Frequently Asked Questions

What is your style & story-telling approach?

Why don't you offer a 1-camera wedding package?

Who will be my videographer?

Will I see myself on TV later without my permission?

What types of cameras and microphones do you use?

Do you use video lighting?

How will my video be edited?

Why should I pay for a video in addition to photographs?

What do I get by spending more on my wedding video?

Why does wedding videography cost so much?

What is your style & story-telling approach?

Our style is primarily documentary and unobtrusive, although we do seek out glamour shots and add cinematic touches. When couples express a preference, we use their style. For example:

• Soft-focused, pastel images with lots of slow motion
• Fast-paced, music video style
• High-contrast dramatic images with lots of black & white, and saturated colors

Highlights: Our wedding and event videos begin with 2-5 minutes of highlights set to music and may include special effects, such as black & white and picture-in-picture, depending on your preferences. Upon request, we can provide a copy of these highlights for the client's web page. A number of highlights from recent weddings are included on our Demos page.

Music and Background Sound: We strongly prefer keeping the natural sound with the images we record and using your music recorded at your wedding wherever possible, rather than substituting something different that we chose. However, we may add background or theme music for scenes like people arriving at the church, the cocktail hour, and dinner if what we recorded at your wedding doesn't fit. We use in-house or library music for this purpose. We will not overdub copyrighted popular music unless we have legal permission to do so.

Length: Shorter videos are more interesting to watch, but no one wants to lose the important parts, so we always ask. A single DVD can hold a little over 2 hours of high quality video. For a very long video, such as a double wedding in two different traditions, we have occasionally provided 2 DVDs of video. We have also given couples copies of their full, unedited video on a series of DVDs as one of their "extras".

Coverage: Our wedding videos are chronological, but edited to keep them interesting. They usually start with brief shots of your ceremony hall, outside and inside; preparations; the bride, groom and guests arriving. Most couples want the entire wedding ceremony, but we can streamline if you wish.

Most couples also want to see the important reception events full length, such as introductions, cutting the cake, and the bouquet and garter tosses. The first dance and parent dances are more likely to be shortened. For segments like the cocktail hour and some of the dancing, we create a college of short clips set to music, trying to capture as many of your guests as possible. We do this with other parts of the day as well, if it seems appropriate. For example, our Demos page includes a clip of kids playing with bubbles while the adults were outside in the heat getting their pictures taken.

The closing depends on the wedding, but usually consists of a series of wrap-up shots, such as their reception location at night, guest farewells, or the bride and groom departing in their limo. Occasionally, a reception has a dramatic close, such as New Year's Eve fireworks.

Graphics & Effects: Most couples want high-quality video, not tons of special effects. We have a number of effects and transitions to draw upon, but typically use them sparingly for openings to scenes, titles and menus.

Our DVD menus include motion graphics of shots from your wedding, links to important parts of your wedding day, and music. The cover and DVD label are also custom-designed for you. Whenever possible, we use your flowers, invitation, colors and fonts in the cover, menus and title screens.

Why don't you offer a 1-camera package?

We do sometimes cover events with a single camera. However, we do not recommend this approach for an important one-time event, and therefore, have not provided a one-camera package price.

A second camera allows us to shoot different angles and distances on critical activities, for example:

• a long shot of the bride walking up the isle and a close-up of the groom's face as he sees her in her wedding dress for the first time
• a close-up of a speaker or the stage and a wide shot of the audience reaction to an announcement, toast or skit
• activities happening at the same time in separate rooms or parts of a room

Who will be my videographer?

Jacquie Greff, co-owner of Tonal Vision, personally manages all projects involving video and animation. We accept only one wedding a day, so once we sign a contract with you, we turn away all other inquiries for that day. As a result, Jacquie has always been the producer and lead videographer for the weddings we have covered and we expect to continue this approach.

Our contracts usually include the following language:
"Our principals, employees and contractors are selected and trained to provide high quality, professional services.  We guarantee that your project will receive the personal attention and oversight of our owners, Kraig and Jacquie Greff.  Unless specifically stated, we do not guarantee exactly who will perform what function, and we specifically retain the right to make all staffing decisions on all projects."

Thus, we would reserve the right to substitute someone else if needed, especially in the event of unexpected illness or other causes beyond our control. Similarly, unless you request a specific person as second videographer, we would chose one of our staff or network of independent professionals who we feel would do the best job among those available.

This is to your advantage because it assures you won't be stranded at the last minute without a videographer team, and that we will carefully choose, train and manage the professionals working on your wedding and deliver a finished product to you that meets our standards.

Will I see myself on TV without my permission?

Some couples have horror stories of seeing their wedding on a "Wedding Bloopers," "America's Most Awful Weddings" or similar TV show without their knowledge and permission.

Our standard wedding contract includes " Unless specifically agreed otherwise, you grant us the right to use these materials for demonstration purposes." This typically means that we will put your highlights video on our web page and possibly on our demo reel. We have no objection if a bride and groom want to restrict this use. We have willingly agreed, for example, not to share footage from a celebrity wedding.

We would view it as an invasion of your privacy to share your wedding day for television or other non-demonstration public uses without your permission. Although we do receive requests like this, we have never responded to them.

What types of cameras and microphones do you use?

