What do you produce more of HD or SD weddings?

[Lukas Siewior]

My experience - almost nobody is interested in BR, so I deliver my product on DVD. It still looks great thx to HD cams and progressive scan. I also give the customer a copy in HD saved as MP4 file. A little bonus I don't have to put extra work to but makes them happy :-)

[Denny Lajeunesse]

I just started in on weddings. Been shooting everything else for years. Have never had a client of any type ask for a BD.

So.. I am shooting weddings with HD and sometimes zoom in on the HD footage in post to reframe or to provide some motion on a static camera (like the 3mos tm700 we tried out last wedding shooting from the back).
Had a buddy help me out with his DVX100B. (Wedding was actually a 1 cam shoot but I hate 1 cam shoots and I had a volunteer and access to that third 1080 60P 3mos.)

I ask the client how they want the finished product. And if they want it in SD, then I have the options stated above.

[Hameed Aabid]

I'll buy a BD burner when the first customer asks me to deliver one and pay for the burner... lol

I shoot in HD all the time so that I have the extra pixels to play with in case I deshake it or zoom in, etc.

[Tom Hardwick]

Denny, you're shooting weddings in HD which are 16:9 by default - yet your backup cam (the DVX) is most definitely a 4:3 cam. How did you manage to intercut the shots without one screaming at the other?

[Denny Lajeunesse]

DVX100 can shoot in 16x9 letterbox or squeezed (anamorphic). I prefer squeezed to LB as you have to zoom in by 1.33x in order to get the right aspect if you use LB.

Really, isn't an issue for an SD output, if the cams are setup correctly. I use edius so multi format on the timeline isn't a problem. (Set up an SD project, and you RT preview will be SD).

I shoot flat so I set up the DVX as flat as possible. Some minor CC should settle things.

[Christopher Figueroa]

I use the Panasonic DVX-100B camcorder, and in 16:9 30P, 30/shutter mode, the video is really impressive. And to be honest, on an HDTV and a DVD player that upscales to 1080i, it's kinda hard to not think it's HD-quality. So at this point, I may purchase a third one, and may purchase an HMC-150 near the end of the year.

[Tom Hardwick]

Well, before you do that Christopher, might I implore you to borrow a 150 and shoot some test footage alongside the DVX, which you can have set to any of its 16:9 modes?. If you do an A/B A/B cut on the timeline the increased resolution of the 150 will make you gasp, really it will. And you'll buy the 150 and forget about having another DVX

If you use Panasonic's 1.33:1 anamorphic on the DVX the fight is far more even, but I'm guessing you haven't got one of those.

tom.

[Bill Moede]

I shoot a mix of weddings, direct to web commercials, educational staff development, and documentaries for non-profits and local historical groups, and for a couple of local independent film (direct to DVD) directors.

The only inquiry about HD was from an independent film director, "hey it would be cool to shoot in HD" , but his distribution is SD DVD, so the extra cost made this a non-issue. Plus, his editor's equipment could not handle hours of HD footage.

So for me, really 0 requests for HD. My new cameras will be HD but for the most part capture will still be SD for now.

[D.J. Ammons]

I video every wedding in HD (Sony V1U cameras) but deliver on regular DVD. We offer a package that delivers Blu-ray discs but so far out of our handful of weddings (we are newbies) no one has even asked about that option. I have been waiting for Blu-ray burner prices to come down or for someone to actually choose this option for me to get one!

I do like the idea of starting out with the highest quality I can possibly acquire and then rendering to SD for DVD from it. I also like the idea of having the edit and tapes archived in HD as in a few years there may be a few brides who come back and want to pay good money for Blu-ray copies.

[Steve Shovlar]

I shoot in HD and by default every single one of my customers receive a Blu-ray HD version of their wedding as standard,

I make a very big point of telling the potential client when they first enquire that they will receive a blu-ray version on top of the SD DVDs. It has helped me trounce the local opposition to a degree that I am the videographer of choice in the area. My bookings have increased to pushing 40 weddings this season and next year is getting very busy already.

Many wedding videographers are completely missing the point if they are waiting for clients to ask for the blu-ray version of their wedding. Storing a copy away in the hope that the client will come back and ask for a blu-ray version in years to come is a waste of a blu-ray DVD. It will never happen. Once you have received the "thanks the wedding film was fantastic" email or phone call you will not see or hear from them again unless you bump into them at the supermarket.

Use blu-ray as one of the major reasons why they should use you as the videographer. Tel them they get a blu-ray DVD as part of the package and that their wedding film is future proofed so when their children watch it in years to come they will see mummy and daddy in the best possible quality.

It has absolutely worked for me ( as well as everything else I do) and put me way ahead of the opposition,

Those not offering it as standard are missing out.

[Gabe Strong]

I always love it when this question comes up. There are always those who tell you that there is no
demand for HD. Then there are always those telling you that you don't wait for your customers, you
just go to HD no matter what the client wants, and that if you don't do HD you are missing out and
losing business. The truth, (as usual) is somewhere between the two.

