I sure hate to add another "Hey, just getting started" thread to the board, please forgive me...I feel I must.

Okies, here's my situation:
Small rural southern town, people probably not expecting mega productions, I just want to do the best with what I have:

- DVX100A
- Sony Hi8
- ME66
- AT VHF Lav (1)
- 503 head/tripod

Of course I want to get another second camera ASAP, and maybe another lav or 2. Planning on getting an I-River. Right now I'm living off my tax refund...stay at home Dad, so I need to start with pretty much what I have.

I'll be flying solo, at least until getting pretty well established. Never done weddings before, but I'm trying to pre-visualize everything I can. I meditate a lot, picturing myself actually shooting weddings start to finish, and I'm fixing to go to the church I grew up in and shoot some imaginary weddings there all by myself, just helping to get a feel, and more firmly cement my visualizations.

Firstly, any and all general advice on how to pull this off given the outlined circumstance would be greatly appreciated, I dont know what questions I should be asking, so I will call upon your wisdom in knowing what I need to know. But I do have a couple of specifics:

- Where should I try to set up as a one man show to get the shots that I need during the ceremony? I'd like to get a full front shot of the B/G/Officient w/ one camera, and use the other to get closeups of the family watching, the rings, and anything else that may catch my eye as beign worthy of a shot. I think I'm going to show the full shot, with the closeups as picture in picture using the hi8, since obviously it will be much lower res than the DVX, but should be fine for a small picture window, no?

I'll just leave it at that for the moment and see where we go from there. I've read through pretty much all of the DVinfo Wedding Section, and my head is turning to mush! A lot of the info applies to people with far more elaborate setups, and multi camera persons, I just will not have that luxury to begin with.

Well, let me also make a humble request...I have viewed several VERY helpful clips from your posts, but it takes me a LONG time over not only 56k, but crappy 56k! I would really appreciate it if any of you kind souls might be willing to mail me some of your work to help me further visualize what I want...and will be able to achieve.

Much appreciated!
Daniel Runyon

I have shot weddings solo with 3 cameras. They turned out really close to what we do with 3 cameras and 2 videographers. Just put one camera in the back and have your camera on the side. I would pick the side where you get the brides face in your shot. Of course, if you have a third camera have it on where the groom will say his vows.

As soon as they get ready to walk back down the isle, get to the back of the chuch as fast as possible to get them walking down the isle.

Takes practice but works out pretty well. I have a remote camera now that I can control. It makes it nice for a one videographer shoot. I can control 2 cameras myself. The only limit to the remote camera is that you need lots of equipment and the camera has to be less than 4lbs. I mount a GL-2 to it and it works great. It's not the best at panning but it will move to the shot you want and stay there. I can also control the zoom and focus as well. My method requires too much hardware to make it worth your while but I think it's cool. 2 laptops, rf video transmitters and the trackercam.

Good luck.

Jon

Hi Daniel

Welcome to the wonderful world of wedding videos. I don't have much experience with one operator weddings, sorry.

I don't know how close you are to Atlanta but there will be a two day video conference coming to Atlanta March 7&8. Here's a link for more details.

http://www.wevainstitute.com/ProgrammingDetail.asp?CityID=7

There's also a really good video association in Atlanta. When we were first starting out, our local video association was very helpful to us, a great place to ask questions and learn. Local associations can also be a good place to find used equipment. Here's a link where you can find the video association in Atlanta or for that matter, anywhere esle.

http://www.weva.com/resources.php?action=localassociations&action2=s&state=GA

All My Best,
Mark Von Lanken
Picture This Productions
www.TulsaWeddingVideos.com

I do 20 to 25 weddings a year solo shooting with one camera and another for backup. My humble thoughts:

If you are realy solo, meaning, there will be no one to help you, forget shooting with two cameras. You should focus on getting the shots that make the day and not be distracted thinking if your Hi8 is recording or someone bumped the tripod. Leave the Hi8 in the car. It will be your inssurance if your main camera plays a trick on you.

You didn't mention extra batteries and a light for your camera with respective batteries. You will be shooting for a lot of hours. You'll need enough batteries to power your camera and your light through the day.

Allways carry with you (not in the car, but in a small bag attached to you) a cleaning tape, a lens cleaning tissue, extra lamp for your light and extra battery for the camera).

