Q: How long have you been a wedding and event videographer?
A: I started my business in the spring of 1996. I'd been producing fiction, documentary, and corporate videos since 1990. In the early 1990's, I shot some of my friends' weddings and gave them the tapes as wedding presents. They loved it, and I loved doing it. Then, for the first time, in the spring of 1996, I saw a "professional" wedding video, and my immediate reaction to it was that the wedding videos I had shot were a lot more interesting. That's when I decided to go into the wedding video business!

Q: How many weddings have you shot so far?
A: About four hundred.

Q: What is a good running time for an edited wedding video?
A: Every person has a different capacity for watching television. Some people get antsy after two minutes. Others can watch for hours. Your edited video may be anywhere between one minute and 75 minutes. Ultimately, the goal is to make you feel like you’re watching something pithy, lively, entertaining, and smart!

Q: Are there a lot of special effects in the videos?
A: Most of my clients agree that effects-laden videos (for example, heart-shapes, cupids, spinning-wheel dissolves, etc.) make you feel like you’re watching some bad amateur video, not a video driven by good story-telling and compelling images. Sometimes effects are used to compensate for a lack of integrity in the camerawork or the editing. That’s why my clients like to keep effects to a minimum in their videos.

Q: Do you use a lot of music in your videos?
A: That’s up to you, the client. Some people want wall-to-wall music. Some people just want the natural sound from the day of the event for a more “documentary” feeling. I can swing either way. You can have a great documentary video, or a great music video, or a great hybrid combining elements of both.

Q: Why isn’t there any "streaming video" on your site?
A: So much of the time, streaming video looks just awful in those little “streaming video” windows on your computer screen. And even when it looks good, it’s still really small. You’ll be much happier when you see my work on a nice big TV, similar to how you’ll watch your own videos at home.

Besides, it's not just about the video sample. I think it's important for you to meet me as well as see what my work looks like. You're hiring someone to be there on one of the most important days of your life. Who you hire is as important as the video product. That’s why you’ll want to meet me and discover my personal qualities as well as the qualities of my videos.

Q: How do you get along with photographers?
A: Really well. Most photographers are pleased and impressed with my ability to stay out of the way, keep a low profile, not get territorial, rarely use a light, and remain relaxed and unstressed throughout the day.

Q: Do you have liability insurance?
A: Yes, I am fully insured.

Q: What kind of equipment you are currently using?
A: One Sony PD100 three-chip DVCAM and miniDV digital camera;
One Sony TRV900 three-chip miniDV digital camera;
One ME 66 Sennheiser microphone with a K6 powering module;
One tiny HVL-IRH Sony camera light for use in very low-light conditions.

Q: What equipment are you NOT currently using?
A: Unless you request it, you won’t see any large cameras, large tripods, large lights or light stands, or any long wires or cords. Unless you request a second camera person, I work alone.

Q: How about editing equipment?
A: I use Apple Final Cut Pro editing software on a Macintosh computer. I also use a Sony DHR1000 mini-DV tape deck, a Panasonic LQ-DRM200 DVD player/recorder, and a Sony SLV-R1000 SVHS tape deck.

Q: Do you ever do recaps or highlights?
A: A “recap” is a short selection of the best shots from the day, edited together with music, and usually put at the very end of a video. This kind of story encapsulation is available as an option, at an additional charge. The clients who have opted for this kind of “highlights montage” have been very pleased with the results.

Q: Do you do photo montages, or otherwise insert photos into your videos?
A: Yes, some clients request still photos in their videos. There is an additional charge for this service.

Q: Where did you learn how to shoot and edit and make video?
A: I studied film and video at Rhode Island School of Design and Brown University. I also spent many years living at the Museum of Modern Art, Film Forum, and various film festivals and seminars, living, eating, and breathing film.

212-627-5222
sethcohen@mindspring.com

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