I always two cameras for weddings, so I end up with four/five rolls of Mini DV tape. When I started to shoot weddings I used to edit it down to just under an hour. But nearly all my customers want to see more of the footage that was shot. So what I do is to give them two versions, a long one, about two hours, with most of the footage, and a short version, about one hour, in which I take out long boring speeches. I always burn at High Quality which is approx. one hour to a disc. So the long version takes up two discs. It's a little more work but it's easy to do on Avid which I use.Â
Another innovation in my wedding videos is the use of digital stills. After the church ceremony and before the reception, while the still photographer is doing his thing with the couple and the guests, I quickly shoot digital stills. Later in editing, using pan and zoom and other techniques, I cut the pictures to music, usually a song by Enya. The couple loves this extra.