A Call to the Videography

This is an Editorial I was asked to write for Carolina Wedding Magazine. This is my second unedited draft.

I am a filmmaker who just so happens to make extra grocery money shooting
weddings. Granted, I make a lot of income on corporate, commercial videos and
now, website design, weddings still give me money to take my family to the beach or buy my amazing finance some kind of something. Weddings take me about 20 hours to complete from the time that I put the first DV tape into my deck until I rip the final DVD.
Let's face it-- Weddings, (if you know what you are doing,) are easy. I am a great and efficient editor if I have no other claim to fame, so maybe I dont know. That may make it faster for me, than some other "wedding videographer" hack out there or maybe, I can justify my twenty hours because I put the personal touch on it and take a little extra time to make my newlyweds really enjoy the product they trusted me to give them. One wedding videographer I talked to took a month to finish a wedding he had shot and the finished product was garbage. (He collected a $900 paycheck.)

I am not a blueprint videographer and I do not wear ties nor do I bullshit my clients on the day of their wedding. I live in North Carolina. I have six competitors in the area. Their prices are at the highest $2,400 to their absolute lowest, (one camera, two tape restriction nonsense,) $1,300--- And they are getting it. One of these guys was shooting weddings with two, 1 chip, $400 cameras and editing the video with--- MOVIE MAKER. What the hell is Movie Maker? This blockhead did not know what Final Cut Pro or Avid was. I mean--- What??? OK, there are other video editing software that you can get at novice and intermediate levels, but c'mon--- You should stay up-to-date on your craft. My father is a dentist and is retiring in four years and still reads every tooth periodical that comes into his office. I am on the cusp of upgrading all my equipment from Canon XLs to Sony HD Cameras and my competitors, (who by the way are all doing about 25% more business than me,)are shooting on Hi-8.

So you are asking yourself now, what is the point of this diatribe, (besides me bragging that my equipment is bigger than the other guys.)

OK, so here it is. Wedding Videographers--- Stop robbing people. Weddings are expensive. These kids are getting ready to start their lives and that money they pay you to document their special day would pay three to four of their mortgages otherwise. I know you guys, and the ones sitting there reading this looking over at your limp Canon Elura laughing all the way to the bank, learn some integrity. There is another looking at his Sony VX1000, which although is a better camera was discontinued in 2001, so I can assure you that the record heads on it are worn to nothing. I have thrown down the gauntlet. Spend some time editing, make some quality titles, DVD Menus, good transitions. Invest in some good editing software whether it be Sony Vegas, FCP, Avid, or Premiere. I challenge you to really learn the way of the samurai and earn that outrageous paycheck that you are receiving.
My starting price is $800 dollars and if you get my platinum package it comes in at $1100 and it gives you everything, and I mean everything, and even then I feel like that number may be a little high. I have shot twenty-two weddings and twenty-one of the newlyweds have been blown away by the finished product. One hated it, but with all due respect to her, she was not going to be pleased with anything anybody did. She sued her DJ, Cake Maker and Limo Driver. I was not on the list of the big sue. I gave her her money back and wrote it off being that it was my first wedding. I had originally charged her $150 bucks and shot it with two Canon GL-2s. That gives me the right to brag. That gives me the right to challenge you, untalented conmen to bring your prices down and raise your production.
For prospective newlyweds, I beg you to do your research and find the right videographer for the job. It does not have to be me, but for goodness sakes do not pay $2400 or anything over $1,300. Shooting and cutting weddings are not worth that kind of money even if we make the production look like Bridezilla.

Conmen--- Take a look at my timelines from my last two weddings---- That is what a a$1100 wedding video should look like when you drop it to DVD. Deal with it.