem, only I can speak from experience that some of my clients don't mind long waiting times and some would not accept 6 months or longer.

In the first case in the eyes of the clients I would be providing good service as they have understanding for the reason why it takes longer, in the second case I"m not providing good service in the eyes of the client.

I have had clients calling me after 3 weeks being disappointed that it took so long and in their case I said one month waiting time, did I provide a bad service? no, because I said a month in advance and they were OK with that at first. But it seems not all brides are that patient and at the end they will tell everybody I didn't provide a good service.

For me it's not realistic having a 6+ months backlog because it will have a very negative impact on all my other, non wedding, projects. I don't think I would be even doing business with a company telling them they had to wait 6+ months because I take on too many projects at the same time. That is my problem, not theirs to fix.

With weddingcouples you actually have a big luxury to have them wait untill in suits you best, something that companies won't accept and they for sure will, or not hire you, or (if you don't tell them in advance) be very disappointed and nevr hire you again.

Don't get me wrong, I know how the weddingbusiness works and I know how demanding it gets. That's why I don't rely on weddings alone because of the heavy workload. In that way i can deliver all my projects in a reasonable period of time. What is reasonable, well that is different for everybody. For me it's max 2 months for weddings and max 2 weeks for companies.

No, they certainly are not... And it's definitely been my experience that the ones who gloat and harp about incredibly short turn around times typically aren't producing a product anything like what we deliver.

I would only agree with this statement if those guys would handle the same amount of weddings as the "6+ months turn around" guys take on.
But if they just produce a few weddings a year you can have fast turn around times and still deliver a great product.
And what about if they have 2 dedicated editors on the job? If you are a 4 person business with 2 cameraman working on camera and 2 doing full time edit with the other 2 joining in editing during the week. then it's the same, again fast finished and great quality. Because they have faster turn around times they can take on more bookings as well.
It all depends how you structure your business, at the end the last example I gave will probably earn as much per person as a one person business, only the last one will have to do it all by himself, like i do and if you depend solely on weddings alone is asking for very long turn around times.

I would just like to add that some videographers don't "depend" solely on weddings. For some, it is a choice to specialize in only weddings, and they often produce a superior product because of it. I used to split myself between weddings and commercial work, but these days I'm trying harder and harder to just do weddings. It's not easy, but I like the idea of becoming very specialized at what I do. I know if I was looking for a videographer for my wedding, I would rather go with someone who specialized in wedding videos, rather than someone who does all sorts of projects. Not everyone feels that way, of course, but that's the beauty of the business. It's very dynamic and can be approached in many different ways.

I only wanted to clarify that "depend" can make it sound like the videographer is incapable of doing anything else, when in fact it may have been a determined decision to specialize.

...
If I have determined that it's going to take 6 months to created an outstanding product, and my clients are perfectly happy with waiting 6 months for such a product, and that is how long it takes me to produce the product, and my customers are overjoyed when they receive it, then how am I providing poor customer service?

I can only assume you refuse to answer this question because you know the answer would invalidate your entire argument.


If it actually takes you 6 months of actual editing work to create the video once the footage is in the can, then 6 months isn't too long and the time spent will be reflected in the quality of the results. But if your real edit time is 4 weeks once you begin but it takes you 5 months to get around to it because you're shooting other work booked after the couple in question, then you have placed other factors as more important than your customer and are giving them a lower level of service than you are capable of. You are putting your bottom line - maximizing the number of clients you book - as more important than giving the clients you have already shot the best service you are capable of. It's up to you to figure out how to give them the best service you possibly can and still make a profit at it. Of course they're overjoyed at receiving the video after 6 months - "At last it's ready!" - that's not the point. Think how much happier they would have been had they received the same video in time for the post-honeymoon house-warming party they had 3 months after the wedding! Good service is not just satisfying the customer, it is maximizing their satisfaction, giving them more then what they expect.

