A lot of time, effort and expense goes into planning a wedding, but the day is so eventful and passes so quickly, that it is impossible to take it all in. A professionally produced wedding DVD provides a complete record of the day’s formal events, as well as capturing candid moments that you miss or might well forget. A DVD allows you to relive all the excitement and atmosphere of the day for years to come. The DVD will become a priceless snapshot of your family history, something that can be looked back on over the years and passed on to future generations.

An experienced videographer blends into the background and conducts himself with professionalism and discretion so not to distract or interrupt proceedings. We receive regular feedback from brides, grooms and parents saying they hardly noticed the video camera on the day and were surprised when they saw everything that was captured on the DVD. You will get so caught up in the day with your family and friends – and with the photographs – that you will simply forget about the video camera and rarely notice it.

The best advice is to relax and enjoy your day. You will look your best in your photos and video if you are happy and relaxed. Weddings are about people, family, friendship and the love of two people. Don’t let the little details of arrangements get in the way. Weddings rarely run 100% to plan, so expect there to be a few things that might not work out – such as the weather. Make a vow not to let anything spoil your day. Take time to choose the right photographer and videographer who suit your style and personality. Doing so will give you peace of mind and make you feel at ease. Experienced photographers and videographers know how to make the best of settings and people to create a successful wedding album or wedding DVD – regardless of the challenges a typical wedding day can pose.

Mark Stuart Weddings Films has worked with all the popular wedding photographers across the northeast of Scotland countless numbers of times over the last 17 years and gotten to know the style of these companies and individuals. We have also worked alongside practically all the less well established photographers who come and go, as well as many photographers outwith our geographic area. We have a respect and understanding of the official photographer’s requirements which is essential to make sure the couple are best served on the day without shots being unnecessarily spoiled. The excellent working rapport we have with photographers results in reciprocated respect for our needs as the official videographer. We are honoured to have so many clients book us because we were recommended by their photographer. Of course, we are also happy to recommend a photographer who best suits your personal tastes and one who complements the style of our work.

If your wedding DVD is of little importance or you cannot afford a professionally produced DVD, then having some amateur footage from the day will be better than nothing. However, do not have high expectations – be aware that any disappointment you may have with the end product could lead to family and friends falling out. And remember, whoever is filming is there as your guest – you don’t want to pile stress on them to the point that they can’t relax and enjoy your day. We frequently get calls from distraught brides who only have a guest’s recording and are devistated that the end result is nowhere near what they expected. Our experience is that every single bride in this position would do things differently - and hire a professional videographer if they could turn back the clock. The common theme is lack of coverage, events being missed and the filming being patchy, jumpy and of poor quality. The most common request is to fix the sound during the ceremony and speeches. Unfortunately, practically nothing can be done after the event to magically fix poor filming. There are many other issues which only come to light when the guest’s video is presented to the couple – unfortunately, that’s too late to remedy the problems. Guests’ amateur footage can offer an additional angle to the day, but it should not be looked upon as a replacement for a professionally produced DVD recorded by an experienced wedding videographer with professional or broadcast-grade equipment.

Rather than risk boring you with all differences between a wedding DVD costing £600 and one costing £2000, we will leave you to judge for yourself. We would recommend viewing at least three sample DVDs at different price levels. The most entertaining, appealing and highest quality DVD should stand out without any explanation. If the saying “you get what you pay for” bears any truth, it is wise to view what you get for your money before fixing an exact budget. The best value DVD is rarely the cheapest.

The main things that determine the running time of your film are the number of guests, the duration of the ceremony and the duration of the speeches. After editing, the average wedding film lasts one and a half hours. A smaller wedding usually results in a shorter DVD, while a larger wedding will have a longer DVD.

It depends on the time of year and how busy we are. Also if we are waiting on the bride and groom to supply or confirm music, this can lead to dealys. In general, we quote two to four weeks where we do not have a backlog of editing in the earlier part of the year. But our editing backlog really builds up between August and December and the longest delivery time can be as much as three to four months. We will always aim to have the editing complete as soon as possible after the wedding, but we will never compromise standards or rush things, regardless of how busy we are. We will try our best to give you an estimated delivery time at the time of the wedding.

Yes, it will be Mark. We have built an impeccable reputation for reliability, quality and consistency and restrict our bookings to one wedding per day so that Mark personally films every wedding. This also ensures a technical consistency with the grade of equipment employed on all weddings being the same.

We take pride in portraying a professional image in every regard and our wedding day attire is a suit, shirt and tie. A smart over-jacket is worn when the weather dictates.

Conventional 4:3 TV screens have been being phased out for a number of years now, and high street electrical stores have been dominated by widescreen TV sets for some time. Practically all DVD movies we buy or rent are widescreen, and UK digital terrestrial and satellite TV broadcasts have been transmitted in widescreen since 1998. The UK changeover to widescreen has well and truly happened, so you should definitely choose to have your wedding filmed in widescreen so the picture aspect matches that of widescreen TVs. If you do not specify widescreen, be aware that filming in the old 4:3 aspect will result in widescreen TVs squashing the picture vertically to fill the screen. This produces the highly unflattering effect of making people look fatter and shorter than they are in real life. By choosing widescreen, the picture will fill the screen perfectly without any distortion or squashing. If you still have an old 4:3 TV set, the DVD player will automatically put in “letterbox” black bars top and bottom of the picture and everyone will look the way they are in real life.

