Advice

emotivevideo have a wealth of experience, so we've put together a few tips and some advice on how to make your day special and what to bear in mind when choosing a wedding videographer.

Choosing a videographer

Choosing a videographer is not as easy as it sounds - although it's a large market there are massive variations in quality, style and price. Therefore we've the following suggestions:

• always look at and request a wedding videographer's sample - look out for the pictre quality, shot composition and edit style. Don't go for a company that use 'amateur' effects. It demonstrates a lack of skill and can date your video quickly.
• what is there coverage like? We'd recommend at least two cameras to capture every moment of your day - using one camera can seriously reduce the quality of your wedding programme.
• can your videographer shoot in HD? At emotivevideo we only produce HD wedding programmes because we want your programme to be vibrant and detailed to watch - not to mention futureproofed!
• Cheap isn't always best - there's a wide variety of price variations for making wedding programmes but we'd always say 'you get what you pay for'. Great quality and high production values come at a price!
• Filming methods vary greatly between videographers - some can order your day around and get in the way - emotivevideo prefer to remain unobtrusive while managing to capture the genuine reactions and spontaneity of your day.
• You might think HD ready is the only piece of equipment you need but you'd be sadly mistaken. Because the team behind emotive video work in TV every day we only use the best broadcast quality radio microphones, rifle microphones, tripods, cameras and editing equipment - nothing is substandard!

Some tips to have a great day

With attending many weddings we can give your some great advice or thinking points to help you plan the best wedding day:

Before the wedding

Always let your videographer and photographer know what time you're starting to get ready so they can capture every moment of your day - you should expect them not to miss a thing! We'd then expect our second camera to be filming at the church - guests arriving, the Groom greeting guests and some establishing shots of the venue.

At the church

We recommend bridesmaids arrive at the church before the bride so they're ready to help the bride out of the car and into the church. Emotive video will be there to capture everything! Generally when the bride enters the church she'll await the Vicar to lead her down the aisle. At this point we'd recommend you walk nice and slowly and always have your bridesmaids behind you so your guests and us can see you at your best!

We'd recommend the happy couple to make their vows clearly (though we realise in an emotion packed day this can be difficult). This isn't so essential for our recording equipment but moreso for your guests!

It's worth mentioning to some of your key guests not to stand in front of any camera positions during the service as this can severely restrict the quality of that camera angle. Emotive video would always pre-arrange camera positions before the wedding.

At the end of the service, it's usual for the photographer to keep the newlyweds in the church while the guests exit. This allows some great photographs inside the venue which emotive video would obviously cover but also the guests to greet and throw confetti over the newlyweds as they depart.