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Coordinating my crew – Wedding Videography
Hi guys! Glad to be apart of the forum.
I’m an amateur videographer somehow turned pro in the last few weeks (5 weddings booked)and I’m having a hard time keeping up. We’ve decided to start a production company and I have a small team of 4 people, myself included.
I’d like to know what method you all use for coordinating your team for weddings and staying in good communication. Any tips/advice/random thoughts would be much appreciated!
Thanks ya’ll.
“Just along for the ride”
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6 Replies
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Do you mean like booking them? Or communicating during the shoot?
Call em up and ask if they’re available to work this Sunday.
Chris Tompkins
Video Atlanta LLC -
Haha, thanks for the response.
I mean getting them all of the information that they’ll need for the shoot. Do you use email for that? Or is it all over the phone?
Kind of silly questions I guess. I was just wondering if maybe someone had a program they used that makes communication a lot easier.
“Just along for the ride”
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How many folks you bring to you to such an event revolves only around what package was sold. If it’s a four camera package, I could see 4 dudes there, otherwise that’s just too many. Weddings don’t require much or any communication during the event. You can meet ahead of time to talk about who stays tight on the bride, who is wide, ect. The reception will just be you roming for the most part. If a same day edit was purchased, you’ll bring an editor to do his thang while you keep shooting. Still, not much to be talked about, really.
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E-mail on a smart phone is handy, plus texts when you are at the event and need to communicate
http://www.MediaCircus.TV
Media Production Services
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada -
We don’t do weddings, but all of our gigs get a production memo from the Producer. This includes all pertinent info like venue, dates, call times, client contact info, crew contact info & duty, emergency #s, who’s bringing what gear to location, schedule, dress code, etc. Plus we’ve usually talked about the gig ahead of time and have a general heads up on what to expect on location. Our regular freelancers are accustomed to our memos as much as the in-house guys – it’s systematic now. That’s what you need to develop. Who’s filling what position and responsible for what. You can delineate roles and responsibilities way ahead of time so when the event is booked you merely say:
“Jim is cam 1 , Tom cam 2” With it being understood (in writing) that Cam 1 gets the groom before, mics him and the sanctuary interior, and is the side camera; Cam 2 gets the bride, wedding party & exteriors and is the rear camera. Or whatever your system might become. You also need to delegate who is the final “go to” person no matter what the issue, we’ll call him the producer. Somebody needs to be overall responsible for project management right thru post and delivery.
We use google docs for a lot of stuff – sharing a document with everyone allows them to look at it frequently and see the most recent version. I’m all about email simply for a paper trail to hold people accountable.
Have fun!
Steve
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This is great info! Thanks guys. It looks like we’ll have to develop a system of our own and keep refining it. Love this site!
“Just along for the ride”
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