Azure Production Inc.

If a new bride could tell someone who is currently planning their wedding just one thing or give them one piece of advice while they decide what professional wedding services are in their wedding budget, what do you think it would be?

“Make sure you reserve your venue well in advance”? “Make sure you actually attend a cake tasting so you know what you are going to get”? “Don’t go through it at all”?

No! According to a 2005 survey commissioned by the Wedding & Event Videographers Association, 98 per cent of newlyweds would tell those first-time brides to hire a professional wedding videographer.

Many former brides regret not having a videographer at their own wedding – before their wedding, about 50 per cent of them thought hiring a wedding videographer was a necessary expense like the cake or flowers. But after their wedding, another 25 per cent of brides thought it was an important service – regretting not hiring one themselves.

Only 29 per cent of recently married brides used a videographer, while 98 per cent used a photographer. According to the survey, those who used professional videographer services found that they did a better job of capturing the wedding in full as opposed to only capturing snapshots and that having a video would be better than just photographs to showcase their wedding later on, especially to future children.

This survey is seven years old – it’s from a time before YouTube, Facebook and other social media sites really took off. But with the easy access to video sharing these days, as well as the improvement in the quality of video in general, one can only imagine how much more important having a professional wedding videographer is today.

At the time of the survey, 55 per cent of the brides wanted high-definition DVD, and 43 per cent wanted still prints from the video – something the high-definition video of today would be much better at providing. So if you’re getting married this year or know someone who is, consider hiring a professional wedding videographer – after all, not getting one is a huge regret for many brides and it’s the best way to fully capture your special day.

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(image from: http://lesstroud.ca/survivorman/episodes.php)

If you’ve ever watched Survivorman and thought “I could do that”, then why not make your own Survivorman-style videos this summer on your annual camping trip?

Survivorman is a show created by Les Stroud, who goes into the wilderness and demonstrates how to survive in any part of the world. What makes the show unique is that Stroud is also a documentary filmmaker and goes into the wilderness without a camera crew, filming the entire the journey himself. However, the show is filmed as if he has a full camera crew at his disposal with multiple angles and cameras. But even all of those long shots of him walking off into the distance are somewhat just for show – he’s made it clear on a number of occasions that he has to come all the way back and get his camera afterward. But fatigue and hunger don’t stop Stroud from getting all of his important shots, no matter how difficult or inconvenient they may be at the time – which is why it’s such a great show!

If you’ve got some outdoors knowledge, you could make your own similar videos and put them on YouTube or start your own website. Whether you showcase tips for the ultimate camping trip, the best fishing spots or all of the types of wildlife you can find in your area, the right equipment can make all the difference.

On Survivorman, Stroud uses Sony HVR-Z1Us (Deadliest Catch also uses these), a Sony HDR-HC3, a Sony DCR-HC96 and another waterproof camera. According to an article with DigitalVideo.com, Stroud sticks to one brand, because initially using three different brands made editing a “nightmare, because all the white balancing was different,” he said. Aside from the small waterproof camera that runs at about $300, most of these cameras cost $3,000 and up.

To save costs, you may want to consider an interchangeable lens handycam such as the Sony NEX-VG10 – which is considered the first high-end HD camcorder for consumers – to keep costs down. The camera is the initial investment and additional lenses can be purchased depending on your shooting requirements. This also leaves room in your budget for waterproof cases and extra-durable camera bags to keep the camera protected from the elements.

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(image credits: http://www.motu.com/video-products)

The RED camera is a high performance digital camera that offers the same quality as 35mm film. It allows the shooting of professional-looking films without the budget one would normally require, allowing anyone with a spare $25,000 to become a movie maker.

The camera is produced by the Red Digital Cinema Camera Company and allows for the same depth of field and angle of view as 35 mm because of the size of its CMOS (complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor) sensor, which is called The Mysterium. The first Red camera introduced in 2006 was called the Red One and it weighs only 10 pounds. The Red camera’s Mysterium offers 4520 x 2540 pixels and an over 66db signal to noise ratio, while the camera has a high quality 4k capture.

Films and Reception

In the UK, one very low-budget film called Skyline, a massive alien invasion epic, was filmed entirely with Red cameras. A review of this film noted that even though the film employed 20 people in its production, its use of Red cameras allowed it to go from “zero to 99 on the recognition meter” and that it looked like a blockbuster movie rather than the small, low-budget feature it was.

The film She was made entirely with a Red One by Steven Soderbergh, who said of the camera, “This is the camera I’ve been waiting for my whole career: jaw-dropping imagery recorded onboard a camera light enough to hold with one hand…Red is going to change everything.” The Informant!, Jumper, Angels & Demons and District 9 also used Red ones, along with several popular television shows like Degrassi: The Next Generation.

Lord of the Rings Director Peter Jackson has said of the Red camera, “I liked what they were doing – making a digital camera of the utmost quality and making it affordable for indie filmmakers.”

Jim Jannard, founder of the Oakley eyewear company and RED Digital Cinema wanted to create a durable, compact HD camera. Affordability and taking the resolution “beyond HD” are current goals of the company, and eventually more affordable models will be available.

The camera’s modular design also allows for different applications, and the camera can be configured for tripods, cranes or long lens use thanks to various mounting accessories. Its high-resolution monitors have extra tools for the operator to use for framing, focusing and exposure and it will be compatible with potentially hundreds of additional accessories, some of which have not even been invented yet.

The RED one camera uses a 140Wh V-Mount battery pack along with an optional charger that holds two light-weight batteries, called Bricks. The RED drive, a 320 GB RAID memory that is the highest capacity available can record up to three hours of 4K footage. The camera does not have an internal microphone but has several mini-XLR connectors.

Other brands

Other companies have also come out with their own similar versions of the Red camera, including Panavision. Sony also recently introduced their own prototype.