The camcorder will be locked off as well, and that one I'll just leave in auto. Hope it does a good job.

These are great insurance policies and more. Just one thing to be aware of - they often benefit from having "backlight compensation" selected if it has that feature. A bride and groom standing in front of a bright window is an obvious scenario but even standing with a light wall in the background can give you a less than perfect exposure. The Panasonic b-cams that I use have this and it also adjusts itself on the fly during recording, so if the exposure varies e.g. because intermittent clouds keep on changing the amount of sunlight entering the room the cams will adjust for that by themselves.

Oh and one other thing with cams. If you use a ball and socket head pay special attention to leveling it so that you don't get a sloping horizon. So easy to do. Easy to correct in post but it involved loosing some of your composition due ti rotation and cropping. When you are setting it up try to get a tall person to stand for a moment at your target area as its very easy to misjudge the amount of height you need. OK that was three things :- )

Pete

FCPX should handle it no problem, though of course creating proxies for at least the multi cam sections is recommended (then export from the full res versions). I use FCPX all the time now.

If in doubt, record some 50p and 60p footage "now" and drop them on the same time line and see how it goes. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. Set both cameras up side by side then stand in front and clap, then wait 60 seconds (or better yet - 5 mins) and then clap again. Drop them on to the same sequence and see if the claps still line up. If they do you're good to go, if they don't then there is a little work to do.

In terms of batteries, perhaps I can offer one more tip. Get some small elastic bands and put them around the charged batteries. Remove the band when you put it on the camera. When you go looking for the next charged battery - they are the ones with the elastic bands still on them and it makes it much easier to find them when in a hurry or it's dark.

For the cards, store them face up in the case when they are blank and face down when they are full.

When you remove a lens cap put it straight in your pocket (same pocket every time). That way you'll never lose a cap because you'll know exactly where it is.

Get in to these few habits form the start and they will serve you well. I've never lost a cap, never tried to put a battery on that was already used and never tried to reuse a card that's already been used.

One more tip. Make sure the time/clock on each camera is synced to within a couple of seconds so that when you import them to FCPX all the files will be in the right order in the event. Nothing worse than having some footage out of sequence!

Thanks Dave, these are great tips!!!

I've been at a funeral all day today, so I'll try mixing it all up tomorrow.. there's a pre-wedding event, so I'll get some footage there and then people will be familiar with the camera / idea of video hopefully before the big day.

I'll check my cameras times as well - amazing tip!

It's all coming down to it now... really excited, but nervous too. Finger's crossed it all goes well...

Thank you for all of the help with preparation... hopefully, when you see the video, you will think that it has gone to some good use... but we will see! Thanks again Dave!!!

The camcorder will be locked off as well, and that one I'll just leave in auto. Hope it does a good job.

These are great insurance policies and more. Just one thing to be aware of - they often benefit from having "backlight compensation" selected if it has that feature. A bride and groom standing in front of a bright window is an obvious scenario but even standing with a light wall in the background can give you a less than perfect exposure. The Panasonic b-cams that I use have this and it also adjusts itself on the fly during recording, so if the exposure varies e.g. because intermittent clouds keep on changing the amount of sunlight entering the room the cams will adjust for that by themselves.

Oh and one other thing with cams. If you use a ball and socket head pay special attention to leveling it so that you don't get a sloping horizon. So easy to do. Easy to correct in post but it involved loosing some of your composition due ti rotation and cropping. When you are setting it up try to get a tall person to stand for a moment at your target area as its very easy to misjudge the amount of height you need. OK that was three things :- )

Pete

Thanks Peter, I'm unsure if the X800 has this feature, but I'll Google it now, thank you!

Also, I have a great tripod thanks to the recommendations here. I'm using a Sachtler Ace, which allows you to ensure the horizon is perfectly in line using the bowl and the bubble level.

Great tip on the height as well!!! Thanks a lot Peter!

