Closing credits on a wedding video

[Ben Creighton]

I am curious as to how you all handle closing credits, or if you even use them. Many of the wedding videos
I've seen here online close with just a title screen with the B&G names and the date on it. Subtle and classy, IMO. However, I have been sampling a few online forms for wedding videographers to use in gathering info; bridesmaids names, groomsmen, etc. It suggests rolling credits at the end, listing all the names. So if you do that, where do you draw the line? Do you include the parent's names? Grandparents? Clergy? Clergy's dog? :) Not sure I like the idea, but people do like to see their names in print; seems it would give it more of a movie-like feel. And do you all include your company logo? What's the consensus here on end credits...?

[Katie Fasel]

We used to do a black and white still image, with rolling credits by it. We stopped doing it because it is time consuming...a) to do it in the first place, and b) to check everything 12 times to make sure there are no typos or misspellings. I agree it gives a more movie feel, but it isn't worth the time in my opinion, and no clients even think twice about it. The ones who have it previously have it, and the ones who don't, don't know. (I've also had referral clients who saw a sample DVD from a friend's wedding with credits, while theirs does not...they don't bat an eye.)

Now we open with a simple first name e.g. Jane & John | 10.12.11 (sometimes over picture, sometimes over black) and then close with our logo fading in and out.

[Don Bloom]

When the B&G pay for it I do a PiP rolling credits to finish off the recap or highlight. However, in almost every case I have a printed program and only include the names that are listed in it. If there is no program and they buy credits then I will not do them without a computer printed list of the names and relationship. IE; Maid of Honor.....Susie Smith I will not accept a handwritten list because if I can't read it then I have a much higher chance of a mis-spelling and I hate redoing things because of stupid errors.
A perfect example; about 3 years ago I did a wedding, used the program for a particular shot and to get the spelling of the names for the credits. After I finished and sent the DVDs to the B&G I got a phone call from the groom stating I had mis-spelled his first name. (I don't remember what it was). I stated that I took it directly from the program and he told me the program was wrong.
He wanted me to fix the spelling at no charge since I should have used the spelling from his credit card receipt and he wanted the shot of the programs removed because his name was wrong.
After a bit of conversation explaining to him that 1) I don't use receipts for names and 2) the fact that his printed program was incorrect was not my fault nor problem and that if he wanted me to fix that he was going to have to pay for it but I would give him a break since the program was wrong. He stated he wasn't going to pay for it, I stated I wasn't going to fix it then. He threatened to sue. I gave him the name and phone number of my lawyer and told him our conversation was finished and any further contact was to be thru my lawyer and I hung up.
2 days later the bride called me and said to go ahead and fix it and they would pay for it since the program was wrong and it was basically their fault. Once I received payment I fixed the name and removed the 1 shot of the program and we all lived happily ever after. (I suppose). The point is if you do credits, then protect yourself, both by having a program and a stipulation in your service agreement that covers you in case of a mis-spelled name or an incorrect program.

[Long Truong]

What Katie and Don mentioned are good enough reasons for me to stay away from it.

I think it would definitely add some production value to the piece as it will give it a movie feel but my time and effort would be better spent on other things that will improve the quality and value of my work.

My closing credits consists of the B&G's name followed by my logo

[Jeff Harper]

I am of the opinion it is a nice touch, but as has been said not worth it most times.

[Allan Black]

I'd give the client 2 or 3 options for end credits and advise/tell them nothing doing, if they want something crazy. Keep an eye on the brides mother, especially if it's her only daughter .. and, if they want to send DVD copies back to absent relatives overseas with English not being their first language.

I'd tell them, individually personalised letters of explanation cover this better, even to listing events by running time so the couple can include their own comments .. eg: 'At 19.30, sorry but Uncle Zeb was completely stoned'

Another thing to be careful of .. if they want fancy video fonts to match their wedding invitations. Some printers here offer exclusive custom produced squirelly wedding fonts so even if you got close to theirs, yours won't translate to most TV screens. You can waste days on this.

If they do want the exact font, try including some abstract shots of the wedding invitation, so it's just recognisable.

