First, I have to say this site is excellent. I've been lurking the past few days reading up on some old posts, which answered several questions that I've had.

A bit about me, I've been involved in the media department in my church for the past 8 years, which is what really sparked my desire to shoot and edit video professionally. The begining of the year, I decided to make my hobby my profession and started my own wedding videography business.

But down to my real question, since I have my first real client, I want to make sure I have all of my bases covered.

What I have:
GL2
An old Canon Optura (hopefully I'll be able to rent an XL1 instead)
Tripod w/ lanc (It's not the best, but it works for now)
Audio-Technica Pro 88w (for the officiant)
Audio-Technica shotgun mic, I forgot the model (for ambient capture)
Iriver on the way, I would have never thought of this without this forum (for the vows)
Glidecam 2000 pro (for the reception)
3 BP-915 and 2 BP-945
Headphones

Is there anything else that I might need?

I also was called to help film a wedding at my church a few months ago. I switched cameras for the ceremony(we have a 3 camera setup w/ a live switcher), and I ended up shooting and editing the reception as well. Since I ended up doing most of the work, I decided to make a highlight montage, so let me know what you think.

http://onespecialmoment.com/Demo%20HQ.wmv

Ken,

As for any missed bases, you should look into a low-powered (10-40 watts) on-camera light for your GL2 -- especially since that camera has 1/4" CCD chips instead of the larger 1/3" and 1/2" chips used in bigger camcorders. Smaller CCDs = more grain in dim lighting. The GL2 is certainly up to task -- my two assistants both use them -- but in the darkest of dark banquet halls.

I'm curious about the use of the shotgun mic for ambient, "nat" sound. By rejecting sound from the rear and sides, a shotgun microphone limits the recorded room ambience. May just be a difference of personal preference. I record ambient sound through an external stereo microphone on my rear camera; if using my DVC80, I use the built-in stereo mic it sounds that good and is not "tinny." Recording in stereo, in my opinion, increases the sense of realism by hearing different sounds come from different locations; for example, a cough coming from the left and a giggle on the right. Of course, I still lower or even mute the abient sound during vows and readings, but applause and singing sounds great in stereo and gives more of a feeling of being there.

Thanks for posting the WMV clip. I'll be sure to check it out.

Good luck, and enjoy!

TJB

Ken,

As for any missed bases, you should look into a low-powered (10-40 watts) on-camera light for your GL2 -- especially since that camera has 1/4" CCD chips instead of the larger 1/3" and 1/2" chips used in bigger camcorders. Smaller CCDs = more grain in dim lighting. The GL2 is certainly up to task -- my two assistants both use them -- but in the darkest of dark banquet halls.

I'm curious about the use of the shotgun mic for ambient, "nat" sound. By rejecting sound from the rear and sides, a shotgun microphone limits the recorded room ambience. May just be a difference of personal preference. I record ambient sound through an external stereo microphone on my rear camera; if using my DVC80, I use the built-in stereo mic it sounds that good and is not "tinny." Recording in stereo, in my opinion, increases the sense of realism by hearing different sounds come from different locations; for example, a cough coming from the left and a giggle on the right. Of course, I still lower or even mute the abient sound during vows and readings, but applause and singing sounds great in stereo and gives more of a feeling of being there.

Thanks for posting the WMV clip. I'll be sure to check it out.

Good luck, and enjoy!

TJB

Now that I think about it, I'll just use the camera mic for now instead of the shotgun.

So other then the light, I pretty much have everything covered?