Hey there! This may be a bit long, but I think I need to get this out too....
And I want to preface this post by adding that BEFORE we signed the contract with them, things were great! Emails went back and forth within hours, not days and they were very responsive... Ok, on with the post
I used Simply Cinematic quite recently, December to be exact. And I just wanted to share my experience as well. I do not have my video or trailer yet, so I can't exactly say if that is a good thing or a bad thing? When I first contacted them, one of the questions I asked before we contracted was how long is the turn-around time to get our video back? We are having a celebration party here in May, so I wanted to make sure we would get it back in time. I was quoted 2-3 months after the wedding, so we're still on track as far as that. BUT, as far as professionalism and all around business practices go, I was/am not too thrilled, I will admit. They take FOREVER to email you back; when we had our phone consultation, they were a bit unprofessional, nothing like any of the other vendors we used; they were also 20 minutes late getting to my hotel room the day of the wedding. Granted, they did stay a bit past their scheduled time to make up for it, but it didn't sit too well with me that we had to wait on them... They had called when they were supposed to be there and said they couldn't find my room (?????). 15 minutes later they showed up. I will admit that I am TERRIFIED that I'm either not going to get my video, or something is going to be wrong with it. When I first researched them, I didn't see any negative reviews, and they seemed to do great work. We made room in the budget for a videographer, only because my parents were the only ones who were able to make it to the wedding. We wanted to capture the day for everyone else who wasn't able to go. I was scared to leave one of the most important days of my life to be documented on film and by camera to complete and total strangers! I had faith in my photographer, and he did an amazing job and I couldn't be happier!!! I just never felt that way about SC. After the wedding was over and things had settled down, I realized I never heard back from them about the music selection. I emailed them about mid-January asking how the video was coming along and let them know that I would be getting my pictures soon, and I would pass them along for the disc covers. I got this response a few days later:
"I'm glad to hear from you, and hope all is well for you and the family! Things have been busier than the usual for us, and we are very excited about how this year is going so far =)
As part of new year resolution we have decided to make a few changes and start a fresh Wedding Cinematography brand and let the Simply Cinematic name go, we are a little sad, but It will be for the best! We are looking forward to launch it in the next few weeks, and your wedding video will be in process in a week and will be part of our new portfolio =) I know the final product will be beautiful and can't wait to share it with you and Mike."
Needless to say, I was left doing this
and now I don't know what to think. I started to research the company a little more, and realized that the same 8 5-star reviews seem to be everywhere. It really makes me wonder the integrity of this company and if those reviews are even really legit. I get my pictures from my photographer this week, so I will be contacting them to send those along and to get another update on our videos. I guess, worst case, they are under contract with us to provide a product, but I hope it never comes to the point that we need to take further action. I will let you guys know what I hear back (IF I hear back
) and what comes of this. You might want to make room for me in the boat though, just in case.