In November 2009, I received an email to see if I wanted to film a Style Me Pretty Inspiration Shoot in a Barn about an hour away in Maine with vendors I had never met. I googled the vendors and sat looking at my computer screen thinking, “what in the world do they want me to film them…they are all rock stars… and I’m just…. Meg from NH“

I was so nervous to get back to them because I know NOTHING about Style, ZERO about color coordination, and I honestly thought I would not be able to speak their lingo. I also knew this was an opportunity NOT to pass up. I really wanted to meet the photographer (Brea McDonald) because we had so many mutual friends, so it was exciting and nerve wracking all at once. Needless to say, they were all sweethearts, we made a great team, and I didn’t have to learn a new language.

We ooh’d and ahh’d over each others work, and ended the day with lots of laughs, smiles, and new facebook friends.   Since then, a lot has transpired. Sara (who did the invitations) recommended me to an old childhood friend, so she booked me. Brea (photographer) and Dawn (florist) do a lot of weddings together on Nantucket (pretty expensive island off the coast of Massachusetts), and after seeing my work they were determined to get me out there, which they did for Amanda and Vincent’s celebration (see Sportsmobile Weddings Part III).

Once A+V’s film went online I got a call from another bride who has a mutual friend with Amanda and she hired me right away for a wedding in December, and on we go! Now I’m on the radar.

When I was out for A+V’s wedding I also regrouped with Dawn + Brea the next day to create a few promos for their joint planning website, Nantucket Weddings Unveiled, so now I can be featured on that = more exposure!  That one SMP shoot has done more for my business then I can even digest in this short blog post, from tips on where to re-brand to how to price my packages.  I don’t know about you, but I see some SERIOUS $$$ adding up here.

Because Dawn + Brea met me during the SMP shoot, and because I signed up for the Posh Retreat (A retreat for the female filmmaker) – I put Brea + Dawn in touch with Reagan (StudioZ Films) + Jen (Northernlight Filmworks),  founders of Posh… and now Brea + Dawn are going to be presenting their workshop on the cruise! So it can work both ways!

All this because I took a few hours on a Sunday to film an inspiration shoot (ok, there were hours of editing too) – in my book, it totally paid off! Don’t shy away from possible networking opportunities. You never know

:) Meg

Our friend Milan Shah from the IVA in Chicago has invented a pretty cool little application for those of us on facebook who want to post videos longer than 20 minutes, insert chapter markers, and avoid having facebook ban our upload if there happens to be a hint of music playing in the background that they think should not be there.

So check out his facebook ap by clicking here, and let us know what you think!

password: 2010
<If you haven’t watched it yet, check out my part I on elopements by clicking here>

With the popularity of wedding filmmakers owing a DSLR camera, many are dabbling in the world of photography. This is a great way to do fusion packages with photo and video or just explore more with photography without stepping on the feet of your referral base of professional photographers. I haven’t found this to be an issue because many of the photographers in my area find the elopements aren’t worth their time. I on the other hand love the cash flow during the middle of the week, or during the off season.

Here is a synopsis from the video:

Biggest Mistake #1: Don’t start this side gig under your main company name if you have no intention whatsoever of shooting big weddings as a still photographer. This has been the biggest source of confusion. Thankfully that’s the only big mistake I could think of.

Rule #1: Set an hourly rate for both photo and video services. You can customize options for them if they want more.

Rule #2: How to set your base rate – examine what they are spending on other local services. For example, if they are spending $75 for a bouquet and boutenniere, $130 for  hair, nails, and makeup, $350 for a room/suite that includes a hot tub, champagne, strawberries, and breakfast, you can comfortably charge $350 for your services. Try not to be wildly expensive where you charge $600 for an hour of service, which is over half their budget. This will vary from region to region.

You can experience more of my “elopement business” at www.NHElopements.com

If you are interested in learning my workflow for elopements, stay tuned for Elopements Part 3!