Number your tapes. If you taped the B/G preparations, put a new tape for the ceremony. Those have a tendency to be on the long side and you don't want to get caught changing tapes when they say "I Do".

Look at the RECORD indicator on the viewfinder/LCD, and look again. Sometimes you thing you are recording, but you didn't press the button. Believe me, it WILL happen to you.

Be cool, try to relax, take a deep breath, that way you will not be sweating like a pig :) (I did in my first wedding) and making things worst by having to clean you face constantly.

I assume you can edit video. Can you author a DVD? Do you have a printer that can print on DVDs? No labels. I say again: NO Labels. I'v used them on DVDs for some time, but it's not worth the risk of having problems with some clients not beeing able to play them.

There are a 1000 more tips me and others can give you. Just tried to help you getting started. Please keep us posted on your progress. Go slow - Go Steady :)

The best of luck to you on your new adventure (yes, shooting weddings can be a real adventure).

Best regards.
Arnaldo

Much appreciated!

I'm pretty exited about getting into this. To me, there is an archetypal wedding videographer image in my head, and it is quite cool to be stepping into that universe.

I've been looking at as many samples as I can to get ideas about how I want to/will be able to approach this. Mr Troxels website has been the biggest help, thank you Mr Troxel for making your samples right click downloadable! On 56K, its pretty much the only way I'm able to see em! Theyve helped me to learn a great deal about what type of location coverage I need, and about lots of people shots.

RE: Arnaldo Paixao
Thank you sir! I'l be using Vegas 5 for editing, and while I'm not what youd call a pro at it yet, but I've practiced a great deal over the last year, and I've got Spots big book if I get stuck. I do have DVD Architect, but no DVD printer. Also, I'm covered with the DVXuser batteries. Dont have a light yet. My starting budget is pretty small, but I plan to get one with some of the bounty from a couple of weddings.

RE: Mark Von Lanken
Thank you fir the welcome, as I said, I'm pretty exited about it! I wont be able to go to the events you mentioned though...just dont have the money for the classes. Thanks for the links though!

RE: Jon East
Your camera setup suggestions make a lot of sense to me. Much appreciated! Would love to have remote cams!!!

So do you guys pretty much agree with having the main, manned cam to the side, sort of behind the groom with a view of the bride? And would you use the main cam durring the ceremony to pan around for family reaction shots, or would you want to keep it steady on the bride? So far, I havent seen any samples from an actually ceremony, so I have only foggy ideas of how to handle this..most crucial of the days shooting. Again, if anyone would be willing to help me out with a sample wedding, I'd sure appreciate it a lot. I've got a friend bringing me her wedding video soon, hopefully it will be something more than an Uncle Joe tape!

Seriously, thanks so much for your help so far!
Daniel Runyon

Daniel

I can certainly understand being tight on cash, especially just starting out in the business. If you have the gas money to Atlanta it will be well worth the trip, especially since you are new to the business. On Monday there is 8 hours of FREE programming.

As far as ceremony coverage with the front camera, if the minister is doing a lot of talking I will pan the audiance, especially parents, grandparents or anyone that looks interested in whats going on. I will also get shots of the bridesmaides and groomsmen.

As soon as the ceremony is over I get shots of the candles, unity candle, anything I can use for cutaways or the highlight.

You really should contact Bob Pearl with the Atlanta video association. It's a great chance to meet videographers and see what others are doing, how they are doing it, etc... and it's free.

All My Best,
Mark Von Lanken
Picture This Productions
www.TulsaWeddingVideos.com

Thank you sir! Awesome practical advice, and I will indeed contact Mr. Pearl. Also, my wife says she will try to take the day off and keep our son to allow me to go to ATL on the 7th.
I'd like to attend the Town Meeting (Free), looks worth while, and with free dinner to boot!

BTW, a fellow in ATL has contacted me and is willing to allow me to join him on one of his weddings to get a little bit of pre launch hands on, and an established still photographer just told my wife I could come with her on a few for the sake of learning! Evidently....The Force is with me.

Muchas Gracias,
Daniel Runyon

Daniel

Your welcome. Look us up if you make it to the Town Meeting.

That's great that a videographer has invited you to join him. There is so much you can learn just by watching someone else in action.

