IN[FOCUS]

This post is dedicated to those that are just getting started as a Wedding Cinematographer. When we first began 6 years ago there were a lot of lessons we had to learn the hard way (and in some cases the VERY hard way).  It seems that the lessons that cost us the most were the one that we learned the fastest!

I remember thinking “I wish there was someone who could help us figure some of this stuff out!” Back then, people were not so forthcoming with the information. It was almost as if they wanted you to go through the struggles and the challenges as if it were a rite of passage or something.

Well I am all about paying-it-forward and helping raise the bar as an industry – so take a look at my “10 Things We Wish We Knew Before We Started Our Wedding Cinematography Business.” Take what you like and leave the rest but be sure and comment to share a few tips or tricks that you wish someone would have told you when you began your business!

TarynP

Taryn Bills attended Arizona State University and graduated Cum Laude from the Walter Cronkite School of Broadcast Journalism. She worked in community relations at the Phoenix NBC affiliate, then moved on to an account executive position for Infinity Broadcasting where she discovered her passion for Sales and Marketing. After 3 years she left radio for a 3-year stint in pharmaceutical sales, during which time she and her husband started Serendipity Videography. She has served as the sales and marketing director of award winning Serendipity for 6 years as well as with their baby sister company Simply Cinema. When she is not busy growing her own businesses, she offers marketing and consulting services for various companies who need assistance in growing their brand and increasing their sales.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

No matter how many times you tell a couple how long their film will take to complete, there is always that Bride that calls the studio the week after her wedding, asking, “When will my film be done?!?”

It is extremely important to be in communication with our couples as to the status of their film. And we’ve found that the best way to communicate the progress of their film is through, “status e-mails.” These e-mails have been received extremely well by our couples. Because the status e-mails monitor the progress of their film, they don’t have to be constantly calling our studio to inquire about their project (which frees-up our time to actually work on them).

Our system consists of 8 different stages: processing, editing, audio, color grading, finishing, exporting, packaging, and completion. With each e-mail, there is a detailed description of what that specific stage entails. For example, the first stage is “processing.”  In this e-mail, our couples will learn how their footage is converted into useable video files, and that that action can take up to 1 week. After reading this e-mail, the couple knows they can expect their next update within a week.

The progress bar at the top of the e-mail indicates how far along their film is in relation to the entire process. With each e-mail they get a bit closer to the finished project!

As simple as it sounds, communication with your clients is key to building a great relationship with them. And keeping them informed and telling them the details of the entire process helps to build that communication. We are very conservative with our time estimates, this is to afford us more time in the event we get backed up. I always say, it is better to under promise and over deliver!

You can download our complete “Status E-mail Updates” @ http://hdmweb.com/emailstages/…. of course, you will want to update them with your information and make them your own! Good luck!

Andrew Waite

Supreme Commander of HDM/Lovestruck Films conquering Land, Sea, and Air in the world event filmmaking. Not satisfied with the camera always being no more than 6 feet off the ground, Andrew has pushed his work to new "levels" by incorporating underwater and aerial cinematography into his wedding films.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

I would love to think I am going to be a veteran in this business, but if I try to predict what my life is like in 5, 10, or 20+ years, I know one thing. I don’t want to be lugging hundreds of wedding films to the nursing home when I’m old and grey. I also don’t like the stress of knowing that I still have my past clients “best” copy of their wedding film. I really want to transfer the responsibility back onto the client. It was THEIR day! Not mine. I made my money then. I want to focus on making new money on referrals from their friends and family, not smaller sales on old projects. My goal is to transfer the responsibilty back onto the client as quickly as I can.

I admit this is tough to do if you are just now starting it and have 10 years of wedding films in the kitty, but it is doable. I’m choosing the month of April each year to be my “archive” month. If people don’t get back to me in that time frame, I’m not going to spend time chasing them down until the following April. It’s been sort of fun to reconnect with old clients from long ago, but it’s also been hard to track them all down.  That still leaves me feeling the responsibility of saving “the best copy” for them. Not something I want to have to deal with moving forward.

Meg Simone

Wedding filmmaker, avid skier, and travel enthusiast!

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts