No kidding.. they did their own videos with a flipcam…
An estimated 1 billion people watched the Royal Wedding last month.
Everyone loves a wedding, and for most people, it’s the single most important day of their lives. (For others, it’s so important, they do it a few times over to make sure they finally got it right).
According to WEVA – Wedding And Event Videographer’s Association (admittedly perhaps not the most objective of sources), 98% of newlyweds recommend having video at their weddings.  Well, this is no surprise. We live in a ‘reality tv’ culture and what is more ‘reality’ than a wedding?
In any event, there is nothing that cries out for a video moment than a wedding. And it’s got all the great elements to make a great movie (even if its only 1-2 minutes long). There’s a natural arc of story and a resolution. And characters. Perfect.
Of course, WEVA suggest that you get a ‘professional’ wedding videographer to cover the event (naturally), but the ever constant rise of great home equipment and simple to use edit software makes than increasingly not only archaic but a bit crazy. You should take control of recording your own life. Do you take a professional photographer with you when you take your honeymoon to make sure you get great photos? (OK, here come the death threats and nasty emails from WEVA members).
The New York Times, in response to this confluence of home video use and weddings has just started posting UGC (User Generated Content ) videos on their website.
This is a great move by The Times, recognizing what is happening – people are making videos of the major events in their lives. But when you look at the videos, they are all truncated – they are, in fact, just the couple sitting on a couch talking to a camera. Interesting, I think, only to their respective mothers.
The potential here is vast. Not only are there a ton of reality TV shows (Bridezillas) based on weddings, there’s a whole channel.
It’s always a great story – the characters, the story, the planning, etc. In some ways, the wedding is just the icing on the cake – so to speak.
So what we’re looking for here is a new way of ‘doing’ a short wedding video – let’s call it a couple’s video.
And as usual, we’re offering $200 at www.nyvs.com to the best (which I will immediatley take over to the NY Times to demonstrate what’s possible).
Deadline – July 1.
