[Matthew Mercier]

Thanks for the info.

[Matthew Mercier]

At this point, that’s probably about all it’s going to amount to, is practice for a feature doc that I’m in the process of outlining and doing research for. The chances of anyone ever seeing it are slim to none, but my main motivation is a real interest in the potential storylines of the participants, and that I think it would be fun to shoot and entertaining for anyone who did happen to see it. Thanks.

[Matthew Mercier]

Okay, I see your point. You were just saying that I’d run into similar issues with rights and permissions. Thanks.

Any thoughts on my hypothetical scenario of shooting it and worrying about securing the rights to at least some of the music after it’s in the can? If it ended up being too costly, I’d simply put all the tapes in a box and store it away somewhere.

[Matthew Mercier]

If you use royalty-free music for the videos you post on the web, do you also use royalty-free music in the videos you provide to your customers, or do you use the music that was played during their ceremony and reception?

[Matthew Mercier]

Completely different than American Idol. It’s a documentary about normal people that are serious about karaoke, not a popularity contest where some semi-talented people get weeks or months of vocal and performance training and have teams of professionals working on hair, make-up, wardrobe, etc. My question wasn’t ‘What do you think about this idea?’ It was if anybody had any insight into whether or not I might run into copyright issues with showing people performing copyrighted songs. I’m not necessarily seeking legal advice. Just some thoughts on what I might encounter so I can better prepare myself.

[Matthew Mercier]

I’m not sure of the project’s usage yet. Still in early pre-production.

So, I’d be looking at publishing and possibly sync rights to each of the karaoke versions of the songs? Hypothetically, what if I were to approach it from the angle of shooting it as a pilot for a series? I would still have the same issues, but if that idea didn’t pan out, then I’d basically have a bunch of footage on some tapes in a box stored in a closet somewhere.

Thanks.

[Matthew Mercier]

There are quite a few directories, like wedalert.com, that list upcoming bridal shows/expos. You could probably Google bridal shows houston tx to see what comes up.

I’m in the southeast GA/SC area & have only attended one bridal show in Atlanta. The booth reservation was $200 & the show sponsor provided a table, chairs & signage. I brought a monitor & a DVD player, along with copies of a preview video & a full wedding DVD to show brides that were coming in. I made sure to have plenty of business cards available, a couple of small signs that had info about our wedding packages & prices, & a planner to write down brides’ contact info & wedding dates.

This show was small, in a conference room at a hotel, & since there weren’t that many attendees, I was able to spend more time asking questions & telling them about our services. It was a good experience, but I didn’t book any weddings from it. Half the people there seemed to be price shopping, & the other half seemed to be there for the freebies (every vendor was required to hand out a door prize).

If you attend a bridal show & there’s a wedding consultant there, I would suggest talking to them. It’s a good idea to network with other vendors – if they know about your business & like you, they’d probably refer your services to someone they’re working with. You could possibly book some more weddings if you offer some kind of deal, like a free ceremony video or a discount if they book during a particular month. Getting the word out about your business is going to be the key thing.