Coming clean to the B&G at DVinfo.net

Adam Haro · May 13th, 2010, 10:31 AM

Hi Everybody,

Some of you might have seen my post awhile back about getting bad footage when my camera head went out alignment. So know the video is edited and ready for delivery. It did turn out nice, the main losses were the front angle from the ceremony and during the toasts the good camera was focused on a reaction shot of the B&G and the bad camera on the person toasting. We did cut in a few seconds from the bad camera of each of the toasters just so you know who is giving the speech. What is the best way to bring it up to the couple?
They might view the video and see nothing wrong with it but I also don't want to try to put one over on them either, have them come back and ask where the second angle is from the ceremony and than all of the sudden I have to explain the camera broke when I should have been upfront about it.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Michael Simons · May 13th, 2010, 11:26 AM

Come clean. Usually this sets the bride up for being disappointed and then when she sees the video she's not upset at all.

Scott Hayes · May 13th, 2010, 11:29 AM

keep your mouth shut! if they don't say anything, move on. If you say something, they are
going to be watching for any mistake and it will ruin their experience.

Chris Davis · May 13th, 2010, 12:16 PM

I don't feel the need to explain to the client why some footage was used and other footage wasn't. You are delivering what you promised, leave it at that.

You're not "putting one over on them".

Have you ever been married? Believe me, there are so many things going through your head on your wedding day you would not notice if the videographer had one, two, ten or twenty cameras.

Kelly Langerak · May 13th, 2010, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Hayes

keep your mouth shut! if they don't say anything, move on. If you say something, they are
going to be watching for any mistake and it will ruin their experience.

I have to agree with Scott. This will ruin the experience. If they do catch it then explain to them that you didn't want to mention it until after you saw the video.

Find out when they are going to watch it and then call them the next day to see if they had watched it.

Don Bloom · May 13th, 2010, 02:16 PM

Unless you guarenteed certain shots to be in the video (I hope you didn't) there is nothing you to say. It's the editors choice of which shot is used where and if the editor feels one camera has a better shot or tells the story betteer than another shot from another camera, it's the editors discretion.
I agree that if you do say something then the couple will be looking for things wrong.

Warren Kawamoto · May 13th, 2010, 02:39 PM

If you don't tell them and the video is ok with the couple, then everything is good. However, if they see only reaction shots, it's obvious that something is wrong and they might confront you about it. When they find out you tried to pull the wool over their eyes by not telling them in the first place, they might be more upset about that than the video. It could even affect your reputation. In this instance, I would be honest with the couple and tell them up front about the problem before showing them the video.

You know how the video was supposed to look, but the final product was not what it was supposed to be. Tell them. They'll know when a camera angle is missing. Remember that this forum includes your real name, and future brides could follow this thread to see just how honest you are, simply by searching your name.

Chris Harding · May 13th, 2010, 05:13 PM

Hi Adam

They will certainly not be looking for errors unless you tell them to!! All they want is some fooatge of their special day and you have done that for them. You will be pleasantly surprised that they will be delighted with the DVD. Remember that YOU and only YOU are trying to achieve technical perfection!! All the bride will is worried about is how pretty she looked and your omission will go totally un-noticed!!!

Let someone "non-technical" watch the footage..I bet they will not spot anything amiss at all!!! Now, if you had missed the ceremony vows with both cameras THEN you would have to tell the bride!!

Chris

Travis Cossel · May 13th, 2010, 06:03 PM

If the edit has suffered noticeably because of the camera issue, then I would be up front with the couple and let them know you had a technical difficulty. I would also assure them that you made every effort to minimize the impact of the camera issue.

If the edit still looks great then I wouldn't worry about telling the couple anything. There's no need to mention an issue that didn't hurt the video.

In this case, it sounds like you did the best you could with the edit. It also sounds like you had to use some of the 'bad' footage and focused the rest of that section on the B&G. It's hard to know for sure without seeing it, but it sounds to me like it's something that the B&G will notice as an issue. Therefore, I would let them know what happened.

Most people are very understanding that technology can break. If you don't already, you need to have a clause in your contract that covers you for random things like this (and weather issues, animal issues, whatever .. things that are beyond your control). To me, the worst thing you can do is try and pass it off as fine and have to explain to the couple afterwards what happened. That just hurts your reputation in my opinion.

Joe Bryan · May 13th, 2010, 07:06 PM

Working as a producer for an ad agency I learned the lesson that you critique every detail during production but once you screen it to the client you brag on everything. Sell it big. If they disagree then you minimize your faults. If you have done the best you can with what you have then what more can you do?

Adam Haro · May 13th, 2010, 09:51 PM

I appreciate everyones replies. I actually gave a copy of the DVD to a friend of mine who is a wedding coordinator that we do alot of work with to review it. Honestly with the exception of the toasts its a very nice video and the only issue with the toasts is the good footage was just a B&G reaction shot. I hate to taint what is actually a very nice video by telling them we lost a camera and causing them to have a more critical eye, so its a big one to ponder over the weekend.
A good friend of mine is a photographer who also does videography, he only does a one camera shoot. I told him the story of this wedding and how we would have been screwed if it was one camera and it went bad. I think he is going to be adding a second camera.