Hi All,

Back from my shoot; absolutely loved it!!! Just been through and reviewed all of my footage and the wonder as to HOW to edit comes into play... I've thought and thought and thought about the shots... but actually putting them together is a whole 'nother skill that I have yet to encompass into my toolkit! That said, I've just favourited all of the segments that I like... and it's still over four hours... but that's including the speeches and ceremony, of which there are two cameras - so about an hour and a half otherwise...

Finger's crossed I can do a good edit... definitely a great job to have though, and the photographers for the day were extremely helpful and even paid compliments to my etiquette and for being there when necessary throughout the day.

A few things I've learned:

- Despite being polite, still take your shots.
- Get close enough, don't worry that you might block someone's view for a temporary moment if you're going to get a shot worth keeping.
- Shoot with a professional zoom lens throughout the day, as 2.8 is plenty and swapping primes is a challenging compromise and often leads to laziness - staying wide, rather than getting close.
- Being polite pays dividends - recommendations and offers of help.
- Natural light, when used effectively, is gorgeous.
- Even though you're capturing an event, it's important to interact with the bride and groom to try and get some decent shots... it's extremely difficult to capture a story without some direction... at least that's how it seems now... I can see why people have a first look etc. It must help the storyline endlessly... I really need a storyline of sorts for mine... I like the natural documentary... but I missed the dress being fitted as I was also a Groomsmen and needed to have my own pictures taken...

Things I need to learn:

- How to cut from one shot to the next...
- How to tell a story...
- How to capture great, natural light myself...
- How to gain enough footage to tell a complete story...

Etc.

I captured nearly seven hours of footage... it looks great in some cases... but matching it with a song seems like it's only about the bride and groom, yet I need to put in family shots and b-roll too...

A huge thank you to all who have posted in this thread... you have helped me to shoot a film that could be quite successful...

I have a slider shot of the wedding dress hung up in front of a window that looks like something you'd see in a film... I LOVE THAT SHOT! But it's the only shot that I'm truly in love with... others are great, but they're not WOW!

Any recommendations about how to piece together footage?

There are so many ways to edit things together that it's almost impossible to guide you in any specific way without actually having footage to deal with.

The first question I have is how good is the audio, not just the quality, but the content. Were the speeches the type where you can pull sound bites out and use them overlaid on other video, or where they unsuitable?

How did the vows & rings go (audio)? In terms of highlights these can sometimes be awesome, but only sometimes.

If all you have is great video and not much in the way of usable audio (listen for background sounds too) then you are making a music video, and that's one way of doing it. If you have great audio sound bites then that's a completely different edit.

So, without knowing what you have..... that's a tough call.

There are so many ways to edit things together that it's almost impossible to guide you in any specific way without actually having footage to deal with.

The first question I have is how good is the audio, not just the quality, but the content. Were the speeches the type where you can pull sound bites out and use them overlaid on other video, or where they unsuitable?

How did the vows & rings go (audio)? In terms of highlights these can sometimes be awesome, but only sometimes.

If all you have is great video and not much in the way of usable audio (listen for background sounds too) then you are making a music video, and that's one way of doing it. If you have great audio sound bites then that's a completely different edit.

So, without knowing what you have..... that's a tough call.


Hi Dave,

I don't know if you remember, but the bride didn't want any audio in this video... the groom wanted the speeches separately, so I've got really great audio for that... but for the four minute music video, I just have the music... although I've added in sounds of claps and cheering from the camera... which I think adds, rather than detracts from the video...

If I upload it to Vimeo with a password, then you'll be able to see what I have, I guess...? I've finished the video in a one day edit. Four minutes long... it's in colour at the minute... but I do have one black and white image in there... mainly because I forgot to take it out on export early this morning.

The bride wants the video in black and white... I think I prefer colour... but I know I have a lot of colour grading and improving of the video to do, because the X800 constantly changed its exposure and generally got it wrong as an unmanned camera.

Otherwise, I do need to do some video stabilisation as well.