We use late-model 3-chip digital video cameras. Our primary cameras are Sony HDV Z1Us (high definition) and PD-150s (standard definition). We always have a back-up camera available but have never needed to use it. We rent additional, specialized cameras and other equipment based on the requirements of the job.

Our basic audio consists of a shotgun mic on the camera(s) and Lectrosonics wireless lavalier for the groom. Lectrosonics is a high-end wireless system known for its ruggedness and its ability to change frequencies to avoid interference. For interviews, we use a dynamic mic, which has the ability to eliminate much background noise. We have a number of specialty microphones that we select from to record live acoustic music. For our higher end packages, we bring an additional mini-disk recorder to record sound from a location not covered by one of our cameras, such as the podium or to plug into the DJ's sound system.

Do you use video lighting?

Today's digital video cameras can operate in very low light, and we prefer to use this feature and boost the lighting and saturation during editing rather than use video lighting at a reception. On-camera video lighting can be very obtrusive and creates harsh contrast and shadows.

Although we prefer to capture live events without added lighting, the down-side to this approach is that cameras often have more difficulty focusing in dim lighting, colors are less vibrant, and images are grainier. Look at our Demos to see the look we typically capture.

We typically discuss lighting with our clients in advance to decide whether or not to bring additional lights. We are most likely to use additional lighting for scenes where the room will be very dark,high-quality images are very important, and/or when we are shooting in high definition.

How will my video be edited?

We believe editing is key to an interesting, memorable wedding video. All our packages include editing.

We edit on a recent-model Macintosh computer using the latest version of Final Cut Studio (Final Cut Pro, SoundTrack, LiveType, Motion and DVD Studio Pro). We use a variety of programs for special effects, including Photoshop, After Effects and Maya.

We believe in fast turn-around of wedding videos. Typically we are able to send you the edited "proof" for your review in 2 to 4 weeks after the wedding.

Why should I pay for a video in addition to photographs?

Still photos and videos are very different media and will capture different aspects of your wedding, similar to the difference between reading a book and watching a movie.

Photos freeze a single moment in time. They are easy to look at and pass around, and are easy to reproduce if your photographer allows it. They are very good at capturing posed portraits. Many photographers also do a good job with candid photos.

Although videos have the disadvantage of being more expensive to reproduce and requiring special equipment for viewing, they do a number of things photos can't -- they capture movement, sound and therefore emotion.

The wedding day rushes by so quickly, and there are so many demands on the bride and groom's time and attention, that it's easy to miss or forget important details. The beauty of the place and the music, the heart-felt quiver in the voice during the vows, the toasts, the comments of your family and guests, the fun of the reception... Many couples especially value the recording of their wedding vows, as well as seeing and hearing from elderly or distant friends and relatives. A video will allow you to remember these experiences, share them with those who couldn't be there and preserve them for your children.

What do I get by spending more on my video?

The extra cost for our higher-level packages will buy you a better quality, more interesting, more "watchable" video.

With one camera, you can watch what happened from one vantage point. With additional cameras, the scene can change from one view-point to another, from a close-up to the big picture, from one angle to another, from the back of the church to the front. When the location of the action shifts, a second videographer may be in a better position or at least can cover while the first videographer moves.

Similarly, the more sources of audio, the better will be the quality. Having a microphone near the podium or near the instrumentalist does a better job of recording those sounds and reducing the amount of background sound and echo that is picked up.

Editing time is required to choose between cameras and audio sources. It can also be used to add special effects and transitions. Some of these, such as black and white or sepia and fades are simple and relatively fast. Others are time-consuming to get them to look right, such as animated text, picture in picture, double exposures, fast music-video style edits, petals falling, hearts twirlling....

As a result, investing in additional videographers, assistants, cameras, audio equipment and editing will change the look and sound of your wedding video from that of a simple record of the event to something more like a Hollywood movie.

Why does wedding videography cost so much?

Videography is a very equipment and time-intensive service:

• A typical wedding shoot requires $10,000 to $20,000 of audio and video equipment.
• Editing requires another $10,000 to $20,000 of hardware and software.
• Software must be updated annually. Video equipment must be serviced at least annually. Video and computer equipment is typically technologically outdated in 3-4 years and must be replaced.
• The time required to shoot a 6-hour wedding includes not only the wedding itself, but also 1-2 hours travel, 1 hour or more of set-up, and 1 hour of equipment maintenance.
• We invest even more time in editing than in shooting the video.
  • First, before video can be edited, it must be "captured" (transferred from tape to the computer). This happens in real time, so 10 hours of video requires 10 hours of capture time.
  • Next, the video is edited. An editor must watch all the video, choose the best parts, decide when to switch from one camera to the other, polish the initial rough edit, color correct the video and balance the sound tracks, and add text, effects and chapter markers. The more cameras and the longer the coverage, the more editing.
  • High definition editing requires higher-level software, a faster computer, and much more rendering and compression time than standard definition.
  • Creating a memorable highlights opening, effective DVD menus and an attractive cover often requires 5-10 or even more additional hours of editing time.

In addition to time and equipment, audio/video services require a number of basic business expenses, including telephone, insurance (we can provide a certificate of insurance upon request), accounting, transportation and office space.

Compared to wedding photographers, videographers are inexpensive. It is not unusual for us to cover a wedding where the photographers are being paid 2-4 times our price!