Diy video booth/guestbook

Hello.

the video booth sounds like a great idea. Lots of fun!!

I have not done a video booth before - but here are a few things to think about:

- positioning of the camera: will guests hold it themselves or will it be set up on a tripod? If on a tripod in a small room, may be worth securing it to minimise risk of it falling over / going walkabouts!

- power: does it need back up batteries? Are you near a plug socket? Is there anyone that can keep an eye on this?

- lighting: is it bright enough in the room to take video? Will you need any additional lighting?

- operating the camera: is it a "DIY"? May be worth leaving a pretty sign with instructions

- audio: will it be quiet enough to record voices? Eg not in the same room as a band or DJ

- memory: is there sufficient memory to store the amount if video you anticipate? Might be worth having someone around to keep an eye on it

- do you have signs to encourage people to take part? Perhaps mention it during speeches or get the booth operator to encourage people

Hope that helps.

Nathalie made some great points and pretty much covered everything.

The amount of light in the room is much more important than you might think. The video camera cannot physically take in as much light as our eyes can, so if, like you say, the video camera is going to be set up in a small room, the amount of light is going to be minimal.

You say you've hired a camera. What camera is it? Do you know the make and model? I only ask because if you have gone for an all singing all dancing broadcast quality camera, that's great, but who's going to know how to operate it? At the other end of the scale, if it's a point-and-shoot handycam, the quality of the end result probably won't impress. Especially if you're leaving it up to the guests to operate.

Without anyone to competently operate the camera without it plugged into a power source, it will run out of battery faster than you can say "congratulations". You're also going to find that, if you want the video in HD, the memory cards will fill up quite fast too. Especially if a guest finishes their message and leaves the camera rolling.

The only thing that I don't think will be an issue is the sound quality, as it's in a room with only the photo booth for company.

I'm a wedding videographer and usually devote the time after the speeches up until the first dance to get video messages from guests and family of the bride & groom. I've run into almost every problem Nathalie listed and more!

I hope my advice helps and doesn't put you off too much!! If I'm available on your wedding date then I may be able to just come in and set up a guest video message area for a few hours? If you're interested, contact me through my website by clicking the filmstrip in my signature ?

Good luck with everything.

Hi, thanks for your advice. This is the description of what we have hired.

The Sony MC50 thats included in our DIY Wedding package is a small hand held professional camcorder which records footage for up to six hours so you should have ample space on the camcorder without having to worry about storage capacity or downloading your video footage until after the wedding. You will find a handy camera top light included (either a circular LED ring light or square LED panel light) in the package which runs of AA batteries (not supplied) perfect for the last dance and a tripod for when you need a more stable shot or need to take a break but would like to keep recording.

we do have a videographer for the whole day. I wasn't planning on having one so hired a camera I have already payed for so have decided to use it as a guest book instead. I guess my main concern is our guest being able to use it themselves. I will put a how to use guide with it. I guess it's just hope they can use it without supervision!