bride-and-groom.co.uk

Marc Peters · #1 (**permalink**) 05-03-2005, 10:22 PM

I've decided to relaunch www.bride-and-groom.co.uk, so here I am pimping it for all its worth. Excuse the site design (I cobbled it together whilst watching Chelsea get knocked out - mwhahahaha).

Mike Thorpe · #2 (**permalink**) 05-03-2005, 11:42 PM

Nice and minimalist, but i think the google adwords are ill advised, because they were advertising a rival service

Tony A · #3 (**permalink**) 05-04-2005, 12:05 AM

The text in that top caption box is very feint, did you intend this? Other than that, sweet & simple is nice.

mrlipring · #4 (**permalink**) 05-04-2005, 03:20 AM

Originally Posted by tone33

The text in that top caption box is very feint, did you intend this? Other than that, sweet & simple is nice.

in the business card, do you mean? Yeah, it's hard to read. you wanna fix the title too.

Marc Peters · #5 (**permalink**) 05-04-2005, 06:08 PM

Thanks. I'll feed the input into the final design.

Re: the adverts - I'm happy for people to "check out" the "competition" and at the same time generate income to cover my own advertising costs!

archie123 · #6 (**permalink**) 05-04-2005, 08:32 PM

Hi Marc , is this the web site to generate wedding business for you or for the link on your page ? If the online wedding montage is for a business that is charging for this service then can I suggest a reedit and a rethink about filming somebody’s special day. The footage used was very shaky and badly shot even when slowed down in the edit. The scene with the children again badly framed and shaky. The cutting of the cake very poorly lit due to the backlight from the window and really needed a camera light to bring out the colours and depth of the scene. The confetti shot is spoiled by bad planning on where to stand resulting in a very poor crash zoom. I am sorry if this offends anybody in anyway but professional wedding videographers spend fortunes on kit and years perfecting the art of capturing those special moments that only ever happen once and often loose business because uncle Fred and his camcorder.
Ok Uncle Fred’s alright if the happy couple cant afford a professional but if you are charging for this service then I am sorry to say this is just not up to scratch.

Marc Peters · #7 (**permalink**) 05-04-2005, 08:58 PM

Thank you for the critique. Basically there was nothing "right" with the video, eh? i.e it was "crap" as Tone33 once said about my compeition entry

*sound of Marc quietly sobbing*

At least I can only get better with practice! (And I guess I'm also one of those guys that gives the industry a bad name). One thing's for sure: this is a public forum, so anyone can see my public flogging

Mike Thorpe · #8 (**permalink**) 05-04-2005, 10:13 PM

Honesty is the best policy sure, but Archie, I think your critique went a little too far, especially in a public place. Whilst we're being honest, your post smacks of one-upmanship and point scoring.

The strict conservative and conventional approach of wedding photographers and videographers is exactly the reason my wife and I didn't hire a photographer or videographer for our wedding - because we weren't going to be told what to do or where to stand by some guy that thought he knew what was best for us. We just got people to take loads of photos and give us copies.

Of course being honest is best, but if you want to be useful, how's about offer constructive criticism, giving useful opinions as to how the video could be improved, rather than just pointing out the negatives?

Prove how good you are by telling us what you would have done, not what you wouldn't have done.

Marc Peters · #9 (**permalink**) 05-04-2005, 10:17 PM

I've had a long hard think about this archie. Like everyone in this world, I had to start somewhere. Like most of us, that place was right at the very bottom of a pile. And it's been a struggle to better myself to clamber out of that pile.

Yes, there was technical a "faux pas" or three. No, I don't have the best equipment, nor do I have twenty years experience. But we live in a market economy where supply and demand are the powers that make or break us (hey, I'm an Economics grad!), and if there's a market for a product, it'll be sold.

As luck would have it, not everyone wants the conventional wedding shoot, and someone like little old me with his toy XM and XL2s can help out with that. Sure, I need to improve on the technical side, but isn't it above all what the client wants?

They can view the online video (the only one I have with royatly free music), they can take a look at a demo and they can make their choice. At the end of the day, it's that choice that will dictate who succeeds and who falls by the side of the road.

Every wedding is different. From the choice of the fabric of the dress to the whether they have candles at the meal. A lot of people don't want a fuss, they simply want a guy filming as unobtrusively as possible, yet capture the magic of their special day. You could argue that setting up those perfect shots could ruin the the day

At the end of the day, the best camera man, lighting professional and editor all rolled into one wedding videographer could be the world's most pompous and bossy man alive. Sure, he'll get you the perfect shots at all costs, but will you enjoy the day? I'd say I'm a creative and insightful person and I hope that my camera skills one day match that.

Mike Thorpe · #10 (**permalink**) 05-04-2005, 10:19 PM

Originally Posted by Marc Peters

Sure, he'll get you the perfect shots at all costs, but will you enjoy the day?

That's exactly the point I was trying to make. First and foremost, it's a wedding, not a film. I've been to loads of weddings, and several times the photographer has interfered and got in the way.