BUDGET VIDEOS - ARE THEY REALLY GOOD VALUE?
Budget Wedding Videos
We understand that with all the other expenses involved with planning a wedding, it is tempting to look around for a cheaper wedding video. After all, how difficult can it be to film a wedding? Surely all wedding videographers are much of a muchness, after all they are all claiming to use the latest cameras etc.
However, after a little thought it probably won't come as too much of a surprise to be told that there is a lot more to it than meets the eye!
With a bewildering range of prices charged by various companies for wedding videos - varying from as little as £300 to £3,000 - it is very difficult to know what to pay and what to expect.
Good wedding videos are expensive to produce
Without going into too many details, good wedding videos are expensive to produce. They require an investment of several thousand pounds in professional filming and editing equipment together with various insurances, licences, stock, transport and general administration. With modern technology most equipment will need updating on a frequent basis. After filming, your wedding video will usually take several days to edit - a cost often overlooked when comparing prices.
Budget videos
Wedding videos can be divided into two basic types. At one end of the market are those people who concentrate on offering low prices to attract clients. At the other end are companies who concentrate on the quality of the finished video rather than how cheaply they can make it. So, what is a budget video?
There isn't a clearly defined line but based simply on the costs and time involved with producing a wedding video I would suggest that it simply isn't possible to produce a reasonable quality video for less than £700 - £800.
This charge is actually quite modest when compared to the charges made by other skilled professionals, such as graphic designers. These prices become even more realistic when compared to prices charged by other wedding service suppliers, ie. photographers, toastmaster etc.
Prices higher than this usually reflect an increasingly higher production standard. Below this price - the budget end of the market - low prices are generally achieved at the expense of quality by either using less expensive equipment, employing less qualified cameramen and editors or spending less time on the edit.Generally, budget videos are produced by:
a) people just starting in wedding videos who lack experience and need to attract work and perhaps don't feel confident enough to charge proper prices.
b) people producing wedding videos as a part-time job to earn some extra pocket-money
c) people who simply do not have the skill or experience to produce good quality work.
But surely it doesn't make that much difference
Good wedding videos are not only expensive to make - they are also difficult to make! They call for a very high level of experience and skill with the ability to think on your feet and create well composed, creative footage instantly.
Unlike most filming where there is a chance to do it again if it doesn't work, live event filming is very often seat of the pants stuff, with the cameraman trying to stay in front of the action while at the same time trying to compose good film style footage.
The simple fact is that without the skill, experience and right equipment the end result is usually going to be quite disappointing.
With only one opportunity to get it right, is it really worth handing over the responsibility of filming your day to a 'budget filmmaker' whose only real concern is how cheaply he / she can do the job?
© Digital Magic Productions 2002 - 2010 |
