GoPro Wedding Videos?

Re: GoPro Wedding Videos?

• JoanE2012 member

  

  August 2014

  andreadcarroll said:

  Long story short, hiring a wedding videographer (or at least, the caliber of videographer that I would be willing to spend money on -- I won't spend money for it to be cheesy), is not in our wedding budget. To solve for this, my fiance and I decided we would buy a GoPro camera with the appropriate accessories and ask one of my coworkers to capture the day (I work in advertising so am fortunately surrounded by some pretty creative people). Our goal is to have candid, personalized footage of our day and a great camera to take on our honeymoon and future adventures afterward. My concern is editing the footage afterward -- I may think that I'll have the time to tackle it right now, or find someone who can help, but I'm afraid it will fall by the wayside and never get done. Also, I'd love to not have to worry about whether everything is being captured. I'd trust a professional videographer to capture all of the right details, but not so sure about my coworker (or anyone else who isn't a pro). Has anyone done something like this before? Would greatly appreciate any advice!

  Are you hiring your coworker or is he/she a guest of your wedding?  If they are a guest, you shouldn't ask them to do any "work" for your wedding.  If someone asked me, I'd feel obligated to do it but would hate not being able to enjoy the day.  If they are working and you are paying them in some way, then fine.  

  
  

  That said, by not hiring a professional, you run a greater risk of disappointment.  What if they don't show up, what if they start chatting with others they know and miss key moments you wanted captured, what if they are just plain crappy at taking video?  

  
  

  If video is important to you, I highly recommend paying a professional.  The money you pay for a videographer won't matter in 5 years, but a crappy video sure will matter!

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• photokitty mod

  

  August 2014 edited August 2014

  I hired a videographer, one of the main reasons was for the audio. I could have easily edited my own footage and have ample cameras I could have set up. Go Pros will not have good sound quality - you might as well use your cell phone camera. Also my vendor had 3 different camera angles - a Go Pro will only give you one. I also hired them bc I never would have gotten around to editing it, despite editing footage for work weekly...it would never be a priority and it would just sit there unseen.

  I would hire someone else, it is difficult working with family or friends if problems arise. Do you really want to deal with the consequences if your co-workers does a shoddy job shooting the footage?
  

  I recommend seeing if you can find one that fits in your budget or forgetting the video. GL!

  ~xoxo~

  
  

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• Julia0529 member

  

  August 2014

  I was in the same boat as you when I got married. My budget couldn't fit a good photographer and videographer. So I hired a photographer and borrowed a friend's handycam (probably as good as a GoPro or a little worse) and I had a tripod.
  
  A relative set up the tripod for the ceremony and left it alone, unmanned. Same thing for the reception. I think it got moved a few times for the reception. There's probably at least 8 hours of footage on that thing. I meant to review it, edit it, and chop it down to less than 15 minutes... Well, it's been a few years since then and I still haven't even glanced at the footage. My relative could've forgotten to hit record and I still wouldn't know.
  
  It may end up being different for you, but I never have time to sit down and watch stuff like this, even if it was pre-edited by someone else. I probably would've watched it at least once if I had hired someone, but since I didn't, I just don't have the energy to watch that much footage. Photos are different. I love looking at them. I have a photo album of my best wedding photos and I look at it maybe once a month, remembering everything about each captured moment. I ordered a huge canvas print of my favorite photo and hung it up in the living room. I look at that all the time and I love it.
  
  I think a GoPro will give you good enough footage. Sound doesn't matter (though I don't think the sound will be bad either). I think professional videographers remove the sound anyway and replace it with a romantic song (except for the exchanging of vows). Maybe you'll be like me and never watch it. And maybe you'll be an overachiever and edit it. I think it'll work out either way. If you have short enough segments with music, even a crappy video job will look good.
  

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• JoanE2012 member

  

  August 2014

  Julia0529 said:

  I was in the same boat as you when I got married. My budget couldn't fit a good photographer and videographer. So I hired a photographer and borrowed a friend's handycam (probably as good as a GoPro or a little worse) and I had a tripod.
  
  A relative set up the tripod for the ceremony and left it alone, unmanned. Same thing for the reception. I think it got moved a few times for the reception. There's probably at least 8 hours of footage on that thing. I meant to review it, edit it, and chop it down to less than 15 minutes... Well, it's been a few years since then and I still haven't even glanced at the footage. My relative could've forgotten to hit record and I still wouldn't know.
  
  It may end up being different for you, but I never have time to sit down and watch stuff like this, even if it was pre-edited by someone else. I probably would've watched it at least once if I had hired someone, but since I didn't, I just don't have the energy to watch that much footage. Photos are different. I love looking at them. I have a photo album of my best wedding photos and I look at it maybe once a month, remembering everything about each captured moment. I ordered a huge canvas print of my favorite photo and hung it up in the living room. I look at that all the time and I love it.
  
  I think a GoPro will give you good enough footage. Sound doesn't matter (though I don't think the sound will be bad either). I think professional videographers remove the sound anyway and replace it with a romantic song (except for the exchanging of vows). Maybe you'll be like me and never watch it. And maybe you'll be an overachiever and edit it. I think it'll work out either way. If you have short enough segments with music, even a crappy video job will look good.
  

  But it does matter to many people.  Most will want to hear their vows (and the other other parts of the ceremony that they might not remember because the day flew by in a blur).  If sound doesn't matter, you might as well just stick to the photos.

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• Julia0529 member

  

  August 2014

  Yes, it matters to some. And I mentioned that it would only matter for the exchanging of vows. The rest of the video could be mute and still be great.
  
  But I disagree with the advice that she should either hire a professional or forget about video. A GoPro will be better than nothing.
  

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• photokitty mod

  

  August 2014 edited August 2014

  Professional videographers only remove the sound add a romantic track for the short video montage that people post on You Tube. I would never hire someone just for that.

  
  

  My wedding video is the complete ceremony, with professional audio. This is what I paid for - the ceremony. The other stuff was just gravy. I want to see and hear my husband say his vows...I didn't remember anything he said expect that he called me his "lover" in them - I was mortified :-p I also got the toasts, prayer, cake cutting, key reception stuff with sound and a short montage of dancing with added music - just enough of the rest.

  
  

  I would stand behind my statement of hire a pro or forget about it bc...

  - You will probably never edit it. It won't be a priority and it will go unwatched.

  - You do finally watch it and you realize uncle Dave stood in front of the camera and you can't see most of the ceremony.

  - The footage might be all shaky if it's not on a tripod - with uncle Dave's butt or shoulder blocking a third of the screen.

  - The sound will not be good enough. You can do a lot with subpar footage, you can't do a lot to fix audio. Audio is very important.

  
  

  And most importantly - it's just one more thing to worry about on your wedding day. You will be very busy, it will be hectic. A Go Pro is just one more thing you have to bring and take home, worry about walking off.

  
  

  I think it is best to hire a pro or decide it is not important to you and not worry about it. Spending $250 or more on a camera and cards just opens you up tot he potential disappointment of feeling like you spent too much or wishing your hired a pro. 

  
  

  But that's JMHO and I'm not trying to get down on you fir doing it your way Julia. I hope when you get around to watching your footage you are happily surprised and I am wrong. I just can't recommend doing it the way you did

  ~xoxo~

  
  

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