Wedding videographers? at DVinfo.net

Ron Little · June 20th, 2003, 09:23 AM

I am just curious as to how many wedding videographers there are on this forum?

And would you be willing to share tips about your weddings that make you a success?

Harry Settle · June 20th, 2003, 10:20 AM

I like to think that I'm one, Ron. I just started part timing this year, and things are looking promising.

If you haven't already done so, check out www.fastforwardclub.com. Every bit as friendly and as informative as this site. These are the only two sites that I use with any regularity.

Edward Troxel · June 20th, 2003, 10:38 AM

Right now in the middle of 5 straight weeks of weddings. This is our 4th wedding season.

Wedding opener from a couple weeks ago:
http://www.jetdv.com/jetdv/video/StewartHarrell.wmv

Don Bloom · June 20th, 2003, 11:33 AM

Been doing weddings for a number of years. This forum and the one that Harry mentioned are always very very helpful. Having said that now, I must depart, for a large plane awaits to whisk my wife and I to the land of paradise, but I will return in about 12 days or so and would be happy to answer questions for you that may not have already been answered. I doubt that there will be however, given the wealth of talent and knowledge here.

I can however impart this one little tidbit of information.

In the wedding video business, you must be 'lucky'.
Spell 'lucky' W O R K H A R D!
Mahalo, (I think that means goodbye in Hawaiian)
Don B

Glen Elliott · June 20th, 2003, 01:20 PM

Well I guess you can count me in as well. Oddly enough I didn't set out to become a wedding videographer- I kinda fell into it. I teamed up with a friend of mine to shoot some shorts, subsequently my boss at work was getting married. We volunteered to shoot it for her as her wedding gift. Now mind you, at this time we had never seen a "professionally" produced wedding video- however I felt that helped us. We didn't follow any typical format. It was very loose and fun. The video was so well recieved we began getting paid work from it via referrals in her family. Since then we have shot 3 weddings....our 4th being tomorrow (Sat 6/21/03). Similar to Ed, we are in a flood right now (our 3rd wedding in 5 weeks). It's been taking off so quickly we decided to look seriously into this area of the video business. Most of our clients have been really young couples in their early to mid 20's so they are fond of our videography style. One wedding we opened up just like the Beastie Boys "Sabatage" video. With the grooms men wearing cheesy 70's "Kocheese" mustaches and aviator sunglasses. We had a bunch of action shots, w/ quick cuts and artistic camera angles. Basically a spoof on the actuall video. When we delivered the video and the couple and their friends watched it for the first time they were all in tears laughing so hard. The best part was we are able to balance the goofy stuff with the serious heart-felt emotion of the days events. Both the groom and the bride cried (but not from laughter, lol) in several montage sceens.

Like I said, I never sout out to do wedding videos...they sorta came to me. Though it was a blessing, it's the only lucrative area we've personally found for our work. Heck...we spent 4 months filming and 9 months in post filming a documentary and we didn't get a cent for it! Check out this link for production pics from "Eat!"
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...threadid=10917

I'll try and post some of my work (dvd sleves/menus on here as well) It's alot easier than posting actual video beings I don't have webspace for it as of yet.

Glen Elliott · June 20th, 2003, 04:01 PM

Here's a cover insert design I used for my first paid wedding. The photos were all stills from my camera at the time, GL-1.

http://www.mazdamp3.com/members/Laze...ng%20cover.jpg

June 20th, 2003, 08:11 PM

Mahalo means "thank you."

Aloha means Good bye (and hello).

You hauli (how-ly) jerk means: "You're standing on my foot."

Ron Little · June 21st, 2003, 07:31 AM

Glen nice cover what do your DVDs look like.

Glen Elliott · June 21st, 2003, 09:08 AM

Thanks Ron. When you ask what my DVD's look like do you mean inserts similar to the VHS insert I posted- or do you mean DVD label. If so I don't use labels, for fear of unbalancing the disc.

PS I checked out your site- your into martial arts? Nice- ditto here. Been doing Jiu Jitsu for about 3 years now. Was training under the Rickson Gracie association for the first year. I'd love to learn a little more stand up. When I was a child I took Tang So Do, and more recently Wing Chun/Chin Na as a teen. However I wanna learn Muy Thai- thats a pretty vicious stand-up art.