And there are a few other things that I'm unhappy with, i.e. the cutting of the speeches... but I was running out of time... I could remove them, but she wants it as a chronological film.

Anyways, I'll begin uploading it to Vimeo and then I'll post it password protected so that nobody stumbles across it by accident. Hopefully you can take a look at it? It's only a one-day edit, so I don't know what you will think, and it's my first video too. But hopefully it's decent. I quite like some of the shots in there, but on others, I had to raise the monopod so high that I couldn't alter focus.

Either way, I'll have it uploaded in a few hours, more than likely.

Thanks for all the help Dave!!!

Here's the video with a password: 170414

Private Video on Vimeo

Please let me know what works and what doesn't :) I know I have all of the issues posted above, but this is just a quick one day edit... I'm going to spend a few more days on it when I get the time, but a pair of fresh eyes would be great.

Thanks!!!

Congrats Craig, you pulled it off :- ) I was worried we may have spooked you with all the technical tips to try and remember but no you stayed on top of it.

It seems churlish to critique things when this first effort by someone inexperienced has worked so well. Bit of colour balancing here bit of missed focus there but so what. Other than that I'd aim to get the music to finish just slightly after the video rather than as is. And I'd crop at the ring exchanges so that just the upper bodies show - faces cut in half is a no-no. I think the chronological order works really well, no confusing or inappropriate or cheesy vocals popping up in the "wrong" places. Not sure why the bride would want it in black and white, the existing black and white could maybe be a little more contrasty.

Yep you've done great :- )

Pete

Congrats Craig, you pulled it off :- ) I was worried we may have spooked you with all the technical tips to try and remember but no you stayed on top of it.

It seems churlish to critique things when this first effort by someone inexperienced has worked so well. Bit of colour balancing here bit of missed focus there but so what. Other than that I'd aim to get the music to finish just slightly after the video rather than as is. And I'd crop at the ring exchanges so that just the upper bodies show - faces cut in half is a no-no. I think the chronological order works really well, no confusing or inappropriate or cheesy vocals popping up in the "wrong" places. Not sure why the bride would want it in black and white, the existing black and white could maybe be a little more contrasty.

Yep you've done great :- )

Pete

Thanks Peter! Haha no, not at all! I've found all of your tips to be extremely helpful, and I'm really thankful to this forum and its posters for helping me to do a decent job with my first wedding... it was extremely challenging at times, and I wish I had a second tripod, as shooting with a monopod for a whole ceremony proved to be extremely challenging on the arms haha but apart from that, I was really pleased with the opening slider shots, particularly the one with the wedding dress. Otherwise, I found it really difficult to fit the entire wedding into one song... but hopefully they'll be pleased with it. I'm going to take it down after a few days, make the changes, and then I'll be back with the finished product.

Definitely need to do the colour balancing next, as well as stabilising some of the footage. I have to admit that I've never cropped footage before, but I know how to do it - so I'll definitely get rid of that chin! It was frustrating me, but I so desperately wished that I'd framed for her face as well.

The missed focus on the train line was frustrating too, but I had to put my monopod to full size to shoot above the photographers (who were really, really helpful on the day!). But realise that missed focus is apparent in places too.

Thanks Pete... the black and white is going to be the final finish... I have no idea how to perfect black and white either... but I'll use the filter in FCPX and see what I can manage... I think I need to do quite a bit still with all of the technical side, but I just wanted to complete the story...

Any ideas as to which clips you'd trim or take away to fit the story in perfectly? Or would you just remove the final clip and trim it a little tighter in places?

Thank you so much for watching and helping me, I really appreciate everyone's thoughts, opinions and advice.

I guess my final question would be, do you think I have what it takes to make it in the industry? I think I'd really need a second tripod, and a glidecam... but I'd be interested in doing this for a living now... and the photographers even said they'd pass on my recommendation too... so I'm thinking that maybe it's time to take it seriously...

Otherwise, what an amazing job you all have!!! I absolutely loved the preparation, the shoot, the day, the edit! etc.

