How Long Do You Plan on Filming Weddings?
Long-Term Financial Planning
for Wedding Filmmakers
As we get older, life changes - you get married, buy a house, start a family - things get more expensive.
Though things may be working now, what does life look like a year, two years, even five years down the road?
The harsh reality is that a career in wedding filmmaking doesn’t exactly offer the same financial security as a career with a salary and benefits.
There comes a time in every wedding filmmaker’s career where you have to decide whether or not to continue filming weddings...
Tired of working on weekends
Want more time with friends & family
Less time to dedicate to editing
Feeling undervalued
Financial uncertainty
How is your wedding videography business going to keep up with your life changes?
Raise prices
Film more weddings
Mentorship & Education
Add services (real estate, corporate)
Grow a team of associate filmmakers
Ways wedding filmmakers can increase income in their business
Only ONE of these is a long term solution for financial success...
Grow a team of associate filmmakers
In our 8 year career of wedding filmmaking, we found that the best way to increase our income year after year without investing more time and effort in addition to our services was to hire and grow a team of associate filmmakers.
Associate shooting has become increasingly popular over the past few years. When you book weddings a year or two in advance, it’s hard to predict future life circumstances that could affect your ability to honor your commitment. Associate shooting allows you to have an outlet to still offer a solution to your couples, without fully detaching your brand and your services.
By growing a team of associate filmmakers, you can...
Say "Yes" to more couples
Film multiple weddings on the same day
Limit how often you film (if ever)
Increase revenue year after year
Started growing our team in 2020.
In 2021, we filmed 65% of our weddings & doubled our income
In 2022, our team captured 92% of our weddings
Added photography as a service using the same method of growing our team
In 2023, filmed 1% of our weddings & quadrupled our revenue
So that's what we did...
HERE'S HOW YOU CAN DO IT!
How could I possibly let other filmmakers film MY weddings?!
"Nobody can film & represent my brand like I do"
"I can't trust another filmmaker to film for my brand"
"It has to be ME filming on the wedding day"
"I don't want to lose creative control"
"I won't make as much money"
You might be thinking...
Every single one of these fears is a MYTH. Here's why...
MYTH #1
"Nobody can film & represent my brand like I do"
Filming weddings is a skill set, just as plumbing is for a plumber or welding is for a welder. This means that someone has the experience, knowledge and understanding of what to expect when filming a wedding and has the equipment to do so.
In networking with other filmmakers, found that many go about filming weddings the same way we did, and even used the same gear.
If we provided our equipment specifications and gave them all the details, timelines and information they needed to capture the day, then they could use their knowledge and talent to film the wedding and we could use their footage to edit and create films our couples love and expect from us.
So can another filmmaker do EXACTLY, 100% what you do and how you do it? No, because every human is created differently and we are all unique in our own way. But can they do what you need them to do so that you can create a film your couple will love? ABSOLUTELY.
MYTH #2
"I can't trust another filmmaker to film for my brand."
When we made the decision to begin building a team, we had, and still have, very high standards and expectations.
Filmmakers not only had to be able to meet our technical/creative standards, but also had to possess a similar type of personality and humility that we carried on the wedding day.
We started to receive interest from filmmakers with amazing portfolios who we never thought would exercise the idea of shooting for us.
The more filmmakers we talked to and added to the team, the more comfortable we felt having other filmmakers film for our brand.
We have filmmakers who send us messages thanking us for the opportunity and asking about more opportunities they can film for us. They WANT to associate shoot for our brand, they WANT to do a great job, and they WANT to be there on the wedding day.
MYTH #3
"It has to be ME filming on the Wedding Day."
How do you sell YOUR brand and services to a couple when YOU are not the one filming their wedding day? Like many filmmakers, I was scared at first advertising it would not be ME filming the wedding day...
To my surprise, people were still booking our services. The most common thing that we heard was that they "loved our style."
As we started to book more team-filmed weddings, we found that we were now able to confidently answer questions we couldn’t answer before.
We also found that couples more so valued our work and our experience as a company instead of how we did what we did or who was there filming on the wedding day.
