ORANGE COUNTY WEDDING VIDEOGRAPHY POLICIES AND INSTRUCTIONS
Please wear formal dress attire, preferably all black or black and white. It has to look clean, formal and professional. You are expected to arrive at least 30 minutes before the service start time listed above. For example, if the service start time is 5:00pm, you must arrive at 4:30pm or earlier. You will need this time to unload your equipment, find the exact areas where the ceremony and reception will be taking place, introduce yourself to the client, the DJ and the coordinator, talk with the photographer, set up your cameras, adjust the angles, check on the batteries, etc. Please make sure to allow extra travel time in case of heavy traffic. Keep in mind that sometimes finding a parking space or finding the venue may be difficult so it’s always best to arrive at early as possible. I recommend arriving 1 hour before the service start time listed above. Service start time is often the same as the start time of the ceremony so it’s absolutely unacceptable to be late for this.
Please remember to be nice, polite, friendly and professional with the client, their guests and vendors. We have to do whatever it takes to make it a happy day for the bride and groom. Smile as much as you can. Excellent customer service is one of our main priorities. Please make sure you don't miss any important events, such as the ceremony, grand entrance, first dance, toasts, speeches, mother-son dance, farther-daughter dance, cake cutting, bouquet toss, garter removal, etc. Before going to the bathroom, please talk with the DJ, photographer or coordinator to make sure you don’t miss anything. Keep in mind that things can get very spontaneous so you should be ready to film at any given time. Please use the on-camera LED lights at all times, even if you feel that they are too bright. Most people would understand why you have to use them. However, if the clients asks you to turn it off, please do.
Before the ceremony begins, please capture the interior and exterior of the event venue with a monopod (panning): beautiful scenery, ceremony arch, flowers, chairs, decorations and guests arriving. When filming with a monopod, you need to stand still and hold the camera still. Do not shake the camera or make any extra moves when filming. Always use the ground (or floor) as support for the monopod. Do not just “hold” it in your hands, because in that case the video will be too shaky. Do not walk when filming. When you pan the camera, please do it slowly at the same spead in the same direction. Before you start panning, it’s very important to adjust the height of the monopod to make sure the object you’re about to film is right in front of the camera (not above or below). If the object is too low, feel free to sit down on a chair right in front of it and film it while sitting. Please keep in mind that most clients will be watching raw, unedited and unstabilized footage so it’s best to avoid any unnecessary shaky movements, because they will negatively impact the quality of the video.
During the ceremony and other important events, all 3 cameras must be mounted on tripods. The main camera (camera 1) will be set up on the right side of the arch (middle height), which would allow you to film the bride’s face. The bride usually stands on the left side of the arch so she will be facing this camera. Camera 2 (middle level) is set up on the left side of the arch to capture the groom’s face. Camera 3 (highest level) is set up in the back of the ceremony area behind the chairs on the side of the aisle. Please do not place the tripod directly behind the chairs, because guests will block the camera when they stand up. Please be careful when adjusting the angle. Make sure it’s flat and everything looks even on both sides of the screen. The arch needs to be in the upper middle part of the screen. When adjusting the tripod during the actual ceremony or other important events, please try to do it as quickly as possible. Whenever you’re adjusting one of the tripods, it makes the video shaky and creates background noise, which makes the editing more difficult and time consuming. When filming the most important events such as ceremony, first dance, toasts, cake cutting, etc., please do not stop recording even if you have to move the camera(s). Our clients prefer to have their entire ceremony, first dance, etc. in one single file.
When the ceremony is complete, please confirm with the bride and groom if they want you to capture their entire photo session with the photographer OR their cocktail hour, guests mingling, appetizers and reception decor OR a little bit of both. Regardless of what they choose, when you have time, please make sure to capture all the decorations, centerpieces, invitations, silverware, food, the cake table, the gift table and literally everything else that’s a part of their wedding. Please try to capture several clips of the same item, because some clips may come out shaky and we need to have backup. Do not forget to keep checking on the batteries and replace them when the camera says that you have less than 60 minutes left. When changing batteries, close the screen and wait at least 5 seconds before removing the battery from the camera. Otherwise, the last file will be corrupted. During the photo session, please ask the bride and groom: “Would you like to get a quick closeup shot for video?” If they say yes, tell them to “first face the camera, then slowly face each other, say “I love you” – “I love you too”, then kiss, smile and wave into the camera.” And then suggest the 2nd shot: “walk away from the camera and, after 5 steps, face each other, kiss, smile and wave.” If necessary, you may ask them to repeat it again as long as you feel that it’s appropriate and they are not in a rush.
When setting up the tripods for the grand entrance or any other important event, try to find out where exactly the bride and groom will be entering (or standing) and then decide what’s best. During dinner, please do not forget to do guest interviews. Simply come up to each table one by one and say “Hi, I’m …, the videographer, and I was wondering if you would like to leave a video message for the couple?” When setting up the tripods for toasts, please have one camera set up on one side of the head table and one camera on the other side of the head table. Most of the time the speaker would stand right next to the head table so this way both cameras should capture the newlyweds and the speaker at the same time. The 3rd camera should be set up in the back for a nice wide angle shot. If you see a lot of kids around, please use duct tape to secure the tripods if it’s indoors or metal staples if it’s outdoors. 10 minutes before the service end time, ask them if they want to extend the hours of coverage. It's cash only if paid on the day of the wedding and the rate is double: $100 per each extra 30 minutes of coverage. Please make sure to say bye to all the vendors, ask them for their business cards before you leave and thank the newlyweds for having us.