May 13th, 2010, 10:31 AM	#1
Adam Haro Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 171	Coming clean to the B&G Hi Everybody, Some of you might have seen my post awhile back about getting bad footage when my camera head went out alignment. So know the video is edited and ready for delivery. It did turn out nice, the main losses were the front angle from the ceremony and during the toasts the good camera was focused on a reaction shot of the B&G and the bad camera on the person toasting. We did cut in a few seconds from the bad camera of each of the toasters just so you know who is giving the speech. What is the best way to bring it up to the couple? They might view the video and see nothing wrong with it but I also don't want to try to put one over on them either, have them come back and ask where the second angle is from the ceremony and than all of the sudden I have to explain the camera broke when I should have been upfront about it. Any ideas? Thanks

May 13th, 2010, 02:16 PM	#6
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	Unless you guarenteed certain shots to be in the video (I hope you didn't) there is nothing you to say. It's the editors choice of which shot is used where and if the editor feels one camera has a better shot or tells the story betteer than another shot from another camera, it's the editors discretion. I agree that if you do say something then the couple will be looking for things wrong. __________________ What do I know? I'm just a video-O-grafer. Don

May 13th, 2010, 06:03 PM	#9
Travis Cossel Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 2,933	If the edit has suffered noticeably because of the camera issue, then I would be up front with the couple and let them know you had a technical difficulty. I would also assure them that you made every effort to minimize the impact of the camera issue. If the edit still looks great then I wouldn't worry about telling the couple anything. There's no need to mention an issue that didn't hurt the video. In this case, it sounds like you did the best you could with the edit. It also sounds like you had to use some of the 'bad' footage and focused the rest of that section on the B&G. It's hard to know for sure without seeing it, but it sounds to me like it's something that the B&G will notice as an issue. Therefore, I would let them know what happened. Most people are very understanding that technology can break. If you don't already, you need to have a clause in your contract that covers you for random things like this (and weather issues, animal issues, whatever .. things that are beyond your control). To me, the worst thing you can do is try and pass it off as fine and have to explain to the couple afterwards what happened. That just hurts your reputation in my opinion. __________________ Black Label Films www.blacklabelweddingfilms.com

May 13th, 2010, 11:26 AM	#2
Michael Simons Major Player Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Red Bank, NJ Posts: 553	Come clean. Usually this sets the bride up for being disappointed and then when she sees the video she's not upset at all.

May 13th, 2010, 11:29 AM	#3
Scott Hayes Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Lexington, KY Posts: 692	keep your mouth shut! if they don't say anything, move on. If you say something, they are going to be watching for any mistake and it will ruin their experience.

May 13th, 2010, 12:16 PM	#4
Chris Davis Trustee Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Willmar, MN Posts: 1,400	I don't feel the need to explain to the client why some footage was used and other footage wasn't. You are delivering what you promised, leave it at that. You're not "putting one over on them". Have you ever been married? Believe me, there are so many things going through your head on your wedding day you would not notice if the videographer had one, two, ten or twenty cameras.

May 13th, 2010, 02:39 PM	#7
Warren Kawamoto Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 1,435	If you don't tell them and the video is ok with the couple, then everything is good. However, if they see only reaction shots, it's obvious that something is wrong and they might confront you about it. When they find out you tried to pull the wool over their eyes by not telling them in the first place, they might be more upset about that than the video. It could even affect your reputation. In this instance, I would be honest with the couple and tell them up front about the problem before showing them the video. You know how the video was supposed to look, but the final product was not what it was supposed to be. Tell them. They'll know when a camera angle is missing. Remember that this forum includes your real name, and future brides could follow this thread to see just how honest you are, simply by searching your name.

May 13th, 2010, 05:13 PM	#8
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Hi Adam They will certainly not be looking for errors unless you tell them to!! All they want is some fooatge of their special day and you have done that for them. You will be pleasantly surprised that they will be delighted with the DVD. Remember that YOU and only YOU are trying to achieve technical perfection!! All the bride will is worried about is how pretty she looked and your omission will go totally un-noticed!!! Let someone "non-technical" watch the footage..I bet they will not spot anything amiss at all!!! Now, if you had missed the ceremony vows with both cameras THEN you would have to tell the bride!! Chris

May 13th, 2010, 07:06 PM	#10
Joe Bryan Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 31	Working as a producer for an ad agency I learned the lesson that you critique every detail during production but once you screen it to the client you brag on everything. Sell it big. If they disagree then you minimize your faults. If you have done the best you can with what you have then what more can you do?

May 13th, 2010, 09:51 PM	#11
Adam Haro Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 171	I appreciate everyones replies. I actually gave a copy of the DVD to a friend of mine who is a wedding coordinator that we do alot of work with to review it. Honestly with the exception of the toasts its a very nice video and the only issue with the toasts is the good footage was just a B&G reaction shot. I hate to taint what is actually a very nice video by telling them we lost a camera and causing them to have a more critical eye, so its a big one to ponder over the weekend. A good friend of mine is a photographer who also does videography, he only does a one camera shoot. I told him the story of this wedding and how we would have been screwed if it was one camera and it went bad. I think he is going to be adding a second camera.