Wonderful Article about why wedding video is so important
Hello my friends,
I’ve got to dash off this not to let you know about a
wonderful article I read and just have to pass on! This just in, a blog post
from a wedding planner that truly understands wedding video and its importance
to not only the couple but also to the family! Please take a moment to read the
blog, if you’re like me you’ll be walking on air for a little while. Most
importantly let the author know how much it means to you, not only that she
understands but that she takes the time to educate her clients on a regular
basis. Many thanks, to Sara Renee for permission to repost the link to her
blog. Please show her some LOVE!
We just published two podcasts that were recorded at the July 2010 meeting of the New York Professional Videographers Association. We were asked by members to put the presentation together to illustrate how we cover the back end of the day and to demonstrate how we do what we do. The presentation was so long we cut it in two to give people a bit of a break. Part 1 starts with the establishing segments and walks you through what we do prior to the grand entrance. Part 2 takes you from the grand entrance through pack up and leaving. Hope you find this useful. Please email us to let us know comments and/or if you have questions or suggestions for upcoming podcasts. I'm currently working on the next podcast with our friend, Florida fil
Al and I are just back from WEVA EXPO 2010 the 20th Annual WEVA Expo. As always it is an enlightening, invigorating and exhausting experience.
We go because we have made so many friends each and every year and look forward to seeing them again. We meet new people each year and it is exciting exchanging information with them. We learn new ways of doing things from people all over the country, scratch that, the WORLD.
This year I was the chairperson of the 20th Annual Committee. It was wonderful working with the volunteers who want to make the Expo experience exciting and fun for the attendees. Committee work is very rewarding and watching people work their special skills on behalf of the industry never fails to give me goosebumps. I feel it is the way it is just supposed to be.
My thanks to Dan Krieger and Fred Tims who volunteered their skills as professional photographers to be our Opening Night Paparazzi for our red carpet walk into the reception. Thanks also to Neil Enterprises who donated the paper, printing and customized folders for the photographs that were given to the attendees! Those pictures were terrific and I'm sure they sold quite a few printers as the prints were amazing and many many videographers are offering day of photography among the services they offer clients.
Also on the committee was Chicago Videographer, Barb Scheman who also received the Pam Andelora Ambassador Award and boy if ever there was a person who deserves this it is Barbara! She is a joy to work with and a spirited colleague who keeps things on track with a ton of enthusiasm. Natalie Neal of Philadelphia spent a great deal of time on decor as well as being chairperson of the Ambassador Committee our fearless diva took on every thing that was thorough at her and she did, as always, an amazing job at everything she touched. Ken Kurita, Chairperson of the Special Awards spent time getting info on photography and lighting, Sarah Pendergraft worked the Social Networking, and Sue Lawson, a crackerjack reporter and Producer of the WEVA NewsMinutes, was hot on the idea trail and we used many of them! We were also fortunate to have WEVA Hall of Fame Inductees Joyce Bertolami (also on the Special Awards Committee) and Kris Malandruccolo(Chairperson of the Public Relations Committee) working on the committee, many many thanks to all the time and attention to detail for so many months. I would particularly like to thank and recommend Linda Elland the meeting planner of A2Z meetings, Tampa, Florida, that WEVA hired with less than a month out to help pull all the details together! Linda Elland ROCKS. If you ever need a meeting planner, hook up with her and just hold on while she makes the magic happen!
Al spent weekly conference calls since January working on the Tools and Technologies exhibit with Scott Scheman, Fred Tims, Lauri Batwin and Scot Sheely. They not only met weekly to discuss the history of the industry but they produced several videos on the state of the art and the contributions of several pieces of equipment to the development of the wedding video industry. Look for the videos on You Tube soon. Many thanks to the committee for their devotion and skills. They are very much appreciated. and a great big hit at WEVA EXPO. So many interesting conversation were struck up around the use of the equipment. Industry veterans and newbies alike enjoyed it.
At WEVA 2010, John Zale, Director of Education pulled together an excellent array of speakers and panelists. There were many first time speakers and it was great to hear that they also want to give back to the industry that they have learned so much from. It is a wonderful circle. We also enjoyed the returning speakers who have educated us before and expanded their knowledge and shared it with us. Of course special thanks to Roy and Linda Chapman who make WEVA what it is.
As we walked around it made us so happy that many listeners stopped us to say hi and let us know that they learned so much from wedvidtalk and encouraged us to start up again. Speakers told us they were new to the business when the podcast started and now they were speaking! So cool!
As most of you know, we were recording the WEVA On The Air podcasts and it had become too hard to do both. Since the WEVA On the Air podcasts have been put on hiatus, we decided to take our listeners advice and jump start WedVidTalk. We recorded our presentation on Receptions at the NYPV meeting and that two part podcast will be up first. We follow up with a podcast with Al's first video assistant (back in the 80's) and catch up with his relocation and new line of video work.
Of course, Al and I recorded new podcasts at the EXPO that I am in the process of editing and all will be posted on at www.wedvidtalk.com before the end of the month.
Hope you enjoy and give us your feedback with ideas for new show and topics!
As May comes upon us I begin to think about how intense this business can be. We get busier and busier juggling all of the jobs that running a video production company brings. Over the winter the shooting season relaxes and our weekends are free. We almost begin to forget our chosen careers!
During the weekdays in the down season, we put together schedules, organize and pay bills, balance the books, write copy for ads, check inventory of our printed materials, write follow-up emails, design and print packaging for each event, purchase media, design and update our website, post to our blog, check statistics to find out what has been working, seek out new areas to promote our work, network at association meetings, set up appointments for pick ups and deliveries, and of course edit the work that we have shot. It’s busy, but you get used to the rhythm because the weekends are slower and you get to breath.
