Earlier this season, one of my brides introduced me to a new concept I had never really thought of. It’s a simple idea and I’m surprised I haven’t seen it earlier in fact. Instead of hiring a videographer for her wedding day, she employed the services and products of Storymix Media. This company sent her five flip style video cameras that she was able to pass out to guests on her wedding day. The video can then all be sent back and you can let Storymix do the editing and they’ll send you a completed wedding video – or if you have a creative side – you can do your own editing. Overall, the cost is less expensive than having a camera man on-site (it’s not a cheap service, but it’s less expensive….). Before I shared this information on the blog though, I checked in with the bride to get her thoughts on the process and product and thought I would share her experience here:
The video system we used was Storymix Media. Here is their link. http://www.storymixmedia.com/ I would recommend them, but there are some things about it I wish I knew prior and would caution other brides about.
In my endless search for simple and affordable wedding video options, I came across Storymix on Weddingbee. For $700 (paid in two payments) we got 5 flipcams, which were sent to us a few days prior to us leaving. We took video of the trip to the airport, hanging out during the week, the welcome dinner, the wedding day, and even a little bit of our honeymoon on Puerto Rico. Then, once we got home, I put it in the prepaid box they sent me with the kit and mailed it back to them. Within one week they had uploaded all of the video files to our personal account and it became available for editing. In addtion to all of that, they have an iPhone APP. So, any family member or friend who took video on their phone can upload it to our personal account and we can make their videos a part of our video as well. Once everything is uploaded for editing you are given two editting options…you can do it yourself for free or if you want Storymix to do the editing, the cost is an additional $300.
Now for the cons and tips I would suggest for other brides…
1. It’s been 3 months since our wedding, I chose the DIY route and haven’t looked at them since the week they were uploaded. Not everyone would fall under this category, but I should have known I would be that person. When I come home at night the last thing I’m thinking about is editting a video. I would much rather relax and enjoy the summer. So…it is likely that I will just bite the bullet and pay the $300 to have them edit the video for us. Regardless, at $1000..it was still less than a basic video package on the island and we were able to capture events from prior and after the wedding day.
2. Only 3 of the 5 video cameras got used, which means I could have gone with the 3 camera package and saved $250.00. We had 50 guests for the weekend and I thought for sure that 5 cameras would be needed. For the ceremony we asked my friends husband if he would ensure that the video was taken care of…he did and having that makes it worth it. However, we weren’t. After that, we left it up to everyone. What we found is that, the people in our group who are normally the photo takers (about 3 or 4 total) are the exact people who were video taping and no one else really did. When I go through the video clips there if anything that was missed, but 5 cameras was definitely overkill.
3. AND THIS IS A BIG ONE. There is no light on the camera! This means most of our reception came out dark. Now…Storymix said there are things they can do to bring out the image in these dark shots and there is a sample of this on their website. However, I haven’t gotten to that point in the editing and won’t know until then whether it works or not.
All in all, it was a very cost effective alternative and I think it was a lot of fun for destination weddings. I would recommend it, but not without a few words of caution.
Thanks for sharing Danielle!
I hate to say it but you can’t go “cheap and good”. Pro photographers and videographers charge what they do for a reason. We have the equipment [lighting among that!] to handle any situation. We carry the insurance to handle any situation. We do this every single weekend. We have the experience. And those of us who are darn good at what they do charge accordingly. Quality has a price. Like DIY’ing your drywall – we’ve done it. We could have saved ourselves a LOT of hassle and could have gotten a MUCH nicer job if we hadn’t been so cheap and hired a professional. Thankfully, I can get a “do over” on the drywall. On a wedding, not so much.
I agree with the last comment that nothing can replace the quality of hiring a professional. However, when catering costs are near $200 per person and then photo and video are both starting at $3000+ per service, some people just can’t afford to have it all. Quite frankly, it was nice to have an option when I didn’t think that one was available.
Danielle, I’m really glad you were able to capture your entire destination wedding experience on video. Just wanted to clarify one thing, Storymix does all the editing. For a truly personal touch, we allow brides to direct the video by picking their scenes and telling us what titles they would like. We do offer the option of having us pick the scenes for you. Either way, the professional editing is done by certified editors – adding the music, transitions, effects, filters – it’s all done by Storymix.
I too agree with anonymous about the quality of a pro. Storymix is a different product. It’s your wedding as seen through the eyes of those who love you the most.
Ariane, co-founder, Storymix