Hello Guys,

Back with another one...

Kimberly & Christopher - YouTube



Couple of questions

1. How do you communicate your WB with your second shooter if you uses them?

2. Monopods... How do you get the best steady shots from them during run & Gun Movements ??

I do thank you again for taking the time to help me....

Hello Guys,

Couple of questions
1. How do you communicate your WB with your second shooter if you uses them?

2. Monopods... How do you get the best steady shots from them during run & Gun Movements ??

I do thank you again for taking the time to help me....

Are these trick questions?
Answer 1. I would say 'Point your camera at something white and use the white balance set'
Answer 2. If you are moving, only use it when you stop and try to keep it vertical when you do use it.
:-)

Roger

Gotchaaa. ...

No let me be a bit more specific... I was actually talking about Kelvin #s not exactly WB..

what i meant about monopod is when you are holding it for a long time... sometimes during weddings we get stuck capturing something important and it is for a while, how do you keep it steady ? i always find my footage to have a sway in it.. ( not extremely, but a slow and steady sway)

Roger said it, ‘keep it vertical’. When you first set up be sure it is comfortably vertical. Hold it really light between the fingers of both hands and check that it stays put. Once it’s comfortably on center, doesn’t move, then note something in the viewfinder screen that’s a ‘landmark’ and pin the cam on that. From that point, if the cam is panned or adjusted it can become a crap shoot to see if it’s vertically balanced so, yes, it’ll drift.

Does the head have a bubble? Maybe start keeping an eye on it but make sure it’s working properly first.

Editorial comment: As for steady shots, I’m beginning to think they don’t really matter that much anymore. There’s a lot of TV programming and movies, I mean productions with like five minutes of credits, where a lot of it is shot handheld with apparently relatively concern to having a smooth or steady shot. This isn’t your grandma’s video/movie world anymore!

Don't keep it vertical!

it may work for some but I find that I get a Steadier shot having the leg on an angle - using my legs and the monopod to form a tripod if that makes sense.

Sometimes I'll angle the leg out in front and lean into it or even put it between my legs and lean one leg against it.

To be honest, if you are finding that you are regularly taking shots that give you difficulty holding a monopod steady, you may be better off using a lightweight tripod. I just kick the legs together on my velbon, grip it by the central column and use it like a monopod if I am working quickly.

Roger

I agree with Paul, use your legs and the monopod as a tripod. This may give you some ideas https://www.nikonians.org/monopods/what_monopod_3.html.

I will add that I have had a cheap monopod for years and never could get a steady shot with it, however I recently bought the Manfrotto MVM 500A expecting little, but it works for me.

Dave

Alan, nobody has mentioned your video so not sure if you wanted any comments at all. It's a totally different style to my own, but I think you have edited it very well and made very good use of slider shots, depth of field and focus pulling. The video maintains it pace well and has some quite imaginative shots.

I don't like the total removal of original sound, but that is not a criticism, just a personal preference. Negatives for me would be that there is a lot of burnout on the whites, particularly the dress outside, but sometimes inside as well. I don't know what camera/s you used, presumably DSLR from the look, but using ND filters can help to improve matters on bright days with high contrast conditions. There were also a few focus issues at times and they are things that you really want to get right if you are putting your best output into a highlights video.

Overall I think it was well filmed and edited, just a bit of tightening up on some of the camera settings would improve things. Just my personal opinion of course.

Roger

I do agree with Roger's comments too..not that he is a fellow videographer, but because he is right! Exposure needs to be looked at very carefully ... the priest was totally blown out at one point and you really need to be very careful about focus ..On bridal entry the bridesmaid was very fuzzy ..There are times at weddings when shallow DOF can be overdone and you need to be a lot more accurate with focus especially on bridal entry. Window blowouts always look ugly and I always make a habit of sitting on the window sill when I can so the window is out of shot ..you can of course use it now and again in a backlight shot... same goes with the dress ....a reposition would have been a lot better.

Yeah, it's a video not a slideshow so add some live sound with the music..it will make it a lot more real!!

Just my 2 cents of course!!!

1. How do you communicate your WB with your second shooter if you uses them?


Before each big moment (ceremony, entrance, cake cutting/etc.) my second shooter and I will quickly match our white balance. The thing that we miss the most, in regard to white balance, is during the reception last the sun goes down. If you have to consistently change as the light changes it can be tough.

I love Rogers and Chris' comments. Reminds me of some feedback I get from my videos I send out to Couples. I always feel I get the highest compliments of my work when there are the amendments requests included in the message. Like the sweetener before the axe falls. "I really like the video, its perfect, but...." It's the bit after the 'but' that the message is really about.

Shakey footage with a monopod is a risk and to be honest only avoided if you have some good feet to it. Mine can stand on its own once balanced. Okay I'm there watching like a hawk, hand close by in case it falls. With practise, you can balance it quite quickly even outside, windy day excluded.

Okay some run n gun situations can be more difficult, but try and make movement part of the shot. Don't force a steady shot if the tools can't deliver. I grab shots with camera panning left to right, up and down. Even slight deliberate movement will help prevent any shake being noticeable.

As for white balance, kelvin settings can guarantee a match, even if both need colour correcting after. Failing that, preset to a bit of white and manually adjust if possible.

we had problems with monopod footage that resembled something taken from a boat in high seas :-)

so I replaced it with a carbon fibre monopod. from a company called Sirui.

The monopod has three feet that can be spread out to give extra stabilisation.

Does a good job and lessens fatigue etc.

I am seriously thinking of getting the sirui one. Much cheaper than manfrotto..saw it being used by another photographer the other day...

it's pretty well put together, although I'm not a big fan of the twist grip to tighten the extension, I would much prefer the traditional locking flip lever style.

Be aware that it's still a monopod and i wouldn't leave it free standing unattended. Also it will sway a bit when you place it and take your hands off, for a time before stabilising and becoming steady.

Very handy in cramped places where a tripod is not feasible

For white balance you just have to actually talk to each other... and of course in a large space like a church, the light may be different in various spaces, and from different angles (had one church with sunlight, tungsten, and a yellow cast through the stain glass...*sigh*). We try to setup our cameras, then have someone stand where the vows will be, and check the WB from each... then, if the light might be different, we have the person move to the aisle and check again.

As for the video, agreed on the audio, but also... I think your brides might appreciate you leaving out the parts where they're not wearing make-up yet. Other small note.. maybe put the big black microphone on his black tux jacket, not the white tie.

------------------------

My only serious criticism... Maybe I'm just in a mood this morning, but for me, it was a little dull. There was no peak, no crescendo in it. Each moment is treated with the same energy and/or reverence as the others. Maybe that was because of the audio, or the song just isn't my cup of tea (though it would seem to fit the energy of a reception pretty well). Don't know. I'm sure there are smarter people than me to chime in with more trust worthy opinions.

I used the Sirui monopod last weekend for the first time. Other than having to get used to the restrictions a monopod can bring as far as fast paced action is concerned I was very pleased with it. It's very solid yet flexible.