Griffin Video Productions - Sydney Wedding Videos and DVD

Q: Why should I hire a videographer?
A: Imagine if you had the choice of watching the story of your parents' or grandparents' Wedding -- either on crystal clear video in stereo sound, or viewing it in a photo album. Which would you choose?

There is no other medium that can truly capture the feeling and emotion of your day like video. Photos are fantastic and are a great way to preserve elements of your wedding day, but they are limited, in that they are just a static image of a particular point in your day - no matter how well they are presented, they are limited by the nature of the medium.

Only video has the ability to capture stunning moving images and equally as importantly, the audio from your day. How else will you remember how your vows sounded, or what was said in the speeches when you're celebrating your 30th, 40th or 50th year anniversary?

According to a recent survey by WEVA of recent newlyweds, as opposed to brides-to-be:

Of surveyed brides, 38% did not have their Weddings videotaped by anyone – amateur or professional, and apparently have some regrets. 63% of them now either somewhat or strongly recommend that future brides hire a professional videographer. To view the full results of the survey click here.

Q: What's the difference between a professional and amateur video?
A: "I could probably just hire my uncle or friend to do it for free". That's the all too common anthem of the budget conscious bride. This may at first sound like a good idea, but amateur videos are often shaky, out of focus, un-edited, and have poor picture and sound quality -- which usually results in a very boring video that is difficult to watch. A good analogy would be to hire your uncle as the official photographer for your Wedding with a disposable camera. Is this really the type of quality you would want for your once-in-a-lifetime event? Although your uncle or friend may have good intentions, they most likely don't have the proper equipment or talent necessary to capture your Wedding in a professional manner. Without wireless microphones, your Wedding vows will be inaudible. Without 3-chip digital cameras, your reception footage will be dark and grainy. In essence, the difference between professional and amateur is like night and day. We recommend comparing an amateur video to one of ours, and you will see a big difference.

Q: Why does professional wedding video production cost what it does?
A: Professional Wedding videography still remains one of the most undervalued Wedding services in Australia. Consider this;

On your day, the video production will involve many thousands of dollars in equipment used to ensure that it is captured properly. In addition to the camera equipment, there are microphones, professional video tripods, additional audio sources and so on.

Up to 12 hours on the day (not including pre-wedding footage) is spent by a professional videographer, under challenging and sometimes ever-changing conditions. It's a once-in-a-lifetime event, where there is only one chance to get it right - it's not a feature film, where there are multiple takes.

Once the footage is aquired, this is when the real work begins. Depending on the package and final product, a Wedding can take up to 40 - 50 hours to edit from start to finish, on many, many more thousands of dollars worth of equipment.

In total, there is a trained professional working on your Wedding video with tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment for over 60 hours!. With the exception of the photographer, there is no other service that comes close to devoting that amount of time on your Wedding. Now imagine what a hire care and chauffer for 60 hours would cost you...

The adage "you get what you pay for" certainly rings true for professional Wedding videography. If a video production business seems to be offering a service that is much cheaper than the alternatives, there's generally a reason behind it.

Q: Will you be obtrusive or interfere with my wedding?
A: Our video journalism shooting style allows us to remain virtually invisible, while still capturing exciting and dynamic footage. Our main concern is always to make you and your guests feel comfortable, and not to interfere with the flow of your Wedding.

Q: Do you use those annoying bright lights?
A: We use state-of-the-art digital video cameras that are so light sensitive that we can manipulate ambient/natural light to our advantage, without having to use camera lights. We only have to use lights in an extremely dark situations, such as a dimly lit reception hall. Having said this though, in some instances, the use of lights is unavoidable to ensure a properly composed video and clear reproduction of your Wedding day.

Q: What kind of cameras / microphones do you use?
A: We use exclusively the Sony Digital HDV 3CCD cameras. These amazing cameras offer extremely high quality recording. The image quality is clear and crisp and a vast improvement over the older analog formats (see note). In conjunction with these cameras, we use high quality Rode on-camera microphones, as well as Sony lapel microphones which are discreetly placed on the groom during the ceremony. This allows for the best possible sound recording of your vows.

