This leads to a lot of questions, and here are a few answers to the ones I get most often.

What is the difference?

Quite simply, High Definition(HD) means higher quality.  Technically speaking, HD is higher resolution. Standard Definition (SD) such as regular television or DVD is 720 x 480 pixel frame. HD varies but can support up to 1920 x 1080 pixel frame (FULL HD). This translates to not only a larger picture but also greater detail. Think higher thread count. Additionally, HD supports greater color depth (10 bit) versus SD (8 bit). That might not sound like a big difference, but when you do the math that translates to HD’s ability to display over 1 billion color variations as opposed to the 16.7 million variations by SD. That’s 64 times as many! What does all this mean to you? Prettier pictures that are more true to life and a better viewing experience.

Please note the two example videos below were compressed for the web and so neither is at it’s optimum playback – but you can see some of the basic differences from these examples.

This first video is in standard format:

This is HD:

Why would I choose standard?

Standard video on DVD is still great quality.  Many people do not have HD TVs or Blu-Ray players, and so cannot watch HD video at all or in it’s optimum viewing quality anyway.  Also, Blu-Ray players and systems generally still play standard DVDs so, even if you do upgrade in the future and choose standard, you will still be able to play your DVD for many years to come.  And, finally, HD costs more than standard.

Why is HD more expensive?

First of all, the camera equipment, as well as the hardware and software needed to edit, compress and master, are much more expensive.  It also costs a lot more to capture a wedding live.  The digital tapes used to capture a wedding cost about $60 and can be held onto forever. The P2 cards needed to hold enough footage from one camera for one wedding cost about $2000 and the footage needs to be transferred off the cards onto a computer or other storage device before using the camera again.  HD footage takes up a lot of hard drive space.  One single camera wedding, shot in HD, takes up approximately 200GBs, which is a lot to store over time.  HD also takes more time to work with during the editing process, as the files do not import, export, or compress at anywhere near the same rate as standard definition.

Why would I pay more for HD?

If you already have a HD TV and a Blu-Ray player you already know the answer to that.  If you are not there yet but think you might want to upgrade in the next few years, HD is something you should consider.  A video shot originally on HD can be down compressed to play on a standard DVD player, but video shot originally in standard format cannot be made into HD later.

If it was your wedding day, what would you do?

I would want my wedding video shot in HD.  I am a wedding videographer and so I would want the highest quality for my own wedding.  However, I have shot so many beautiful wedding videos on standard format that I still think look gorgeous when I put them on my TV, that I can say I wouldn’t be heartbroken if standard turned out to be the best option for my budget.

Check out this video from a wedding in paradise:

Chris Baltazar also provided me with a link to this photo montage. You can see all his gorgeous photos from the weekend here.

About Baltazar Photography
Based in the Washington DC metro area, Baltazar Photography is a nationally recognized wedding and lifestyle photography studio. Baltazar’s work has been featured in Grace Ormonde, the Knot, Destination I Do, Real Simple Weddings, and many other wedding publications and venues. In 2009, Baltazar Photography received the Knot’s Best of Weddings Award, as voted by local brides. Baltazar Photography is quickly becoming the most sought after wedding photography studio in the nation. Also specializing in destination weddings, Baltazar Photography has photographed in destinations which include Hawai’i, Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Lucia and numerous locations in the United States. For additional information, please visit us at http://baltazarfotos.com.

This video includes footage from Rome, Venice, France and the Dominican Republic.  Where you go to say “I Do,” make sure you have a professional there to document your journey.

Here’s why hiring a professional videographer for your destination wedding is important.

1.  Video is necessary. There will come a time when you look at your photo album and wonder, what made me laugh in that photo?  What did he say that brought a tear to my eye?  You can play your video 5, 10, or 20 years from now to find out.

2.  Many destination hotels offer on staff photographers and videographers.  Unfortunately, this usually means that you don’t have a selection – that there is only one choice.  That person may or may not be a professional in the field he will be booked for your event.  It is hard to attain assurances in advance when the person is not local.

3.  Once your video is taped, you will want it to be edited.  This takes a lot of time and a lot of correspondence to make sure it is being edited to your taste.  Working with someone in another location could entail language barriers, format issues, or just a lot of long distance phone and shipping costs.

4.  I have a BFA in production from NYU film school.  I have been professionally capturing events for the past 11 years and have traveled many times with my camera gear.  You want to be sure you are in good hands and don’t have to worry about anything going wrong on your wedding day.  Hiring a professional will take one more concern off your shoulders.

Lisa Nelson, owner of Elegant Event Planning, recently posted her list of the Best Wedding Vendors of 2009, and I was excited to be chosen as the best videographer.  You can see a complete list of all of the Honor Roll Vendors here, or click the following to read what Lisa had to say about my work and why she chose me as the Best Videographer!