:)  Meg

There are a lot of people reading this blog who are probably in the same boat as me when it comes to Same Day Edits. Either you are scared (I’ll admit that!) or you live rurally and don’t have the people power to pull it off. I live in Northern, NH and it would be tough to get the two or three other filmmakers to help with a SDE, seeing that they may be booked with their own weddings. We don’t have a film school nearby or eager college grads looking to beef up their film reel.

So what can you do? I’m always super excited to see footage from the wedding, so the first thing I do the day after the event, 1) I get the media into the computer 2) Set the timer, limit myself to one hour of editing, 30 minutes to color grade, 30 minutes to render and export. Two hours (maybe three) and you are done. 3) Upload online.

Remember this is a one minute (no more) preview geared towards building anticipation of the upcoming film. Post it immediatley to FaceBook, your blog, tweet about it etc… be sure to post it to the bride and groom’s profile on FB if you have become friends with them (this kind of won’t work as well if you aren’t friends!) In minutes or hours you will see the comments come in.

Don’t forget to first get permission before the wedding, to post the preview to your clients FB page or your blog since they may leave right after for their honeymoon and you want to take advantage of all those wedding stalkers looking for visuals on the couples big day!

For 2010 I booked two weddings from my one minute previews from attendees of those weddings. I also booked three more weddings from FaceBook related incidents.  So you see, you don’t have to rely completely upon SDE’s and highly polished highlights to get superior exposure and targeted referrals without having to spend the big bucks!

:) Meg

If you are looking for a way to get your name in front of a wider audience consider making some fun, easy, and short vendor videos.

I’m not talking (entirely) about a razzamatazz bells and whistles rock star promo, but something simple or a series of simples videos that the vendors can place on their website/blog and provide useful content to their followers (and referrals back to you)!

I had been talking about this idea with a local florist and friend Carrie Scribner, and when we both had some down time this winter it was a perfect opportunity to spend an hour catching up/networking. We not only had some great laughs, but we produced something useful for both of our blogs, websites, facebook, clients, newsletters, etc, and generated some recognition among other vendors we work with. We were providing helpful information that everyone could learn from in a non threatening way.

Next time you are pressed for advertising dollars, think simple, think local, give a little time to the project and really reap the rewards

:) Meg

Greetings IN[FOCUS] readers!

This is Corbin with Soulbox Productions and I’d like to share an idea for presenting your final product to your clients – Viewing Trays!

We came up with the idea when we had a client coming over to pick up their DVDs. And instead of just handing them over in a bag, we thought it would be fun to create a viewing tray with goodies for them to have while watching their wedding film.

First off, I like to start with a serving tray or basket and fill it with raffia or crinkle shred.  You can go as far as incorporating the bride and grooms’ colors from their wedding when selecting a tray/raffia or you can just play it safe and stick with neutral colors.

Next, I like to add a libation: a bottle of wine or champagne or if they’re beer drinkers, a bottle of Chimay would be perfect.

Now for the snacks! For the ladies, a little something sweet: I like to include a decadent chocolate bar, a box of truffles or some fun retro candy. And for the guys, a little something savory: I like to add nuts, crackers or popcorn.  When choosing the snacks, I like to try and tailor them to each bride and groom. For example, Ashley and Matt (their tray is pictured above) both graduated from UT at Austin and I thought it would be cute to include some Austinuts to tie into their alma mater. Another example, we had a bride and groom that gave cookies from a local bakery as favors to their guests. So when we were putting their tray together, we stopped by the same bakery and picked up some cookies to add to the mix. The whole idea of this is just to make it fun and personal for your brides and grooms.

Since it would be difficult and expensive to ship the trays once they’re put together, it’s best to present them in person to your couples. Plus, you get to see them again, catch up and give them an extra surprise with their DVDs that they weren’t expecting. But of course, not all of our clients live within a 30-mile radius, so we only do about 7-8 trays a year. On average, our viewing trays cost $40-$50 and typically everything for the trays can be purchased at Target and/or your local grocery store.

We hope you all give this a try and please let us know if you have questions or need any help!

