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  1. Hi guys,

    I have just started up a wedding video company. Wish me luck!
    Does anyone have any tips or advice?

    http://www.yourdayvideos.com.au/
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  2. Member hech54's Avatar
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    You joined just to spam?
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  3. Member
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    So...you're a masochist?

    Having shot one or two weddings early in my career (many years ago), and having worked with many production crew personnel who had also done weddings in their pasts, I have come to the conclusion that it is the least rewarding, bottom-of-the-barrel type of video production work anyone can do for such little money. Frankly, I'd rather shoot rotted corpses at a crime scene investigation. But that's just me.

    So my first bit of advice is to get out of that business. If that 's not an option for you, I suggest you get this book:

    http://www.videouniversity.com/shop/wedding-video-for-profit-a-business-and-marketing-guide

    I wish you all the luck in the world. You will need it.

    BTW, I completely agree with hech54's spam comment. It is bad form to advertise yourself in this forum.
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  4. Banned
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    What filmboss80 said. I'm going to assume you're sincere and not just a spammer looking for free advertising.

    Here's a few issues you're probably going to face sooner or later and you may regret ever going into the business when you do.
    1) No matter what you do to provide a good product to the consumer, some dumb ass is going to have some barely functioning DVD player from 2002 that won't play your DVDs and you'll be hit with all kinds of negative comments about how YOU suck and don't know what you are doing when the problem is their old crap equipment. If you are not going to pay a pressing plant to press DVDs for you but you're going to burn them yourself, then stick to single layer DVDs and use either Taiyo Yuden or Verbatim's DateLifePlus (NOT their newish "Life" series but "DataLifePlus") to give your discs the best chance of success. At this time there's no real preference for DVD-R or DVD+R. Both are fine.
    2) You may look at these weddings as a goldmine where you can sell quite a few DVDs. In reality the family may buy one or two and then copy them. Some people in this business get completely bent out of shape and go to extremes to try to prevent copying. Look, if Hollywood with their BILLIONS of dollars can't stop it, how can you? If you can't live with the fact that this is going to happen and your response is to look for tricky ways to prevent DVD copying or to encode a watermark on the video, then get the hell out of the business RIGHT NOW. If you look at these wedding videos as YOUR property, then get the hell out of the business RIGHT NOW. Don't even start it. You are being hired to document an important event. That's it. You're not being hired to make a motion picture that millions of people around the world will see. The video belongs to the people who hired you and if you can't accept that then don't even start. If you can't make a living out of your fee and the very small number of DVDs you will sell then you need to find another line of work.
    3) I haven't been to a lot of weddings, but I've been to some that were held under absolutely deplorable conditions for video. If some moron wants an indoor wedding by candlelight only, you need to be upfront with them about what to expect from your video. You may get blamed for not producing Hollywood results under conditions that even the best of cameramen would find impossible to work under.

    Good luck.
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  5. Member Cornucopia's Avatar
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    Ditto with my experiences. Plus, trying to pin down the wedding party's demands (and not having them revise/retract them at the last minute) is an exercise in futility.

    Scott
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  6. Member zoobie's Avatar
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    Want to make a small fortune in the video wedding biz?
    Easy...just start with with a large fortune
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  7. Aww I'm sorry I'm not a dodgy spammer haha I actually just wanted some insight and thank you very much for the replies!

    I have to say I completely agree that they're tough and definitely at the bottom end of production. I actually work 3 days a week at an amazing post production studio which is my dream job! but unfortunately it doesn't quite pay the bills so i thought this would be a good way to make some extra cash on the weekends...haha bad idea?

    Thanks a bunch though very helpful!
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  8. Member budwzr's Avatar
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    Whew! You must love to take a beating and not get paid.
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  9. Member Cornucopia's Avatar
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    Post Pro Dream Job dreams that I have would also pay the bills, otherwise they're creeping into "Nightmare Jobs".

    Seriously, you want to make money on the side doing video? Do either Freelance sports cam work, or Forensic/Deposition videos! Much better return on your investment, if you have the chops & the equipment.

    Scott
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  10. Member budwzr's Avatar
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    Yeah, everybody, and their uncle, becomes a director. If a drunk guest vomits, half the people want that in the final, the other half don't.
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