On Wed, 16 Oct 2002 09:38:19 -0400, "Alan13" wrote:

>Delivered my 4th wedding video monday, and got the email of death from the
>bitchy princess bride last night, where she basically hated everything. The
>production values were identical to the previous ones, which received high
>praise from all the happy customers. I guess there is one in every bunch
>that just can't be pleased.
>My question to you experienced people is, how do you make the customer
>understand ahead of time that what they will receive will not be anywhere
>near what they see on TV, where each scene is staged, lit with multiple
>lights, shot many times from many angles, and since a wedding is live, with
>no retakes, and ministers that will not co-operate with you, so you can't
>get the best angles, that the final product will be different than the
>wedding shows on TLC...
>Man, I threw in 2 musical compilation segments, slo-mo effects, and she
>still bitches about it....
>Also, for what its worth, I have never seen an ass grow so fast in the 6
>weeks between when she booked me and when I delivered the tape.
>I'll tell her I'll do her next one for free... :)

Ah, three issues here.....;-)
1) There really is "one in every bunch", eventually, who
will be displeased with a diamond-studded gold brick,
offered for $3 - but it helps to spot these in advance
and refuse the work (difficult, and difficult...), to
make sure that both the quality level to be expected and
the approach and style used are understood and desired
in advance (takes experience), and to be able to mollify
the displeased client afterward (takes more sales
ability than I posses - fortunately I've managed to
avoid having to try to do this, most of the time...;-).
2) It is possible (for a price...) to provide technically
high-quality video shot "on the fly" for most of an
event, with some multi-camera work for parts (i.e., the
ceremony for a wedding - see for an example:
www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/wedding9.html [for frame grabs
from a wedding shot in a dark chapel, with part of the
reception outdoors and running until dark without lights]
and www.David-Ruether-Photography.com/multi-camera2.htm for a
description of the process), but this requires owning
multiple 3-CCD cameras that are good in low light, and
other gear that is not "low-end"...
3) You can choose the level of work you want to get,
based on the level of gear you have and the level of your
experience and skill - it is best not to attempt work
that is too much above your abilities, especially with
non-reshootable events (this last comment may not be
relevant to you...;-).