Hopefully, this section answers some questions you may have about us or our wedding services. As always, feel free to contact us if you would like to speak with us about setting up an appointment or have any other questions.
Do we need a wedding videographer?
Because we're in the wedding video industry, of course we'll say yes! But there are a few more reasons than that. For one, you can always have a family member or friend shoot your wedding, however, you likely invited that person to your wedding to fully enjoy one of the biggest days in your life, and that should be their primary focus. Having them shoot your wedding video is usually a secondary focus of that person, and it's usually reflected in the video quality. And while anybody can hit the record button and point the camera in the direction it needs to be, we are professional videographers, meaning we know how to get certain and creative shots and angles and know the correct way to achieve a desired effect to produce a polished wedding video.
Still need more convincing? Check out this website, especially the 4th and 5th paragraphs:
http://www.weva.com/cgi-bin/ecomm/hazel.cgi/hzpi/u/HzSt0115110m10161614150U0n10130m0m100m111515/hazel.cgi?action=serve&item=bridesguide/index.html&guide=16
What is our first step?
Well, aside from visiting this page, your first step would be to contact us to either set up an appointment to visit with us, or if you would like to see some samples of our work, we'd be glad to send you a free sample disc.
How many cameras do you use?
We shoot with 2 cameras during the ceremony, your grand entrance, the toasts, and the first special dances. The rest of the time we use 1 camera. However, if a unique situation arises where it would be beneficial to use 2 cameras, we'll definitely do that.
What type of cameras do you use?
We actually have 4 Canon cameras that we bring with us, but we only shoot with 2 (it's just the two of us!). The other 2 are back ups: if something goes wrong with one of the cameras, we'll have another one ready to go.
How do you capture audio?
It's important to keep in mind that audio is half of the entire production. We have a wireless microphone we place on the groom that will pick up everything the bride and groom say, as well as clearly pick up the officiant. Also, this comes in handy when you light the (if you have a) unity candle, as it picks up anything you might whisper to each other. We like to keep the wireless mic on all day, but if at anytime you feel uncomfortable with it on, just say so and we'll remove it.
Do you use lights?
We don't use any lights during the ceremony. The only time we use lights is during the he said/she said interviews, which usually take place well before the ceremony starts, and during the dance if it is dimly lit. The only light we use during the dance is a small 50-watt light on top of one of our cameras. That way, the entire dance floor isn't dominated by our light: only the action we're shooting.
What "style" shooters are you?
Well...although we hate to label ourselves one or another, we tend to fall more into a journalistic style, which basically means we're a "fly on the wall." It's our job to observe and document, and that's how we shoot. We don't like to have people stage things because they look, well, staged. We prefer to catch you and your friends and family in your natural element and let you write the story as the day goes on.
How do I book your services?
The first step would be to sign a contract. After you sign the contract, return it to us along with a 25% deposit to secure your day.
Once we book your services, where do we go from there?
As always, feel free to contact us anytime you have a question, a change, or anything else you want to ask us about. If you choose to do a photo slide show, we will contact you about 3 months before your wedding date to get started on that: collecting pictures, music, conduct the interviews, etc. Otherwise, we will contact you about 1 1/2 months before your wedding date to set up a meeting where we'll go over an outline of your day and tentatively plan out how things will be covered. We'll contact you again about 1 week before your wedding date to briefly touch base one final time and finalize the coverage plan.
When are the payments due?
How you make payments is up to you, as long as the entire amount is paid in full 30 days prior to your wedding date.
How long does it take before we receive our edited DVDs?
It varies depending on the time of year (summer weddings take longer to return to you because our we have more weddings to edit in the summer). Generally speaking, they can take anywhere from 3 weeks to a month-and-a-half to get to you.
How long will our final, edited DVDs be?
There is no set length of time for how long they will be. We show the ceremony in its entirety, as well as toasts and first dances in their entirety as well. It is not uncommon to have a wedding video take 2 DVDs.
Is the raw video of the wedding available for us?
If you want the raw video, we can provide that to you at no additional charge. We do have you sign a form acknowledging that this is the only copy of the raw video that exists.
Again, feel free to contact us with any additional questions or to set up an appointment. You can contact us at info@chavesvideo.com or chavesvideo@yahoo.com.
You can also call us. Andy can be reached at 402-880-1163. Katie can be reached at 402-770-0955.