If you change the narrative from YOU being the center of your business to YOUR TEAM now being the center of your business, prospective couples will start to see you as a brand and you will no longer give off the impression that it has to be “YOU” filming the wedding.
MYTH #4
"I'm going to lose creative control..."
Since we handled the editing process, we were able to study their footage and provide feedback for them to help them improve before they filmed another wedding for us.
Because of this, we are able to replicate our videography style and fulfill our couple’s desires, which to us, is a perfect amount of creative control.
After 8 years of filming weddings, we found that every wedding seemed to incorporate a similar sequence of shots throughout the day.
We were able to structure our highlight films into templates, which made it much easier for us to know what shots were needed and made for a much more efficient editing process.
Since we recruited filmmakers and knew their equipment met the quality of standards to film for us, this meant that if we provided a shot list for our team and gave them creative direction for filming certain shots, they could get the footage that we need to be able to edit and craft the films that our couples expect from us.
MYTH #5
"I won't make as much money."
In 2021, our company filmed 66 weddings. Of the 66 weddings, my wife and I filmed 43 weddings and our team filmed 23 weddings.
In 2022 (YEAR OF THE WEDDING!), our company filmed 103 weddings. Of the 103 weddings, my wife and I filmed 8 weddings and our team filmed 95 weddings.
In 2023, 99% of our weddings were filmed by our team and generated $495,000 in gross revenue.
Obviously, if another filmmaker is filming for you, that means that they’ll need to be compensated, which means that you are not profiting from100% of what the couple is paying your business.
Between 2015 when we started the business and 2020, my wife and I physically filmed 105 weddings ourselves.
After seeing the numbers, hopefully you see that it is 100% possible to make more money by having your team film weddings instead of you.
Here's how YOU can do the same thing...
The Family First Filmmaker is a program created for wedding filmmakers to learn how to manage and grow a team of filmmakers so you can start owning a business that works for YOU and sets you and your family up for long-term financial success.
When you join the course, you can immediately start recruiting and growing your team and start saying "Yes" to more couples even if you are already booked!
LONG-TERM FINANCIAL SUCCESS FOR WEDDING FILMMAKERS
Family First Filmmaker
Tyler Helms is the co-owner of Point200 Films & Photos, a wedding videography, photography and content business serving North & South Carolina since 2015.
Tyler has always loved filmmaking, so much that his senior project was a documentary that him and his best friend created. Filming weddings came natural, and as the years progressed, Tyler found a passion for business development, which has helped Point200 grow into the company it is today.
Tyler is a husband to his wife, Kasey, and a proud Father of two daughters, Lindley & Emeline, and enjoys spending time with his family on weekends.
CO-OWNER OF POINT200 CORP.
CREATOR OF FAMILY FIRST FILMMAKER
Meet Tyler
What's included in the program?
As a member of the Family First Filmmaker Program, you get lifetime access to the program content, meaning you can learn at your own pace and rewatch parts of the program if you ever need a refresher. This also includes any future modules or content added to the program as it evolves.
Lifetime access to program sections & content
You will have access to our members only Facebook Group where we will post updates about the course, provide Q&A sessions, and provide a place for you to post any questions or feedback as well as engage with other members in the program. This community paired with the program will essentially give you 24/7 support if you ever have any questions or need motivation.
Members only Facebook Community
As a member of the Family First Filmmaker program, you will be eligible to take full advantage of our in-house editing service at a Members Only rate (subject to availability). Just imagine how different your life would be and how much time you would get back if you no longer had to edit your films and could feel confident that they would be done correctly and received on-time.
Members only pricing for editing services
LIFETIME ACCESS!
How much does the program cost?
We are still in the early production part of the course, which is why we have a waitlist. We plan to do a pre-launch for the course which will allow you to purchase the course and get access to some members only content before the course officially launches. This pre-launch price will be the lowest price the course will ever be, and if you book just one wedding for one of our associate filmmakers to film for you, you will MORE than cover the cost of the course.
Also, as we continue to grow our company and brands, we intend to continue sharing our own successes with members of the program, meaning the program will only increase in value over time.