Rehearsal Dinner Questionnaire - Elysium Productions

REHEARSAL DINNER QUESTIONS!

Video specific questions for rehearsal dinner or welcome party where SPEECHES will be happening!

This form can be filled out by either the couple, the wedding planner (if they are in charge of the rehearsal dinner) or whoever is the one planning the event!

Name of person who will be "running" the rehearsal dinner or welcome party(Required)

This will be the person that is queing the speeches and basically in charge of the timing for the event

First Last

Their phone number(Required)

Will their be an amplification system utilized for the speeches? (microphone & speakers)(Required)

This is super important to think about because we’re pretty sure you want great audio for these speeches! There are 2 situations that are not ideal: 1) No amplification system at all: This means that our team is going to have to run up to every person before they speak and attach a lavalier mic and recorder to that person. This not only ruins the flow of the event, but it’s hard for people to understand what we are doing because the sound isn’t coming out of any speakers. 2) If there will be an amplification system but it’s built into the venue (like a restaurant) and the sound will come out of the venue’s speakers, this usually means that there is no one actually running this system. If there is, that person usually doesn’t know how we can plug into it get a feed. And last… there is usually no way we can control it because the sound board is usually located in some back office far away. We wouldn’t be able to go far while filming the speeches to check the audio!

Name of person who will be in charge of the sound board(Required)

This will be the person who will be onsite to set it up and run it OR if the venue’s system is being utilized, then it would be the person who will be onsite and knows the system

First Last

Their phone number(Required)

(so we can introduce ourselves and make sure we have the right cables etc. to plug into their system)

Thinking about the space…(Required)

It’s really important that some thought is put into WHERE the people speaking will stand, and also where the couple will be sitting. Here is why. There will be 2 angles we will be utlizing.. one on the person speaking (obviously) and one on the couple. When it comes to filming the people speaking, our style is to be as far away as possible and as unobtrusive as possible. Sometimes clients INSIST that the speeches happen with a mic being passed around to where people are sitting. While this is ok for someone who absolutely can’t get up (a grandparent or something), what it means for everyone else is that our crew will have to run across a crowded room with a tripod to get into position. So when the attention should be on the person about to speak, it’s now on someone looking like a crazy person lol. VERY distracting. On top of that, the first part of the speech will be missed while we get into position AND it may mean that we don’t have good exposure. If the venue is very dark, we would need a small light on the area where the people will be speaking from and if we have to run across a room, we can’t take the light with us. For the couple’s positioning, it’s best to seat them in a position where they don’t have to turn around to watch the speeches, and in an area that wouldn’t be blocked by centerpieces, etc. so we can get a reaction angle of them from far away (so we don’t have to be in the way). This is nowhere near as important as the placement of the people speaking though! And our team can definitely strategize a good place for the speeches to happen when they get to the venue!

One more thing to think about…(Required)

If we’re going to be super picky lol… there is one more thing you can do to guarantee the very best footage for the speeches: PLANT the microphone on a stand that can’t be moved. If there is no mic stand, people tend to take the microphone and walk around the area… moving out of the light and causing shaky footage while we pan the camera and adjust focus and exposure as we go. When a mic stand is used, make sure someone is nearby who can raise/lower it for the next person speaking so they don’t have to struggle with it!

Speeches Timing:(Required)

Most likely our team is scheduled for 2 hours for this event. To maximize this coverage, our start/end time should be scheduled around the speeches and ideally its best for all speeches to be scheduled in “chunks” (like between courses) or all at once.

"Open Mic" situation(Required)

We recommend NOT having an open mic situation. This inevitably results in awkward pauses and/or an attention grabbing opportunity for your more extroverted guests (especially drunk ones!) If you do decide to do this, note that we may have to charge you overtime as this can go on for awhile and there won’t be an opportunity to come and ask you if you want us to stay to cover it or not.

Overtime(Required)

Besides the “open mic” situation described above, do you automatically want our team to stay if the speeches go longer than our contracted coverage? (for cost of this, look at the original pricing guide sent). We can bill in 1/2 hour increments. Note that there is RARELY a situation where speeches actually happen within the scheduled time (people love to talk when given a mic!!)

Who will be speaking at the Rehearsal Dinner?(Required)

Put their name and their relation to the couple (ex: “Barbie – bride’s college friend”). If you’re not sure at this point, just put “not sure”

Anything else you want us to know about?