First, HD is the future, I don't think anyone disputes that. The question is when exactly? In some
markets, it is already here. In others, not for some time. And THAT is the real issue here. NO ONE
on the internet can tell you about your market!!! You as the business owner, should be the one to
know your market and you should already know the answer to this question!!!

For example, those who think you 'need' to have HD NOW or you are losing out.....all I can say is
that I am still in business in my market and the 'start ups' that were offering HD are not! I have tried
and tried to sell clients on HD, but NONE of them want it! My two most recent projects were big
(for me) projects.....around $10 thousand dollar budget. I offered HD and a Blu Ray.
The clients said no, after they figured out what Blu Ray was and that it wouldn't play in their
DVD player! So I figure I offset Steve who is beating his competition by offering HD, as I
do NOT have the extra expense of HD, but can continue to use my old gear that has already
paid it's way many times over. I'm an admitted tech junky and really, really, really WANT to
buy a couple HD cams. But I am also a business owner, and it just does NOT make
solid business sense FOR MY MARKET! For other markets, it makes no sense to stay
SD! You, and you alone are going to be able to judge that. Because a business owner, the
first thing you have to do, is to KNOW YOUR MARKET!!!!

[Denny Lajeunesse]

Originally Posted by Steve Shovlar

Those not offering it as standard are missing out.

Kind of a moot point Steve when your customers not only do not own a Bluray payer, but have no intention of ever buying one.

I've asked around. Blueray player sales have been dismal at best.

I state right in my packages that HD on blueray or on SDHD card can be arranged but know one wants it. (at least in my market).

[Steve Shovlar]

Sorry I disagree. I would say 80-90% of my customers own a blu-ray player be it a PS3 or standalone. Those who don't own one are going to buy one to see their wedding film in all its glory.

When you consider two years ago what the price of a Blu-ray player is compared to today, youo as the videographer could afford to incude it in a package for the B&G as a wedding present. And why not. Cost you £75 ( $120) and might even generate further jobs as you are talked about.

My clienets are mostly higher end, educated couples with money spare. I am in the south of the UK and its an affluent area. The majority have the iPhone, will own an iPad as well as a PS3, XBox etc. I never get asked "What is blu-ray"?

Blu-ray is a fantastic selling point. It has given my business a massive boost. Sell it as a "must have" and tell them its free and included in the package. They WILL want it.

And in a couple of years time when Blu-ray is the norm, I could be offering 3D weddings as standard!

Stay ahead of the opposition. Don't get lost in a sea of mediocrity which blights the wedding video business. Many wedding videographers are great, but don't stand out because they don't offer that bit extra and don't sell themselves properly to the client.

[Gabe Strong]

So what do you do if your clients not only have no Blu Ray player, but also have no HD screen?
Do you buy one of those for them along with the Blu Ray player? Do NOT make the mistake of
thinking that because your market has 80-90% of people who have a Blu Ray player and HD set,
that ALL markets are like that. There are plenty of places that are NOT that way. Just cause it
works for you, does NOT mean it will work for everyone. The economy in the US is utter crap
right now, and many people I know do NOT have either Blu Ray OR HD sets, and have no
plans to buy one in the near future as they feel that what they have is 'good enough'.....especially
given the economy.

Obviously, if your market has 80-90% penetration of HD sets and Blu Ray players, you would
be foolish NOT to upgrade your video business to HD!!! But you would be equally as foolish
to spend a bunch of money on upgrading your business to HD if you can NOT get anyone to
actually PAY YOU for it!!

[Travis Cossel]

For me, the real problem here is those that are now including Blu-ray with everything, but didn't raise their prices to compensate. Of course they will do better than their competition who is charging extra for Blu-ray, in the short term, but in the long term they are yet again cutting our industry off at the knees. This is one of the reasons that video professionals are so underpaid. Too many of them are willing to invest in new technology or techniques and keep their pricing the same so that they can beat their competition. They don't realize that they are just ensuring that video professionals (themselves included) can't increase their profit margins.

We currently charge an upgrade fee for any couple that wants Blu-ray. Why? Currently there just isn't enough demand to justify raising our pricing across the board and start including Blu-ray. The current demand seems to be at around 10-20% for us. When that number approaches 40-50% we will likely begin including Blu-ray and raise our prices accordingly.

Also, I'd like to address the idea that if you serve high end clients then they will all be wanting or expecting Blu-ray. Nothing could be further from the truth. We've served plenty of high-end clients who have ZERO interest in Blu-ray at this time. Sure, if we included it for free (aka - at our own cost) then they aren't going to complain, but Blu-ray hasn't been a priority for them. I know for a fact that one very well-known studio, that serves only high end wedding clients, doesn't even offer Blu-ray. They are charging $5k, $10k even $20k and are not including OR even offering Blu-ray. I'm not saying I agree with that approach, but it's working very well for them.

Whether or not any one studio decides to start including Blu-ray needs to depend on the demand among their clients for it. If the demand is not there yet, charge extra and make it an upgrade. If the demand is there, raise your prices and include Blu-ray.