All My Best,
Mark Von Lanken
Picture This Productions
www.TulsaWeddingVideos.com

Awesome news....

My wife, saying that she wanted me to have the best start that I could get, has given $1000 of her tax refund to me to get a couple more things. I picked up an Epson DVD printer for $98, got some regular DVD's for my usual data backup, and some printables for upcoming wedding projects. Now, I think I'm gonna get a Panasonic GS120 3 chip for just under $600 to replace my little hi8 as second/back up camera to the DVX. Wise move? And does anyone know if the GS cams use the same battery as a DVX?

Gracias!

Daniel Runyon

Like you, I live in a rural area. For the last five years, and i don't remember the number of weddings, I've shot all but two with a single camera. It is a lot easier to shoot a ceremony with more than one camera.
Ceremonies: This is where most of my audio equipment is used. I usually shoot from the back and right behind the last row of pews or chairs reserved for wedding guests. I use a tripod and get it as high as possible so I have a clear view over heads when everyone is standing. I currently use four wireless mics, which are placed as follows: Officiate, Groom, Floor Mic for family/friend commentary, and floor mic for musicians. These feed into an inexpensive audio mixer which then feeds into the camera. The mixer (a Behringer model) manages four XLR mics, each having a mute switch. A simple press of a button opens or closes microphone signals to my camera as I need them.
Because i shoot from a tripod during the ceremony, and can not move, I stress to my clients the importance of them facing each other during the ceremony. This is usually fine for most Protestant ceremonies and those which do not rely heavily upon formal blessings of an organized faith. Religious ceremonies that focus upon traditions, (Catholic, Episcopalian, Lutheran, and Jewish, for example) are extremely difficult to shoot with a single camera.
The single, biggest disadvantage with a single camera shoot is the need to creatively pan and zoom. Because I never turn off the audio during a ceremony I must change camera angles and focal lengths of the lens in a way that moves with the rhythm of the ceremony. That means listening carefully to what is being said. You can't mask a camera angle change, so it has to be done in a very obvious way that says there is a purpose and reason for the change. In short, don't move the camera without a reason, and the commentary of the ceremony will give you the cues you need to have the reason.
Nothing is more helpful than getting the officiating priest to explain to you in detail the entire ceremony and purpose of every part within the ceremony.
Knowing this, you can, before the ceremony collect B-Roll footage that can be used a appropriate times for added visual interest.

For me the ceremony demands the most planning. All other aspects of the wedding day celebration are shot with a single camera on a monopod, the on-camera mic, and an on-camera light. I just shoot a lot of video. I had four to six hours of recorded tape on my first few weddings, most of which was useless. A combination of more detailed research and experience reduced pre-ceremony and post-ceremony footage to about two hours of tape. My final DVD's run anywhere from 50 minutes to 1 hour, 50 minutes. So much depends upon what the people actually do.

Good Luck!

Ok, so your wife is funding part of your start-up. The question I have is does she want to see you on Saturdays? If so, maybe you should get a camera that fits her hands nicely and teach her enough to do second cam. Lots of husband/wife teams in the business. Women do a better job of selling, and a better job of bridal prep, since they can get into the room long before guys can most of the time. Maybe she just works for bridal prep and ceremony (and bridal shows), you do everything else on your own. Your rates will go up a lot faster, since your end-product willbe lots better. Make sure she gets her own paycheck out of it for hours spent. And stick that third cam on a tripod in the back anyway. :)

Daniel,

I've worked with the GS 120 and I wouldn't go with with it for weddings. Get the GS 200 or the GS 400 if you want a small camera. The GS120 makes very good pictures for such a small camera, but it doesn't have the manual functions that the 200 or 400 have. You'll want that at some point even if you plan on just using the camera for a second fill shot for now.

Or, since the price of the 200 and 400 is over/around 1k, possibly look into buying a used prosumer camera like a vx2000, DVC30, etc.

Ben

Thank you all very much....your answers played in big part in shaping my decisions. I decided to round out my audio and lighting rather than get a second camera for the time being, as I'm opening a local general videography business and needed to be prepared for the widest possible variety of job.

