What Brides think about Proffesional Wedding Videography

Before the Wedding WEVA (Wedding and Event Videographers Association) surveyed 500 brides who were getting married in 2005. Here is what they found. Only a little more than half of surveyed brides considered wedding video a "Top 10" service on comparison to other wedding-related services. 38% did not have their wedding videotaped by anyone.

But... After the Wedding 75% felt that the wedding video should have been a "Top 10" service for their wedding. 63% of brides surveyed regret not having their wedding videotaped and strongly recommend that future brides have their wedding videotaped. Of the brides who did have their wedding videotaped by an amateur, 45% of them were disappointed, and wished they would have used a professional videographer instead. Why the change? The brides who were surveyed said that video does a better job of capturing the emotions of the day, records the history of the day better, and strongly feel that future children will enjoy their wedding video more than their wedding photography. A professional videographer can shoot, edit, and produce a higher quality video than an amateur, because of the state-of-the-art equipment, editing tools and software that a professional uses.

Amazing Short Film! (not made by me): To Claire; From Sonny

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To Claire; From Sonny
Written/Directed/Edited/Music by Josh Beattie
DP/Cinematography/Camera: Shuwei Zhang
with Henry Orr as 'Sonny'
Emmie Seaton as 'Claire'
Gianna Gillies as 'Jess'
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Another great article: Nine Digital Cinematography tips

Nine Digital Cinematography Tips

So you know the basics of digital cinematography: medium shots, wide shots, closeups and even extreme closeups. But why do your videos still lack that special zing?

Next time you're watching your favorite TV show or movie, take a look at the camera angles the Director of Photography is using; they're a lot more varied than you probably think. Let's take a look at a few ways better digital cinematography can get your productions out of the doldrums.

1. Get Up High

Shoot from a ladder, a balcony, a window, or even from on top of a chair. This bird's-eye view is a one we're not used to seeing - things look different and exciting - it grabs the viewer's attention. Cooking shows often use shots that look straight down on the action, so that viewers can see over the edge of the cooking pans. It's also a very handy shot for looking at something like a pool game. But why not try an aerial shot of the birthday party or family reunion as well?

2. Get Down Low

To get the camera in a new spot nobody had tried before, wunderkind Orson Welles famously chopped a hole in the floor to fit a camera and tripod at shoelace level. Today's modern video cameras don't require anything so drastic to peer through a mouse hole.
This doesn't just mean lying on the floor and photographing up people's noses. Consider videotaping what a child or pet might see or what goes on under the dinner table. What can you tell about people from their shoes and socks? What's under the sofa? How about putting a camera inside a dresser drawer as someone opens it and puts clothes away? Putting the camera somewhere other than eye level makes you look at the world in a new way.

3. Get Rid of Your Bubble Level

The 1960's vintage Batman TV show and 2000's Battlefield Earth were both famous for having extremely canted horizons and bad acting. While many directors spend a lot of time making sure that their camera is perfectly level, there's no rule that says your horizon can't slope drastically to one side or the other. It can add drama and a sense of forboding in tense scenes and can add interest in action shots during sporting events.

4. Mount It, Move It

Stephen J. Cannell was famous for mounting a camera on the door of the car, abo........... Click for remaining article

Credit: Kyle Cassidy of Videomaker.com

A History of Cinamatography, by JDavid

Hey guys. I just came across this great article by JDavid of Bukisa.com.Its a good philosophical look on cinematography and its history. ENJOY!

 Cinematography is the art of visually constructing a shot for a motion picture. It is the same idea and principle as constructing a still photograph, but even more complex, because this is a photograph that moves. It must also help tell the story and not distract from the message of the movie that it is a part of.