I've seen the end credits wrapped around the centre of the wedding car wheel because the bridegroom was a successful Jaguar salesman.
Lotta mileage in that :)

Cheers.

[Chris Harding]

Hi All

Very interesting actually!! I don't have any credits at all ..beginning or end!! Is that wrong???? My start titles of each event are simple black backgrounds with the event name and venue in white. By fading out each clip to black also I can run the DVD through the menu and it runs seamlessly as the end of each event fades to black and then each new clip starts with a black screen so there is no "join" as such.

Are tumbling titles with the couple's name and date a bit too "80's" .???? Or do brides still like the sorta cheesie effects with the titles transitioning in over either live video or a still ?? I have always been told that doing movie style credits at both the beginning and/or end is over-doing it...it's tough getting feedback from brides (when you or I buy a service/product we hardly ever rush to the store to tell them how wonderful (or bad) it was) How do you know when you are overdoing the titles thing or maybe under-doing it and not providing the courtesy of including names on the video??

Chris

[Sharon Bridgeman]

Hello,
Which is the right camcorder for shooting horses moving?

We have a sony HDV FullHD1080 which uses tapes - which gives us real time - ie if there is 20 minutes of recording it takes 20 minutes to load onto the computer - it has excellent quality ... but ... it only has a usb connection for down loading stills .... and it seems that system 7 doesn't have drivers for the camcorder.

So ... looks like we have to bit the bullet and buy a new camcorder ... but which one gives the best quality HD given they use hard drives and memory sticks and not tape?

I am looking for the simple answer beyond the jargon of the experts... I just want to know which one to buy for HD - if they arlso do great stills or have a projector that is a bonus but secondary to the quality we are after.

thanks for you help
Sharon Bridgeman

[Allan Black]

Hi Sharon welcome .. but unless you're going to shoot videos of horses getting married, you're in the wrong thread.

Start a new thread in Open DV Discussion, list your budget. Also try a search, this is one of the most asked questions.


Chris, well done opening credits individualise and create a quality mood for a wedding DVD, especially when new found friends at the kids school see the program way in the future. Limited end credits make sure those kids remember who was who .. and you too :)

In the convention biz we used to say, new clients mostly get up out of the audience of our current show. And that happened big time, even to inviting some prospects to come and watch.

Cheers.

[David Tripp]

I have a very simple fade in and out on white background of company logo then B and G's name with the date of wedding at the start.
Then a short Rolling credit at the end, again with their names, date, filmed at locations .church name reception name.. Company logo. I normally try to include something nice like 'the start of a whole new chapter after their names'
And finish with thanks for Watching which is a still fade in fade out.

Seems to work quite well and the customer likes it.

[Alen Koebel]

Originally Posted by Allan Black

Hi Sharon welcome .. but unless you're going to shoot videos of horses getting married, you're in the wrong thread.

She is definitely in the wrong _thread_ because this one is about closing credits in a wedding video. She _may_ be in the wrong forum, which is what I think you really meant, but not for the reason you state. This is not called the "Wedding Videography Techniques" forum, it's called the "Wedding / Event Videography Techniques" forum. If those horses she wants to record are, for instance, show jumping then that is an event (with "live" implied).

Now, I say she _might_ be in the wrong forum because she wants advice on an equipment purchase, not on a technique for recording an event. However, it's a debatable point. Would not the best place to ask what equipment to use for a given application be in a forum where people discuss similar applications?

[Alen Koebel]

FWIW, I have to date completed one (quantity 1) wedding video and I did include closing credits. (Yes, I am no longer a wedding video virgin, but it wasn't for money so I'm still an amateur.) I included only those names that appeared on the program: the wedding party, the officiant and the musician (a friend of the bridal couple). I downloaded a royalty-free, animated, looping, background video clip, split it up into sections and froze the animation at every point where I needed to add text (coincident with the movement in the animation momentarily stopping before changing direction). At those points I faded in the text, held it for long enough to read and then faded it out while continuing the animation. Looks far better than scrolling, but then again a lot more work. However, the work is done and I could apply it easily now to other videos.

