Inside Wedding Videos - Present

The Present Day

The technological advances within the industry have been hugely significant. DV revolutionised video formatting and picture quality and we have already dipped our toes into the new High Definition era. All very well for two or three techno geek brides out there but what does this mean for the rest of you?

First of all, there is no excuse for technical weaknesses when it comes to your wedding video because the modern videographer has access to a wonderful range of equipment that our predecessors could only dream about while they got sunburn from the heat of their lights as they stood on the corner of a dancefloor. Today's cameras offer a picture that is rich in colour saturation, full of detail, and need just a 10 to 20W light to get a clean image at dark receptions (Velvetine Productions never use any auxiliary lighting - we work with what we've got and this is one reason we have become so popular with our clients, their guests, and the bands!) We all have access to various forms of sound recording equipment, internet training, the latest and most powerful computers, and state of the art editing suites... and despite all this, the industry still has too many amateurs running around with one decent camera and notions of making some easy money.

The average price for a wedding video in Ireland is 1,000E and that looks like easy money for a few days work to some guys.

Videographer associations are beginning to establish themselves in the UK and I would welcome a similar Irish based body that offers filmmaking training, and enforces strict qualification standards of its membership. Personally speaking, I do not accept the IOV or APV associations from the UK as recognised bodies here in Ireland. I have seen them contribute nothing to its few Irish members who pay an annual fee for the privilege.

Today, Ireland has several leading companies who are immediately visible to enquiring brides and prices for their standard services range from 1,000E to 1,500E. To the best of my knowledge, Velvetine Productions is the most expensive wedding video outfit but this cost is reflected in the quality of our product and service.

My hometown of Tralee is home to about six prominent wedding videographers but one can also find a similar number waiting in the wings offering cut price video - and poor standards! Cast the net around Kerry and one can find at least one major videographer in each big town so consumers now have more choice than ever before. One can take a costly risk with the 400E merchants, decide which one of the average priced outfits suit your taste, or delve into the higher end of the market.

So, access to better technology has offered the modern videographer opportunities to explore more creative, artistic forms of video production and deliver a superior product to his customers. On the evidence of the many wedding videos I have seen I can tell you that the industry is improving and most notably so within the last three to four years.

Wedding video is showing signs of becoming more sophisticated and it is developing genres that complement the videographer's style of expression and the personality or needs of his client base.