Weddings, stop motion video

[VisualEcho]

I have been asked by a potential client if I can provide a stop motion video for their wedding package. They provided a "friends" protected video as an example, it was the most spectacular display of a wedding I have ever seen, obviously very talented producer. I was inspired and researched that stop motion or slide shows are increasing in popularity. I emailed this client back and was honest about my current experience with stop motion (none) and my excitement about expanding into this aspect of photography, I also said that I would research the time commitment to produce and give them a quote. After going through some lynda.com classes, I am no closer to giving a quote. It feels like it is happening too quick (still about 12 months util the wedding, but I like to know I can do a great job) I would hate to say here is my price, you will get a beautiful stop motion video at the end...

Has anyone had a similar experience?

I am thinking of valuing the video similar to an album considering the work involved, would you agree?

Thank you for any insight or advice you can share,

[Steve Axford]

First a disclaimer - I am not a professional photographer and I am not a professional movie maker, though I have been paid for work in both areas and I do have contacts in pro photography and movies and TV.
I would suggest that if you want to learn how to do something you should not expect the customer to pay for your learning. Perhaps you could offer the service for free this time and just learn as much as you can. Moving pictures, even slide shows, are a different technique to still photos, though I guess good wedding albums go part of the way by providing a story. Did the video you saw have sound? I ask because good sound can make a video and it is not just a matter of throwing on any old music track. Have you thought of doing any true video sections? Perhaps it is a bit soon for this, as, while it does go a step further, it also increases the work significantly.
I would suggest you give it a go and learn some of the mistakes that you can make (and there are many). Think of the story you want to tell before you start and make sure you get the photos to represent that story. I guess you already do that with your wedding albums?? Treat it like a short film script and storyboard it. Try it with something else before the big day and see if it is likley to work.
Good luck.

[VisualEcho]

Thanks Steve, all very good advice and thoughts. The video had a song, which I have been trying to find too but even with song recognition apps it is a mystery. Bit sad because the song was brilliant too and I did notice how with every slight change of the song the video moved with it. Some of the lyrics were played out by the bride and grooms actions, in sync with the song, this makes me think it might be a unreleased song, from the groom maybe. The client that requested a quote for stop motion video, fell through. I offered an obligation free extra (stop motion video SMV) to a wedding couple I get to capture soon. They were very keen, I also gave them a bit more coverage to help give time for SMV capture. The video example shared had a bit of true video capture, mixed in great, I plan to practice this a bit too. Thanks again for you feedback