PS. Since the conversation has expanded to include opening titles, I'll describe what I did for that too: I went back to the scene of the crime...I mean, venue for the wedding - a city park - on a day with similar weather and shot some establishing clips (pans of the park, water fowl, etc.). One of those clips is of the gazebo where the wedding actually happened, shot from a tripod. The gazebo is to the right in the frame and I sequentially fade in the names of the bride and groom ("Bride & Groom") and the date of the wedding on the left side of the frame. After holding for a few seconds the entire frame is faded out slowly to black. Fade in to a pan of the park with location name as a "lower thirds" element, etc, etc.

[Chris Harding]

When I first started doing weddings I would always shoot a bit of footage or take a few stills to use as a background for the titles. I still have Prodad Adorage which allows you to create animated weddings backgrounds like a rotating cake or rings that intertwine but apart from being very much "cartoonish" they also didn't have enough resolution for HD footage ..I guess they were great when we shot SD in 4:3

Unforunately I tend to listen to people and I was told on this (and other) forums that my title sequences were "very cheesy and were "80's" style" so I then kept them really simple with a black background (so the preceding clip on the DVD that fades to black) transitions smoothly with the next event.

I think it depends on your clients too...An Indian client, a while back, showed me his wedding and the title sequences went on for ever with swirling and twirling title text and when they did anything romantic red graphic hearts floated up the screen.... it seems that Middle East/Asia brides still like this sort of stuff but maybe I'm now getting a bit too bland????? My start titles are a mere 5 or 10 seconds and simply state the event and the location...and that's it!!! If my first clip is the bridal preparation my titles will say
"Bridal Preparation" on line one and then (smaller text) "Bride and bridesmaids" and then into the footage!!!

Nevertheless, brides are always happy with the result!!! However, I do create a 30 second intro clip with live footage at the very beginning of the DVD saying "...on 30th November 2011..Jess and Peter started a new chapter of their lives together....this is their story...." I basically use mostly photoshoot stedicam stuff in slomo with a romantic backtrack.

Are my event titles afterwards too clinical???? Do others use a little more romantic stuff for other titles nowdays???? Having a 5 second title at each event does allow the viewer's brain to "reset" so their attention span is also given a break too before the next event rather than letting them watch 100 minutes of non-stop footage!!!

Chris

[Kelly Langerak]

First off, I don't put the couples name or date at the beginning of the video. It's cheesy and my opinion it's already outdated, even on a highlight film. I also think that script text is a huge no no. Don't do it. Use a simple Ariel text if need be.

Now for ending credits, I agree with most that it can be a big pain, but I do offer it for my Feature Film option because it's fitting. If the client goes with my Documentary Edit then no.

[Alen Koebel]

Originally Posted by Kelly Langerak

First off, I don't put the couples name or date at the beginning of the video. It's cheesy and my opinion it's already outdated, even on a highlight film. I also think that script text is a huge no no. Don't do it. Use a simple Ariel text if need be.

Cheesy? Really? Then most of the wedding videos I see posted here are cheesy. I'd guess yours is not a majority opinion, not of wedding videographers nor their customers. There are plenty of ways to make something look cheesy, granted, but I don't see how that by itself is necessarily so.

Re Arial, that's a little plain. There are alternatives that are just as readable but not as common. I agree that most script fonts are hard to read, even less so in SD. In my case, I used a script font only for the names of the couple in the title, in a large point size. This was the same font (well, a close copy) that the couple used on their invitations and program, so it was really almost a graphic element. The couple recognized it right off when I played the video for them. They liked it. They also liked the closing credits, which they said were "movie like." That is of course exactly what I was going for (you see this same style all the time in movies today). And since pleasing the customer is the goal I would say I succeeded, regardless of whether someone else might consider any of what I did "cheesy."

In the end, "cheesy", "fancy", "plain"" are adjectives chosen by your customers and are relative to their tastes. As Chris's Indian wedding example shows, one customer's cheesy is another customer's "fantastic!". A while back I posted a few links to what I considered cheesy wedding videos, but I'll bet in that local market and culture they are just fine.