High Definition (HD) is not a passing fad that might not catch on - HD is definitely here to stay and in time will supersede standard definition (SD) video

If you wish to future proof your wedding film for as many years as possible, we would highly recommend having your day filmed, edited and produced in HD onto Blu-ray disc. In years from now when HD becomes more mainstream and you become accustomed to watching superior quality HD video, you will also want your wedding film to be of similar quality so you and your family can enjoy watching your wedding film for years to come.

Mark Stuart Wedding Films have undertaken a major investment programme throughout 2008 upgrading all our facilities to not only the latest HD technology available but also to a grade of camera equipment more akin to high end broadcast events, TV soaps and dramas - setting a UK wedding industry first investing £30k+ in our main camera. We believe that the quality of HD pictures produced from our camera and produced onto our Blu-ray discs since May 2008 set, not only the highest standard of wedding film quality available throughout the UK but in fact a world-class standard which will not be surpassed for many years to come. For further information see the foot of this message.

Further info on HD and Blu-ray:-
As you may have seen, electrical stores have been selling LCD and plasma TV sets which are HD ready for some time. HD TV broadcasts have also been available for some time on Sky at an additional £10 monthly subscription to normal Sky package rates. However since spring 2008 a new HD service called Freesat is available without any monthly subscription. Initially offering 80 channels at launch, only two of those channels are currently available in HD, that being BBCHD and ITVHD. The number of channels is reported to rise to around 200 by the end of 2008 with more free-to-air HD channels going live as and when they become available. Freesat uses the same satellite dish system as Sky, pointing in the same direction. A one off cost is necessary to get a dish installed and to purchase a Freesat HD receiver box. However, if your property has an existing Sky dish, that can be used.

Blu-ray movies and high definition games are becoming more and more popular and widely available from retail high street outlets, DVD-rental stores and from online stores on the internet. As time progresses the amount of shelf space allocated to Blu-ray discs will grow and grow and one day regular DVD will eventually becomes phased out (Just like has happened with the move from Vinyl records to CD or from VHS to DVD)

The benefit of recording in HD is that the picture resolution (1920x1080) is around four times that of SD video (720x576). This results in much more detail and clarity in the picture when viewed on a HD-capable screen and HD Blu-ray player. The Blu-ray discs store more than five times the amount of data/information than regular DVD and also uses a more modern and efficient type of video compression which improves quality somewhat over regular DVD.

There were initially two competing HD formats; one being HD-DVD and the other being Blu-ray. Fortunately one format has emerged the winner due to major Hollywood film studios, major retail chains and equipment manufacturers choosing the Blu-ray over the now obsolete HD-DVD format.

It is worthwhile checking the resolution of the “HD-ready” screen you intend to purchase. Full HD resolution is 1920x1080 pixels, and LCDs and Plasmas from 32" upwards are now available at full HD resolution. The first affordable Blu-ray player to hit the UK mass consumer market was the Sony PS3 (PlayStation 3) in March 2007. The PS3 is capable of playing Blu-ray movies in addition to playing games in full HD resolution and is now available for under £300. Also available are set-top Blu-ray players which look like ordinary DVD players and playback regular DVDs as well as HD Blu-ray discs. Prices currently range from around £200 upwards. As with all new technology, prices will continue to come down in time.

Most HD cameras struggle to produce acceptable pictures in low light conditions which is a big issue for weddings where available light can often be limited inside churches, castles and hotels or deliberately dimmed for atmosphere. Low light pictures produced by most HD cameras are very grainy/noisy, lacking in colour and being dark. We have owned, operated or tested just about every professional HD camcorder to hit the market over the last few years and have been unimpressed until eventually in Spring 2008 with the launch of the new Sony PDW-700. (PDW-700 magazine review by Mark Stuart) This camera has set a new standard in HD imaging quality and produces outstandingly noise free, sharp and bright colourful pictures in all light conditions (even candle lit wedding venues) that no other camcorder available throughout the world can match. The Sony PDW-700 being around £20k for the camera body and by the time you add an HD viewfinder, broadcast lens, batteries and microphones costing in excess of £30k is not a camcorder aimed for the wedding video market. The majority of stocks of this camera from the initial production runs are being snapped up by worldwide TV broadcasters, with a high quantity of cameras destined for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. We believe that Mark Stuart Wedding Films will be the only dedicated wedding video production company to invest in equipment of this grade throughout Scotland for many years to come and probably throughout the UK and rest of the world for some time also.

We encourage you to take all the time you need to fully consider your options and reach a well-informed decision on your preferred choice of wedding videographer. However, it is wise to do this without unnecessary delay, as it can be heartbreaking to discover that your first choice of videographer has since received another booking. Please be aware that we often have several enquiries for a single date and it is very difficult to implement a fair policy of holding dates. Therefore, dates are only reserved when bookings are confirmed by our receipt of a completed booking form along with a booking fee. When you have decided you want to book Mark Stuart Wedding Films, please phone to double check availability before sending off the relevant agreements and fees. We are also happy to take your booking and payment of the booking fee by debit card over the phone.

Yes, we have facilities to take a booking and payment from anywhere in the world over the phone. Please telephone us on 01224 314999.