Final Take has been specializing in wedding videography since 1993. We will partner with you to produce a completely custom once in a lifetime memory. From simple documentation to high quality cinematic styles we can meet your budget because you are creating it. We provide a passionate crew that is dedicated to giving you a product professionally and artistically. Our custom packages start at $1500.  For services inquiries, visit our wedding video services contact page.

With the recent trend to shoot a cinematic, film like wedding video, I thought it would be good to share some of the basic technical camera parameters to discuss with your professional wedding videographer so you can achieve this look.  It is a good thing for you to get educated about this because it makes a tremendous difference in the look of your video. The first thing to ask your hired shooter(s) is what kind of capabilities for a film like look do their cameras possess?  The camera should be an HD widescreen (16×9 screen aspect ratio) capable camera, with format settings that allow 24P or 30P.  The camera must be able to shoot in a de-interlaced mode.  Interlaced video (60i) refers to a frame of video that is composed of an upper and lower field or simply 2 frames of video in one.  Interlaced HD footage is bright, bold, somewhat clean and stark, and designed more for broadcast TV.  24P or 30P is de-interlaced, and refers to the number of frames recorded per second and the P refers to progressive, which means that the camera can film a single frame of content much like a frame on a celluloid movie film strip.  Progressive footage, in appearance is softer, richer in color, and seems to react better to the effects of light.  Also, 24 frames per second (fps) gives a slightly more flicker-like film appearance than 30 fps.  So…watch out for wedding shooters that only shoot 60i fps HD – unless tat is what you want…it will look good, but will not yield the film like look that folks cherish today…a very subtle, but very important point.

For my November blog I wanted to focus on telling a few client shared, and personal stories, about not using a professional videographer for your once in a lifetime event. So…you have sealed the deal and made the big commitment, booked your dream location and any number of other key wedding services…but you are thinking of having a friend who is handy with a camcorder shoot your wedding memories. Is this risky or possibly a big mistake? The answer to this question is very likely yes, but then again you may luck out with this decision.

Seasoned Seattle wedding video company owners will report countless horror stories told to them about what happened to their, or their friends video: poor audio – can’t hear vows or messages, the battery quit in the middle of the ceremony, shaky and jumpy shots, footage too dark or over exposed, or ended up with an un-edited jumble of raw footage and on and on. As wedding video professionals we get calls all the time from couples asking what it would cost to un-tangle the mess, fix the issues, and put the footage together into a sensible and logical flow and story of the day.

To a point a Seattle videographer can fix many issues within limits, but the bottom line is that a bandaged novice shoot will never stand up to a professionally shot and creatively edited memory DVD.

True story…my own wedding video shot in Ohio in the mid-eighties ended up a total loss! My sister-in-laws good friend who was a community college student of video production offered to shoot our wedding as a gift. My wife and I were elated at the opportunity to have a video recording.
On wedding Day she came to our chapel and recorded the ceremony and later did not show up up at our reception location. We were a little perplexed and disappointed, but at least we had the ceremony…or so we thought. Six weeks after the wedding we learned that our shooter had mistakenly recorded Saturday morning cartoons over our entire ceremony – not a minute of footage available! Well, to say the least we were painfully crushed and have never forgot what happened.

Find a qualified professional videographer that you enjoy interfacing with that listens to your wants and needs, that you trust. See samples of their work, equipment to do the job, and ask about their time in the wedding video industry. It will be well worth the investment in all aspects!
The professional Seattle area wedding videographer can offer many of the following benefits: stable, well lit footage in hi-definition and blu-ray products, reasonable turn-arounds, internet file sharing, unique features like a stylized highlights and quality in the final product…a video that you are proud and eager to share with family and friends and watch over and over again. Your wedding video purchase should be high up on your prioritized list of crucial wedding day services.