What's reasonable time is the time it takes you to do the best job you can for the client. If you are comparing a product that took two weeks to edit versus one that took six months to edit and the extra time shows in the final produuct, your statements are valid. But if you're comparing a product that took two weeks to edit versus another one that also took two weeks of actual effort but has sat on the shelf for six months waiting to be completed while you put other work ahead of it, then they really aren't.

As a side note, look back on the thread and you'll see that throughout it all I have not cast a single aspersion attacking the talents, qualifications, motivations, or professionalism of any person particpating, including yourself. I have never said of a single person here "This person is giving poor service" or "That person doesn't know what they're doing." Your ad hominem attacks are uncalled for.

This thread sounds like a bunch of old women nagging.

It was interesting to see the huge range of deliverable estimates. I like the slow boat delivery idea. You probably wouldn't even have to deliver a few projects each year because the couple already divorced.

Of course they're overjoyed at receiving the video after 6 months - "At last it's ready!" - that's not the point. Think how much happier they would have been had they received the same video in time for the post-honeymoon house-warming party they had 3 months after the wedding! Good service is not just satisfying the customer, it is maximizing their satisfaction, giving them more then what they expect.

Your argument just continues to be completely ignorant to the realities of the seasonal business that wedding videography is...

Maybe you should concentrate on other areas of this board...

What's reasonable time is the time it takes you to do the best job you can for the client. If you are comparing a product that took two weeks to edit versus one that took six months to edit and the extra time shows in the final produuct, your statements are valid.

Glad to see you're finally starting to get it.

As much as Travis and I have disagreed in the past, I have to agree here. If you have communicated well and delivered a satisfactory product in the agreed upon time frame. AND...the clients have consistent positive feedback and recommend your services to others, I would have to say you have provided them with a higher level of customer service than most American companies do. But is that where customer service ends or begins??

While this is good customer service, it isn't in my opinion excellent customer service. I define excellent customer service as a consistent effort to identify and meet what customers WANT and NEED. Wedding videography isn't a need based business like plumbing or car repair. It is a want based service and therefore a choice not a necessity. So what does the average wedding videography client WANT when it comes to turnaround time. Just because they accept what you offer doesn't mean you're meeting what they WANT. This is one reason I have gotten out of the wedding business. I found it extremely difficult to put out a quality one of a kind production, have a decent turnaround time, make a profit and not go insane at the same time.

I think this is what Steve was trying to say before he got caught up in the tit for tat. If I'm wrong I'm wrong, but it's just an opinion so feel free to disagree.

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

If it actually takes you 6 months of actual editing work to create the video once the footage is in the can, then 6 months isn't too long and the time spent will be reflected in the quality of the results. But if your real edit time is 4 weeks once you begin but it takes you 5 months to get around to it because you're shooting other work booked after the couple in question, then you have placed other factors as more important than your customer and are giving them a lower level of service than you are capable of.

So let's assume that we now take your advice and only shoot a wedding once we have the previously-shot wedding edited and delivered. Assuming it takes only 2 weeks to edit (which could easily be considered a "low" estimate), we would then only be able to shoot 2 weddings per month. Now given that the wedding season is basically June, July, August and September, that means we'll only shoot/edit 8 weddings during the wedding season. Assuming that $2k is the average a couple is willing to spend on a wedding video (and this could easily be considered a "high" estimate), we will now make $16,000 a year via our wedding videography business. Yes, Steve, this sounds like a brilliant business approach. I'll be sure and reflect on how well it is working while I'm looking for a 2nd job to actually pay my bills.


As a side note, look back on the thread and you'll see that throughout it all I have not cast a single aspersion attacking the talents, qualifications, motivations, or professionalism of any person particpating, including yourself. I have never said of a single person here "This person is giving poor service" or "That person doesn't know what they're doing." Your ad hominem attacks are uncalled for.

