When differentiating videographers, you must make sure that the company offers the right and current equipment. At a minimum they must have a three chip broadcast quality camera, which is the current standard for capturing video footage however, HD ready camera and High Definition Video is quickly becoming the new standard.
More to come on High Definition Video in Part III.
Additional standard equipment should include, wireless microphones, on camera lights back up batteries and in some cases back up cameras.
The next item is the editing system used by the studio. It does not matter if your editor uses a Macintosh or a PC, what does matter is the edit software they use. There is a plethora of non-linear editing software available however, the industry leaders are CANOPUS (now called GrassValley) and AVID.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHHDuMYf3fo
There are many other applications available which can be used to create great videos, when used by a season professional however; the programs mentioned earlier are among the best and a good first indication of how experienced your video company may be.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLOJWtW3GKg
If you find your studio does not know what software they use, that is a clear sign that they may be subcontracting their work and although there are many great editors who do this work part time, there are many draw backs to a company which uses editors outside their studio staff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ63NvNg4ws
At our studio, we have staff videographers and video editors and we make every effort to have the same person shooting the wedding, editing the wedding, as they spent the day with you and should have much better shot selection, as well as an understanding of what the couples wants.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crhjTJvFiF8
In addition, we encourage our couples to get involved in the post production process by selecting video filters and special effects which will be used in their video edit.
“The edit is one of the most important parts of your video.” The edit is what makes a good video great, which is why the movies you watch take as long or longer to edit as they do to film. The videographer captures hours of video footage, and the editors select only the best footage for your final video. A seasoned professional has the insight and experience to know what footage is good and what footage is bad.
Finally, your video company must offer DVD as the final format and the current standard in videography if not HD Blu-ray DVDs.