Q: How would you describe the look of the videos you’ve made?
A: Clean. Professional. Classy. Crisp. Tasteful. Modern. The last word you would ever use is “cheesy”. Weddings are approached like a filmmaker approaches a film. Time is taken to consider angles, colors, lighting, back lighting, audio, texture, you name it. It’s an overall video that will be compiled, not just a scene that is shot.
Q: Do you use “special effects” in your videos? How much extra do they cost?
A: Effects are used, but only when appropriate. They are not over used or used in the same old spot that every other videographer uses them at. Too many effects water down a video and are just used to cover mistakes. You are never charged extra to use effects, they are part of your film. In fact, a great video can be edited using no effects at all if the footage is properly shot and the editor is talented enough.
Q: My friend likes to do this kind of stuff as a hobby, so what do I need to hire a videographer for?
A: Though it’s great that you could save some money by having a friend or family member do your video for you, chances are, they are not professionals with professional quality equipment or have the training on how the equipment works. Shooting a wedding requires more than just a camera, you also need microphones, tripods, batteries, backup equipment, etc.
It’s kind of like having a friend that works on cars. You let them replace your brakes and they don’t bleed them properly and the master cylinder blows, and what started as a $120 job now costs you $400 or $500, or your brakes are soft and horrible. Is that what you want when it comes to your wedding day? You only get one shot at this. It should be done correctly by someone who knows exactly what they are doing
If you have your brother-in-law edit your video for you, then chances are it will look like your brother-in-law edited it for you. If that is what you want to watch for years and years, then okay, but if what you want is an elegant, stylish video at affordable prices, then Sweet Pea is for you.
Q: Can you just shoot the raw footage so we can edit it ourselves then?
A: No. That’s like asking your photographer to just hand you the negatives at the end of the night so you can print your photos out at Walmart.
Q: What about shooting our wedding and then just putting the raw footage on DVD with the option of possibly getting it edited at some point in the future? I have spoken to other videographers and they said they would be willing to do it.
A: Recently this has been a common question from a lot of brides. Sweet Pea Studios only does edited packages. If a bride wishes to include a copy of the raw footage along with their package, I will be more than happy to provide it- in fact, raw footage is one of the choices included in some packages. However you can not only get raw footage.
Raw footage is unpolished work and there is no way humanly possible anyone would ever be happy just watching it or having it be a fair representation of one of the biggest days of their life. One of the things people don’t tell you is that every wedding, no matter how well the day goes, needs a lot of work afterwards to make it presentable- audio needs to be fixed, video needs to be color corrected, etc., so why would you want something you know is not going to be perfect?
Other videographers may be willing to provide the service for you, however they need to make it worth their time and there is no guarantee you will ever come back to them later in order to get the raw footage edited, so they’ll probably overcharge you to do it.
Trust me, you do not just want the raw footage.
Q: I am interested in one of the packages offered, however I don’t need everything that the package offers. Can something be worked out?
A: Yes, I am more than willing to modify packages to your taste. This is not a cookie cutter boutique with 20 mindless employees that requires hard and fast rules. Each wedding is unique, each video is unique, and packages can be altered to suit your needs.
Q: Can I have a lot of slow motion in my video? Black and white? Sepia? Loud love songs?
A: Yes, but wouldn’t you rather your video be good instead of a cliche? Every videographer and his brother and his intern’s brother makes that video. Don’t you want your wedding video to be unique? Your wedding is recorded and edited to fit your actual wedding day.
Q: Do you use a lot of those pre-made graphics that are seen in a lot of videos?
A: No, never. Other than to distract people from the fact that the person using them can not edit and lacks creativity, why would you want them in your video? They’re just plain ugly. Every video is unique, from top to bottom, that is why most brides choose us- they want creativity and taste. That is what you get from every aspect of a Sweet Pea video.
Q: Do you use a 3CCD camera?
A: Yes, your event is shot with a 3CCD camera.
Q: Do you use high definition equipment?
A: All events are shot using high definition, professional quality Canon cameras. Though the final disk will not be in high definition, shooting in HD allows for higher contrast and overall final better image quality.
Q: Are you insured? The hall I booked requires it.
A. Yes, Sweet Pea has full liability insurance. This is no fly by night shop. It’s a full service professional wedding video production boutique.
Q: So if I book you will my wedding be featured on the blog?
A: Most likely. For a variety of different reasons, not every wedding is always featured on it. But most of the weddings we book go on there. Some people don’t want to be on there. If you do not, then that’s not a problem.
