A very serious topic so I'll spend some time on here. This is a couple who is obviously displeased with their wedding video. The videographer who is interviewed in this news clip is right. About 60% of the wedding videographers out there are crap. I would put that figure closer to 80%, especially the way trends are going now. The current trend is to setup almost every shot like a movie, then edit it together like a 3 minute music video, and well...that's what you get for your wedding video. The wedding videographers now call themselves "cinematographers" which is actually demeaning to true cinematographers. True cinematographers have a degree in film, work in the movie industry, understand the use of film, lighting, but most of all, the elements of story telling and why certain angles and effects are used. "Wedding cinematographers" take little digital SLR cameras, point and shoot, and use special effects to spice up their shots, without truly knowing why they are shooting the way they are. Their 3 minute wedding clips may look spectacular, but take in mind, they are all setup shots, and only 3 minutes. When you view their long edited wedding footage, these fake cinematographers start to really show their weakness.

So how do you spot a great wedding videographer?

1. If possible, make sure he uses real video cameras and not a digital SLR, that are only capable of shooting 12 minutes a time. The new trend is to shoot wedding videos using digital SLRS, which goes to show you how amateur the industry has gotten. These digital SLRS are incredible in video qualtiy, and they are perfect for shooting movies where a director can yell cut every 3 minutes. But these cameras are useless for live motion documentaries. It's basically useless. Can you imagine shooting a live football game 12 minutes at a time? How about a reality TV show? Nope...it can't happen because eventually, you're going to miss something. This is why productions in the news, reality tv, and documentaries use cameras that can tape for at least 90 minutes. A videographer who uses digital SLRS exclusively will only capture moments of your wedding so he can spice up his 3 minute video.
   
   
2. Ask to look at his COMPLETE edited footage of a ceremony from beginning to end....not his 3 minute commercial tape, then go to step 3.
   
   
3. Always remember when looking at wedding videos, know what is documented footage, and what is setup footage. A wedding video should document what your wedding day was from beginning to end, and setup shots should be left to a minimum. Hey, if there's chaos, let there be chaos. In fact, it'll make for a good laugh down the road. Here are the current list of videographer setup shots that I saw in many wedding videos

• Bride putting on earring, then focusing on her reflection in the mirror
• Bride slipping on garter belt as camera pans across the entrance
  
• Bride grabbing bouquet and leaving room
• Someone zipping up Bride's dress
• Bride looking at dress
• Groomsmen drinking and toasting, slapping each other on the back
• Best man helping groom with his coat then hugging him.
• Slipping on of rings, close up
• Brides reaction, laugh
• Grooms reaction, laugh
• Bride and Father walking down isle
• Groom getting nervous
  
  These shots are all SETUP shots, meaning the moment captured on video is fake. In many cases, ring shots may be shot after your wedding ceremony. Reactions on video are not the true reactions that you had during the ceremony. Zipping up of your dress could be done in the lobby of the hotel...and so on. My point, these videographers have gotten lazy and are no longer documenting your wedding but creating a fictional reenactment of your wedding.
  
  These shots are easy to spot because well...they look too perfect. Too commercial.
  

Back to the wedding video. It's pretty hard to seriously give my two cents on whether or not the wedding video that was given to this couple was bad or not without actually seeing the footage. But from what the couples describes, it sounds horrible. But they have a few things wrong here. Just because an editor doesn't use transitions with every cut, it does not mean he is not professional. In fact, it's entirely opposite. An editor how can cut without transitions, is extremely good. Do you know that all movies are edited without transitions? Transitions usually signify "a passage of time" when used properly.

The bottom line when looking at reels of wedding videographers. Know that no two weddings are the same, therefore, not two wedding videos should be the same. They may follow the same format, but moments, should not look EXACTLY the same and fall exactly in the same order.