Should we have our wedding recorded on video?
If you feel the occasion is a significant event in your life and you would like to share it with friends and relatives who weren't there (perhaps even future descendants), video is a good way to do it. Video can record character, personality and emotion in a way that still photos do not. At a recent wedding fair, a presenter said: "I am holding two boxes. One contains your great-grandparents' wedding photos, and the other contains their wedding video. You can open only one. Which do you choose?" The audience choice was unanimous, to the surprise of some- everyone chose the video.
My brother has a video camera, why not just put it on a tripod in the back and let it run?
This is possible, but you may not be satisfied with the results. I have done many event videos using a fixed, unmanned second camera and the notes that follow are based in large part on that experience.
First, remember tripod legs stick out and if the tripod can be knocked askew by the foot of a passing guest, it will be, with virtual certainty, unless someone re-checks it after everyone else is seated. Event coordinators have been known to move unattended tripods. If you've found a good viewpoint, the photographer may like it too and stand directly in front of your camera. Maybe even on a stepladder.
Second, consider the viewpoint and zoom setting: do you know exactly where everyone will stand, and where they will move? You are probably setting up the camera while the room is empty. When the guests are all standing, what will the camera see? At outdoor weddings, the parents / grandparents in the front row often bring parasols for shade, which may block your view completely. Even indoors, an unwritten rule of events is that the tallest guest will sit, or stand, directly in front of your camera.
An unmanned camera in the back of the room will give you some video, but as you would imagine, it is not as interesting to watch as a manned camera that is skillfully framed and smoothly follows the subjects of interest. The sound from the back of the room will have room echoes and will not be very clear. Without a good sound system, quiet speech from the front of the hall will likely be difficult or impossible to understand. Even if there is a good sound system, the recording will have room echoes (if indoors) or very likely wind noise, traffic, airplanes etc. if outdoors. The saying that "sound is more than half of the whole" is widely held to be true in video and movie production. If you can record sound separately from a mic near whoever is speaking, either direct to the camera or assembled later in editing, you will get a much better quality video, but this involves more equipment and more time and setup than just one camera and tripod. For example, if the bride, groom and officiant are in one location, readings are made from a second location, and musicians play in a third location, that requires a minimum of three microphones & associated sound gear to properly record. Often a venue is accessible for setup only one hour before the ceremony starts. Properly setting up and checking out several microphones and cameras in this timeframe is not trivial even if you are familiar with and have practiced with all the gear.
Our friend has a camcorder, perhaps they'd be happy to do our wedding video as a gift?
See the previous question. Depending on what you want, this might work. If you just want someone to keep a camera in the back pointed in the right direction, and you don't need to hear the vows, readings etc. clearly, this would be reasonable. If you're looking for a video that's interesting to watch and listen to, and your friend has all the camera gear and sound gear, and is skilled and experienced, you might get a great wedding video with clear audio and a logical presentation of well composed and focused images. Just keep in mind that a good quality full-length video will occupy several weeks of editing, so be aware of the magnitude of this gift. If your friend does a good job, they will be focused on the camera, and will experience your wedding as a camera person, and not as a guest. Some volunteer videographers are put in an awkward position when members of the wedding party treat them as hired staff. Consider the effect on your friendship if the video does not meet expectations.
Another consideration- does your friend have two cameras? Most wedding videographers will use at least two cameras for a ceremony, for example one camera showing a fixed-wide angle shot of the entire area, with another for selected angles and closeups. Normally couples want to see the entire ceremony, but it's pretty much inevitable that the shot from a single camera is blocked or unusable at times, for any number of reasons. Does your friend have several external microphones and/or can record direct from the venue's sound system?
Is an edited video worthwhile? Why not just get raw tapes of the entire day?
Raw tapes are useful for archival purposes, but the edited video is the one that you will want to show show friends and relatives. Of the many differences between amateur and professional video, one of the most important is editing. A well edited video flows smoothly from start to finish, combining the best camera views and audio tracks at any given time, engaging the viewer's attention and emotions. A highlight video compresses time to a concise view of the most significant events, again flowing between them seamlessly. People remember quality productions, and want to see them over again. A more common reaction to viewing straight unedited tapes is boredom or resentment at the time involved.
How can we insure the best video quality?
A professional videographer should use a modern video camera with 3 CCDs that delivers "broadcast quality". The smaller cameras used for wedding and event video are not much larger than a typical consumer video camera, and provide reasonable image quality in moderately dim (if not "dark") conditions. Additional lights can improve the image quality in very dim situations.. Large shoulder-mounted cameras of the kind used by television news teams can provide superior images under difficult conditions, but they are also more obtrusive and may not be the first choice if your event is an intimate gathering. A camera mounted on a tripod will give the most stable image and is preferred for the ceremony. Monopods or hand-held cameras are most frequently used at receptions for the best angles on dancing and spontaneous action. Shooting with a moving camera in a live event without recording shaky video does require a skilled operator.
Using at least two cameras is particularly recommended for the ceremony, since this can provide good views of the entrance, ceremony and exit without requiring a camera to be directly beside the couple. More than one camera angle also provides a much higher liklihood of a smooth finished video since this is a "one-take" event and unplanned incidents often happen, for example a photographer, guest, or wedding party member may block one camera view at times.
We'd like a professional-quality wedding video, but isn't it too expensive?
In general the more expensive packages will involve more material (childhood photos, "before" preparations, etc.) and more editing time (more camera angles, highlights recap, musical montage). More than just the cost of equipment, you are paying for the onsite camera operating and postproduction editing skills needed to make a quality video production of your one time only event.