weddings

subchaz wrote on 7/15/2010, 3:03 AM
Hi guys anyone give me any tips on shooting a wedding,

im used to doing music vids and advertising so this is a new one to me, so any help would be great,

im only using 1 cam,but im not sure if i need to set up audio recorders down at the front of the church,

what are the main aspects to get down on film,im not sure what the client expects.

HELP.

Comments

FilmingPhotoGuy wrote on 7/15/2010, 3:48 AM
I usually have 3 chapters.
1st, the bride getting ready and ends up at the church. Not too much stuff in the church, walking in, putting on the rings, signing the book and thats it.

2nd, Bride & groom walking in a garden, sitting on bench, talking sweet nothings. Take props with like an umbrella, guitar, blanket, caps lady's hats, champaine and glasses. Of the 3 chapters this will be by far the most most watched. Ask them to do stuff.

3rd, Entry into reception. Get the clapping, leave out speeches they get boring after the 10th time. The first dance has become a big thing check out some on YouTube, search JK wedding dance now sitting at 53 million views and was shot without a tripod. Get footage of people dancing, Do some short 10 - 15 second interviews of people saying "good luck" cause they gonna need it.

I usually make a 4th chapter using most of the photos taken that won't be printed. Put them all on the timeline with a pageturn. Show photo for 2 seconds with a pageturn for 1 second. If you have time make it a bit more fancy with in out zooms. Ask them what is "their song" and use it.

As a rule for myself I don't make it longer than 30-35 minutes. People don't want to see the "whole" wedding when they visit you, only the highlights. Make it entertaining, enjoyable and fun. Get kids doing things because you'll always get oooohhhaaa.





jetdv wrote on 7/15/2010, 6:50 AM
Check out the wedding and event forums and you'll find all kinds of answers about weddings and even see some sample videos. A couple of good places would be dvinfo and video university. Lots of good information about weddings in both places.
Dach wrote on 7/15/2010, 7:15 AM
Captue the day thoroughly. In short most brides and grooms don't much care about a video or don't have the budget for one.

Whiles its fair to say people don't want to sit through the whole video. Provide the choice of having the "full" version and / or a "highlight" version.

Wedding videos are unique in respect to the fact that in the short term, recipients are interests in the "fun" events. In the long term (25th anniversary) their interested int he memories and thats where the long version will be appreicated more.

Auido... if you have access to a digital recorder find out if you can tap in to the house system.

Chad
AGB Productions wrote on 7/15/2010, 12:30 PM
We differ from many, but so far we keep getting called back to work. Our thoughts:

1. Capture the WHOLE wedding ceremony. Don't cut and run. "In camera editing" means that you'll miss that critical shot. Tape is cheap. You can always edit it later.

2. Receptions are boring. After the first viewing, the DVD gets put back on the shelf and is never heard from again. But the wedding service gets replayed on anniversaries.

3. A "Highlights" video (5-10 minutes, set to music) is a great idea.

4. Interviews make a good DVD extra.

5. DON'T SCREW UP THE SOUND! Don't use on-camera mikes, they pick up florescent bulbs, air conditioners, all kinds of obscurants, especially if they have the (dreaded) automatic gain control, where the camera goes looking for all the bad stuff.


L8R wrote on 7/15/2010, 10:08 PM
I would highly recommend having at least two cameras present most of the day. One stationary and the other with you using both hand held and tripod.

I use 3 cameras in various locations at the ceremony. You are guaranteed that somebody will stand in front of your camera at some point. Having different angles gives you a cut away shot.

Useful when you have to change positions as well.
Lot's of battery and lots of tape.
I use Sennheiser wireless mics at the church. One on the groom and another set at the podium on a different channel going to my other cam.

I shoot everything, end up with 3-4 hours edited with music and light tasteful effects.
I also give them a 8-12 minute highlight video of the whole day.
I post a 720p version on Vimeo and embed it into my website.

For sure get your self a dimmable Led Microlite pro for the reception.
The staff at the hall don't give a crap that you need light for nice crisp video and tend to crank down the lights when ever they can. Having a dimmable LED on camera light saves your ass quite a bit.

You have to be prepared - attend rehearsals even if you've been to the church before.

So much more but that's good for now.

Todd
subchaz wrote on 7/16/2010, 1:35 PM
Cheers everyone for the tips i think i need to check out the church,

and put all these ideas into practice.

once again cheers

musicvid10 wrote on 7/16/2010, 1:46 PM
Most churches have a haphazard mix of cool white, warm white, and tungsten lighting. A fill light can tame some of the differences, but remember the bride doesn't expect her dress (and skin) to look green in one shot, purple in the next.

