DIY videography

Who are you asking because you should not have your guests do it.

My friend hired a college kid to film the day using a camcorder he got.

It's not bad but things like audio were not the best because professional equipment makes the difference sometimes.

I've had experience with this in the past. My friend did the video of the ceremony and an uncle did the reception. There were parts in the video that uncle put the camera down while still running so everything ended up sideways for about 20 minutes while people were dancing. Do you guys have editing capabilities? Otherwise just be prepared that anything can happen and that it's just documenting the day in a raw way. You (bride and groom) shouldn't have to worry about this.

eta, clarity

I am having a few personal attendants, so I will be asking them to do it along with my bridesmaids in the morning and for speeches. Also just having my aunt hit the record button during the ceremony.

Just to mention again though...sounds easy but who will hold the camera during the ceremony? Who is setting the tripod up? It's not just PRESS RECORD.

I have a tripod to use for the ceremony and even for the speeches (so it's steady). My personal attendants will have this ready to go.

Umm, I seen and heard of people doing this but I haven't heard too many success stories. No advice honestly but hope it works out for you!

Thanks, I'm hoping it works out too.

We are doing something like this but still kinda hired a pro. We are using http://wedflik.com/ Its way cheaper then hiring a videographer (at lease in my area) but still get that professional touch. GL!

Are these personal attendants friends? Or like you DOC?

What I've heard about personal attendants sounds awful, which is why I'm asking.

You can always have a camera and have a sign asking guest to leave you guys a message. It could be your alternative to a sign in book or both! it could be by the sign in book and have then record a little message to the bride and groom

Hey! We are getting married on the same day and I am doing the videography. I have researched it a lot. We bought 4 small camcorders for cheap online. I was actually able to test them out on my sister in laws wedding in April. Luckily I have 4 younger sisters who are willing and excited to help with the videotaping. I have come up with a small list of things for them to record (they will be switching off so they do not have to do it the whole day/night). This list includes the ceremony, the first dance... typical wedding things. When we are getting ready my bridesmaids will video some of that process. I do not think asking your guest to record something for a short time period is the worst thing ever. You can get their perspective on the event!

My suggestion is a pro. I'd feel burdened if I were asked to film at a wedding

Yes my personal attendants are good friends of mine. I don't know what DOC stands for...can you help me understand that? Ha

Thanks for the feedback though! I know this isn't going to be professional so I don't expect it to be and wouldn't put any more pressure on them. I want this to be personal and from the guests perspective. I know I won't be watching the video often but still want the day on video so I can see it and love the idea of seeing what they saw. As long as I get the main parts of my wedding such as the ceremony / speech / first dances and just a little behind the scenes I am happy. I was just curious if people have done this before and if you have tips of what made it easier or wish you would have done. ??

DOC = Day Of Coordinator

We also plan on doing a DIY videography for ours. To get that "family style" feel. My FH is in technology and has the "in's" with equipment.

We think that we are going to do a sign regarding the camera and tie a helium balloon (or something) for our guests to know that it's part of our wedding and to give us advice, memories; like what @Tiffany was saying.

Our wedding is around 60 people and we have some crazy ass people coming, we can't WAIT to hear what they have to say.. ESP after some alcohol!!!

We tried to do this....and it didn't work. I totally get where you're coming from as i just wanted a video of the ceremony and we for sure didn't have the budget for a videographer. My husband has a really nice Nikon camera and a tripod and set it up right behind the back row of chairs and asked his aunt to just go up and press the play button for us as the bridal party started walking down. It was kinda a week beforehand decision.

He showed her how it worked before the ceremony. Seemed easy enough. We saw her go up and press it. Then when we were taking our bride/groom photos H broke the news to me that for some reason it didn't record.

I'm not sure if maybe she didn't press the button hard enough or maybe she pressed the wrong button....I have no idea? Lol. She felt awful about it and obviously we were bummed but just had to let it go.

So....as I'm sitting here still wishing we had a ceremony video (esp for his grandparents who couldn't travel) here's my suggestions:

If there's any way to fit it in the budget and you just want a ceremony video - try to look for a videographer who's still getting more established and has a better price for just the ceremony. I saw some ceremony only videos for under $1000 from good videographers and I'm sure there are beginners who might do it for less.

If you do do the video camera tripod approach:

- test out the set up. Press record and go up and talk at the front and make sure it's audible. If you can practice before with the mic you'll use even better.

- practice the set up and recording a bunch of times

- make sure there's a ton of storage on the camera

- ask someone to press play who is good with technology lol and make sure they know how to work the camera

- if you have tons of storage click record before people start getting seated just to be safe and you can edit it out.

Good luck! Hopefully yours works out better than mine!!

If you want the first dance and part of the ceremony I would again plan out a good spot to capture everything and put it on a tripod and just let it record for a while. Again practice this as well lol

You could place one camera somewhere a bit elevated and strategically useful and then start videotaping by using a remote control. This way you can have shots that show your party from a bit of a distance ( The dance floor for example ). And then your friends can film some close up scenes.

I will put a regular Photo camera on top of my tent and program it to take one picture every 20 seconds. Later i ´ll make a time laps video out of it. This goes with many regular cameras and it gives you one extra way of filming the whole event.

You could as well maybe go to a film school and pay a film student to video tape your wedding. This saves some money and it helps the student to build a portfolio and earn something.

Sorry for my English

Instead of buying a camera - you could rent gopros or use their app and have this awesome team edit the final video for you:

http://www.storymixmedia.com/weddingmix/

They are also WW rated!!

I would highly recommend just hiring a film student to film it. Wedding videography is so expensive mostly because the time editing takes. If you were going to edit yourself, you could likely find a film student who wants experience to film it and hand all the footage over to you for a few hundred bucks.

I am planning to hire a college student that's in film!