Not true. You have stated repeatedly that delivering a video more than 3 months after the wedding is too long, and is poor customer service. My "attacks" are justified, as I am providing you with the information on WHY a video might take that long to deliver. I have also provided you with information that shows my clients are very much happy with waiting longer than 3 months for the right product. If I have been harsh or insensitive at all it is because I'm losing patience with you. You have no experience in the field and yet you're talking down to us like you're some sort of expert. It's ridiculous.

Like someone else said, please share your "advice" somewhere else on the forums where you actually have the experience to back it up. Thanks.

This is one reason I have gotten out of the wedding business. I found it extremely difficult to put out a quality one of a kind production, have a decent turnaround time, make a profit and not go insane at the same time.

I couldn't agree with you more. Wedding videography is such a different field from so many other business, that you can't really compare it like apples-to-apples. No one really understands this until they get into it, and it's definitely one of the reasons that so many get out of it right away too. You almost have to be a bit crazy to WANT to film weddings, lol. d:-)

This debate is going no where. Let me answer the simple question. "Turnaround Time?"

The faster the better with good quality (Thats what customer wants). I think afew months is seasonable. Anything longer is just too long. For me, the reason it takes longer because editing is BORING but filming is still fun.

Maybe fellow videographers don't want to admit that video editing is boring because of time consuming. Thats all.

Maybe fellow videographers don't want to admit that video editing is boring because of time consuming. Thats all.

Sorry Anthony but I am not one of those, I actually love the process of editing, its where I can really refine the story telling. Shooting is heaps of fun but editing I find very exciting as well because that's where I can put together all the things I had planned out in my head how the shots will fit into the edit. I shoot to edit so for me they work together side by side. Only bit boring is capturing footage but even then gives me time to review the footage. This all takes time of course and what ever the delivery time was agreed on I have delivered (up to 3 months)

Sorry Anthony but I am not one of those, I actually love the process of editing, its where I can really refine the story telling. Shooting is heaps of fun but editing I find very exciting as well because that's where I can put together all the things I had planned out in my head how the shots will fit into the edit. I shoot to edit so for me they work together side by side. Only bit boring is capturing footage but even then gives me time to review the footage. This all takes time of course and what ever the delivery time was agreed on I have delivered (up to 3 months)

well done and good on you.

off the topic:
do you find that most of "good" wedding videographers are un-fit health wise? i noticed that of many wedding videographers.

off the topic:
do you find that most of "good" wedding videographers are un-fit health wise? i noticed that of many wedding videographers.

Good question, and a valid one. Your fitness does play into your abilities when shooting, that's for sure. I actually work out regularly, and have incorporated exercises to help me with shooting long hours. This might be better discussed in a new thread, though.

Sorry Anthony but I am not one of those, I actually love the process of editing, its where I can really refine the story telling. Shooting is heaps of fun but editing I find very exciting as well because that's where I can put together all the things I had planned out in my head how the shots will fit into the edit. I shoot to edit so for me they work together side by side. Only bit boring is capturing footage but even then gives me time to review the footage. This all takes time of course and what ever the delivery time was agreed on I have delivered (up to 3 months)

I have to agree. I love shooting, but I love editing too. The only part of the process that I'm not fond of is the rough cutting. For me, it's very tedious to watch hours and hours of footage over and over to determine what you'll keep and what you won't. It's the one thing I wish I could hire out. Unfortunately I'm a perfectionist and don't yet trust anyone else to rough cut my footage for me.

As tedious as the process is, it's a really important part, and I really think it helps for the rough cutter to have been there on the wedding day. You just have a better grasp for what is important and what isn't.

I have to agree. I love shooting, but I love editing too. The only part of the process that I'm not fond of is the rough cutting. For me, it's very tedious to watch hours and hours of footage over and over to determine what you'll keep and what you won't. It's the one thing I wish I could hire out. Unfortunately I'm a perfectionist and don't yet trust anyone else to rough cut my footage for me.

As tedious as the process is, it's a really important part, and I really think it helps for the rough cutter to have been there on the wedding day. You just have a better grasp for what is important and what isn't.