Thanks again!!! :)

Craig, requests for feedback don't tend to get many responses. You could try re-posting in the samples section as in this thread its rather lost.

What you do from here to this film is really up to you. I'm sure the bride will be pleased and of course she won't know anything about what other possibilities you may have considered.

It is pretty much deliverable in my view and so yes you could charge for future work. But don't underestimate how challenging many weddings can be. You would have benefited from the good will and tolerance towards you as a guest at this one. Try it, you might like it. Or you might not :- )

Pete

Craig, for a first time you did good.

If I had to make any observations they would be:

• Over use of slo-mo. Some people like it, some don't. It can look odd when there is 'full speed' audio like applause etc. The brain can get confused between what it's seeing and hearing so it just looks wrong.

• Coming back to a shot too many times, such as the confetti throwing. You come back to it 3 times with another clip (the same one?) splitting each time. That didn't work for me. Sometimes it's better to do something awesome and move on rather than coming back to it and people get bored of what would otherwise have been a memorable moment that made them want to replay the entire video.

• Definitely some odd cuts at times of wobbles etc that could be worked around, and other times applying some stabilisation would help big time.

• Definitely finish the video before the audio (or at least at the same time). Hanging over the end looked like it was a mistake and there should have been more audio that was somehow missing.

Working on the colour (and B&W) takes time and experience. FCPX built in colour capabilities are superb compared to many other NLEs on the market, you just have to learn how to use them (it's really easy). Adding multiple colour corrections, maybe with masks and colour selections can make a huge difference if you know the look you're going for. Don't try to do everything in one go.

Overall a great first attempt, well done.

Super job Craig! I find its very similar to my style. Effectively just a chronological highlights. Guys who charge more than me would tend to mix it up a little and use audio overlays from specches or vows etc... But I'm happy with this style.

One very small suggestion, I would cut you slider shots after the movement has began and cut to next shot before the movement has reached its end point. It just feels better IMO.

But yea, well done!

These are great insurance policies and more. Just one thing to be aware of - they often benefit from having "backlight compensation" selected if it has that feature. A bride and groom standing in front of a bright window is an obvious scenario but even standing with a light wall in the background can give you a less than perfect exposure. The Panasonic b-cams that I use have this and it also adjusts itself on the fly during recording, so if the exposure varies e.g. because intermittent clouds keep on changing the amount of sunlight entering the room the cams will adjust for that by themselves.

Pete

Just be a little wary however of turning the backlight compensation off if you don't need it - I have it on my Sony CX730 cams and it can blow out the bride's dress easily - I just enable it if there is a window in shot and it's going to be unattended.

Pete

Craig, requests for feedback don't tend to get many responses. You could try re-posting in the samples section as in this thread its rather lost.

What you do from here to this film is really up to you. I'm sure the bride will be pleased and of course she won't know anything about what other possibilities you may have considered.

It is pretty much deliverable in my view and so yes you could charge for future work. But don't underestimate how challenging many weddings can be. You would have benefited from the good will and tolerance towards you as a guest at this one. Try it, you might like it. Or you might not :- )

Pete

Hi Peter, thanks for your tips! I'm probably going to post it in there when it's completely finished... interestingly, the groom just asked if it would be possible to change their song lol. So I just said that I can do that during my next week-long holiday; otherwise, I'd fall behind at work. Either way, I accept the challenge, given that it'll only benefit my editing skills, which leave quite a bit to be desired still.

:-) Very true... I'm going to take on board all of the responses and feedback that I've received so far and try my best to better the edit that I have so far on Friday / Saturday. I'm going to show the video to the bride on Saturday evening.

As for doing it, I think I'm going to go ahead and have a whirl at this... I think I'm already one foot in with all of the money that I've spent on equipment. After looking at the mistakes that I made on this shoot, I can only learn and get better. When I look at the competition, I think I can produce videos that would be just as good after gaining more experience. So, we'll see...