This is a once in a lifetime event, so do not settle for anything less than the best format available today.

Q: Who will be the videographer at my wedding?
A: You can rest assured that your wedding video will be personally planned, shot, edited, and produced by the company's owner, Brett Griffin. We don't send out hired contractors or cameramen who don't know anything about you. We pride ourselves on this 'personalized' approach to wedding videography.

Q: Can I purchase the raw footage in addition to the edited video?
A: Our videos are edited in a way that include every important moment of your day, so you won't really be gaining much by watching the raw footage. In the case of some segments that are too long to go on the final edited video (such as a 30 minute toast), we can include this "extra" footage on a further DVD for an additional fee.

Q: What kind of music do you use in your videos?
A: This is entirely up to you. Music sets the mood and tone for your entire video. We give every bride and groom the opportunity to choose their own music. If you can't decide what music you want to use, we have a list of songs you can choose from our own library of CD's.

Q: Do you allow clients to be involved in the editing process?
A: Due to tight deadlines and busy edit schedules, it wouldn't be realistic to have our clients sit with us while we edit the videos. However, after we shoot your wedding, If you choose to, we can send you an outline of everything we shot and you can decide if there's anything you would like to change or have edited out before we start the editing process.

Q: How long will it take to finish the video?
A: Typically videos take between 3 - 6 weeks (sometimes longer) during peak season (October - April). It's common for clients to get antsy and expect the video to be delivered a week after their wedding, but producing a quality wedding video this quick simply isn't possible. We would rather spend the extra time making sure your video is near "perfect", than rush through the editing process. We can assure you it will be worth the wait.

Q: How long will the finished video be?
A: Depending on how long your ceremony is, most videos are between 80 - 100 minutes in length. The videos we produce are long enough to cover everything that is important, yet not so long that they become a bore to watch.

Q: Do you offer Blu-ray discs?
A: Yes we do. Blu-ray discs enable your Wedding to be produced and displayed in glorious High Definition. However, to achieve these results, you must have a Blu-ray player (CANNOT be played in a standard DVD player) and a true High Definition television. These televisions offer a resolution of 1920 x 1080 and are advertised as 'True HD' or '1080p' televisions. If you are interested in having your Wedding produced on Blu-ray, please inform us at your earliest convenience. For pricing, please refer to our Packages / Pricing page.

Q: How do you work with photographers?
A: We feel there is absolutely no reason why a photographer and videographer can't work side by side, staying out of each other's way while still getting the necessary shots. We make every effort possible to make this happen. Most photographers tell us how much they enjoy working with us because we are unobtrusive and conscientious about working together. Please see our Preferred Vendors page for some great photographers who we enjoy working with.

Q. What is a 'Online DVD'?
A. A 'Online DVD' is a flash video version of your Wedding. It has full DVD functionality, including menus, buttons, chapters etc. These 'Online DVDs' enable the viewer, just like a normal DVD, to skip to a specific point on the DVD. The advantages of these 'Online DVDs' is that if you have friends or relatives who can't make it to your Wedding, we can upload your Wedding for them so they can view it from anywhere in the world where they have a internet connection. It is recommended viewing only for people who have a high speed internet connection, otherwise playback will suffer.

These 'Online DVDs' cost $50 per month.

To view a 'Online DVD' and test its functionally, please click here.

Q. What areas do you cover?
A. We are based in Glenmore Park / Penrith NSW and cover the Sydney, Western Sydney and Blue Mountains area, but are willing to travel to other locations if you desire. Just contact us to discuss your Wedding details.

Note: Although recorded in the HDV format, your Wedding will be down converted into Standard Definition to allow playback on today's DVD players. Rest assured, HDV footage down converted to SD is superior to normally captured SD because the HDV frame size is simply reduced to SD size, similar to reducing the size of a High Resolution photograph.

However, your original footage will be saved and stored as a High Definition master copy, allowing us to provide you with a High Definition Blu-ray version of your Wedding if you purchase a High Definition television and Blu-ray disc player
(at additional cost).

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