The next best thing to reading a critique of your wedding video, is reading one on someone elses wedding video.  In fact, it's far easier on your ego, so here goes..

( I wrote this before reading his letter, telling us that a more experienced videographer shot the preps but didn’t work the rest of the wedding. )

We’ve just finished watching the second (reception) DVD (we watched the first one last night), so I’d prefer to critique it first since it is freshest in my memory.  Before I begin, let me say that your presentation materials (DVD cover; case & advertising card) just blew us away.  These are so professional!

After watching the opening (first DVD), as the ceremony began, we were impressed and nearly certain that this was going to qualify for certification.   Unfortunately, as the ceremony began, that opinion changed.

Some times we’ll review a video and not see any promising signs that there is a budding professional videographer who might soon blossom.  By the time the ceremony had begun, we’d already seen definite signs of real promise here.   Good technical skills and creativity were evident in this first part of the first DVD. 

OK, now for the critique of the reception DVD (transcribing from notes made during the video) –

We  felt that your openings (for both DVDs) should have sound – music, voice, something.  This lets viewers know that their sound is working and lets them adjust their volume so they can relax and enjoy the rest of the video.

We thought you overdid the music and copyright warnings a bit and discussed whether it was proper to put your company advertising before the video, rather than after.  There was some discussion over whether your DVD menus had too-small images and text and perhaps fewer choices per menu or a different style might be better.  All this was very subjective though and entirely based on personal preferences.

While there is no way to properly mic a Catholic wedding with three priests, a reader and a singer, with only two wireless and two shotguns, a better job could have and should have been done and there was no excuse for not miking the reception better.   The announcer, the toasts and most unfortunately, the songs by the couple, should have been miked properly.  You could have at least setup a lav draped about six inches out from the top of a loudspeaker between tweeter and woofer.  Set the auto-gain and put the receiver on a camera that will not be put on standby or on a digital recorder.  

In fact, you could do the same with the other loudspeaker and connect to a second camera, so you’d have backup sound.  A shotgun on a manned camera will only get clean house system sound when it is fairly close to a loudspeaker and pointing directly at it, which is rarely the case if on a manned camera.

We’re going to make a BIG DEAL about this because audio is at least half of the video, yet from what we can tell, only a small percent of your effort went toward sound issues.    The biggest differences between amateur video and professional video are –

• Sound
• Stable imagery
• Composition
• Technicals – focus, exposure, wt bal
• Story telling & timing

No live event video is ever perfect.  If there is impromptu speaking or singing that is not on the house sound, the best you can do is rush over and aim that shotgun mic right at the source.  Let the other camera cover reaction shots because this one must stay on the audio source.