Craig, for a first time you did good.

If I had to make any observations they would be:

• Over use of slo-mo. Some people like it, some don't. It can look odd when there is 'full speed' audio like applause etc. The brain can get confused between what it's seeing and hearing so it just looks wrong.

• Coming back to a shot too many times, such as the confetti throwing. You come back to it 3 times with another clip (the same one?) splitting each time. That didn't work for me. Sometimes it's better to do something awesome and move on rather than coming back to it and people get bored of what would otherwise have been a memorable moment that made them want to replay the entire video.

• Definitely some odd cuts at times of wobbles etc that could be worked around, and other times applying some stabilisation would help big time.

• Definitely finish the video before the audio (or at least at the same time). Hanging over the end looked like it was a mistake and there should have been more audio that was somehow missing.

Working on the colour (and B&W) takes time and experience. FCPX built in colour capabilities are superb compared to many other NLEs on the market, you just have to learn how to use them (it's really easy). Adding multiple colour corrections, maybe with masks and colour selections can make a huge difference if you know the look you're going for. Don't try to do everything in one go.

Overall a great first attempt, well done.

Thanks Dave, that's all I could expect to do really... I wanted to do well for my first wedding... but I also want to do well for any wedding! I want to get better.

Thanks Dave. Given that I shot in 50p, I felt the video looked rather strange in playback? I've been shooting at 24p since I got my GH3, but then decided to shoot 50p for this to allow for slow motion - which they liked in other videos. I think in future, I would shoot 24p for the most part of the day, and 50p perhaps in the preps or during the isle walk - when it can be difficult to get the shot, but also when the viewer might want to observe slow-mo... I can only offer my thoughts really, as I don't yet have the answer. In any case, that's why the video ended up in slow-mo throughout. Would you consider mixing it up? Or keeping it as is? Also, would you take out the applause?

Thanks, that's a great tip! The shot that I come back to is a different one, but from the same moment. In one they are laughing / smiling, and in the other they are kissing. I guess I will replace the end of the tunnel walk with something else, whilst coming back to it twice? As I liked the feel of the switching between two different events... might just be me though =/

Definitely going to apply stabilisation! This was a one-day edit, so I already know that I need to work on the colour, as well as the sound and the stabilisation. As well as considering some other shots...

OK! I'm tempted to take out the last cut completely, as I don't even like the slow-mo on it! That'll bring it right down anyways and I'll fade out with the song and them staring at one another whilst dancing.

That sounds really interesting! I'm going to research all of that with FCPX!!! Cheers.

Thanks a lot Dave, you've helped me unconditionally for months and I really appreciate it. Thank you.

Super job Craig! I find its very similar to my style. Effectively just a chronological highlights. Guys who charge more than me would tend to mix it up a little and use audio overlays from specches or vows etc... But I'm happy with this style.

One very small suggestion, I would cut you slider shots after the movement has began and cut to next shot before the movement has reached its end point. It just feels better IMO.

But yea, well done!

Thanks Clive! Yeah, I quite liked how the video turned out after a day's edit. I'm hoping to make it even better at the weekend and take on board everything that's been said so far!!! I also want to redo the video with a song that I've fell in love with on numerous wedding videos so far. It's one that I saw Ray Roman use on Creative Live and Noa Put has also used it here. In that video, I want to use the groom's speech, as well as him reading his wife's message on the morning. Unfortunately, I stuck to what the bride wanted and didn't consider recording audio, except for the speeches when I was allowed. But I wish I'd just stuck an audio recorder on my camera and ran with it... but I can just see what I have and work with it, as it'll only be to play around, anyways. Very impressed with the GH3 and how it contained the sound of the dances too - reasonably clear.

Thanks for the slider suggestion! I'll take a look at that too! I do see how the bride's dress shot freezes for half a second before it's cut, so I'll work on that.

Otherwise, are there any tutorials on how to cut? I think it's one of the most challenging aspects of editing... which clip do you select next, and when do you cut? It's difficult to know from a novice's perspective.

