Q. My relation has a video camera, why should I pay someone else to film my wedding?

Q. You say you use broadcast quality equipment - what does that mean?

Q. You use digital equipment - so what - my local camera shop sells digital stuff for under a grand.

Q. You say you don't sub-contract - what does that mean?

Q. You seem rather expensive, there are people out there offering to do it for less

A. We have found that relying on a member of your family to film the day can have several drawbacks. Firstly, to cover the whole day requires constant concentration, something that you couldn't and shouldn't ask a guest to do - after all, you have invited them to enjoy the day as well!

Also, we often see that the wedding group is often divided into two distinct sections - the bride's side and the groom's side, so your relative may only concentrate on his/her family, rather than all the guests. Worse still, they may only concentrate on their immediate family, making the film very one sided.

Many family videos start off with the best of intentions, but more often than not you find the effects of alcohol creeping into the quality of filming as the day progresses! There are also lots of other subtleties that can make or break a recording, like the use of a tripod to steady the shot, extra & external microphones, lights, and of course, good editing.

You are paying us to capture the atmosphere of the day, while you get on with the serious business of enjoying it, and that's what we do. With over twelve years experience filming both weddings, adverts, promotional films and television programmes, we have the experience and expertise to create the perfect wedding video for you to treasure for all time. But don't just take our word, check out our what our clients say section. As over 70% of our work comes from our client's reccommendations, we know we are producing wedding videos that people treasure.

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Q. You say you use broadcast quality equipment - what does that mean?

A. Most modern camcorders will give you a good picture if all the elements are perfect for it - not too sunny, not too overcast, no mix of outdoor & indoor light, not too dark or noisy inside, etc. Unfortunately, and especially at a wedding, more often than not none of the above is perfect - giving poorly defined and strangely coloured pictures. A broadcast camera is designed to work perfectly whatever the conditions, always giving the best results. That's why broadcasters like the BBC, ITV, and all the major television companies use then instead of the camcorders you can get from stores like Dixons. Every element of the picture is manually controlled by the cameraman, which means that whatever the situation we can always guarantee you the best picture available. We're sure you would be pretty disgusted if you hired a stills photographer and he turned up with a snappy instamatic camera, so why settle for a domestic camcorder to record what is probably the most special and precious day of your life.

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Q. You use digital equipment - so what - my local camera shop is selling digital stuff for under a grand.

A. The term 'digital' is probably the most misused and misunderstood term used today. It is sold to us as the perfect answer and replacement to everything, and in most cases it is superior. However, there are different types of digital. After all, you can buy a digital camcorder for under £600.00, but broadcast digital camcorders can cost up to £35,000.00! Why? It's because of the way the signal is processed, the optics used to capture the picture, the quality of microphone, the bandwidth (how detailed the recorded picture is) and many other factors. To give you a quick example: - the lens alone on our broadcast cameras costs over four times the amount of most domestic camcorders complete! And because we use broadcast camera's to record your special day, it's things like that that ensure top quality from beginning to end.

And then of course there is the editing of the film, to make it interesting for everybody to watch. Too often we have seen terribly dull wedding videos, where shots just go on and on and on..... without anything interesting happening. With our broadcast experience making adverts, commercial promotional videos and television programmes for the major broadcasters such as Meridian & Anglia Television, we know how to make an interesting film, one that not only you will be delighted to watch time and time again, but your friends will too!

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Q. You say you don't sub-contract - what does that mean?

A. Many wedding video companies will show you a lovely demonstration video, but your final film may be nothing like it. Why? It's because they sub-contract, that is, they hire in different cameramen, dependent on the number of booking they have on any particular day. That means that you will never be able to guarantee the competence of your cameraman or the equipment used to record your special day. It may be good, but it may not. Every year these cowboy companies turn up on programmes like Watchdog. We offer all our clients the exclusive guarantee that we will only undertake to film one wedding per day, so it really does pay to book early, especially for the more popular months. And with the increasing popularity of civil services at country houses and hotels we are finding it's not just Saturdays that get booked early. So if you see our showreel, or a complete wedding and you like what you see - that is what you will get. Guaranteed. Now that's one less thing to worry about!

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Q. You seem rather expensive, there are people out there offering to do it for less

A. As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. Many so called 'professional' wedding videographers are nothing more than people (Uncle George as we like to call them - bless them all) who have bought a camcorder and fancy making a bit of extra Saturday cash. Unfortunately, their idea of a good film is often totally different to yours! Often their equipment and experience is no better than a camcorder your family would bring along.

 

These are the questions that we are most frequently asked. However, if there are any you have that we haven't answered here, please feel free to get in touch and we'll be happy to help!