Corb

Mistakes to Avoid to Succeed in Wedding Video

Matt Davis with you. As “The Head Coach of Wedding Videography,” I was privileged last month to be joined with Chris Jones of Mason Jar Films, and co-founder of IN[FOCUS] on a conference call with almost 500 videographers providing them free information on some trade secrets and lessons that we have learned over the years. We had such a great response from that.

With the new year approaching, some of us need to ask our selves if what we are doing isn’t working. Some of us need to write down the things that did work for us in 2009 so that we can emulate that success in the coming years. But regardless of whether you are a seasoned veteran or just starting out, I believe we can all appreciate some tips that make such a hectic situation as a wedding day that much easier.  Above you’ll find a segment from our webinar “Mistakes to Avoid in Order to Succeed in Wedding Video”.  This 10 minute audio clip covers some tips and techniques that you can begin using on your next wedding that will not only make you more profitable, but will save your sanity. Here are some things you’ll learn in the audio.

• How To Create Immediate Synergy with a Photographer
• Getting the best audio from a wedding (non hardware specific)
• Multiple Shooter Communication
• Making the edit more simplified and profitable by doing things on the wedding day
• A very necessary tip to help you with your post production ideas

Enjoy! Also, for those interested in further help, more details and strategies on how to grow your business, we are now enrolling for a very unique opportunity for event videographers. You can sign up for our 2010 coaching online webinar entitled “Sales & Marketing 101: What Most Videographers Don’t Know About Making Money”. Check it out. First session starts January 27th,2010.

See you in Austin!
Matt Davis, Lifestage

Thanks to Sonicfire Pro for the background music for the presentation (above).

To reiterate, even though these kids are in the wedding day attire, these pre-shoots are done days, and sometimes weeks before the wedding.  It’s not uncommon for LDS (Mormon) couples to see another in dress and tux well before the date .

But for your couples, it may be more likely that you can build a relationship with them using a different kind of pre-shoot,  and(e)ngagment shoot or a save the date video.

Regardless, the advantages of (1) choosing the time of day to shoot, (2) shooting during the week, and (3) entering the wedding day with a deeper connection to the couple apply.

Here is the final product from one of the pre-shoots featured in the b-roll above:

Beau + Sarah Preshoot from David Perry on Vimeo.

So we’re talked about how using your video skills to give back is rewarding in and of itself.  But like editing weddings, if one gets caught up in a backlog of favors, what could’ve once experienced as a blessing now becomes a nightmare.

So whenever doing something for free, it’s important to clearly communicate what you will provide, what the client must provide, when they can expect the project to be finished, etc.  In short, it is still very similar to a business transaction.

When you decide to take on a non-profit (to you) project, be proactive and support a cause or organization whose mission you support.  As you grow your business, you will be approached by no shortage of organizations wanting you to do pro-bono work, so it’s helpful to be able to say, “as much as I would love to help you out, my business is already supporting The Human Fund with our services.”

As you begin a service project, communicate the following:

• how much time you can give to a project, and how much time you would expect their requests to take.  They must know that meeting with them to understand their mission better counts as the time you are giving to the project.
• what they need to provide you with before production begins.
• how many copies they will get, and where can they go to make copies themselves, or how much additional copies will cost.  If you allow them to expect unlimited copies, or getting copies from you exclusively, then they will surely take you up on it, and at the worst possible time!
• if you will be providing a web-ready version, communicate that you are not a webmaster and that it will be up to them to insert the video online.  Even if you offer to help them insert code into their blog, then chances are they won’t see the difference between that and you being able to program changes into their html.  Expect the project to snowball.

One thing for sure – if you wait until you have time to do a service project, it will never occur – it is something for which you must make time – and as long as you stay on top of the project rather and communicate clearly versus taking an “it’s free, so I’ll just work on it in my spare time” attitude, your service project should be successful and rewarding.

I’m interested in your comments about your service projects and how you’ve kept something that’s “free” from taking over your life.

Happy serving!
jones