Just be a little wary however of turning the backlight compensation off if you don't need it - I have it on my Sony CX730 cams and it can blow out the bride's dress easily - I just enable it if there is a window in shot and it's going to be unattended.

Pete

Definitely, this is what happened to my footage. It just constantly jumped between underexposed and overexposed because there was a row of windows in front of them, and one behind. It fooled the camera no end, and I think I would have benefitted from just setting the settings manually and hoping the light wouldn't change too much.

It was left unattended though, so maybe there is no winning in this situation?

Definitely, this is what happened to my footage. It just constantly jumped between underexposed and overexposed because there was a row of windows in front of them, and one behind. It fooled the camera no end, and I think I would have benefitted from just setting the settings manually and hoping the light wouldn't change too much.

It must depend on the camera model. I have three Panasonic TM's that I use as b-cams and they reliably change the exposure on the fly. And of course the more b-cams you run the greater your chances of having an alternative nice shot whilst one cam is making its mind up what to do. The Pannys always amaze me with their intelligence though - it feels like cheating :- )

In the scenario you described maybe you needed to choose an alternative position for that cam - one in which the composition might not have been as good but the ambient light falling on the couple more consistent.

Don't get too analytical about your results. I didn't really notice stability issues because the storytelling engrossed me. Yes there was quite a bit of slo-mo but again it worked well in this film. And from a purely business point of view you just have to meet a certain quality threshold to satisfy the client, then anything more is really for your benefit not theirs.

Pete

Definitely, this is what happened to my footage. It just constantly jumped between underexposed and overexposed because there was a row of windows in front of them, and one behind. It fooled the camera no end, and I think I would have benefitted from just setting the settings manually and hoping the light wouldn't change too much.

It must depend on the camera model. I have three Panasonic TM's that I use as b-cams and they reliably change the exposure on the fly. And of course the more b-cams you run the greater your chances of having an alternative nice shot whilst one cam is making its mind up what to do. The Pannys always amaze me with their intelligence though - it feels like cheating :- )

In the scenario you described maybe you needed to choose an alternative position for that cam - one in which the composition might not have been as good but the ambient light falling on the couple more consistent.

Don't get too analytical about your results. I didn't really notice stability issues because the storytelling engrossed me. Yes there was quite a bit of slo-mo but again it worked well in this film. And from a purely business point of view you just have to meet a certain quality threshold to satisfy the client, then anything more is really for your benefit not theirs.

Pete

Wow... some setup having so many unmanned!! Churches don't mind? The venue I was shooting at only had the isle for people to move around... therefore, I was stuck in the corner. I only had one other corner that I could have conceivably used, as I think the two people who were running the service itself may not have liked the tripod behind them... I may be wrong though, as I never asked!!! :) I guess this would have solved my problem - but at the time, I had no idea... just chalk it up as a learning experience.

Thanks... that's a great compliment (engrossed). I am falling in love with storytelling and wedding cinematography. Watching the greats in the industry, as well as the people here have me in awe! It's amazing what can be done!

Thanks again for all of your help, I really want to grow and develop my craft and I think this forum is a wonderful place to learn.

Are there any threads that are particular standouts as to starting a wedding videography business? And if you shoot 30-40 weddings a year on average, does that mean that your average wage is around £30k a year?

That's all I want to make to begin with, anything thereafter is a bonus. It would justify my move into the industry.

Tripods were not designed to handle lateral movements, NO MATTER IF YOU PAID $100 or $1000 FOR THE TRIPOD!

For $40 you can get 2 light stands that will do better than most tripods.

I own the 3 foot Duzi slider and I've been there done that.

Theres a 3 foot version of the Duzi now?!? When did this come out?

Theres a 3 foot version of the Duzi now?!? When did this come out?

Around September of last year. It's a great slider, light and the footage from it is great. Despite not using others, you can tell it's well made and worth the price. I'd recommend it.