Ron Little · June 21st, 2003, 11:31 AM

Cross training is the way to go. That is what we do at RLMA. I started training when I was a child my father was my jujitsu instructor. I eventually took over his school now one of the largest schools on the gulf coast. I have two locations. I could have many more but I only sanction instructors that I have trained personally. We will have branch locations in Mississippi and North Carolina in the near future. I have been teaching for over thirty years and have had the opportunity to train with the top instructors in the world. Joe Lewis has taught seminars at our main location.

Martial arts is how I got involved in making videos. I was lucky enough to shoot a training video with Joe Lewis last year.

Two years ago I tried out for a stunt gig on a feature that was being shot on the gulf coast and got the job. Once in I not only took the falls for the other actors but I scored a part as a karate guy and I choreographed all the fight scenes in the movie.

The movie is a b flick at Hollywood video nationwide. If you like crappy movies with good fight scenes rent “This Darkness” at Hollywood video.

One of the scenes was shot in my studio. If nothing else you will get a laugh out of it. Scense then I have made a lot of MA Training videos, wedding videos, three TV Commercials, and one talk show.

I have been contacted to do more choreography for another made for video release soon to be shot in Florida and a beer commercial in Texas.

Glen Elliott · June 22nd, 2003, 08:47 AM

Wow, very cool. It must be nice making a living doing something you love. Isn't that everyone's dream. Congrats!

I'll keep an eye out for that video. That reminds me, me and a friend are filming a short this summer that has a spoof fight sceen between a kid and the main character which is in his mid 20's. Anyway it's sorta goofy but the actual movement and fighting positions will be accurate. We are gonna try and recruit my old Wing Chun teacher to choreograph.

Do you have any work you could post on the net. I'd love to see some of it.

Ron Little · June 22nd, 2003, 11:09 AM

Yes Glen I do consider myself lucky...

but it is not all fun and games. Making a living teaching Martial Arts is a lot of work. My day starts at 9:00 am and runs till 9:00 pm. My students expect a lot from me like never being sick or late and always following thru on any program or plan. I just started taking Fridays of for the first time since taking over the school. And some students just don’t understand that I would actually want a day off.

Don’t get me wrong I am not complaining I would not have it any other way. I can’t think of anything I would rather do except maybe direct movies and then I would still want to have my schools. If you would like to see some short clips of a self defense video that I made you can go to my web site and click the get password link. I have some videos there for my students.

Make sure you put who you are and why you are requesting a password because this is a locked section for my students only.

I would like to post some of my other stuff but I am not really sure how or where to put it.

I do not manage my web site that is done by someone else. And I don’t want to post my just for fun stuff there anyway. I am having a wedding site built just for my wedding business.

Curtis T. Stoeber · June 22nd, 2003, 04:16 PM

I've done a couple of weddings, and I hate them. The end product came out good, but they are boring to attend, I am forced to dress up (bleh), and take forever to edit. I don't think I could ever do it as a profession. I want a job that I like. Even though I love working with video, I can't stand dealing with someone else's weddings.

Glen Elliott · June 22nd, 2003, 06:24 PM

Oh Curt it isn't that bad. Granted the receptions can run very long but it's not bad- especially if the couple has a table in a corner for you and your assistant. We shot a wedding last night as a matter of fact- by the end of the night I had a splitting headache and I wanted to go home in the worst way. They can be alot of work, and in the video business weddings are the most challenging.....one shot one take...end of story. If you don't get your shot it's gone. In addition to taht depending on the video they can take more than a month in post- however I find it quite rewarding. As for me I'm in my mid 20's and feel a bit of accomplishment starting a business that (at the moment) seems to be thriving. That's what drives me. I'm not necissarily passionate about wedding videography per'say, though I must say I enjoy the clients reactions when the DVD is first delivered and watched.

Ron, I'll have to check that out. I have a few clips from recent wedding I shot I'd love to share with you all but I don't have the means to get it online. I'm looking for someone with webspace and a little bit of band-width. Even if it's just posted for a week.
If not I should have a site before the end of the summer.

Glen Elliott · June 22nd, 2003, 07:51 PM

Ed Trox is the man. He uploaded one of my clips from an opening of a recent wedding video I shot on my DVX100- check it out @
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...threadid=11150

Thanks ED!

June 20th, 2003, 09:23 AM	#1
Ron Little Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pensacola Fl. Posts: 627	Wedding videographers? I am just curious as to how many wedding videographers there are on this forum? And would you be willing to share tips about your weddings that make you a success?