From the beginning of the moving picture, framing a shot to make it more effective has been at the forefront of every moviemaker's mind. One of the very first films ever, The Great Train Robbery, was the first to consider the use of cinematography seriously. The movie unfolded conventionally, telling the story of bandits high jacking a train and robbing everyone on it. In the end, however, the filmmaker decided to throw in one last shot, filmed from a different point of view. While during the movie, all of the action had been filmed in a third person point of view, the last shot of the movie was of the bandit himself, staring directly into the camera, aiming his gun at the audience and firing. This direct type of first person shot construction had never before been attempted, and the effect was undeniable. Ladies and children were frightened to tears and grown men shuddered. Thus was born the art of cinematography.

The function of cinematography is to create, or aid in creating, a style and feel for the film. This is a thin line to tread, however, because the style of the cinematography cannot overtake the substance of the film. It must aid in the telling of the story, not distract from it. Many a thin script has been propped up by the bells and whistles of complex cinematography, to no avail. In the end, lack of substance will always show through. The function, therefore, is not to create beautiful moving pictures in and of themselves, but to frame each scene visually in a way that aids the narrative of the story and moves the plot forward.

There are many different tricks of the trade in a cinematographer's bag, and if you know how to use them, they can be subtle and effective. Consider, for example, that you are shooting a scene where a child is being scolded, and you want the audience to side with the child. If you shot the scene from a third person point of view from afar, the scene would play, but the emotion and mood would be flat. Filming it, instead, from a low angle, from the point of view of the child looking up at the screaming adult, would physically put the audience in the child's body. They would feel what it feels like to be yelled at by an angry parent, and would empathize better with the child. Creating suspense is also oftentimes in the hands of the cinematographer. A man slowly opening a door and going into a darkened room where there may or may not be a killer is suspenseful, but it is made even more so if the cinematographer starts with an extreme close up of the door knob turning slowly. This concentration of the minute focuses the audience and puts them even further on the edge of their seat, not knowing what is going to happen next.

There are as many types of cinematography as there are genres of movies. While there are no formal names for the different types of cinematography used, it is easy to understand how they differ, and what the different purposes are. For a movie with a light-hearted, fun feel the cinematographer will most likely use a lot of light, saturated color in the sets and most likely a faster moving camera to keep the picture moving. For a more serious and somber piece, the cinematographer may use muted colors, a lower level of light and a camera that frames more static shots as opposed to shots that physically move around. For a suspense picture the cinematographer will use extremes to capture his audience, staying still and tight on a shot in dim light, until a significant action happens in the script that pops to life on the screen with a quick camera move and a jolt of light or color. This will shake the audience visually, adding to the suspense already in the script.

Cinematography is, now, looked at as just as important a part of movie making as directing or producing. Shot composition can, and often does, make or break a movie. It is notable to say, then, that composing shots for your next project should be near the top of the list of things to prepare before a shoot. Many beginners in the film industry assume that shots simply fall into place once you have a script, a cast and a director. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Remember that movies are a visual medium before all else, and that thinking in pictures is the only way that your story will be told in a meaningful way that will last in your audience's minds.

Credited to: JDavid of Bukisa Original Post Here

Feature Camera: Canon XH A1

When doing alot of wedding videography, or pretty much anything, most people agree that one of the first things people ask is what KIND of camera I use. An affordable, quality camera that I picked is the Canon XH A1S

For those of us who require a smaller, lighter weight HD camcorder but who won't give up capability and performance, Canon offers the XH A1S. Here's a video with a quick overview.

Some features include
Genuine Canon 20x HD Video Lens III with Professional L-Series Fluorite
SuperRange Optical Image Stabilizer
Three 1/3" Native 16:9 CCD Image Sensors with 1.67 Megapixels (1440 x 1080) 
Canon DIGIC DV II HD Image Processor

A con that seems to float around about this model is its "bulkyness." Though, for amateur videographers like myself that often get paid for productions, bulky often means a "better camera" to everyone else. It also looks professional, so again, this isn't a problem.

So that is my recommendation! And if youre more interested in this camera, here are my links:
http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10051_10051_205660_-1