Oklahoma Wedding Videos
- by Bill Castello
There are many ways to make the wrong choice of an Oklahoma wedding videographer. First, about half of the "professional" Oklahoma wedding video services produce quite amateurish video (We reviewed about a dozen demo videos in the company of several out-of-state wedding videographers). Second, there are several styles of wedding video that vary widely. You are likely to love one style and hate another. Most of us specialize in just one particular style and couldn't do a decent job in some other style no matter how hard we tried..
So, how do you choose your Oklahoma wedding video service? The best way might be to order the FREE DVD, "How to Choose a Wedding Videographer". It comes with a complete wedding video - not just a "demo video" like many other services send - so you can see exactly what kind of work we do. How can you lose on a deal like that?
Many of the problems these other Oklahoma wedding video companies were having were due to using their cameras on the automatic setting. When shooting both bride and groom taking vows, the focus was often on a background object or wall that showed between them. Same thing with exposure - they just left the cameras on "auto" so that white tablecloths, bright windows, etc. shut the aperature down and caused people in the video to appear way too dark. Yet these Oklahoma wedding video companies felt that these clips were so "good" that they included them in their highlight demos. Amazing!
Of course they don't usually supply the actual audio from the wedding? Why not? Because many use just one wireless lapel mic. Those are great, but only pick up crisp audio from two feet or less. The further away, the "froggier" the sound. The ministers, who have the most to say by the way, sounded terrible. Any music, singers or other speakers were barely audible. A professional wedding video service should mic both the minister AND the groom and any other speakers, performers, musicians, instruments, etc. We not only do that but we mic the father of the bride also. He's only going to give his "little girl" away once and you don't want to miss hearing his voice clearly.
Usage of wipes and fades was fairly inconsistent, as though they were throwing in a cool wipe just to show that they could do it. Yet really cool motion backgrounds and animation effects that can make for nice openings and endings and can truly give a wedding video a professional and romantic feel were never used. Those companies without the expertise to create these effects, can purchase "canned" video effects that are extremely well done and come in a wide variety, yet they failed to take advantage of these items that can sometimes enhance a wedding video.
I'm often asked, what will clients be giving up if they go with our Oklahoma wedding video service (OKVideoGuy.com). The answer is they will not be handed expensive, fancy business cards. They will not be able to come to a plush, ritzy office (we work out of our home). Our letterheads are not on embossed stationery. But they can absolutely expect one of the finest wedding videos produced in the State of Oklahoma!
In short, we spend our money on equipment, not marketing. We use THREE (sometimes four) broadcast quality camcorders. And these are not just professional 3-CCD camcorders, but they are 1-Lux, professional 3-CCD camcorders. That's important because you can't use artificial lighting in most chapels, so even top of the line camcorders with 3 or 4-Lux get dingy colors and a somewhat grainy look (maybe that's why they edit them with a "romanticized" blurry, black and white effect). Our Sony VX-2100's will ensure that your wedding video has sharp, brilliant colors that show everything exactly as it was.
Three cameras are important also because to produce a truly professional wedding video, you need to include good close-ups of the bride (one camera), the groom (second camera), guests (also second camera) and an overall view of the entire proceeding (third camera). These shots are all edited to produce a video that you'll want to enjoy over and over again throughout the years. If you watch much TV, or go to the movies, you're used to professionally shot scenes that use multiple cameras to change views and keep things interesting. A one or two-camera video, in comparison, seems amateurish.
We use professional, wireless UHF microphones, the latest editing and special effects software and most importantly, we use twenty years of videography experience to put it all together as a keepsake you'll treasure for a lifetime.
If you choose OKVideoGuy.com for your Oklahoma wedding video service, you can absolutely expect one of the finest wedding videos available in the state of Oklahoma!
