In my many years of experience in the wedding industry, I can confidently say that the question of how many videographers there are at a wedding is one of the most frequently asked. And there are reasons for that. Let’s explore why two or three videographers are better than one for a wedding shoot.
All the important moments of the wedding day will be filmed.
If you have one videographer working at your wedding, you need to understand that he cannot capture all 100% of the events at the wedding, especially those moments that happen at the same time.
For example, the onsite registration. The couple exchanges the rings in a minor musical trill, hands of the young couple are shaking, and tears are flowing. Of course, a videographer films it (a good operator do it in a high quality!). However, it will be physically impossible to film parents crying and relatives and friends smiling.
Another example. When an opportunity arises (usually before the banquet, when the guests are still gathering or waiting for the newlyweds) a single videographer will take shots of the banquet hall, decor and other shots for the interludes. However, at that very moment, one of the guests will unsuccessfully open a bottle of champagne and comically spill his jacket. And the guests will weep with laughter. Agree, such footage would come in handy in a wedding movie. However, our videographer is shooting the decor and he doesn’t care about the fun among the guests.
As for two, three or more videographers, each of them will be in the right place. One captures the registration of the newlyweds, the other captures the emotions of the parents. And the third at this point is already filming the decor of the banquet hall. And now imagine what a wedding movie will be: the guys put on rings and then a shot with mom in tears, followed by a shot of the guys kissing, and then the applause of friends. In my opinion, it’s beautiful!
Two or more angles of the same event.
If you remember any movie, you’ll notice that the same action is filmed from different angles. Let’s say a girl is running through a field. One camera shoots her full-length from behind as she runs and what’s ahead. The other camera takes a close-up of her face, showing her emotions. Why does this happen?
Multi-camera shooting is used to make the final film more varied and exciting. Imagine if the shot was always from the same angle. Boring!
And an identical principle works in wedding films. At the first dance of the young couple one camera shoots in general view, another camera shoots close-ups of the guys' faces, their emotions, facial expressions. The third one shows the husband gently hugging his lawful wife by the waist, and then the reaction of the hall to the beauty of the dance. All this creates a complete picture of what is happening, it becomes very fascinating to watch.
Great opportunities on the editing.
The third point flows smoothly from the second. Thanks to the material from two or more cameras, it is possible to make a film or video clip more integral and interesting, as well as to mask the shortcomings of one of the cameras.
The final video is guaranteed to be better, this is very important for the honeymooners.
Reliability and confidence.
If there is only one cameraman at the wedding, the final material is 100% dependent only on him. Accordingly, if something happens to him (we are all human, there are unexpected health problems), the filming will be finished. The same is if the equipment breaks down or is stolen during the wedding day.
However, with two or three videographers, you can be sure that if something happens to one, the second will always shoot everything. That is, the wedding day will at least stay on video. That is, you will have a minimum of worry on the day.
Conclusion. Is it worth it?
Absolutely, it is worth it. If you want to get an interesting film, to see all the best moments from the wedding, without worrying about the videographer, the choice in this case is unambiguous — at least two videographers. Especially when you consider that the final cost of the wedding package increases insignificantly.
However, if your wedding budget is limited and extra money matters, it makes sense to choose one videographer, keeping in mind all the disadvantages of this option.
If there are any more questions on this topic, please, contact me in the personal message. I will be happy to answer them all.