How long is your finished wedding product

John DeLuca · January 16th, 2005, 12:23 PM

Sunny makes a good point. Traditional catholic weddings are 45-60 mins long(with mass). The final project would have to be atleast 90 mins to have good coverage considering the longer cerimony. I have a feeling most keep it at 60 mins or less because of compression quality issues.

John

Billy Mallari · September 27th, 2006, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunny Dhinsey

I won't go into great detail (unless somebody would like me to)
but Indian weddings - 5-7 hours - all on video!

Wow..that is a lot..do you charge more when you do Indian Weddings? I have a set price for my packages but are usually for traditional weddings like Catholic weddings. I think I have to think twice before I do such wedding.

Patrick Jenkins · September 27th, 2006, 09:48 AM

Around 90 minutes. They are shot and edited as documentaries so the pacing and flow is dictated based on how the events actually transpired.

Mark Goldberg · September 27th, 2006, 07:12 PM

I have to admit I have been working to make them shorter. I have never had a client say that the edited result was too short, however I have noticed that some long-form two-hour shows were a little too much for the client to watch, and these folks are the ones who put it on the shelf and don't watch it that much. DVD release has made it easier for viewers to skip around, but that doesn't address the issue of pacing and timing.

An excellent reference I read on the subject called Innovative Concepts of Event Video Production, by Dr. Art Polin (www.artpolin.com) explains that you don't have to watch all four minutes of a dance to know how they danced. Also, you don't need to see the elements played out in real time. For example, slowmo dissolves of the bridesmaids at about 3-7 sec each are enough to give the viewer the idea. I have even seen 10-minute wedding videos that encompassed the couple's entire wedding experience. The TLC Wedding Story approach is a good example, to.

Now that I'm in HDV, the logistics of shooting and editing make show time management even more imperative.

If you want to learn more about the pacing, editing, and timing or your videos, take a seat next to the screen and watch your clients as they watch what you have produced for them.

Don Bloom · September 27th, 2006, 09:21 PM

40 to 55 minutes and it has zero to do with compression issues. I've been doing short form for almost 6 years now and it was done out of self preservation. I got extremely tired of doing the long form epics (remember this goes back to tape only days and way before that when we did lineal editing) I got so tired of doing the same thing over and over again that I started doing short forms just to keep my sanity and giving that along with the epics to the clients. Once I realized they liked and seemed to prefer the short form more than the other I started offering it as an option, that lasted for about 1/2 a season, I then made it my normal edit. It takes a bit longer to edit it (to make it right and make sense) but my clients still seem to like it and frankly so do I. Over the years I've refined my packages a bit but it's still short form all the way baabbby!

Don

Glen Elliott · September 28th, 2006, 09:28 AM

Well there really is no time the finished video "should" be- it really depends on the style of production you are creating. My finished weddings are averaging 30 minutes, as I am interested in making the video as engaging and well paced as possible. You can always give the client the raw footage if they want to see various events in their grueling entirety.

The art in it is the ability to abbreviate the day while capturing the essence of the moments, feelings, and action in a way that DOESN'T feel abbreviated.

Kelly Coote · September 29th, 2006, 01:43 AM

For our base package weddings videos which typically involve being on location for about twelve hours (11am to 11 pm or so) we'll shoot about nine one hour tapes in total of raw footage using two cameras and then edit that down to video that is about two and a half to three hours long (about two 90 minute DVD's). This includes video that has been edited lightly such as the reception speeches to video edited heavily such as the highlights music video.

Jim Fields · October 5th, 2006, 04:12 PM

I will have a 3 1/2 hour feature on a DVD when I am done.
Most of my Wedding DVD's will be around 2 1/2 to 4 hours total, Ceremont, Reception, montage, Interviews, etc. my camera guy always comes back with 5 hous of footage.

Makes my life hell at times.

September 27th, 2006, 09:48 AM	#18
Patrick Jenkins Major Player Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Maryland, USA Posts: 382	Around 90 minutes. They are shot and edited as documentaries so the pacing and flow is dictated based on how the events actually transpired. __________________ PAL shooter in NTSC territory

September 27th, 2006, 07:12 PM	#19
Mark Goldberg Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Annapolis, Maryland Posts: 101	Length of Wedding and Event Videos I have to admit I have been working to make them shorter. I have never had a client say that the edited result was too short, however I have noticed that some long-form two-hour shows were a little too much for the client to watch, and these folks are the ones who put it on the shelf and don't watch it that much. DVD release has made it easier for viewers to skip around, but that doesn't address the issue of pacing and timing. An excellent reference I read on the subject called Innovative Concepts of Event Video Production, by Dr. Art Polin (www.artpolin.com) explains that you don't have to watch all four minutes of a dance to know how they danced. Also, you don't need to see the elements played out in real time. For example, slowmo dissolves of the bridesmaids at about 3-7 sec each are enough to give the viewer the idea. I have even seen 10-minute wedding videos that encompassed the couple's entire wedding experience. The TLC Wedding Story approach is a good example, to. Now that I'm in HDV, the logistics of shooting and editing make show time management even more imperative. If you want to learn more about the pacing, editing, and timing or your videos, take a seat next to the screen and watch your clients as they watch what you have produced for them.

September 28th, 2006, 09:28 AM	#21
Glen Elliott Wrangler Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 2,898	Well there really is no time the finished video "should" be- it really depends on the style of production you are creating. My finished weddings are averaging 30 minutes, as I am interested in making the video as engaging and well paced as possible. You can always give the client the raw footage if they want to see various events in their grueling entirety. The art in it is the ability to abbreviate the day while capturing the essence of the moments, feelings, and action in a way that DOESN'T feel abbreviated. __________________ Glen Elliott Cord 3 Films

January 16th, 2005, 12:23 PM	#16
John DeLuca Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Akron, Ohio Posts: 496	Sunny makes a good point. Traditional catholic weddings are 45-60 mins long(with mass). The final project would have to be atleast 90 mins to have good coverage considering the longer cerimony. I have a feeling most keep it at 60 mins or less because of compression quality issues. John

September 27th, 2006, 09:21 PM	#20
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	40 to 55 minutes and it has zero to do with compression issues. I've been doing short form for almost 6 years now and it was done out of self preservation. I got extremely tired of doing the long form epics (remember this goes back to tape only days and way before that when we did lineal editing) I got so tired of doing the same thing over and over again that I started doing short forms just to keep my sanity and giving that along with the epics to the clients. Once I realized they liked and seemed to prefer the short form more than the other I started offering it as an option, that lasted for about 1/2 a season, I then made it my normal edit. It takes a bit longer to edit it (to make it right and make sense) but my clients still seem to like it and frankly so do I. Over the years I've refined my packages a bit but it's still short form all the way baabbby! Don

September 29th, 2006, 01:43 AM	#22
Kelly Coote New Boot Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Posts: 5	For our base package weddings videos which typically involve being on location for about twelve hours (11am to 11 pm or so) we'll shoot about nine one hour tapes in total of raw footage using two cameras and then edit that down to video that is about two and a half to three hours long (about two 90 minute DVD's). This includes video that has been edited lightly such as the reception speeches to video edited heavily such as the highlights music video.

October 5th, 2006, 04:12 PM	#23
Jim Fields Major Player Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Fort Worth Texas Posts: 247	I will have a 3 1/2 hour feature on a DVD when I am done. Most of my Wedding DVD's will be around 2 1/2 to 4 hours total, Ceremont, Reception, montage, Interviews, etc. my camera guy always comes back with 5 hous of footage. Makes my life hell at times.