June 20th, 2003, 10:20 AM	#2
Harry Settle Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bemidji, MN Posts: 276	I like to think that I'm one, Ron. I just started part timing this year, and things are looking promising. If you haven't already done so, check out www.fastforwardclub.com. Every bit as friendly and as informative as this site. These are the only two sites that I use with any regularity. __________________ "DOH"!!!

June 20th, 2003, 08:11 PM	#7
Guest Posts: n/a	Uh-oh Mahalo means "thank you." Aloha means Good bye (and hello). You hauli (how-ly) jerk means: "You're standing on my foot."

June 20th, 2003, 10:38 AM	#3
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	Right now in the middle of 5 straight weeks of weddings. This is our 4th wedding season. Wedding opener from a couple weeks ago: http://www.jetdv.com/jetdv/video/StewartHarrell.wmv

June 20th, 2003, 11:33 AM	#4
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	Been doing weddings for a number of years. This forum and the one that Harry mentioned are always very very helpful. Having said that now, I must depart, for a large plane awaits to whisk my wife and I to the land of paradise, but I will return in about 12 days or so and would be happy to answer questions for you that may not have already been answered. I doubt that there will be however, given the wealth of talent and knowledge here. I can however impart this one little tidbit of information. In the wedding video business, you must be 'lucky'. Spell 'lucky' W O R K H A R D! Mahalo, (I think that means goodbye in Hawaiian) Don B

June 20th, 2003, 01:20 PM	#5
Glen Elliott Wrangler Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 2,898	Well I guess you can count me in as well. Oddly enough I didn't set out to become a wedding videographer- I kinda fell into it. I teamed up with a friend of mine to shoot some shorts, subsequently my boss at work was getting married. We volunteered to shoot it for her as her wedding gift. Now mind you, at this time we had never seen a "professionally" produced wedding video- however I felt that helped us. We didn't follow any typical format. It was very loose and fun. The video was so well recieved we began getting paid work from it via referrals in her family. Since then we have shot 3 weddings....our 4th being tomorrow (Sat 6/21/03). Similar to Ed, we are in a flood right now (our 3rd wedding in 5 weeks). It's been taking off so quickly we decided to look seriously into this area of the video business. Most of our clients have been really young couples in their early to mid 20's so they are fond of our videography style. One wedding we opened up just like the Beastie Boys "Sabatage" video. With the grooms men wearing cheesy 70's "Kocheese" mustaches and aviator sunglasses. We had a bunch of action shots, w/ quick cuts and artistic camera angles. Basically a spoof on the actuall video. When we delivered the video and the couple and their friends watched it for the first time they were all in tears laughing so hard. The best part was we are able to balance the goofy stuff with the serious heart-felt emotion of the days events. Both the groom and the bride cried (but not from laughter, lol) in several montage sceens. Like I said, I never sout out to do wedding videos...they sorta came to me. Though it was a blessing, it's the only lucrative area we've personally found for our work. Heck...we spent 4 months filming and 9 months in post filming a documentary and we didn't get a cent for it! Check out this link for production pics from "Eat!" http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...threadid=10917 I'll try and post some of my work (dvd sleves/menus on here as well) It's alot easier than posting actual video beings I don't have webspace for it as of yet.

June 20th, 2003, 04:01 PM	#6
Glen Elliott Wrangler Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 2,898	Here's a cover insert design I used for my first paid wedding. The photos were all stills from my camera at the time, GL-1. http://www.mazdamp3.com/members/Laze...ng%20cover.jpg

June 21st, 2003, 07:31 AM	#8
Ron Little Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pensacola Fl. Posts: 627	Glen nice cover what do your DVDs look like.

June 21st, 2003, 09:08 AM	#9
Glen Elliott Wrangler Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 2,898	Thanks Ron. When you ask what my DVD's look like do you mean inserts similar to the VHS insert I posted- or do you mean DVD label. If so I don't use labels, for fear of unbalancing the disc. PS I checked out your site- your into martial arts? Nice- ditto here. Been doing Jiu Jitsu for about 3 years now. Was training under the Rickson Gracie association for the first year. I'd love to learn a little more stand up. When I was a child I took Tang So Do, and more recently Wing Chun/Chin Na as a teen. However I wanna learn Muy Thai- thats a pretty vicious stand-up art.