I have a person who I trust to do my rough cutting for me. Its quite helpful to have somebody like this :)

I have a person who I trust to do my rough cutting for me. Its quite helpful to have somebody like this :)

I bet! Did you train them yourself or did you find someone who was already doing that sort of work?

Maybe fellow videographers don't want to admit that video editing is boring because of time consuming. Thats all.

Not me Anthony. I personally can't stand shooting weddings but love the edit. Another reason I won't be doing weddings, I lost my best shooter to LA this year. His eye was amazing and he was only 22.

Mick Haensler
Higher Ground Media

Wow. You go away for a few days and look at what you miss :)

A few random thoughts from a tired brain:

- Good customer service = meeting or exceeding client's expectations

- Bad customer service = failing to meet client's expectations

- e.g. Why not hand the tapes to the bride and groom before they leave the reception? Why not hand them your camera so they can play the tapes back during the boring parts of the reception? If that's what they're expecting then they'll be happy but if they were expecting a high quality edited wedding video then I guess they'd be disappointed - i.e. Awesome turnaround time, poor customer service.

- Timely delivery is only part of the customer service equation - What about price, quality, customer expectations etc ...? None of them is mutually exclusive.

- Did you know that given an infinite amount of time, and infinite resources, 1,000 monkeys can edit together an awesome wedding video

I'd better go ... it's time to feed the monkeys.

Wow really can't belive some of the time frames given on here.

I shoot 25+ weddings a year and make sure the clients DVDs are ready as soon as they return from honeymoon!

Wedding on the Saturday, use an EX1, ingest the footage onto the mac on the sunday and make the bins, getting ready, ceremony, photos, reception, speeches, dancing and slideshow.

Start editing Monday morning, burn to dvd and get my partner to watch it and make notes for corrections. Tuesday make all corrections, colour correct, make slideshow to music, send to render for blu-ray and SD DVD. Start on artwork for DVD case and disks. Print off case artwork.

Wednesday. Make SD dvd menues/chapters, make music tracks for menues etc.

Thursday AM make blu-ray dvd menues and burn.Cut out case inserts, pop dvds in cases, check all is fine. Make 6 copies plus blue ray dvd for client. Get thw wraping paper out and pop into box awaiting their return from honeymoon.

Friday. Make sure batteries are charged, camera lenses are clean and all camera gear is in good working order.

Saturday. Head out the door for next wedding.

I have worked that was for quite a while and you know what? No phone calls graoning and moaning about when their film is going to be ready. Discipline is paramount.

I have a friend who is 9 weddings behind. Been doing it for years and gets abuse on the phone on a weekly basis because he isn't disciplined and leaves the drudge of editing to watch dvds of Heroes and the Sara Connor Chronicles.

Occassionally there might be a problem wih a peice of music but if you have a questionnaire for the couple to fill in before their wedding, asking for music choices etc, then there should be no hitches at all.

I've got 2 weddings and a christening ready to be edited, christening was shot about 3 weeks ago, wedding about 3 weeks ago and one about a week ago, not started any of them.
What have they all got in common ?
I'm still waiting for customers to supply photos for montage and what music they want, they don't even have to supply the music, just tell me what they want and i'll get it myself.
Obviously they're not in a rush.

Paul.

Steve, what are you using to print the DVD and inserts.

Steve, you have a very good work ethic.

I am 3 weddings behind Video wise, I do make it a point to hand them the Digital Negatives, proof album, 2 weeks after the wedding. I guess if I can discipline myself to do a 1 hour edit nightly, I can finish a project in one week.

Paul, since having in my contract that filming does not take place without a plan of action sheet, bridal party names, music list and photos, i haven't had any worries...

I've got 2 weddings and a christening ready to be edited, christening was shot about 3 weeks ago, wedding about 3 weeks ago and one about a week ago, not started any of them.
What have they all got in common ?
I'm still waiting for customers to supply photos for montage and what music they want, they don't even have to supply the music, just tell me what they want and i'll get it myself.
Obviously they're not in a rush.

