Anyone offer ONLY a highlight video?

[Travis Wilber]

Saw a post like this a few years old. Figured I'd see if anyone is currently or starting to offer this? Just shooting with a single camera and giving back only a short story highlight video? No full ceremony, no full toasts, no full 1st dance, etc.

I thought about doing this cause its alot less editing work as putting together the long 'doc' cut and burning everything has always taken alot of my time. Also figured it would be a bit easier of a shoot day and enable me to focus on making a short story rather than worrying about capturing everything.

If anyone is doing this, is there anything you include to sweeten the deal but not take up too much more time? Giving raw footage? Giving audio of toasts or ceremony back with just picture slideshow over it?

[Bill Grant]

Travis,
In my experience, putting a long form together is about the easiest part. I look at having to shoot all day with multiple cameras and all the audio just to get a highlight, and the edit for a short form is considerably harder and more time consuming because you have to find a story element. You should definately try it and let us know how it is. I would be very interested.
Bill

[Dave Partington]

I can't remember who it was, but some one posted here not too long back that they were going to offer only highlights but give the couple the raw footage for the ceremony & speeches on HDD for them to either edit themselves or get someone else to edit.

I think I'd have a hard time selling that.

Besides, unless all you are doing is a simple music video, you're as Bill said, still going to have to trawl through the ceremony and speeches looking for the story elements to use in the highlights video.

[Don Bloom]

I just got a call the other day from a potential client about doing a short form edit. While I used to do that as a matter of course, I haven't done one for a few years and had to think back to the amount of edting time it consumed. Yeah, you still are spending your day with them, you're still shooting the same amount of footage but the edit! Wowza! i gave them a couple of names of people in the area that I know do short form and said no thanks I'd rather not. Too much edit time, too many ways for the client to come back and give grief to you. "hey why didn't you use XXX instead of YYY?" even though the service agreement states very clearly I have editors descretion. There are a lot of ways for it to go bad, I'll just keep doing my doco style, make a decent amount of money doing it and move on to the next one.

[Katie Fasel]

Obviously it has to depend on if there is a demand for it or not. While a highlight video is a great promotional piece, I'm constantly getting asked "our video will be more than 5 minutes long, won't it?" I don't think a highlight-only would fly, at least not with our customers.

And I agree with what's already been said, about having to shoot the whole day, dredge through looking for the right footage, putting all the work into it. I find that while the highlight video is usually my favorite result of the video, it is also my least favorite to work on. :-)

[Brandon Furst]

When I shoot weddings, it depends on the package. Most of the time I only give them a 6-10 minute highlight video.

If they're paying more, I give them about a 15-20 minute film on DVD plus I add the full ceremony as a separate element on their DVD.

[Dave Partington]

Originally Posted by Brandon Furst

When I shoot weddings, it depends on the package. Most of the time I only give them a 6-10 minute highlight video.

If they're paying more, I give them about a 15-20 minute film on DVD plus I add the full ceremony as a separate element on their DVD.

So what is the price differential on these? Is is 1.5x? 2x? 4x?

With the first one, don't you ever get people coming back asking where the rest of it is?

[Robert Benda]

we started out offering only shorter form videos, but quickly found that folks loved having both (or three) cuts.

[Tyler Krause]

For the last three weddings I've done, they have been 7 minute highlights. I've booked quite a few more weddings this summer which will be highlight only (one couple wants the ceremony and speeches but it will be a straight recording, no cuts, however it will cost extra)

Right now I charge $1200 for a 7-10 minute highlight/music video with some speeches overlaid. Another company in the city charges upwards of $2500 for a 15 minute video, similar style. Everyone I have talked to understands that although it's only 7 minutes, I pack in every piece of the wedding that is worth seeing, and they watch it over and over again instead of just having a one hour video that you keep for 20 years and watch twice.

The reason I'm used to this is because I started doing event video, and those are two minutes long but have literally hundreds of cuts. For example,

Steve Aoki: Wonderland Tour (Tequila Nightclub Saskatoon) on Vimeo

(I post this in the sample clips already but o well haha)

[Dave Partington]

Can you post a 7 minute highlights?

[Asvaldur Kristjansson]

I deliver doco style video and do also 6-10 min highlights. My experience is it takes me almost the same time to edit full length ceremony and speeches as to do only the highligts. Editing time depends on the amount of material you have. I try to capture all the speeches in order to do a great and meaningful highlights with good soundbites to select. The importance of sound is very high and one never know when the "key line" will be spoken. I have seen highlights with only musicbeds and no live audio and that is a lot less work to do but not as enjoyful to see.
Edit a doco style video is less demanding and involves to tell a story in chronological order. Highlight video often starts with a soundbite from the ceremony with timeshifing approach also with a storyline, and can be very timecomsuming to get it all in it right place.

[Bill Grant]

We should be cautious not to price based on length but on time spent. My packages are less expensive for the longer cuts and more for the short. Mainly because the short film as we call it takes 2-3 times as long as the straight cut. For an 8-12 minute short it can take upwards of 20 hrs to get it right. That's where the expense comes in, not in the length. We also offer with that a straight cut ceremony and reception with events only.
Bill

[Tyler Krause]

John and Melissa on Vimeo

Here' a 7 min highlight, no speech audio for this one but the next one will have speeches/vows

[Kelly Huffaker]

Originally Posted by Travis Wilber

Just shooting with a single camera and giving back only a short story highlight video? No full ceremony, no full toasts, no full 1st dance, etc.

This would totally NOT fly with the clients here in Washington. Though they all love to watch that highlights video to show everyone, they always want main events during that day like the ceremony, cake cutting, first look, toasts, and flower/garter toss in it's entirety.

[Bill Grant]

Tyler it sure is pretty. I can see why you can sell this for $1200. I would push to find out how far you can go with it. I imagine a lot higher. If you could add a storytelling aspect to the prettyness, you could make something that could demand whatever you'd like to charge. It also seems like you have a particular kind of bride there, and that helps tremendously. Good luck with this. It will be good to see you develop.
Bill