Is it possible just to rent a video camera to set up and leave stationary for the ceremony?

Yes, you definitely can!! Though in my experience that camera will often not capture your ceremony! People stand in front of cameras, stand where you're not expecting, lighting changes, cameras stop recording and have a million issues.  The only way to guarantee you'll get video of your ceremony is to hire a videographer.

Yes, definitely. You can hire a camera and tripod set-up starting at around $250 for a very basic one. You just need to provide your own SD card. 

If you want to go even further you can hire a mic and download a free trial version of Final Cut Pro. It gives you a month to buy so you can learn and edit your own wedding in that time before you'll have to pay.

Just note that you'll have to keep a very wide angle as you'll be moving around to sign the certificate ect and you might not have anyone who knows how to zoom and focus manning the camera.

Yes it is possible and way cheaper. But here are more disadvantages of doing so: It will probably miss alot of action that professional videographer wouldnt (first kiss, mothers tears). Sound may be bad. Edit would probably be boring to see all the ceremony from the same perspective.

It's definitely possible - but the appeal of Motion Pictures is the Motion!  And that includes the motion of the camera!  If there's no one there to move the camera, you're losing a fundamental element of the art.

And there's also the consideration of the gear- will you be hiring the best gear for the job?  Won't it be a distraction for you to need to worry about that hired gear (and your liability) on your Wedding day?  We say hire someone to worry about it for you!  They'll come with their own gear - cinema cameras, cinema lenses, sliders, gimbals, microphones-- the whole kit, as it were, and you won't need to worry about anything.  

There are many different things that you will be disappointed with if you go down this route. Audio would be #1 - if you want to hear you and your partners vows, hire a professional. Framing would be #2 - if anyone moves out of frame the camera can't pan itself and having a professional zoom in/out and pan etc. will capture more detail and make your video more interesting to watch. Editing would be #3 - once your wedding day is over and you want to watch the ceremony back all you will have is a video file sitting on a hard drive, unless you know how to edit video you're going to have to seek the assistance of a professional video editor whom you should have hired from the start to film the ceremony also. In my opinion leaving it up to the professionals is your wisest choice - you will not regret paying a professional to provide you their services leaving you with a product you will be happy with.

Yes, Sapphire Film Productions offer a DIY Wedding Video service which is basically camera and equipment hire. Film as much as you like on the built in Hard Drive and then simply download onto you computer just the same as any other device

At 3XO Virtual Reality, our cameras are actually stationary and are only slightly adjusted through out the ceremony by our talented film crew when needed.

Being the only company in Australia that film weddings using our state of the art technology, we are able to capture your wedding from every angle. It's because of this technology that we can give you the opportunity to relive your wedding day over and over again using virtual reality.

I hope this helps, and if you do have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Happy Planning!

Hi,

You can certainly hire/rent a camera. It will depend on your expectations and budget. You will also find smart phones have great camera functions but from my experience if you are looking for something to capture the heart and story of your day then as a professional we would encourage you to consider engaging with a company like Wedding Movies to capture your wedding.

It should also be advised that a lot can go wrong with a stationary camera. It can be knocked by someone unintentionally which would impact the framing as well as stop recording or a battery failure. Also if settings are not set correctly it can autofocus to the background or wrong subject and the iris/aperture settings may keep shifting.

Hi,

You can certainly hire/rent a camera. It will depend on your expectations and budget. You will also find smart phones have great camera functions but from my experience if you are looking for something to capture the heart and story of your day then as a professional we would encourage you to consider engaging with a company like Wedding Movies to capture your wedding.

It should also be advised that a lot can go wrong with a stationary camera. It can be knocked by someone unintentionally which would impact the framing as well as stop recording or a battery failure. Also if settings are not set correctly it can autofocus to the background or wrong subject and the iris/aperture settings may keep shifting.

Hi, without meaning to sound cheeky. You can also buy a canvas and a paint brush and do a few strokes on the canvas but it won't be a Picasso. Wedding films have come along way. What we do as film makers is have a great time with you on your day and capture special moments throughout your entire day (not just the ceremony) and then artfully edit it together so that it flows as a captivating and moving story. Here's an example of one of our films; https://vimeo.com/176085745 A good wedding film is apparently one of the biggest regrets of brides after a wedding day because you put so much effort into the day and afterwards you can't remember almost anything about it and all you have to remember it by is the photo's and if you've been wise the film.