My wife and I cover our entire state and then some, with our videography business. Going to a rehearsal often means leaving a day early, having an extra motel bill, more restaurant expense, etc. Most of us work on a pretty thin margin and need to cut all possible extraneous costs.
So, should you skip the rehearsal?
Some well-known professionals say they do not attend rehearsals, but even Dave Williams seemed to be hedging a bit when he posted the following points:
"I do like the idea of sending an assistant (intern) to gather info though. ."
"For beginners, I think it is great advice.
For seasoned vets who have worked the same venue in the past, not so much."
"I wish I knew beforehand about the positioning of the bridal party at last week's event.."
That last point touches on one of the crucial reasons for attending rehearsals. Let's write that down and list some more:
Positioning of bridal party could block shooting lanes
Positioning of unity candle & other props may need changing
You need to learn who the "main characters" are and be able to recognize them tomorrow
Work out positions & mic handling for singers, readers, etc.
Work out camera positions
Work out camera operator movements
Be sure the above two items are in line with house rules and bride's wishes
Check house lighting and see if windows will affect lighting
See if you can tap house sound system
Create a rapport with friends, family, officiant and coordinator
Sometimes, officiant is inexperienced and needs our help in planning the ceremony
I'm going to delve into each of those items and explain why they are so important and cite "real-life" examples, but first..
Dave leaves a huge gap between "beginners" and "seasoned vets who have worked the same venue.." If you consistently work the same venue and same officiant, and you have your officiant trained to leave a gap for camera lanes between the bridesmaids and groomsmen, and trained to give the "no gum tomorrow" speech, that certainly takes care of most of our items, but it still leaves the need to learn your main characters and develop a rapport with your client, their friends and family, officiant and coordinator. So let's look at that issue first..
Avoid the officiant, to better get around house rules.
If caught, and the rules don't let you operate the way you like, use them as an excuse for a poor video.
If the photog gets in front of your camera, just shoot his back because the bride will think worse of him than of you.
It's too much bother to mic the officiant
This is only a sampling of the terrible advice a reader might take from this month's eventDV magazine. I would hold the author responsible, but he may be just a well-meaning, but uninformed, ill-advised wedding videographer.
Stephen Nathans-Kelly and the magazine he is editor-in-chief of, however, are both well-respected and loved by thousands.
Mr. Kelly should know that this respect is not carved in stone. It is but a reflection of the content of his magazine and his actions.
When eventDV prints an article promoting such awful ideas, Mr. Kelly and team become responsible for what comes of that - hundreds of new wedding videographers who do not go to rehearsals, ignore house rules and try to shift responsibility for poor work, onto others - just the way they read it in the October 2008 issue of eventDV magazine!
Shame on you, Mr. Kelly!
OK, now that I've got that off my chest, let's start at the begining of the article and dissect..
When you cover your entire state, as we do, the prospect of shooting a wedding at your state capitol can get the pulse rate rising. Being so busy with editing, weekend weddings and weekday corporate and event shoots, it was only while setting our GPS for the rehearsal locale that I realized what was coming.
"I'd told you twice, that this one was at the capitol!", my wife said, using the same tone of voice she's used at home regarding our dogs - "I told you to watch where you step!"
"Hmm..looks like we might be making a sample video we'll want to use for awhile.", I replied, thinking about how we've just been sending whatever the last video off the burners happened to be.
The ceremony would be held on the fourth floor of the rotunda building. Surrounded with marble walls and floor and huge, beautiful paintings, it had terrible acoustics, but the fifth floor provided balconeys to shoot from, giving us a nearly 360º view.
There were rules and security precautions, of course. Our wagon, loaded with camera crane, five tripods, five cameras with accessories and wireless sets, etc., would have to enter through the freight entrance and everything would have to be x-ray'd..
