blog.valleycreekproductions.com
|
Frequently Asked Questions
If we didn’t
answer your question, please
contact us
and we will get back to you as quickly as we can.
Q: As a videographer, What is your philosophy for shooting weddings and other
events?
A: As a videographer, Our
main philosophies for shooting any
event are to try and stay out of the way while still capturing the true emotions and importance of the day. Our
videographers shoot Philadelphia area weddings and events in a documentary style creating a final product that you, your friends, and family will
enjoy watching for years to come. During our consultation one
of our main goals is to find out what about your special day is most imporant.
Everyone has different accessories or parts of their event or wedding that are special
to them. As your videographer we want to find out what those areas are and make sure they are fully
captured to create a DVD you will love.
For those looking at our wedding services one very important thing to keep in mind
is that the wedding DVD is the one thing you purchase for your wedding that
actually gets more valuable as time goes on. Long after the
food has been eaten and the dress put away your wedding DVD will still be a fresh reminder
of the day. Imagine the joy you will have when you show the wedding
DVD to your kids in
10 years or to your grand kids in 30 years. While your still photographs will
capture single snap shots of the day your wedding DVD will bring you right back to the
moment. Afterall, a wedding is a live event and just like a football game it's much
more exciting to watch on DVD than looking at photos.
Q: Why do I need a second videographer ?
A: Having that second videographer adds a great deal of value. We highly
recommend having a second videographer for weddings and other large events.
Having the second wedding or event videographer adds more shots and
angles throughout the day making the final wedding or event DVD more interesting to look at. We like to think of this as adding a 3rd dimension to the DVD. When you
watch a live event on TV, take notice of how long you are watching the same shot
before the director changes to another angle. Each of those different angles are
different cameras. Those different angles help to make the viewer feel like they are
there with you and not stuck on the sidelines.
Another important
benefits
of having more than one videographer is we won't have to move around as often to get the
shots we need making our wedding or event
coverage less obtrusive..
Finally, having a second videographer ensures we are capturing key portions of the day from more than
one location. With a single camera shoot we are in the back
for the wedding ceremony or event and even though we
get great coverage of the those on stage its not possible to get as as many close-ups or reaction from your guests. During the wedding or event reception it allows for
more angles during your dances, toasts, and other events.
Q: How experienced are your videographers?
A:
Justin Chan, the business owner and videographer has a BA from
Temple University
in Philadelphia
specializing in video production. Since forming West Chester based
Valley Creek Productions in 2005
he has shot over 50 weddings and other events giving him a great deal of experience
working with different people and Philadelphia area venues.
Our team of videographers has a great deal of video production experience.
We only allow qualified video professionals to capture events for us. The owner
supervises training of any new videographers and only when they have proven that
they can produce the same quality of work that Valley Creek Producitons is known
for are they allowed to shoot.
Q: Will I know which videographer will shoot my event when I book your services?
A: Justin Chan will be the lead videographer for any wedding or event requiring
two or more videographers. For single videographer shoots the videographer will
be Justin or our lead videographer Tony Alessi.
For the two videographer shoots it's difficult for us to lock a specific second
videographer in close to a year in advance when a wedding is booked. While you can
guarantee Justin will present, we can give you a better idea of who your second
videographer will be when the date gets closer.
Q: Will your videographers work well with other vendors like photographers
and DJ's?
A: All of the vendors that you have carefully choosen for your wedding or event are there to make things go as smoothly as they possibly can. As your videographer it's our job to work well with all of your vendors and to that end we like
to talk to photographers, DJ's, and planners ahead of time to discuss our needs
and their needs to avoid any surprises on the big day. If you are still in the planning stages for your event or wedding, let us know. We have worked with many fine professionals in the Philadelphia area over the years
and would be happy to recommend other wedding or event vendors to meet your needs.
Q: How
about churches, my officient wants to make sure my videographer won't interfere with the event.
A: When possible we prefer to have the lead videographer attend the wedding or event rehersal to meet with
the officient and to make sure they are comfortable with where we plan to position ourselves
during the event. Many churchs limit the photographer and
videographer
to certain areas and
its important that we know where those are. If you think your officient is being
very restrictive make sure we meet with them before hand and then we can let you
know what to expect for the ceremony portion of your DVD.
Q: What kind of cameras do your videographers use?
A: Our videographers
currently use a pair of Sony DSR-PD170 MiniDV cameras.
