I was going to put this in the Event videography section, but since it didn't pertain to technique, I'll put it here....

Is there any reason why I should join WEVA? At $185, I don't see that a magazine is really worth it...I suppose you get 'secret' forums, but are they THAT much better than dvinfo, videohelp, or the Sony forums? The only way I can validate joining is if I can quantify what the benefits...

TIA...

You get to use their logo in your advertising.

Greetings,

My number one reason for joining was the discounted production insurance.

Tim

If you go to the convention in Vegas, the price difference between members and non-members pays for the membership. Plus you'd still get any other benefits as well.

I joined and have yet to see the benefit. As a matter of fact I had to purchase the "link" on their site to mine - after the inital dues.

In my experience it's not worth it - spend the money and advertise locally where you know people are looking. The WEVA organization is for some and not others. After being a member I don't think it's for me. It's probably one of those things where you need to put time into it and then you'll see some type of ROI. I just don't subscribe to that...if I'm paying $100's of my money I don't really want to fly to Vegas and be pitched to buy more crap.

It's a write-off, so at the very least it's not a complete waste.

Jeremy

WEVA has been worth every penny we have spent. In 98 we joined and went to our 1st Expo. At the time we were part-time and charging $600.

7 years later, and after attending 6 Expos we are full-time and averaging a few thousand per wedding and topping out around $7000. I can honestly say without attending the Expos we would not be were we are.

At the Expos we learned, shooting, lighting, audio, editing, sales & marketing, etc...not to mention networking with some of the best in the industry. I guess if you are already at the top of your game and charging what you worth, then the Expos may not be as valuable to you as they are to us, but we still have a lot to learn.

I don't know how close you are to San Francisco, but there is a Town Meeting coming soon. A Town Meeting is like a mini Expo. I would encourage you to attend the San Francisco meeting if you are close enough. It just may answer your questions about WEVA.
Here's a link.
http://www.wevainstitute.com/programmingdetail.asp?cityID=9

All My Best,
Mark Von Lanken
Picture This Productions, Inc
www.TulsaWeddingFilms.com

Wow, from $600 to $7000. Did you start wedding videography when you were a college student?

Oh wait, I forgot to mention that after you pay for your web link on their site....any changes you need to make (phone number or verbage) is like a $20 fee. That's insane.

<<<-- Originally posted by Young Lee : Wow, from $600 to $7000. Did you start wedding videography when you were a college student? -->>>

Young

I started our company when I was 30. I studied photography in Junior High School, so I had a basic knowledge of composition, depth of field, etc, but no formal video training. My video training came from WEVA.

For me, WEVA is not about getting brides to contact me because I have a link on the WEVA sight or they see the WEVA logo on my website. A logo doesn't make you good or even qualified to shoot and edit a wedding.

Studying the craft from people that are better than you is what can make you better. I'm always looking for ways to get better, because once I think I have arrived, then I'm in trouble.

All My Best,
Mark Von Lanken
Picture This Productions, Inc
www.TulsaWeddingFilms.com

Thank you Mark. Guess I'm not too late to think about starting my wedding/funeral video company. :)

Good point Mark. Its greatest worth is probably the resources, access to training, education, and other folks like you!

Who, outside of videography circles has ever heard of WEVA? I don't know of any brides that use those letters for a search term. When I've Googled, they'll show up in the first page or two, but it's not the W-E-V-A that catches my attention, and probably not theirs either.

Although I'm not a WEVA member, I've exhibited at the yearly WEVA Expo in Vegas for several years and have observed something very interesting. Of all the smaller industry-related shows of this type (discounting the mammoth NAB of course), my impression was that WEVA had the fewest number of freaks and the highest number of bonafide working videographers of the trade shows I've done (which is practically all of 'em). ShowBiz Expo draws the filmmaking crowd, but the WEVA attendees are the ones who run a day-to-day business exclusively in video. There's less nonsense at a WEVA Expo, and a higher grade of attendence plus a higher bang-for-buck experience than I've encountered anywhere.

WEVA looks interesting, it's a shame that it mostly seems to be US based. They do not seem as active here in the UK, or I might have considered it myself. I know that an aquaintence of mine Jan Fenton and her company 'The Experience' won something like a 'International Gold Award' and an 'Ambassador Award', but they do operate on that side of the pond too.

I cannot see how it would be beneficial to me.

I went to my first WEVA event this week- the town meeting in Atlanta. It was positive, educational and very inspriational. There were a lot of amazingly talented videographers showing their work and sharing everything from shooting techniques to marketing ideas. The real strength of WEVA is the interaction and sharing among members.

A win-win strategy that is. :)