Services

Style

Ceremony

Because it is usually in a church setting, the wedding ceremony is normally filmed from one or a few positions with little movement beyond a bit of slow panning or zooming.  I typically include all of the ceremony itself (entrance/exit, vows, unity candle, homily/message, any prayers and/or readings, etc.), but not hymns, etc.  If there was a singer or musician that performed, I will generally try to fit at least some of it into the rest of the ceremony footage somehow.  If there's a lot of musical performance and I was able to get a good recording of it, I will usually include it as an "extra" on the DVD.

Reception

The rest of the wedding, particularly the reception, generally allows for much more stylistic freedom, and here I strive for a cinematic feel.  I find shots filmed only from one perspective to be boring, so I incorporate a lot of smooth motion shots to add a calm energy to the video.  This is particularly effective when filming dancing and other scenes with a lot going on.  When editing the reception, I usually arrange the video by mood and choose songs that complement the clips, but I also try to keep it mostly chronological.  Along with filming the major events of the reception, such as dances, toasts, cake cutting, garter/bouquet tosses, etc., I also quickly interview as many guests as I can.  I will choose some of these to include in the main video, and the rest I'll include as a special feature on the DVD.  Similarly, I may or may not feature the toasts in the main video depending on how it fits with the flow of the video.  If not, I will include them as a special feature.

Finished Product

The final video is usually around 40-45 minutes long, but this will vary depending on the length of the wedding/reception and what footage "makes the cut."  When it is finished, you will receive several copies of the video in the form of a mastered DVD with custom labels, custom menus, chapters and usually some extra features of footage that didn't make it into the main video.  This disc should be playable in most DVD players.  I will also include a single DVD which contains the high definition video files for playback on a computer.

Equipment

Everything is filmed in high definition (1080i).  My camera is capable of filming in pretty dimly lit situations, but the more light the better the video will look.
Audio is captured using either the on-board microphone or an attached shotgun mic, depending on the situation.  If the ceremony facilities have audio recording capability, I will try to obtain a copy of this recording and use it if it is better than what I have.
For motion shots, I use a Steadicam™ JR image stabilizer.  This allows much smoother motion shots than would be possible by just holding the camera, and much more dynamic shots than are possible with a tripod.
Depending on the situation, I may use either a tripod or the Steadicam during the ceremony.

Locations

I will film anywhere in Austin and the surrounding area without additional charge.  I am willing to travel as far as Dallas, Houston and San Antonio (and other destinations of similar distance from Austin) but will charge a fee to cover travel and possibly lodging expenses.  See "pricing" for details.

Availability

As I primarily promote my services by word-of-mouth, there's a good chance I'll be able to film your wedding as long as it's on a weekend.  Contact me to find out!

2-Week Guarantee

I am usually ready to mail the finished discs between 1 and 2 weeks following the wedding.  Unless I tell you it will be longer at the time that you hire me (due to a planned trip following your wedding, for example), I will grant a partial refund of $50/day if it takes me longer than 2 weeks from the wedding day to mail your discs.

Music Policy

Chances are you've seen other wedding services showcasing video that features recognizable songs by artists such as Coldplay.  In the vast majority of cases, the videographer is including this video without obtaining the rights to use it.  This is illegal.  Although wedding videos are generally small enough productions to not get noticed by copyright-holders, the fact is that these videographers are earning money partly through the use of unlicensed copyrighted material and are guilty of copyright infringement.

Therefore, to protect myself and the owners of these copyrights, I have chosen to not include music which I do not have permission to use.  If you have music you'd like to incorporate which you have permission to use, I'd be happy to include it.  Otherwise, I have a collection of high quality license-free instrumental music of a variety of styles which I will use to complement the video when appropriate.  Although less than ideal, in some ways using unfamiliar music adds an element of uniqueness and timelessness that might be lost if popular songs were featured in their place.

Rights

I will include a short credit clip at the end of the video which I ask that you do not remove, but aside from that, you may copy and distribute the video as much as you want.  I do reserve the right to post a short (3-5 minute) and tasteful musical montage of clips from the video to my portfolio on this site, hosted by Vimeo.com.