The PD170 is a 3CCD camera that offers very rich colors and details compared to
the single CCD consumer video cameras sold at consumer electronic
stores. It also is rated as 1 lux for
low light meaning the camera can handle low light conditions in churches and reception
halls very well compared to the 8 or 9 lux rated consumer cameras. In addtion
to the Sony 170's we will be offering professional HD Cameras starting in the spring.
Q: Why should I upgrade to High Definition?
A: The United States government ended all standard definition broadcasts
in early 2009 paving the way for new digital high definition television. The main
benefit of HDTV is the increased picture quality. It's almost double that of standard
definition broadcasts. HDTV's are getting cheaper every day and the only way to
take full advantage of your new HDTV is by having us shoot your big day with our
new HD cameras.
Unlike some other videographers, we provide your video on the only media that can
give you a true HD picture...a Blu-Ray DVD. Standard DVD cannot give you an HD picture
and that is how many videographers provide their content. If you don't own a Blu-Ray
DVD
player that's ok because we also provide the video on Standard DVD. Blu-ray
DVD players
are dropping in price everyday and are now very affordable at most consumer electronic
stores.
Q: What about the sound, I've watched some wedding and event DVD's and the audio
was so low you could hardly hear the people talking. Do your videographers just use the camera
microphone?
A:
No, our videographers don’t rely on the camera microphone.
We use
Sennheiser wireless microphones
to capture most of the audio and we also have a
small portable recorder that we can place somewhere for even more ambient sound.
For weddings, we prefer to place a wireless clip-on microphone on the
groom to capture most of the audio at the ceremony. We use the same microphone to
capture the best man’s speech at the reception if we are not able to get a feed directly from the
DJ or band.
Q: Your site says that I can choose my own music. How
does that work?
A:
It’s very easy actually. For copyright reasons you need to own the music that we
include in your wedding DVD. All you need to do is choose the songs you would
like in your DVD and let us borrow the CD’s or burn them onto a single CD. You will need to pick around 15 songs, some fast, some slow and you
are welcome to let us know where you would want each song (getting ready, ceremony,
photo taking, reception, dancing). This music needs
to be provided on or before your event date to ensure no delay in editing.
Q: How long before I get my edited
DVD?
A: Editing your DVD is a very time consuming process, and of course
we want to take the time to ensure your final product is as good as we can possible
make it. We edit jobs in the order they were shot and we will be able to give you
a good turnaround estimate when your big day gets closer. For clients wishing
to view something quickly, we recommend purchasing a copy of the raw unedited footage
which we can typically get to you about the time you return from your honeymoon.
We are in constant communication with our clients during the editing process to
keep them informed of our progress.
Q: What if I want more copies of the edited DVD, how long will
you keep a copy of my event?
A: We always recommend purchasing additional copies of your wedding or event DVD right at the time
of the event however we will have your event video available for additional
copies for at least one year after the
event.
Q: Are your videographers insured?
A: Valley Creek Productions has liability insurance through Erie
Insurance. If your event venue requires vendors to be insured let us know and we
can provide proof of insurance to them.
Q: How do I find out about pricing?
A: All of our videography package prices for weddings and events are listed in the services section of our site. Please
Contact us
for a more
detailed list and for pricing information for our business videography
services.
Q: I want to schedule a consultation. When can you meet?
A: Please
Contact us
and we will find a time that works for you. Justin does all consultations at his home office located in Coatesville, PA.
Q: What is required to book the date and lock in my videographer?
A: To book the date all
we need to do is go through and sign the off on the contract to protect both parties and then you need to provide 1/3 of the balance due as a non-refundable deposit to lock the date in. We can take both
the contract and the check at your consultation, or you can mail it to the address
on the contract.
Q: How early should I book my videographer?
A: When you first contact
us we will be able to let you know if your date is available. We would recommend booking
at least six months
in advance. During peak wedding/event periods
we would recommend booking even earlier.
Q: Do you accept credit cards?
A: Our
preferred methods of payment are personal check
or money-order; however we are set up
to take all major credit cards through PayPal. Clients wishing to make final
payments via PayPal need to do so prior to the event date.
If we didn’t
answer your question, please
contact us and we will get back to you as quickly as we can.
|
Copyright 2009 Chan Services, LLC.
Conditions of Use
| Contact
the
webmaster
with any problems accessing this site. |