Since you can't control the area lighting without bringing in your own, remember these two rules:

1) White balance every scene.
2) When in doubt, refer to rule 1.
ushere wrote on 7/16/2010, 8:28 PM
wow! from reading this forum i realised that wedding shooters really do deserve much more respect that they are generally credit with!

i mean, i wouldn't dream of a second camera on a commercial shoot unless a. it was budgeted for, and b. had an experienced op to handle it. the very idea of leaving a camera unattended in a crowd scares me....

and as for sound - the lenghts that some of (them) you go to is truly impressive.

what gets me though, after talking to quite a few from when i was running my studio, is that the stills guys can get away with charging what seems like an absolute fortune compared to what video guys can charge - and this taking into consideration that they no longer do the 'full' printed wedding album.

i might add i've shot s few weddings recently for the local production comp. (we're in rural aus. where the first thing either the bride or groom says to me is 'put that bloody thing down and have a cold one!), and it's no easy chore - i mean missing the wedding ring is as bad as shooting a technicolour ad in b&w..... as for the editing, well i'm luck enough to have to simply hand over the tapes ;-)

good luck.....

mountainman wrote on 7/17/2010, 6:43 AM
Well ushere, you could not be more correct. With out a doubt, weddings are among the most stressful in all of video. Couple that with low pay and that's why I quit them years ago. Not worth the worry. jm
Sab wrote on 7/17/2010, 8:08 AM
Wedding videography is a double edged sword for sure. We started adding features (extra camera views, montages, same day ceremony edit shown at the reception, interviews, etc.) to deliver a better end product only to find we simply could not get enough work in our market at the price point necessary to provide those features. In the end, we stopped doing them all together because we could not deliver them fast enough. Too bad. Though it's very stressful work, it's very satisfying when your clients hug you and thank you for doing such a nice job preserving their memories.

Mike
L8R wrote on 7/18/2010, 12:53 AM
Well just got home from another 18 hour wedding day shoot.
17 tapes shot, 6 locations, power failure at the reception for an hour.
It is without a doubt not for the people that thing "I'll make a quick buck and shoot weddings".
Weddings is/was my main focus, things were on the up and up but this year leveled off. I love the reward as Sab states, when you get comments like, I cried during the whole thing, or I've watched it 3 times in a row. However at the end of the day, computers have to be paid for, cameras as well, never mind the household bills.
It's not cutting it financially anymore and it's way more stress than what it's worth.
Every bride and groom wants the whole package but for the lowest cost. So they hire the cheapest person. Who....... doesn't do a good job, the price should have given that away. He does a crap job and the couple are the first ones to turn around and say, don't get a video........ they're crap.
The ones that do it right and hire someone who cares about their product from start to finish are the ones that "can't survive" in the business.
I love it, but it's for sure not worth the work involved.
FilmingPhotoGuy wrote on 7/18/2010, 5:08 AM
I hear you L8R. I also video'd a wedding yesterday. 13Gig of footage, 870 photo's in 10 hours. Now to sit in front of the PC and make something that'll make 'em say "Oooh aaahhh". For 17 tapes to download....... When you're done post your vids to inspire the rest of us :)
L8R wrote on 7/18/2010, 7:49 AM
Hey lightAds,

Ya post is a killer.
Here's some of my highlight videos.

http://www.dejaviewstudios.com/deja_View_wedding_video_demos.html
FilmingPhotoGuy wrote on 7/18/2010, 10:19 AM
Awesome website and so many wedding vids to browse. I'm sure I seen these before :))) I viewed your latest wedding vid and am impressed with your work. You definitely know what you are doing. Excellent flow and feel right up to the end. I would like to see the rest of them as soon as I get more cap on my Internet. What audio recorder did you use to achieve such clear footage in the church?
As I asked, you inpired, well done
DGates wrote on 7/18/2010, 12:30 PM
At my wedding yesterday, there was a blackout in the neighborhood due to someone running into a utility pole or something. So in 90+ degee weather in Long Beach, there was no power. That meant no lights, AC or music. I used my video light during the whole hour long Catholic ceremony. I've *never* used my light during a ceremony in the 6 years I've shot weddings.
Dominated wrote on 7/18/2010, 12:44 PM
Here are some more to help you along the way ...to me these are two of the best and help me to go beyond what has been always done and make it more like a film or an event. Hope you like them...

http://www.mindcastlestudios.com/index2.php?ver=v1
and

http://rayromanblog.com/2008/12/

and here is my site

http://mymovingmemories.ca/index.html
L8R wrote on 7/18/2010, 2:23 PM
wow Dominated, I'm speechless. I just watched the Preben & Nicole video.... great work. Very nice.
I so want to use my glide cam for the weddings but it's just not practice when it's just me there. It looks like you had about 4 cameras set up at the ceremony... how many people do you have with you on a shoot?
It's videos like this that make me strive to be better at what I do.
L8R wrote on 7/18/2010, 2:30 PM
Thanks LightAds,

