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In the early years of wedding video, the quality simply was not up to standards. Just to get any decent footage the wedding video had to have very bright lighting but even that still resulted in poor contrast and color saturation of the image. The audio of the wedding video would also be in mono which meant poor sound quality in addition to the poor quality footage. Not to mention, non-linear editors were too expensive or hadn’t even existed. As a result, the most advanced type of editing would just to remove the unusable footage in which the wedding videographer was moving from one location to another and also maybe adding a few special transitional effects such as fading in and out. Because of such low quality many have had a poor impression of the modern day wedding video. |
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What many have not come to realize is that the video technology has jumped leaps and bounds since the early inception of providing
wedding video services. One would think since Hollywood is in the
Los Angeles area and not too far from
Orange County, that it would be common knowledge in
Southern California that video technology can provide sometimes breathtaking footage. The days of recording
wedding video footage to an analog tape are coming to the end in which the digital age has now revolutionized. The vast improvements allow being able to take good footage in even the lowest of lit situations. Most prosumer video cameras also record audio in stereo. Not to mention, the super and hyper cardiod shotgun microphones as well as wireless lapel microphones allow
wedding video to have amazing audio quality.
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Because of this technological explosion in video, wedding videographers in Los Angeles, Orange County, and throughout Southern California have multiplied in the number of providers. Before the costs of creating a quality wedding video was not even justified which also limited the number of providers. But since the cost of a professional digital video camera of come down as well as the cost of non linear editors, it has actually resulted in many entering this industry who really are not qualified to do so.
Many of those now involved in the wedding video business entered in thinking all they have to do is buy a couple of prosumer video cameras, a tripod, a computer workstation, editing software, and a DVD authoring software and now they are qualified to charge thousands of dollars to provide wedding video services in Los Angeles, Orange County, or other areas in Southern California. But just because a so called wedding videographer has the equipment, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are equipped in creating a cinematic and journalistic wedding video. A wedding video, like any film or professional production requires the videographer to have the ability in capturing great footage. The wedding video has to have shots with great composition, lighting, and camera angles. The sound and audio has to be audible and clear just like any movie or television show.
In addition to capturing great footage, the wedding video needs to be edited with the same standard of quality. It goes without saying that all of the poor footage should hit the cutting floor and only footage that is important and has cinematic qualities should make the final cut. But what happens if the footage of the most important moments in the wedding video was taken poorly and can be even considered unusable? This is where even the best editing cannot save a wedding video. But editing a wedding video requires even more. Cutting footage so that the wedding video has a good pace and rhythm is also an art form which is why there are so many award shows that award people for best editing.
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Cinematic Wedding Video for the Los Angeles and Orange County Areas
The term cinematic is a term that has been misused or abused throughout the wedding video industry. Cinematic refers to having movie like qualities. When it comes to major motion pictures, the final product is of a film that shows at 24 frames per second. This is basically the standard frame rate of the movie industry. When the movie production shoots the movie using 35 mm film or used high definition digital video, the end product is still 24 frames per second. Today’s prosumer video cameras now have this capability which allow a wedding video to have that film-like look. This is the first and probably the most important quality that a videographer must be able to provide in order to even claim that they can create a cinematic wedding video. How can something be cinematic if the wedding video does not even have a film-like quality?
Apparatuses Used For Wedding Video in Los Angeles and Orange County
But besides a video camera and editing software, there are other apparatuses that also have been made available to today’s wedding videographer. Dollies, cranes, and glide cams are just to name a few of the types of equipment that allows a videographer to create a cinematic wedding video. Throughout all of the weddings that we’ve done in Southern California, whether they are in Los Angeles or Orange County, it has always been our standard to utilize the best equipment in order to capture the highest quality wedding video footage.
Widescreen 16:9 Wedding Video
Another quality that all major motion pictures are shot in today is the widescreen format. This is now the standard in all modern day televisions. Even high definition 1920x1080p signal is sent in the 16:9 aspect ratio format. Prosumer video cameras today can capture wedding video is the same aspect ratio which is another requirement that a videographer must provide in order to claim that their wedding video footage is cinematic.
Journalistic Wedding Video Format in Los Angeles and Orange County
There is also the journalistic quality that a wedding video can and should have. In essence, a wedding video is a documentary of the events that occurred during the most important day of a couple. Just like a reality show, the footage taken is usually unrehearsed and is real-time. Meaning, there probably are no retakes or pick up shots. There is a certain continuity and flow throughout the wedding video allowing the viewer to get a sense of how the day truly unfolded.
Wedding Video Samples Taken in Los Angeles and Orange County
So before making any judgments of the quality of wedding video please check out our wedding video samples. We hope that you will recognize how wedding video can truly have cinematic and journalistic qualities. Wedding videography just like photography is an art form. In addition, it also has its many benefits as well as its costs and risks. Therefore, we invite you to take a look at our wedding video packages. If you are still unsure about wedding video, we encourage you to look at some of the benefits of wedding videography. But if you are ready to truly begin your inquiry, then please contact us today!