I do have a wedding lined up soon, and since I havent been able to see anyones actual ceremony footage, I will modify my request....would some of you (in particular the single camera folks) be willing to link a few screen grabs to demonstrate a good angle? I've taken it that placing the camera off to the side, behind the groom with a good view of the bride is the way a lot of single camera videographers are doing it, but I'm having a hard time seeing it in my head. I do know that at the wedding I have lined up, it will be very important to feature the groom, and I have no idea how I will pull that off without being more in the way of spectators.

Gracias,
Daniel Runyon

Good luck.

I think the GS120 is good enough for back-up considering your 2nd camcorder is the Sony Hi8 camcorder. BTW, the GS series doesn't share the same battery as the DVX100A. The DV953 (MX5000) does though.

Greets again,

Audio Question:

I bought two wireless lav kits, but I'm not satisfied with the fullness of the sound. Today, I hooked the transmitter up to my ME66 boom mic and put it on a stand, set up as if it was hovering over the officiant/bride/groom, and got a pretty good sound out of it. Would there be any reason not to use such a setup for the ceremony?

Gracias,
Daniel

<<<I bought two wireless lav kits, but I'm not satisfied with the fullness of the sound. Today, I hooked the transmitter up to my ME66 boom mic and put it on a stand, set up as if it was hovering over the officiant/bride/groom, and got a pretty good sound out of it. Would there be any reason not to use such a setup for the ceremony?>>>

In my opinion, most lav microphones are built to reproduce the frequency of the human voice fairly accurately at the expense of a poor reproduction of the adjacent higher and lower frequencies. I have one mic made by Shure that produces a marvelous sound over a very wide frequency range. It was part of an $800 plus VHF system I bought about ten years ago. Most of my lav mics are directional and cost less than $50. They capture the audio I need provided the are placed less than 12 inches from the sound source. Indeed, any mic needs to be placed in close proximity to the sound source if it is going to perform as designed.

The main objection to any kind of overhead mic is aesthetic. A collection of mechanical and electronic hardware is visually at odds with the idea of a "picture perfect" wedding...and the photographer will howl! If a flower festooned arch is being used I will try to hide a mic within the structure. Unfortunately, most of the arches being used in my area are not quite big enough to accomodate the bride,broom, and officiate. They usually end up standing in front of the arch, making my concealed mic useless.

Much appreciated Mr. Winkler, for everything.

Check it out:

Yesterday, I did the Couple's Love Story for my upcoming first wedding (April 9th), and it went really well, considering the circumstances.

To begin with, it was re-scheduled three times, from saturday to tuesday to wednesday to thursday at 12 noon. Bride calls and has me change it to 1pm. 12:45, walking out the door, bride has friend call and change to 1:30pm. I get there at 1:30 and there are friends at her house, one of which is doing her hair and the other getting ready to take a photo for the local paper. This is also her birthday and she is having dinner at 7pm...we have a schedule to deal with.

I get set up in the living room to do the love story interview and I'm waiting on her friend to do her hair. Her fiance is on the interview couch telling me I'm going to have to make this quick. Well, we have this to do, and then four more locations to go to, and several staged scenes...it's going to take a little while, but I dont tell him this, as I really have to make this happen for my demo DVD that I'll be using in the local arts and crafts festival on April 23rd, and I am close with her family who is being quite generous in hiring a first timer.

So, when she's ready and comes in, I am standing by one of my lights, ready to fire it up and I ask her friends to leave while we do this. They say they will go, but keep fiddling with stuff while one of thems 3 year old is getting a bit too close to the camera. I ask them to get him, and to please allow us some privacy and quite. They get miffed but go outside. We get the interview (went really well, very pleased) and then we're ready to head to the next location.

I dont know, you guys dont care about the whole story, but there were further dealings with their friends (who I am friends with also) that just got me hot and I demanded that they respect the fact that I had an appointment here of a professional nature and they would just have to get the paper photo later. It really got me, I had to get things going...not only would it be pulling teeth to set up another session, but I had no desire to do more later....today or never, and I really needed the money and the demo footage.

We got it all done at 6:45pm (remember, birthday dinner is at 7) and though it had to be a bit rushed with more perfection sacrifice than I would like, it came out more than passable. As I work with it in Vegas and wish for somewhat better footage, I am still giving them an above average (for around my area, you guys will smoke me anyday!) video with some very creative material.

Now, back to sweating the ceremony!