This is much better than all those times I was on the honor roll in High School!  First of all, I really like all the other kids who made the list, and secondly,  I like the selection process better.  I never was very good with averages, so I prefer being hand chosen for doing something I love to do.

Thank you Lisa.  I am looking forward to working with you and the entire Elegant Event Planning staff on many more elegant and beautiful events in 2010!

I love to see what photos come out of the same wedding that I videotape.  We are capturing the same event, usually side by side, but what a photographer captures and what I capture are often very different things.

Of course video has movement and sound, and photography does not, but that’s not the only difference.  When you look at a video and compare it to photos from the same time frame, you can also see a stylistic difference.  I have an artistic eye.  Tom does as well, and we each make creative choices throughout the day.

I love the choices Tom makes.  his photos are always beautiful and I look forward to working with him again in 2010!

Kevin and Virdinia were announced as the winners of the second annual Earth Day Wedding GiveAway sponsored by the DC Green Couture Wedding Consortium.  Jessica Pi Productions is sponsoring the event for a second year in a row by donating videography services to the winning couple in order to promote eco-friendly wedding practices.

Kevin and Virdinia have won a $50,000 green wedding on Earth Day 2010 at the Decatur House.

Andrea Jacobson, of The Observatory, who will be one of the photographers providing photo services at the Green wedding,  took the photos shown here from the DCGWC party, where the winners were announced.  The cupcakes shown were provided by Cakes By Design as well as one of the newest members of the consortium, MallowDrama.

The couple will receive:

Design Consulting Package from Elegance & Simplicity Wedding & Event Designers, Inc. worth $7,500

Floral Design & Décor Package from Elegance & Simplicity Wedding & Event Designers, Inc. worth $2,500

Event/Venue Space Rental of the Stephen Decatur House Museum worth $6,500

Event cuisine by Occasions Caterers worth $5,000

Music services by Disc Jockeys On Call worth $2,500

Lighting, fabric draping, furniture rentals from Ampa Events worth $9,000

Bridal Styling by Polished Image & Style worth $1,000

Linen Rentals from Table Manners worth up to $1,000

Photography services from Tom Van Veen of Documentary Associates worth $5,000

Photography services from Andrea Jacobson of The Observatory worth $5,000

Videography services from Jessica Pi Productions worth $3,500

Wedding Cake from Cakes by Design worth $650

Make-up Artistry from Carola Myers worth $250

On-site hair services by Elegant Hair by Giselle worth $250

Officiating Services from Jim Burch worth $350

Congratulations Virdina and Kevin!

Pre-Production:

I meet with and talk to each bride and groom before their wedding day (assuming they want to meet!).  During the meeting we discuss what is important to the couple and what is not.  A wedding is a very special day, but there are often sensitive issues involved.  I like to find out, ahead of time, what the key moments and who the key people are that I or my associates need to focus on.

Production:

Like the photographers, we have to get the shot.  Framing, lighting, and remaining unobtrusive are key concerns.  In addition to getting the best shot we can get, we have the added elements of movement and sound to deal with.  I arrive an hour before the ceremony to set up both cameras and plant microphones as needed, before going out to capture establishing shots of the venue, flowers and the guests and bridal party arriving.

Sound: During the ceremony, we are sometimes forced to stay in a balcony far away from the the whispered, “I do.”  Sometimes a family friend is singing the “Ave Maria.”  We set up two – four professional wireless microphones during the ceremony, hidden close to the action, so you can hear her voice as she says “until death do us part.”  At the reception, we capture the toasts, blessings, and impromptu karaoke moments that would otherwise be lost in time.

This bride and groom were anxiously awaiting their video after they got their photos and could not figure out – “What was so funny?”  You want to be able to remember and hear the answer to that question whenever you share your photos with family in years to come.

Movement: Capturing big dance moves and sweeping shots of the beautiful venues and landscapes is always important, but so is being ready to catch small moments like a tear rolling down a cheek, or a hand shaking while trying to place a ring on a finger.  These movements tell a story, and the way we, the videographers, move to capture that story, sets the stage for the final product.

Post Production:

Post is where we spend the most time.  It is hard for people to understand, but video editing takes a long time.  Our typical wedding video takes between 4 and 6 times as many hours to edit as it took to shoot.  So, for example, a 6 hour wedding package can take anywhere from 24 – 36 hours for us to edit.  Part of that time is just the process – going through all the footage and picking out the best shots -  and part of that time is due to me being a perfectionist.  I do not personally edit all the videos that leave my studio, but I supervise every one.  Once the music is selected, the shots are chosen, the montages pieced together, the ever changing light and color leveled and corrected, and the audio mixed, I watch the entire video and tweak little things here and there to make sure it tells the story I know the bride and groom wanted to tell.

Only then do we master it onto DVD and send it off -  to get responses like this one, from Matilda and Richard:

“We did watch the DVD and we love it!  When my parents watched it my mom cried from start to finish.”

And then the video process is complete!