Forced to do a wedding. does anyone have some pepto bismal?

i am doing a wedding for the 1st time. i normally turn them down due severe itching and diarrhea but this is a family wedding.

my cousin has a wedding coordinator so i must submit a contract. does anyone have a stock contract for a wedding.

i did search and found some nice terms but i dont have an example of how the itemized pricing is represented?

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

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i am doing a wedding for the 1st time. i normally turn them down due severe itching and diarrhea

J.Corbett

If it's your "first time", how do you know how bad it really is? Please be careful insulting the Wedding industry folks and then asking for help from those same people. There are a lot of folks on here that currently do that for a living and some of us started out that way (I did weddings as a night job while I was in college from '91 to '94 & I thank god for it).

Peace

Joey

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Also,
Many of us have had a wedding.

But seriously, just sub-contract it and take a cut.

Anyone who has "done" a wedding is painfully aware that it is one of the most insidious tasks on the planet. While the photographer is responsible for all the "interesting"shots, the videographer is expected to catch every frame of the entire wedding and the reception.

One can not do a good job without at least 3 cameras and a sound person. Weddings are expected to be a Hollywood production for $600. And if you screw up getting to the cake on time, yikes!

I don't fault the videographer, rather the unrealistic expectations of the person who "thinks" they are in charge of the entire event.

Yeah Corbett-

If it's your first time how do you know it will itch???

It's extremely funny to read your quote """If you act like you know everything, you will never be able to learn anything."""" and then read the opposite frame of mind in your comments about this being your first wedding. I think those quotes are silly because they are automatic. Shame on those who live life automatically.

I've found that having a camera in my hands on wedding gigs allows me to disconnect in a certain way. It's like I have an invisible cape on. You may actually have fun.

Good Luck.

tell them that most people watch their wedding video once - then let it gather dust on the shelf - or if the marriage doesn't last (as the majority unfortunately dont) - they'll throw the tape at each other on the way out the door.

instead offer to do a wedding story - you produce - you write - you decide what gets in and what doesn't. That way no one expects a wake-up to honeymoon suite documentary -- Grab a few interviews -- grab a little dancing - the I do's have people tell a story - not "how great a couple" they'll be" - but actually insightful comments about each...funny heartwarming stories -- create a story and give it as a gift if you want (if it's your cousin and you are close and you'd rather not...then say - I'd love to but I want to enjoy the event with out a big piece of glass between me and your event...then have their wedding contractor get someone else to do it) (They aren't asking you to do this for free are they? If so why would you have to submit a bid to your cousin's contractor?)

I did one as a labor of love for a friend -- with just stills music and some post interviews as v/o -- they paid thousands for professional stills and a three camera shoot everything crew -- the one I created is the only they'll watch or show anyone else.

Andy

Most wedding editors I've seen spend too much time on trickery (After Effects, glows, lighting effects on text, motion) and not enough time on content. Who are these people? What are their interactions? Film is a "Show Don't Tell" medium -- there's not much point in lining up talking heads yapping on about how great the couple is. It's much better to film them in real life. The best wedding video I've done had me following a delightfully funny graphic designer and his funky actress fiancee around New York while they shopped for a cheap tux. They were originally going to get friends to do interviews, but all of them flaked. Good thing too. The humour and real interactions captured much more about their relationship than any boring-ass talking heads would have.

Too many transitions and video effects squarely put the piece into the realm of video. When I do weddings, I usually go the subtle route and treat it as a feature film -- cuts and dissolves, judicious slow-mo, emphasis on dramatic shots rather than flying objects. Works like a charm. Ordinary people think they like video effects when it is much more of a pleasant shock when their images appear in the context of a classical, paced, elegant feature-film style. And colour correction -- crafting a look -- is much more important than what colour glow to put onto the lower 3rds.


www.derekmok.com

When I was doing weddings, I was cutting linear S-VHS tape with a Sony RM450 A/B Roll switcher, a Video Toaster & doing camera moves over stills on an easel with an S-VHS camera the size & weight of my G5.

I wish I had an HVX200 / FCP / After Effects / Photoshop back then. You kids today have it made

Joey

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Well, you can say no when the famous pop-question is asked!
"Does someone has a reason to stop this wedding?"
That will save you..

Think that you are going to do a movie, the story is what counts, specially the people and the good moments, not the effects and not the silly music.
Try to mix some photos on the editing.

Anyway i'm married for 9 years and i haven't edit my wedding video and the good Hi8 Cameras are gone... so, there it goes my Oscar.

Rui Barros
Editor Colorist Trainer
Lisbon, Portugal
RTP Post-Production
Apple Certified Trainer FCP 7
Apple Certified Pro FCP 7

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Anyway i'm married for 9 years and i haven't edit my wedding video

LOL...that's hysterical, Rui!! I am married 12 years in September and I too have not yet edited my own wedding video! I am still so pi$$ed off at that cameraman (just one - we were broke) because he didn't interview a single person. He recorded 90 minutes of people staring at the camera. We watched some of it after it was over & I asked him if he interviewed anyone. He said no. I told him to just give me the tape & leave. You only get one shot at a wedding & this guy totally blew mine. I would post his name if I had it. I have to go hit the heavy bag...I'll be right back...

Joey

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

my comments about filming a wedding is due to a chronic fear that the participants want me to create miracle without full cooperation. my friend edits wedding and he has told about some of the incredible request he has received. plus since i first used imovie i said the i would never do them.

i am getting paid for this even though its my cousin. she never asks for anything free. the expectations of the coordinator are not really important since my cousin has already seen a lot of my work.

i never thought about it as a film i was more in the frame of mind of what i do when covering live events. the film idea seems to be a hole lot smarter. it would make it more up my ally to go at it from the perspective that MOK and RUi offered.

i am now more thinking of an artsy soft cut feel. i have a chance to get a lot of groom/ bride commentary b4 the wedding since it is in oct. i had thought of doing a short narrated photo montage of their life and accomplishment up till they met. then going right into their life pre-marriage while shacking up . then the wedding including them pulling off with cans behind the car.
i would also like to get the parents at their homes talking briefly about the couple.

3 cameras was my guess ( 2 static left and center and 1 right side roamer during the ceremony ) then going to 2 cams roaming during the after party.

""" What you do with what you have, is more important than what you could do, with what you don't have."

> > > Knowledge + Action = Wisdom - J. Corbett 1992 """"

How about running out of batteries halfway through the reception? The video went to black and all we had was audio at that point for about 2 minutes. It was one of those "friend of a friend" things. But, we are divorced now, so , who cares?

My 2 cents? Make sure the camera people are on the same page for stopping and starting, in fact, don't stop, just keep rolling, shoot it all, it's just tape. It makes syncing up easier.

Unless you're going P2, then.........?

Cameron Young