June 21st, 2003, 11:31 AM	#10
Ron Little Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pensacola Fl. Posts: 627	Cross training is the way to go. That is what we do at RLMA. I started training when I was a child my father was my jujitsu instructor. I eventually took over his school now one of the largest schools on the gulf coast. I have two locations. I could have many more but I only sanction instructors that I have trained personally. We will have branch locations in Mississippi and North Carolina in the near future. I have been teaching for over thirty years and have had the opportunity to train with the top instructors in the world. Joe Lewis has taught seminars at our main location. Martial arts is how I got involved in making videos. I was lucky enough to shoot a training video with Joe Lewis last year. Two years ago I tried out for a stunt gig on a feature that was being shot on the gulf coast and got the job. Once in I not only took the falls for the other actors but I scored a part as a karate guy and I choreographed all the fight scenes in the movie. The movie is a b flick at Hollywood video nationwide. If you like crappy movies with good fight scenes rent “This Darkness” at Hollywood video. One of the scenes was shot in my studio. If nothing else you will get a laugh out of it. Scense then I have made a lot of MA Training videos, wedding videos, three TV Commercials, and one talk show. I have been contacted to do more choreography for another made for video release soon to be shot in Florida and a beer commercial in Texas.

June 22nd, 2003, 08:47 AM	#11
Glen Elliott Wrangler Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 2,898	Wow, very cool. It must be nice making a living doing something you love. Isn't that everyone's dream. Congrats! I'll keep an eye out for that video. That reminds me, me and a friend are filming a short this summer that has a spoof fight sceen between a kid and the main character which is in his mid 20's. Anyway it's sorta goofy but the actual movement and fighting positions will be accurate. We are gonna try and recruit my old Wing Chun teacher to choreograph. Do you have any work you could post on the net. I'd love to see some of it.

June 22nd, 2003, 11:09 AM	#12
Ron Little Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pensacola Fl. Posts: 627	Yes Glen I do consider myself lucky... but it is not all fun and games. Making a living teaching Martial Arts is a lot of work. My day starts at 9:00 am and runs till 9:00 pm. My students expect a lot from me like never being sick or late and always following thru on any program or plan. I just started taking Fridays of for the first time since taking over the school. And some students just don’t understand that I would actually want a day off. Don’t get me wrong I am not complaining I would not have it any other way. I can’t think of anything I would rather do except maybe direct movies and then I would still want to have my schools. If you would like to see some short clips of a self defense video that I made you can go to my web site and click the get password link. I have some videos there for my students. Make sure you put who you are and why you are requesting a password because this is a locked section for my students only. I would like to post some of my other stuff but I am not really sure how or where to put it. I do not manage my web site that is done by someone else. And I don’t want to post my just for fun stuff there anyway. I am having a wedding site built just for my wedding business.

June 22nd, 2003, 04:16 PM	#13
Curtis T. Stoeber Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Lakewood Colorado USA Posts: 150	I've done a couple of weddings, and I hate them. The end product came out good, but they are boring to attend, I am forced to dress up (bleh), and take forever to edit. I don't think I could ever do it as a profession. I want a job that I like. Even though I love working with video, I can't stand dealing with someone else's weddings.

June 22nd, 2003, 06:24 PM	#14
Glen Elliott Wrangler Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 2,898	Oh Curt it isn't that bad. Granted the receptions can run very long but it's not bad- especially if the couple has a table in a corner for you and your assistant. We shot a wedding last night as a matter of fact- by the end of the night I had a splitting headache and I wanted to go home in the worst way. They can be alot of work, and in the video business weddings are the most challenging.....one shot one take...end of story. If you don't get your shot it's gone. In addition to taht depending on the video they can take more than a month in post- however I find it quite rewarding. As for me I'm in my mid 20's and feel a bit of accomplishment starting a business that (at the moment) seems to be thriving. That's what drives me. I'm not necissarily passionate about wedding videography per'say, though I must say I enjoy the clients reactions when the DVD is first delivered and watched. Ron, I'll have to check that out. I have a few clips from recent wedding I shot I'd love to share with you all but I don't have the means to get it online. I'm looking for someone with webspace and a little bit of band-width. Even if it's just posted for a week. If not I should have a site before the end of the summer.

June 22nd, 2003, 07:51 PM	#15
Glen Elliott Wrangler Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 2,898	Ed Trox is the man. He uploaded one of my clips from an opening of a recent wedding video I shot on my DVX100- check it out @ http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...threadid=11150 Thanks ED!