You’ve ordered your gown, booked your reception site and set up your gift registry. But have you thought about your wedding videography? Often overlooked until late in the game, the selection of a professional videographer should be a critical component of your planning process. That’s because a good wedding video has the singular ability to capture the excitement, emotion and action of your wedding day and preserve it, dynamically, for generations to come.

Lights, Camera, Action!
From wedding filmmakers to wedding cinematographers to video journalists, today’s videographers go by a myriad of titles, but they have one thing in common—they are motion picture artists who love to create wedding videos.

“That is what bridal couples are asking for, but they simply don’t have the words to describe what they want—a wedding video that is produced by an artist,” says Sandy Buller of Sweet Spirit Productions in Pattison, Texas. “Early videos typically had shaky camera work, goofy and tacky transitions and graphics, and lacked the real story of the emotion between the bride and groom on their first day together as a married couple. We like to call ourselves filmmakers instead of videographers since we are telling a story and using some cinematic techniques.”

Indeed, as storytellers, today’s videographers are creating many “love story” videos—romantic films produced weeks or months in advance that document how the couple met and fell in love. “These are fun to show at the reception since they really dive into the emotions that brought the couple together and they let the audience get to know more about the bride and the groom,” Buller says.

According to Joey Mathews at 31 Films in Houston, the trends in wedding videography are moving into more of an artistic, creative realm. “Today’s technology coupled with more cinematic shooting and edgy editing offers brides the opportunity to have a wedding video that is comparable to a romantic movie starring themselves,” he says.

Short-form cinematic editing is another technique that a lot of couples are requesting. “The days of boring, four-hour-long wedding videos with no aesthetics are over,” Mathews says. “Today’s brides want more modern, artistic storytelling. Couples want to be able to show their friends and family their wedding movie, not their wedding video. The new trend in time-shift editing allows for more unique storytelling and can make watching your wedding video feel like a cinematic experience.” Mathews refers to the process of taking the footage captured on the wedding day and editing it down to a short-form version, typically 30 minutes, where not everything is in chronological order.

Another exciting trend in the videography industry is Super 8 mm film coverage. “Shooting on actual film captures a wedding day with a timeless, organic, dream-like feel that video cannot achieve,” Mathews says. “After seeing themselves on motion picture film, most couples agree that film was able to capture the essence of how they remembered their wedding day.”

When it comes to technology, high definition (HD) shooting, offers three times the quality of standard definition video. According to Mathews, the image captured with HD is richer, clearer, and more lifelike than what standard definition can offer. A small handful of videographers shoot HD with actual film lenses—giving the picture an incredible film look. “This, in my opinion, is the closest that digital video can come to having feature film quality,” Mathews says. “After all, what bride doesn’t want to look like a star of her own movie?”

Art Smart, owner of Art Smart Videos in Houston, adds that while HD is the latest twist, HD cameras have trouble in the low light conditions found at wedding receptions. “This problem can be mitigated with a bright camera light, but that can drastically change the behavior of guests (for better or worse), making them self-conscious or even uncomfortable, with the bright light reminding them that they are being filmed,” Smart says. “We prefer to be unobtrusive, like a fly on the wall, reliably capturing the events without altering them. So we only turn on camera lights when absolutely necessary, and we won’t be going to HD until the cameras perform better in low light. Excellent standard definition (SD) is better than bad HD.”

Of course, time is of the essence these days, so same-day edits and ultra fast DVD turnaround are in demand. “With a same-day edit, guests at the reception will see a three- to five-minute highlight clip of the wedding that took place about an hour earlier,” Smart says. Brides on a budget take note: The editing logistics are so complicated that same-day edits are very expensive and few videographers can even do them. “But if at the reception the couple wants to surprise and really ‘wow’ their guests with an eye-popping yet very moving treat, there is no substitute for a same-day edit,” Smart says. “Better yet, Mom and Dad, why not make it a big surprise for the happy couple, too? There won’t be even one dry eye in the house.”

Full Picture
So what are some “must have” components of wedding videography? For Norma Eu of Dream Sky Productions in Houston, bridal couples should definitely have interviews—whether pre-retrospective interviews or “day of” interviews. “Sometimes the story changes as we age, and with the interviews, future generations can look back and know exactly how the couple met,” Eu says. “Having a photomontage is important too. You can preserve your growing-up pictures and how you met on a DVD with music of your choice. This is great for entertainment during the rehearsal or reception.”

Smart adds that most videographers offer highlights chapters on their DVDs, one for the ceremony and another for the reception. “These chapters are set to music of the couple’s choice, each one providing the most important memories in a three- to five-minute experience (depending upon the length of the song). The ceremony highlights might use sacred music, and the reception highlights often use the same song as the couple’s first dance.”

Experts advise bridal couples to consider having the toasts during the rehearsal dinner captured on camera. “In the intimate setting of just family and close friends, some of the best toasts occur that really communicate the person’s support and love to the couple,” Buller says. “Unfortunately, these are rarely recorded. This is a moment of time that can’t be done over.”

Experience Counts
It pays to find an experienced videographer or wedding filmmaker who can offer the expertise you are looking for. “Many people take on filming a friend’s wedding only to realize they weren’t anticipating shots they expected to easily get and that their editing equipment isn’t up to the task of a large job,” Buller says. “They begin to appreciate the filming techniques and experience of a professional.” Strive to find a degreed and/or highly experienced person who has a command of the visual communication arts. Also, look at their samples and get to know their style to make sure you have a good match.

Mathews adds that couples should look for a videographer who can tell an interesting story with the way they capture footage and edit it. “I recommend watching a demo reel of the prospective videographer’s work,” he says. “This will give you a good idea for how they shoot and edit as well as their product’s overall image quality. Another credential that is often overlooked is a referral. To me, positive word-of-mouth referrals are some of the best credentials. Talking to another bride who has used a specific videographer so she can tell you firsthand how much she loved their services is always a great start in finding the right person.”

Depending on the couple’s arrangement for their wedding date, experts also recommend hiring your videographer at least 8 to 10 months in advance. One reason is to secure the date with a popular professional who is in high demand, but also to allow time to establish a relationship with this individual or individuals who are going to be a part of the wedding day.

“Getting to know the person behind the camera who is producing the wedding story can make all the difference in the world,” Buller says. “It can mean the difference between a lame wedding video and a wedding video that is so expressively told that the couple’s life is forever glued together by their wedding story.”