I took 4 years of classical animation in college and learned a lot in story telling etc from that, as well as the pains taking attention to detail that I think makes a big difference with the final product.
I use Sennheiser ew100 G2 wireless mics. Attached to the groom. I've recently started using another set up at the podium for the readings, gospel and homily.
I run that set to my other camera.
There is so much more I want to do with the weddings but being the only person, with three cameras I don't have enough time to really take in some of the things I should have. It's always often when I'm doing the editing that I see something in my shot, that would have been something I should have spent some more time on. When you're in the moment and have 30 minutes to set up 3 cameras in a cathedral get detail shots, wire up the groom and podium and be outside for the limo within that 30 min.... it's tough.
Dominated wrote on 7/18/2010, 2:34 PM
Alas I wish I could take credit for those but that is a company called Mindcastle and the other is Ray Roman and they are two of my favorites. My site is the 3rd one
www.mymovingmemories.ca. I watch their videos before I do a shoot...it gets my mind going on how to approach a wedding to offer something others in my market are not. Glad you liked them..keep in mind these companies can charge betweeen $5000 and $30000 for a wedding.
L8R wrote on 7/18/2010, 3:57 PM
I see Dominated,

I'll check out your site in a moment.
People around here don't even want to part with $1500 - $2000, there is no way they would pay that kind of money. But in turn they get a full scale production.
From the comments I've heard from talking to potential clients, the number one complaint is from seeing other peoples weddings. Weddings that had 3-4 camera men, dollies and steadicams. They were turned off by seeing that. I do the work of 3 camera ops. I have my wife assist on "b -cam" when I can. It helps to at least have a second selection of shots during the ceremony but for the most part it's just me out there.
When I see other peoples videos that do it right. It gives me that inspiration to be more creative, get deeper into the story rather than documenting their day.
I like this wedding thread, I think we should keep it going, It's nice to hear from other trying to earn a keep in the crazy wedding market.
Dominated wrote on 7/18/2010, 4:14 PM
Agreed with the money factor..anything over a thousand bucks for video here and people start to freak lol... I tend to think that everyone has a relative or friend who in their mind could do their wedding video. When I go to wedding shows I bring my video. When I got married we were in another province and the price was out of my budget to have a pro do it at the time so a family friend did it and it is gawd awful. The fact that it is mine and it was my error to have it done that way proves the point you get what you pay for. Photographers on the other hand seem to be able to charge what ever they want and people will go for it . While I was busting my but for the last wedding I did the photographer snapped 4 photos and then watched the rest of the wedding. I later learned he was getting $1300 for a 5 hr shoot.
PS. I really like your videos on your site and hats off for busting your butt with 3 cams. I know after a wedding i'm beat the next day ,you must be whipped solid
Shane
FilmingPhotoGuy wrote on 7/19/2010, 12:53 AM
I just watched the fantastic wedding production of Preben & Nicole. Good wedding story from the start to the end. Nice angles and use of light. Nicely done!! And it must costs. 4 cameras, 4 cameramen to pay. Not counting the many edit hours afterwards to get the final product.

I started as a photographer taking only stills. This was easy work, just download, Photoshop and print and you're done. Video is so different because people are programmed by the movie industry and want their weddings to look like a Hollywood movie. Also, the "wedding day" is their day to enjoy and don't want to be choreograph'd too much to get the right shot.

L8R, I saw your other cams at the scene and didn't know that you drove the whole show, hats off to you. BTW, what happend to your camera that failed on the day? At least you had a backup.

L8R wrote on 7/19/2010, 6:34 AM
Hey LightAds,

Yeah, I'm still waiting to hear from Sony, I will be calling them in about an hour. Figured I'd let them open up shop before I hound them.
As far as I'm concerned.... I want a new camera, that one is jaded to me now.
Failing twice during important shoots is not acceptable.

As far as the weddings, it is a double standard. The couples do see the footage in movies and on t.v. shows that get all those great angles but don't realize the team of 80 people on the backside of those lenses. At the same time they don't want the cameras in their faces taking them out of that moment.
I never do skits, I'll ask people to maybe pretend to put the flower on if someone else did it or, to do something again if I liked what they did but wasn't at the appropriate angle for the shot. Never through the ceremony though.
Don't even get me started with the priests. They look at me with the look of death when they're told... this is Todd our videographer at the rehearsals. After speaking with the priests, they are welcome to my approach and never have to worry about me being in the wrong spot or hopping around.

It's a great gig, I wish people paid the money that it requires for me to hire a second shooter and know for sure I am getting that second shot that will bring it over the top.

Todd
L8R wrote on 7/19/2010, 7:33 AM
Hey Dominated,

Nice work, what kind of equipment do you use shooting?
Are those the magic bullet filters used in your videos. I've started using them more and more... It's amazing how much it adds to the production quality.