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Home: Video University Forums: Wedding & Event Videography:
demo

X-Greg_
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Jun 19, 2003, 12:20 PM

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demo	Can't Post

I've now shot and edited two weddings. One was sorta dull and boring, with the B&G not real respnsive to anything. However I have some nice shots. The second wedding is real nice! We did a love story, beautiful getting ready footage including the ocean and palm trees behind them. Great dancing. How would you create a demo to be shown at a Bridal Show? How about to take with you to prospects, wedding planners, photogs, etc? Just use snipets? Combine scenes from both weddings? One of my strong points is cutting to the music, and showing the emotions of the shots. How long should a demo be? Do you folks show several weddings? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

X-Coleman
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Jun 19, 2003, 1:25 PM

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Use only the best stuff and loop it. You demo shouldn't be more than about 3 minutes. Most people won't say for longer than one or two minutes anyway. We have three TVs and the same sample at different points on DVDs set to loop. That way the bride can see a variety of shots very quickly.
I would suggest making VHS samples also for the more serious brides but that's not required. We booked 12 our first show even though we had only done three weddings and we didn't hand out samples. Our video at the show looked ok but our prices were what sold it. We started out at $500 which was much lower than everyone else. We wanted lots of weddings to learn on so everything worked out great. Don't expect to get many weddings if you price yourself at what the established guys are getting.
Coleman

X-Eric
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Jun 19, 2003, 1:58 PM

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Re: demo [In reply to]	Can't Post

Coleman is right. You have maybe a minute or two to impress the bride. Usually less. Most people will slow down as they walk by... so if they see something they like they will stop. If not, they keep on walking.
Do something to make your booth stand out and get the attention of the bride! Some people rent big screen TVs, others super decorate the booth, and one even brought in 2 lazy boys and chairs for "movie previews". Make your booth open and inviting.
I would use clips from both weddings and only use the "best" shots. No filler or avg shots. Every clip has to count and should have a purpose for being there. What do you think are the most important shots of the bride? What will the bride be looking for in a video? Those are the type of shots you want in your bridal show demo.
Some people like 2-3 monitors playing different clips and others say more than one monitor confuses the brides because they don't know which demo to watch. Don't try booking clients on the spot... try to get them to set an appointment with you or take your client demo with them. You want to get your work in front of them. Your bridal show demo should be short clips with lots of action showing your best work... something to get their attention. Your regular client demo should be longer and more detailed promoting your services and why they should choose you.
Some people like to offer discounts... an item to get them to take action. I never really liked the idea of discounted prices but instead would offer them extras. Something that had big value to the bride but was very little extra work for me. Make sure it's a time limited offer if you choose to do something along those lines.
Eric