Please remember to be nice, polite, friendly and professional with the client, their guests and vendors. We have to do whatever it takes to make it a happy day for the bride and groom. Smile as much as you can. Excellent customer service is one of our main priorities. Please make sure you don't miss any important events, such as the ceremony, grand entrance, first dance, toasts, speeches, mother-son dance, farther-daughter dance, cake cutting, bouquet toss, garter removal, etc. Before going to the bathroom, please talk with the DJ, photographer or coordinator to make sure you don’t miss anything. Keep in mind that things can get very spontaneous so you should be ready to film at any given time. Please use the on-camera LED lights at all times, even if you feel that they are too bright. Most people would understand why you have to use them. However, if the clients asks you to turn it off, please do.
Before the ceremony begins, please capture the interior and exterior of the event venue with a monopod (panning): beautiful scenery, ceremony arch, flowers, chairs, decorations and guests arriving. When filming with a monopod, you need to stand still and hold the camera still. Do not shake the camera or make any extra moves when filming. Always use the ground (or floor) as support for the monopod. Do not just “hold” it in your hands, because in that case the video will be too shaky. Do not walk when filming. When you pan the camera, please do it slowly at the same spead in the same direction. Before you start panning, it’s very important to adjust the height of the monopod to make sure the object you’re about to film is right in front of the camera (not above or below). If the object is too low, feel free to sit down on a chair right in front of it and film it while sitting. Please keep in mind that most clients will be watching raw, unedited and unstabilized footage so it’s best to avoid any unnecessary shaky movements, because they will negatively impact the quality of the video.
During the ceremony and other important events, all 3 cameras must be mounted on tripods. The main camera (camera 1) will be set up on the right side of the arch (middle height), which would allow you to film the bride’s face. The bride usually stands on the left side of the arch so she will be facing this camera. Camera 2 (middle level) is set up on the left side of the arch to capture the groom’s face. Camera 3 (highest level) is set up in the back of the ceremony area behind the chairs on the side of the aisle. Please do not place the tripod directly behind the chairs, because guests will block the camera when they stand up. Please be careful when adjusting the angle. Make sure it’s flat and everything looks even on both sides of the screen. The arch needs to be in the upper middle part of the screen. When adjusting the tripod during the actual ceremony or other important events, please try to do it as quickly as possible. Whenever you’re adjusting one of the tripods, it makes the video shaky and creates background noise, which makes the editing more difficult and time consuming. When filming the most important events such as ceremony, first dance, toasts, cake cutting, etc., please do not stop recording even if you have to move the camera(s). Our clients prefer to have their entire ceremony, first dance, etc. in one single file.
When the ceremony is complete, please confirm with the bride and groom if they want you to capture their entire photo session with the photographer OR their cocktail hour, guests mingling, appetizers and reception decor OR a little bit of both. Regardless of what they choose, when you have time, please make sure to capture all the decorations, centerpieces, invitations, silverware, food, the cake table, the gift table and literally everything else that’s a part of their wedding. Please try to capture several clips of the same item, because some clips may come out shaky and we need to have backup. Do not forget to keep checking on the batteries and replace them when the camera says that you have less than 60 minutes left. When changing batteries, close the screen and wait at least 5 seconds before removing the battery from the camera. Otherwise, the last file will be corrupted. During the photo session, please ask the bride and groom: “Would you like to get a quick closeup shot for video?” If they say yes, tell them to “first face the camera, then slowly face each other, say “I love you” – “I love you too”, then kiss, smile and wave into the camera.” And then suggest the 2nd shot: “walk away from the camera and, after 5 steps, face each other, kiss, smile and wave.” If necessary, you may ask them to repeat it again as long as you feel that it’s appropriate and they are not in a rush.
When setting up the tripods for the grand entrance or any other important event, try to find out where exactly the bride and groom will be entering (or standing) and then decide what’s best. During dinner, please do not forget to do guest interviews. Simply come up to each table one by one and say “Hi, I’m …, the videographer, and I was wondering if you would like to leave a video message for the couple?” When setting up the tripods for toasts, please have one camera set up on one side of the head table and one camera on the other side of the head table. Most of the time the speaker would stand right next to the head table so this way both cameras should capture the newlyweds and the speaker at the same time. The 3rd camera should be set up in the back for a nice wide angle shot. If you see a lot of kids around, please use duct tape to secure the tripods if it’s indoors or metal staples if it’s outdoors. 10 minutes before the service end time, ask them if they want to extend the hours of coverage. It's cash only if paid on the day of the wedding and the rate is double: $100 per each extra 30 minutes of coverage. Please make sure to say bye to all the vendors, ask them for their business cards before you leave and thank the newlyweds for having us.