How much notice to give to customers...

shaf · #1 (**permalink**) 07-08-2008, 05:20 PM

...to edit and deliver the final product? It has taken a month to complete my first wedding video ( I work part-time aswell)...I wonder if that is too long?

derkvanl · #2 (**permalink**) 07-08-2008, 05:42 PM

Allthough I 'm not gonna get married, I could imagine that being too long. And, offcourse it depends on the amount of film you shot and edited.

Better to ask yourself how many hours you spend on it and if you could have done it in fewer weeks -> better timemanagement

And it's allways better to let customers know what time you need to edit the video upfront. If you tell them 6 weeks and finish in a month, they 'll be happy. If you say 4 weeks and finish in 29 days, working your ass of, they 'll be unhappy you were a day late.

shaf · #3 (**permalink**) 07-08-2008, 06:26 PM

To be fair, asian weddings are looooong (3hrs minimum)...so I think it is only fair to give at least 6wks notice.

shaf · #4 (**permalink**) 07-08-2008, 06:45 PM

I came across this:

It really depends on how busy the videographer is. If he or she prefers to only shoot a few wedings a year, you could expect your video within a month or two or less. Generally speaking, most videographers will be able to deliver the video faster than the photographer will be able to deliver their photos because sometimes it takes longer for the photo labs to develop all the photos and to build the album and deliver the book. If your videographer tells you it's going to take more than 3 months to get your video to you, I would say that's a pretty long time unless they have a good reason for that. It generally accepted that you should be able to expect your video within 2-3 months.

mike-horne · #5 (**permalink**) 07-08-2008, 09:27 PM

normally all edited within two weeks of wedding...!

The Guru · #6 (**permalink**) 07-09-2008, 09:40 AM

Shaf, you've asked a question but obviously don't like the answers you're getting.

I would suggest that, if you're charging for a wedding, the couple should have the video by the time they get back from the honeymoon. Certainly a professional video should be ready no later than two weeks after the ceremony.

Excuses are not acceptable. You are being paid to provide a service and you should deliver on time. If you film on a Saturday, have Sunday off, you have the whole week, Monday to Friday, to edit the footage, ready for the next wedding the following weekend. If you don't have a wedding the following Saturday, it doesn't matter, you must still edit your footage immediately since the paying customer is waiting to see the results.

Anything longer and the customer is entitled to withhold part of the payment.

If you join an organisation like the Institute of Videographers, they will be able to supply you with details of court cases where the customer took the videographer to court (or vice versa) and the court has upheld that a wedding video has to be delivered within a reasonable time. A month is not reasonable and three months is totally unacceptable.

shaf · #7 (**permalink**) 07-09-2008, 02:16 PM

Originally Posted by The Guru

Shaf, you've asked a question but obviously don't like the answers you're getting.

I would suggest that, if you're charging for a wedding, the couple should have the video by the time they get back from the honeymoon. Certainly a professional video should be ready no later than two weeks after the ceremony.

Excuses are not acceptable. You are being paid to provide a service and you should deliver on time. If you film on a Saturday, have Sunday off, you have the whole week, Monday to Friday, to edit the footage, ready for the next wedding the following weekend. If you don't have a wedding the following Saturday, it doesn't matter, you must still edit your footage immediately since the paying customer is waiting to see the results.

Anything longer and the customer is entitled to withhold part of the payment.

If you join an organisation like the Institute of Videographers, they will be able to supply you with details of court cases where the customer took the videographer to court (or vice versa) and the court has upheld that a wedding video has to be delivered within a reasonable time. A month is not reasonable and three months is totally unacceptable.

What I should have explained was that with asian weddings, there are three ceremonies covering 3-4 days!....thats over 6hrs of raw footage. Asian wedding videos include:

1st ceremony (named Mehndi- usually at the house)

2nd ceremony (named Baraath- where the groom makes a journey to the brides house, then to the venue, then brings back the bride to his home- in this case it was a 3hr journey each way for me!)

3rd ceremony (named Waleema- the final wedding party).

Each of these ceremonies take up a whole day...that is hours of raw footage and lot of editing for a guy who works on his own. With asian weddings, the customers normally accept 1-2months notice to deliver the final product (minimum 2 DVD's). I received my own wedding video after 2 months

Mark W · #8 (**permalink**) 07-09-2008, 02:47 PM

I am consistently underwhelmed by what happy couples are prepared to accept. I would want mine in 2 weeks max.

As for six hours raw footage, this seems rather a lot. I would have tht the trick is to do your research, then only film reqested bits / people.... pre production I suppose - have a plan first - like a story board.

Weddings really are easy to edit to a basic std, it's not like challenging really, no one will care that your subtlely more crowded shot progrssion towards the closely cropped tension breaking denoument of the first kiss is a work of cinematographic genius ! Well I would...

shaf · #9 (**permalink**) 07-09-2008, 03:17 PM

Originally Posted by Mark W

I am consistently underwhelmed by what happy couples are prepared to accept. I would want mine in 2 weeks max.

As for six hours raw footage, this seems rather a lot. I would have tht the trick is to do your research, then only film reqested bits / people.... pre production I suppose - have a plan first - like a story board.

Weddings really are easy to edit to a basic std, it's not like challenging really, no one will care that your subtlely more crowded shot progrssion towards the closely cropped tension breaking denoument of the first kiss is a work of cinematographic genius ! Well I would...

Mark, problem in asian culture is that they want everything shot...from ppl dining, children playing etc etc.... hell even the decorations! And the organisation of the wedding is usaully terrible. I can imagine how simple a english wedding would be to shoot and edit as they are very well prepared.

The Guru · #10 (**permalink**) 07-09-2008, 03:18 PM

If your customers are happy to accept that sort of waiting list... fine. However, eight weeks wait for a wedding video is simply too long.

As Mark says, you have to be switched-on when you're filming. You're getting too much raw material, learn when to press the "record" button and when not.
If you are the camera operator and the editor, you should go into the edit suite knowing what material you have. You don't have to digitize all the material, only the bits you need. Then allowing one week (40 hours) to edit and your video should be ready the following Saturday.
If you're not too sure of your editing skills then you might allow two weeks for editing.

If it takes you three weeks (120 hours) to edit a one hour wedding DVD, then you should consider getting a proper editor to work for you.

You asked the question, how long to deliver a professional wedding video to customers and the answer is that it should be ready for them when they return from their honeymoon two, or at the most, three weeks later.

An English wedding isn't any easier than an Asian wedding, if you know what you're doing. If you're going to be a professional then don't have excuses... have results.