Paul.

Paul:

If you don't have that three weeks AFTER the wedding, it's time to start editing without. You have poor communications of your requirements or a contract without enough detail.

You need all that before you start or they are not getting a montage. Also, what, this about wanting their music list? That's outright copyright infringement and asking for a RIAA demand letter in the USA. Around here we use royalty free music and captures from the ceremony & reception.

Discipline is paramount.

I'd be careful with making assumptions about discipline. The reason I take longer to edit is not because I'm undisciplined, it's because I choose to invest more time in the editing process.

If you are only spending ONE DAY to edit the entire wedding video then you aren't producing the type of product that I'm producing. There's nothing wrong with that. Some clients want a fast turnaround and a simple edit that lacks any sign of creativity, and some editors just don't know how to edit anything creatively. But those aren't the clients that I serve and that's not the type of editor I am.

I could just as easily assume that you are too lazy, unmotivated and uninspired to spend more than a day editing a wedding.

I've got 2 weddings and a christening ready to be edited, christening was shot about 3 weeks ago, wedding about 3 weeks ago and one about a week ago, not started any of them.
What have they all got in common ?
I'm still waiting for customers to supply photos for montage and what music they want, they don't even have to supply the music, just tell me what they want and i'll get it myself.
Obviously they're not in a rush.

Paul.

Paul, you should get all this info in the questionnair you send out. I think I will post my questionnair and everyone can download it to use if they wish. Its for a UK market but can be tweaked for anywhere.

Steve, what are you using to print the DVD and inserts.

I use a piece of software called Surething DVD labeller. very good. I print on a Canon pixma ip4000, which has now been superceeded.

Paul, since having in my contract that filming does not take place without a plan of action sheet, bridal party names, music list and photos, i haven't had any worries...

very true.

I'd be careful with making assumptions about discipline. The reason I take longer to edit is not because I'm undisciplined, it's because I choose to invest more time in the editing process.

If you are only spending ONE DAY to edit the entire wedding video then you aren't producing the type of product that I'm producing. There's nothing wrong with that. Some clients want a fast turnaround and a simple edit that lacks any sign of creativity, and some editors just don't know how to edit anything creatively. But those aren't the clients that I serve and that's not the type of editor I am.

I could just as easily assume that you are too lazy, unmotivated and uninspired to spend more than a day editing a wedding.

A day to me is 18 hours. But this is a business. Business first and foremost. What happens if you get as busy as me and have a wedding every weekend? If you don't keep on top of it you will just sink further and further behind. Then the phone calls start. "When is my film going to be ready"? A week later and you have two other clients asking the same. Oh, and you have another wedding to shoot on Saturday. When are you going to complete that one? Treat wedding videography as a business from start to finish. Be disciplined all the way through, and you will have a full order book as the recomendations come flooding in. You will not make extra money by phaffing about tweaking a scene forever. Oh, and another point. And I don't want to sound elitist or anything like that. My films are documentary style. No smultzy tacky music, no horrible Digital Juice lovehearts raining down the screen as a transition. I keep it clean. Transitions are fade in/fade out, straight cuts and cross dissolves. Nothing more. In 20 years time it will still be fresh. Average length of my wedding films is 85-100 minutes.

Remember, no client is ever going to see another clients wedding DVD, unless I get the business through a recommendation. So I shoot a wedding the same way more or less every single time (less special requests, balloon flight, etc). I listen to what my clients want. And it's virtually the same every time.

It's a standard formula learned over the years and iIt becomes second nature. After shooting and editing over 200 weddings I can do it very quickly and almost with my eyes closed. This doesn't mean my work is of a lower standard than yours. I charge much more than any other local videographer and I am very busy because I am a high standard and reliable. This wouldn't be the case if my work was sub par.