Intrusive Camera Operators

[Jason Robinson]

Originally Posted by Nick Avdienko

I just wanted to get clarification on this. In the wedding videography business, what are some things videographers SHOULD NOT do during a shoot.

The following are my "no-nos" list. Ok some of these are more like a to-do list, but I think you get the idea. These can be summed up as "be prepared, polite, and professional but be sure to get the shot."

-do not make noise
-do not use lights
-do not move if behind the B&G
-do not let guests / vendors get in front of the camera, move the camera if needed
-do not be late
-do not forget to ask if there have been any schedule changes
-do not forget to bring backups for any critical device
-do not forget to bring a head cleaner tape
-do not forget to use the bathroom before the ceremony
-do not forget to have spare tapes on you in case of an emergency quick change (like you look at see 1min left on the tape but the speeches are about to start).

[Steven Davis]

Originally Posted by Jason Robinson

-do not let guests / vendors get in front of the camera, move the camera if needed.

I have a watergun mounted to the underside of my camera.......................ok, so I'm kidding.

As the general theme of this thread is respect, I find that if you communicate clearly and truly respect the people who have churches, then sometimes they will bend a bit, but when we leave a place we want to feel as if we respected the place. This is where a contract is helpful.

[Nick Avdienko]

Great info - everyone!

Thanks!

[Mark Ganglfinger]

I just did a wedding a few weeks ago and when the bride got back from the honeymoon called me to let me know they were back and politely inquired about the progress of thier video (which of course wasn't done yet! which reminds me, I'm supposed to be working on it now)

The interesting thing was that she stated that she was very happy with my work and that I did a great job.
She hasn't even seen 1 minute of footage yet! It just shows that people appreciate vendors who conduct themselves professionally.

Although this was the same wedding where I decided to break in my 15 year old son on 2nd camera (to replace my 17 year old daughter has gotten a "real job"). Well, during the setup at the church he engaged in a conversation with someone in the bridal party who was hanging around, and commented that this was his first wedding. I told him that he should not really be advertising this because our clients need to have confidence in us. He responded "I can't go around lying to people all day, can I?!"

Oh well, at least his footage was decent.

Mark G