You’ve decided you want to hire a wedding videographer to capture your day, and you are probably googling things like “List of Questions I should ask my wedding videographer?” I’ve taken a look at some of some of those lists and I feel like they're missing some very important questions that you MUST ask before hiring. Here are those questions and why they are important. 1. What is included in the final product? And how will we receive it? Many wedding videographers now offer so much more than just a recording of your ceremony. You can have musical highlight films, cinematic quality short films, long documentary films, stylized artistic films, and pretty much any type or length of film you could want! (If you want to know all the wedding film possibilities, I’ve made a list of the most common types here.) Since there’s so many options, you must ask your videographer what is included in the final product, and how long your film will be. This way, you know exactly what will be in the final video or videos you’ll be watching. After you know what’s in the final product, the next question to ask is how your wedding films will be delivered? Most wedding filmmakers offer digital delivery online or delivered to you in the mail on a USB flash drive or DVD. If you need a specific type of delivery for yourself or a relative, be sure to ask if it can be included in your package. * 2. Is the music you’ll be using in our film licensed? Any music that goes into your final edited film that will be posted online must be licensed. What that means, is that your videographer must have permission from the company or record label that owns the song. If you don’t have a license, these are the possible consequences: Your video will receive a copyright infringement notification on the social media hosting platform (Youtube, Facebook, Vimeo, Instagram) and it will be removed or taken down. The other thing that could happen is that your wedding filmmaker or yourself could be sued thousands upon thousands of dollars for copyright infringement. I’m not kidding. In fact, here’s a true horror story from a wedding filmmaker who was sued. So, since being sued by a music label isn’t the best wedding gift, be sure that your videographer licenses the music. In fact, you can ask them what service they use to license. Here are a few of the popular ones: MusicBed, Premium Beat, Soundstripe, Fyr-Fly Song Freedom, and Art List IO, Marmoset, and Filmstro. * 3. How do you capture the audio of our vows and speeches? While stunning visuals are pretty, one of the main reasons you want to hire a videographer for your day is not just to see your wedding, but to hear it. Your vows, the toasts, the well wishes from your friends and family, are all beautiful and that audio should be professionally recorded. Besides having microphones on top of their cameras, wedding videographers will use their own lapel microphones on the officiant and the groom to capture clear audio during the ceremony. They also will have recording device capturing audio straight from the DJs equipment for the reception. If your filmmaker does not have multiple ways to capture clear audio, there is a risk that key words and speeches won’t sound great or be hard to understand. * 4. Do you have insurance? Wedding venues sometimes require vendors to provide a certificate of insurance before working on their property. The reason for that is, sometimes, accidents happen. Wedding Videographers work with lots of heavy equipment, such as light stands and tripods, that could be a hazard to a guest if they were to fall over. Also, if a videographer’s equipment happened to get stolen the day before your wedding, they should be able to rent or purchase new ones right away with their insurance coverage. Definitely ask your videographer if they have insurance, and if they can send a certificate copy to your wedding venue if required. * 5. Is sales tax included in your prices? Depending on the state you live in, sales tax may or not be required to be collected on your purchase on a wedding film. In my state, California, sales tax is required on the entire bill if the purchase results in a physical item, like a DVD or flash drive. If I were to deliver your video online only, there would be no sales tax charged. It’s important to ask about the tax, so there’s no confusion or sticker stock when you pay your invoice. And those are the questions you must ask your wedding videographer before booking their services. I hope I’ve helped in your wedding planning! Any more questions you have about your wedding video? Send me a message and I’ll do my best to answer!
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