Then May hits like a whirlwind, and you find yourself checking equipment, sending out for repairs, restocking your media cabinets, and you’re prepping all day Friday and shooting all day Saturday and Sunday. The seasonal work such as communions, confirmations and graduations hits us just as the wedding season starts, and suddenly we’ve lost three days of the week and our down time. Traditionally people in the wedding industry have taken Monday off to recoup from weekends like these, so a fourth day goes down. That leaves 3 days to edit and run your business. So, how long will each job take to get done in a schedule like this? It feels like being squeezed in a vise.
It’s time to start thinking about outsourcing some things to gain back some sense of sanity and to get your life back. It’s time to remember why you got into this business in the first place. It’s time to figure out what you love about the business before the madness of summer comes and you burn out.
April is a good month to look for the camera you’ll be using this coming season. It gives you time to get to know the ins and outs before you dive into shooting season. April is the month that manufacturers release all the products they will be introducing for the year. Manufacturers work all year for NAB, but gone are the days that nothing is released before NAB. Now the leaks are fast and furious in their attempt to beat the competition. Since there are so many new product releases manufacturers drop the prices of the already existing inventory, thus JVC has just dropped the prices on their HD line and great deals are to be had on SONY HD cameras. Next month, Armato’s will be sponsoring our meeting and giving us their annual NAB wrap-up. I’m sure they will be coming with unique deals on the cameras you’ll need for the upcoming season. So, if you haven’t begun your research for your HD camera needs, now is the time to do it!
Remember to check the status of your batteries, filters and other accessories that may have become damaged or are in disrepair. If it’s been awhile since you’ve used your equipment, you may not remember a frayed wire. Have repairs made. Go over your packing checklist and revise as needed.
This quarter, April/May/June is the season for Communion, Confirmation, Graduation and Dance Recitals. Double check your order forms (fill it out yourself) to be sure all the information is correct. Check the contact information (is your email address current? Has your website address or telephone number changed since you last used the form? Are you asking for email address of the client on the form to add to your marketing database?) The one thing all of these shoots have in common is a tripod. Have you looked at your tripod lately? Is it good to go? If you hire other videographers to shoot for you, have you checked your contracts with them and reconfirmed the shooting dates and information? When all is said and done, don’t forget to put short clips of these pieces on your blog and let the other professionals you’re working with know they will be there and that you’ll mention them by name, so they should check out your website.
April is a great month for spring cleaning. Wednesday April 2nd is our meeting. As Al mentions in his column we’ll be having a SWAP meeting. Please be sure to price your items before you arrive and arrive early to set your stuff up. Additionally, we’ll be having a magazine exchange table so bring magazines you’re done with and we’ll have them on a table so other members can benefit from them. Leftover magazines at the end of the evening will be recycled.
What inspires you? Just back from PMA08 I can say I was inspired again and again. While we were Podcasting for WEVA, through many of the sessions, I was able to catch up with some remarkable people. Danny Sayson is always marvelous. He is so funny and personable and is such a font of information on how to get the bride to look her best. I know I’m older than Danny, but I want to be like Danny when I grow up.
Jeff Wright got me to pondering what takes one out of your regular routine way of thinking. How do you switch gears? What gets you to say, "You know, I think for this shoot we’ll need a helicopter and some underwater gear". I get that he has had an underwater photography passion and has been collecting the gear for some time, but what makes you think Helicopter? From now on when I do a presentation I’ll be thinking "Where’s my helicopter here?
Mike Nelson talks about being a Videographer for a Lifetime. We’ve have used this philosophy for years in our company, so as much as I love Mike, I would have missed his perspective which has gone far beyond what we’ve done, including the now popular Thank You DVD’s but also, Christmas Card DVD’s for clients that now have Children, Grandparent DVD’s that emphasis the relationship of the children with their Grandparents and more.
Several interviews we did, Tim Sudall, Dave Williams, David Hohenthaner and Maureen Taylor all mention the trend to sell custom encoding and send trailers of the event the Monday after the wedding via email to excite the customer and keep them satisfied until the final delivery of the DVD. With your logo bug in the trailer, you can encode it to go viral and have the client promote your company for you! Just amazing stuff!
You really should plan on attending the next conference, workshop or seminar in your area! If you want the most bang for your buck, plan on attending the next WEVA convention!
By the way, if you're not a WEVA member several of the podcasts that we recorded in The Studio That Sells are available in a non passcode protected section. Go to www.weva.com in the left hand column click on the link for WEVA On the Air and five podcasts with the latest new products introduced in the Studio that Sells will be there. Enjoy.
For those of you not aware, we are also producing podcasts on the WEVA website. There are 73 podcasts there. WEVA members can log in and click on WEVA On the Air, the list of the various shows comes up.
In the Biz is about business issues facing the industry today.
Tech Talk is about the newest technology and how to navigate it.
Connections is about Local Association Life.
Expo Edition is where we cover the WEVA trade shows from behind the scenes.
Finally we have a vidcast called Legends from the Vault in which we interview the WEVA Hall of Fame inductees to find the life lessons they have to offer.
If you are not a WEVA member you can join at www.weva.com.
We will be covering the WEVA Wide World of Weddings at PMA-08 so if you have questions we'll try to get them answered while we're out there.
Serious life lesson to be learned from this event is...never ever do a single camera wedding or event if you want to produce a wedding you can be proud of because sh*t happens..
At the end of the seminar, I am still very impressed with David Robin, the storyteller and David Robin the man, that I have seen grow and change over the years, into a delightfully funny, simply irresistible person I am happy to also call a friend.