Daniel

I think Murphy has a particular pet peeve to insure things shouldn't go as planned. You did what was needed to be done...take control to insure you can meet your obligations to your client without running into the overtime issue.

Insofar as any wedding videographers being able to"smoke you anyday" solely on the basis of our experience....No way! Your enthusiasm and attention to detail already shows strength of committment. You are in the process of creating a style that is uniquely yours. There is no smoke here. Only growth. An ongoing process for all.

I think this is the most appropriate thread i've found to post my question..here it goes...

using a GL2 in wedding:

1. What's the best position of camera? panning zooming styles?
2. Do I need a second camera or lighting? if lighting, what item should i get (not expensive lights) and where will i put them...hire a man to hold it or make a stand for the light? How high should i place the light.

really need your advise guys, for i am having my first wedding shoot on september with a single camera, and probably an assistant. thanks

I think this is the most appropriate thread i've found to post my question..here it goes...

using a GL2 in wedding:

1. What's the best position of camera? panning zooming styles?
2. Do I need a second camera or lighting? if lighting, what item should i get (not expensive lights) and where will i put them...hire a man to hold it or make a stand for the light? How high should i place the light.

really need your advise guys, for i am having my first wedding shoot on september with a single camera, and probably an assistant. thanks

Hi Leonardo,

For the best results you need at least two cameras. If at all possible, rent a second GL2 for your upcoming wedding.

As far as the best position, if the church will allow it, place the camera you will operate at the front of the church, opposite side of the Bride. This will give you the best angle of the bride. If the second camera is unmanned, place it in the balcony. If there is not a balcony, place at the back of the church and as high as the tripod will go. An unmanned wide shot is not the most creative shot, but it will give you a shot to go to when you are re-adjusting your shot.

If your assistant will run the camera this is what to do. Tell your assistant not to move the camera while you are moving your camera. It is important to be able to see each other. If you can't see each other the alternative is to have wireless communication between the two of you.

I would not suggest adding lighting to the church. As far as the reception goes, an on camera light can be very helpful in a dark reception sight. At the cheaper end of things, Sony makes a little 10/20 light for around $100 and a battery to run it for $75-100. It will not throw light very far, which means you will need to be within 10 feet of the subject. A better light would come from NRG or Frezzi, but then they require more expensive batteries, but the results are much better.

As mentioned, a second camera is a great benefit. A single camera forces limitations upon you. How you handle audio could force additional limitations. Here is how I handled single camera ceremony shoots for a long time:

My limitations were:
1) Four wireless mic systems connected to audio mixer, then to camera.
This forced a tripod mounted camera at a single location throughout the entire ceremony.

I chose a position close to the aisle no more than 30' or 40' feet from the altar area. From this position I could have a front angle of at least part of everyone's entrance. By prior arrangement the bride and groom faced one another during the ceremony, allowing me a reasonable view of facial espressions.

2) Because the camera could not be paused during the ceremony any changes in focus during the ceremony (songs, unity candle, family/friend commentary, special rituals, etc) must be handled with a pan. For the camera movement make visual sense I had to know the sequence of imortant events within the ceremony and listen very carefully to the dialogue. There are moments in every ceremony where the dialogue clearly foreshadows the next event. Panning at that moment makes sense. I learned to plan my pans beforehand so I always knew where the pan would stop. To add visual interest I always used a "S" shaped pan movement, sometime combined with a slight zoom out/in.

Really big pans, like the 180 degree ones necessary during processional and recessionals were trimmed with a careful dissolve in post.

Unless the wedding site is really dark you should not need any additional lighting. Indeed, most houses of worship won't allow it. I've only used lighting twice in the last six years, and both were an absolute necessity. In both cases I used quartz video lights. The lights were carefully focused, diffused, and on dimmers to blend in with the existing architectural lighting.

Reception lighting is alltogether quite diffrent. Most of the time I try to avoid using the on camera light at all. When necessary, I use a 35 watt Cool Lux with a flip up diffusion filter. This allows me to fill in close up shots and also have some punch for subjects over 15 away. It is not totally satisfactory, however, as I have to be very careful with subjects in the 5' - 12' range. Very easy to overexpose.

