Although portable video equipment is compact and silent, I feel strongly that both the ceremony and reception should be filmed in as unobtrusive a manner as possible. For example, the videographer should not move about much during the ceremony. Even though I like to get as close to the couple as possible, I am generally less noticable than the photographer.

Most people are concerned about the use of flood lamps during the wedding service, and I agree that the use of such lighting may not be appropriate during the ceremony. However in very dimly-lit venues it may not be possible to get adequate pictures without some additional lighting.

The only way to record high quality sound is with a dedicated microphone as close as possible to each sound source. I use a dual diversity wireless microphone, generally worn on the groom or the celebrant; this provides excellent clarity. If you are having a guest do a reading, arrangements may need to be made to ensure they can be heard.

As video professionals, we have a constant battle with event coordinators who insist of having the room lights dimmed to almost darkness "to create atmosphere". While it is true a brightly lit room does lack atmosphere, too dark a room makes it impossible to get quality pictures. It is fine for photographs because the very bright flash is only a few milliseconds; video lights need to be on constantly. My practice is to first get the room lights as bright as possible without killing the mood and then persuade the staff to let me be in control of the lights for the evening. The speeches are sometimes filmed using an on-camera light and the rest is mostly shot without additional light if possible. We are often forced to electronically amplify the picture which causes the grainy noise seen in dark videos . However, you can expect that the images will not be as vivid as normal; there is also some loss of picture sharpness as it is very difficult to focus in low light.

If you want video coverage at your reception, don't plan on candle-lit tables and fairy lights. A nice atmosphere can still be created with much higher light levels. Remind your wedding coordinator that there will be a videographer and he will require plenty of light.

Many venues have large windows which create excessive contrast, especially if the bridal table is right in front of the windows. Let us show you some examples of good and bad lighting in actual wedding videos so you can see for yourself.

As I use the term, editing does not mean the removal of usable scenes. Rather, editing a wedding video involves the following:

1. The addition of titles, music, adjusting sound levels, colour correction etc as is standard for TV programs. You may have seen wedding videos with lots of cheesy transitions and bizarre effects. These are totally unnecessary and make your wedding appear dated after a very short while. This isn't being "creative", it is distracting.

2. The elimination of elements which would detract from the video. For example, I often leave the camera rolling while I reposition from the aisle to outside the church to get the newly-weds coming down the aisle then emerging outside. In this few seconds, exposure, focus and white balance all must be changed. There isn't time to stop/start recording as well. Trust me, you don't want this stuff left in!

3. There is a considerable delay between hitting record and images being recorded, so professional cameramen start filming well before the action they want happens, so they are sure not to miss the shot. For this reason there is often a lot of tape rolling waiting for something to happen. Most of my shots are deliberately too long because I know I'm going to trim them during editing.

4. Editing is used creatively to give better pacing. For example, a lengthy scene of the bride arriving, chauffeur getting out, walking around to open the back door, bride getting out of the car etc, could actually take several minutes. I shoot this in such a way that it can be edited into a consise sequence which takes far less time, is visually much more interesting and without missing any vital action.

A well-edited video looks far more polished and thus will be more enjoyable to watch; unedited tapes don't hold your attention as they are "unfinished".

Yes. I personally customise each DVD with chapters at every significant stage of the wedding. Your DVD will look like a typical Hollywood movie DVD with motion menus. Many videographers don't put the time into doing this professionally, simply recording to a consumer DVD recorder in some cases.

Because both video and audio information are recorded digitally and encoded to DVD, your wedding will last indefinitely with no loss of quality in theory, if it is properly stored and carefully handled. Nobody really knows how long optical media will last, especially 'burnt' media, which is the kind your wedding will be on. Current advice recommends making copies of DVDR data every 5 years. As with all forms of data, a backup copy should be kept in a different location. Done properly a DVD copy is identical to the original. I use high quality Taiyo Yuden DVD media, which is supposed to last 100 years.

VHS copies will deteriorate over time but will last 10 years without significant deterioration. However, there won't be too many working VHS machines around then. Some manufacturers have already ceased producing them. In the same way, the DVD format is already unsuitable for High Definition video and two competing formats have been developed for HD. In the near future, DVD players will be redundant. Computers will be with us though, and they sure won't be any slower, so it should be a simple task to convert the DVD to whatever format is the flavour of the year.

Your wedding will be shot in 16:9 which is the widescreen format adopted for all future TV production.

I spent 14 years in TV production, mostly as a director/editor of programs and commercials after a year of training at the Film & TV Institute in Fremantle. As I spent considerable time directing live news I presumed weddings would be easier. They are not! They are live events as well with little room for error. The specialist skills of cameraman, director, sound recordist, lighting director and editor all become the responsibility of one person, often simultaneously.

I began in business full time in 2000 and am still learning, adapting, improving. I believe you are only as good as your last wedding.

Yes. I don't use sub-contractors or freelancers. I shoot and edit every wedding. That was one of the early lessons I learned. There is no way to guarantee consistent quality with other people involved.

It shouldn't matter to you what equipment is used, as a skilled professional will get the best out of any gear. There is no "best camera" or "best editing system". The most important things are a good working knowledge of each piece of equipment and the skills that come from experience.

My inventory currently includes a JVC HD111 PROHD camera with Fujinon lens, a SONY HVR Z5 1080i HDV camera (usually attached to a funky looking DV-multi-rig), Sennheiser and Audio Technica radio mics, Rode and AKG microphones, several LED on camera lights and a new lighting kit with three fluoro soft lights.

High Definition is the most overly hyped expression since “digital”. Okay, big budget HD programs look fantastic, there’s no denying it, but high end SD looks great too. If you go out and buy a $2000 HD handy cam, do you really believe your pictures will look better than a full size professional SD TV camera? If you do, you’d be wrong. Still, they are pretty amazing and are getting better all the time.

My current practise for weddings with the Sony is to shoot 1080i HD on tape and SD 16:9 to CF card simultaneously. That way I have an instant copy for editing, with tape as a backup, in HD.

At this point in time I don’t edit in HD because:

1. No client has requested it.

2. The number of people with the capability to play back HD (Blu-ray and PS-3) is too small to make it viable yet.

3. Well shot professional Standard Definition material in 16:9 widescreen format played via HDMI to a quality display is very difficult to distinguish from HD at normal viewing distances.

When the market is ready for HD, we will deliver it (we can now).