When I shoot a 1 camera wedding, most of my pans are very fast, and never show in the final video. I agree with everyone else listen to what is being said, and you will get a feel of when to pan. In post I slow down the video to fill in the time where I took out the panning. This almost gives the feel of a 2 camera shoot. Also one tip I use when panning fast, I don't zoom out, and I don't look through the viewfinder. If you look at the lcd your pan will take forever. I move the camera to where I think the b&g (or whom ever I'm panning to) will be in the picture, next I quickly fine tune the tripod by looking at the lcd screen.

Also if I were to pan on the b&g and they were laughing (any any other emotion) don't slow this part down, instead just shoot a little more after they laugh, when they are sitting still, this will look much better slowed down.

If you pick up a NRG or frezzi light you can always use a small car battery from auto zone. They make a cigarette adapter that hooks into the battery, and this will power your light forever for about $25. But your not going to be very mobile.

Oh i see, thanks that's really helpful guys, then i should not bother for buying a halogen light right? since it is very bright. any particular model of NRG and frezzi your are using guys? maybe i will focus on getting a second camera.

will it be fine if a use a 1 CCD camera together with GL2?

OT: i was actually confused with the "S" movement of panning...how does it work? tilt up/down or soom in/out??? thanks again guys.

Regarding additional lighting: You need to insure you have the best natural looking exposure you can get for the subject, which is usually the foreground of the image. Most of the time you will be working in an environment which does not have controlled lighting conditions, so you do the best you can with exposure. If you have the opportunity to view clips members have posted for critique you will see that getting good subject exposure happens a lot. Additional lighting is for those situations which are beyond the natural limits of the camera. My advice would be to wait on the extra lighting issue until you have had a chance to thoroughly work with available light exposure issues. This will give you the experienced judgement factor you will need to choose the most useful additional lighting tool for your normal shooting situations.

There is nothing wrong with using a single chip camera. My workhorse of the '90's was the Panasonic AG-455 S-video camera, and it was very good. However, you must accept that the limitations of single chip vs three chip will be quite apparent. Choose camera angles carefully. Don't use wide angles. Stick to close-ups. The single chip cameras deal with narrow tone variations better than they do with wide tone variations.

The "S" pan movement. That was my post. Here is an example: The minister is in preach mode, saying some sort of mumbo jumbo, B&G are dutifully posed but hearing nothing. I start hearing all of the guests in the pews start shifting their seated positons. They're bored, and so am I. A good time to do a pan of the bridesmaids. I wait for an appropriate pause in the "blah-blah-blah". In one smooth movement I make a short pan right while zooming out just enough to pick up some of the guests in the first couple of rows then pan left to bring the maid of honor well into the frame. Continuing the pan left, I start a zoom in. The intention is to stop both the pan left and the zoom in in a close-up of the last bridesmaid in the row. Aways know where you will stop a pan or zoom. I use the minister's speech patterns as the cadence. A dynamic speaker demands I finish the entire movement within the pregnant pause. A more monotone minister gets a slower movement. That is why it is so important to listen to the dialogue of the ceremony, even if you don't understand the symbology. The entire movement must make visual sense. A common saying for stage actors is, "if you are going to blow a line, make it big. Then it looks like it was planned". If you were to have a birds-eye view of the pan it would loosely resemble an "S" shape.
Visually, because I have only one camera to use, I am taking a camera movement and briefly making it a focus of the viewer's attention. That should be forbidden. But I don't really have a choice. I've got to change camera angles, but I can't stop the camera, as it would compromise the audio. So I use the camera's movement to take the role of commentator to say, "let's look at something different".
Will the whole process be acceptable when I view it in post? Good question. I hope so, because I just made a decision to do something in a situation that won't be repeated.

So, that is one way to address this situation. I am sure there there are others. I've yet to have a client complain, but make no mistake, if I could have shot the event with two cameras, I'd have done it in a heartbeat. Still, it was quite fun to deal with the challenge.

I hope that this commentary has helped.

Mr. Winkler,

This really helps a lot, thanks again. just got confused...abotu what you said... "In one smooth movement I make a short pan right while zooming out just enough to pick up some of the guests in the first couple of rows then pan left to bring the maid of honor well into the frame. Continuing the pan left, I start a zoom in. The intention is to stop both the pan left and the zoom in in a close-up of the last bridesmaid in the row."

1. shortpan to right while zooming out?
2. pan left
3.pan left zooming in

was that right? i really got confused, what in my mind was:
1. short pan to right while zooming out
2. slightyly pan right
3. pan right while zooming in
4. slightyly pan right
5.pan right while zooming out. is that acceptable?

[1. shortpan to right while zooming out?]
2. pan left
3.pan left zooming in.

was that right? i really got confused, what in my mind was:
1. short pan to right while zooming out]

Yes. It takes practice, and a feather touch on the zoom control.

[2. slightly pan right]
No. If you are going to change camera angle and keep the viewer involved in the process you must first get to a wide enough angle to establish a frame of reference. Then you can lead wherever. The initial zoom out is to include the first couple rows of the pews to establish this reference frame. You actually change direction of the pan from right to left while the zoom-out is in process.
Then, with no more than a frame's worth of pause (if that), immediately start a zoom-in on the last bridesmaid in the row, stopping at a close-up. The entire process is one smooth motion at the same rate. The zoom-out/in rates are the same speed as the pan. It is all very fluid.

When I shoot with a single camera I use this technique of changing camera angles often. If, in the post process, I discover I can actually slow things down enough to allow a cut, I'll do it. If I can't make a cut look right, then I have this pan/zoom to fall back to without compromising the audio track.

Here is a description which might clarify. It came from a wedding I did last year:
The officiate is the bride's older sister. The ceremony script was written by the bride and her fiance', and conforms to no established ritual. It is a very laid-back affair...even reminds me of some 60's things of my youth.
Here, the officiate introduces one of the brides maids who is going to make a personal comment. The officiate makes the announcement, then turns to regognize the bridesmaid. That is my cue to make the zoom-out/pan. I follow the description I made above exactly. It takes me one second.

In post I discover it visually tends to work quite well with the mood of the ceremony as a whole. So, rather than make a cut transition, I keep it.

Basically, I have made the camera movement take a guiding role and made that movement look completely acceptable.

It took me years of practice to get the "feel of how things should happen".

Many feel it is poor camera work to include the camera's movement into the finished video. I have discovered that it can be made to fit in, but the dicision is best saved for the editing process. I have learned to plan my shoots to incorporate it as a way to solve a problem that might look clunky any other way.

I hope that helps.

Thanks Mr. Winkler,

Got to clarify some things. i want to establish where is your current position when shooting? i cannot visualize the "S" in the style you have mentioned, please enlighten me on your work. if it's possible can i have a sample of your work, just for the "S" panning part? thank would really appreciate that. here is my email leonardo.silva@ph.yokogawa.com and leonardosky77@yahoo.com or dings_2@hotmail.com

anyone can clarify how an "S" panning zomming is achieved? thanks in advance

Greets, Leonardo!

It's actually quite simple, and the basic concept leaves you a lot of room for innovation and improvisation.

Say youve got your camera on a specific point in the room framing the bride and groom and some of the maids and groomsmen, or whatever, and things have reached a point where you feel it's time to move a bit... You simply begin zooming out slowly while simultaneously panning the camera in the motion of the letter S, sweeping across the room in harmonious synch with the speed of the zooming.

Thanks Daniel, yeah i think it's easy if i can just visualize the "S"...here is what's on my mind to form the "S":
1. zooming out while panning left
2. continuously zooming out panning right
3. still zooming out and panning right

is it the way it goes...sorry a real newbie question...:)
anyway, i can fully visualize if anyone can send a video part where the "S" is resembled, my email is leonardosky77@yahoo.com or leonardodivideo@gmail.com or leonardo.silva@ph.yokogawa.com

Please i really need your help. hope get some of your sample "S" panning video
thanks in advance

is it the way it goes...sorry a real newbie question...:)
anyway, i can fully visualize if anyone can send a video part where the "S" is resembled, my email is leonardosky77@yahoo.com or leonardodivideo@gmail.com or leonardo.silva@ph.yokogawa.com

Please i really need your help. hope get some of your sample "S" panning video
thanks in advance

Did you ever receive the video as well as the diagram I sent you two days ago? Reply would be appreciated.

hi i haven't checked my email during the weekend, did you send it to the yahoo or the office email? if ever here is my email:
leonardosky77@yahoo.com
leonardodivideo@gmail.com
leonardo.silva@ph.yokogawa.com

thanks