Nick & Dora Wedding Highlights at DVinfo.net

Nick & Dora Wedding Highlights · March 15th, 2010, 10:03 AM

An ordinary Saturday last August in my hometown shooting a low-profile wedding. Not grandiose stuff (as some weddings that will follow soon), but we liked the mood of this one.

Any comments are always welcome.

Sarah Pendergraft · March 17th, 2010, 07:08 PM

This is a beautiful video. I like the mix of color grading. It may not be grandiose, but we all have "nothing special" weddings and like your tag line says, it's good to share them along with the over-the-top ones.

My only critiques are very much personal opinion. I don't really like all of the moving & zooming in the beginning. I think if it had truly been 8mm or 16mm film it would have had that vintage quality about it, but the crisp video made shaky and B&W just didn't fit for me. And I would have liked to hear some vows or toasts somewhere. You have SO much good footage, but at some point it did kind of just feel like pretty pictures over music.

Other than that, I really like it. You captured a lot with steadicam/glidecam too. How much of the day do you spend on it?

Nice work.

Dimitris Mantalias · March 18th, 2010, 02:47 AM

Thank you Sarah. To tell the truth, we also thought about doing vintage in the beginning but we changed our minds later, I don't know why, maybe we were wrong after all. :) As for vows etc, we didn't put any because there aren't any in a Greek wedding... Priests read some ancient Christian texts in old Greek all the time and we understand as much as you would do when we listen to that language. :) And this is what I am most jealous of when I watch videos from US and Canada. For you over there, vows seem like a normality, but to us it seems like something unique!

About the steady footage, we actually use glidecam mainly at the dancing sessions, when all families go for the traditional dances and also for the reception entrance and couple's dance. All the other footage (preparations, ceremony, photosession) we use only the Varizoom's Flowpod. It's small, you can do steady shots and also static shots. It takes some time to master so it will give the impression of the "actual" steady equipment, but it's worth it. Recently though we added some new gear for playing, like 7Ds, glidetrack (ok, we had that since 2009 but used it only for the more elaborate packages) and the absolutely gorgeous Omni-Tracker. I think that 2010 will be full of interesting experiments!

Thanks again for commenting! :)

PS. About my singature though, it's actually a mockery about the wedding video industry! :)

John De Rienzo · March 18th, 2010, 01:31 PM

Hi Dimitris.

I liked the overall feel of the highlights, and the way you use movement within the shots.

Liked the shot of the bride waiting in the car and low shot of walking down the stairs.

I did notice a few out of focus shots and overexposed shots. Not sure if thats done in post!

The only thing I found distracting, and not really your fault! is when the B+G look into the camera while posing but in a way that is not natural, but more of not knowing what to do. I would personally leave these shots out, or give them a little direction!

I'm sure the B+G will absolutely love it.

Thx for sharing.

Cheers.
John De Rienzo

Dimitris Mantalias · March 18th, 2010, 02:11 PM

Hi John and thanks for the feedback!

The out-of-focus are not made in post but they were manual and intentional! :) With the exception of the steady shot at 1:12-1:16 which lost focus (and probably it shouldn't be at the final product) the other shots are intentionally that way, Net quality is not helping much, but in the final DVD, the focus-defocus from one point to the other is clear. Overexposure done in post, but you know, to my eyes it's not really overexposure! :)) Just a creative decision I guess.

Also you are right about some of the photosession shots.

PS I can't wait to start editing some mean stuff we have lying in a locked drawer. Hope that soon we'll come to that.

Sarah Pendergraft · March 18th, 2010, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dimitris Mantalias

Thank you Sarah. To tell the truth, we also thought about doing vintage in the beginning but we changed our minds later, I don't know why, maybe we were wrong after all. :) As for vows etc, we didn't put any because there aren't any in a Greek wedding... Priests read some ancient Christian texts in old Greek all the time and we understand as much as you would do when we listen to that language. :) And this is what I am most jealous of when I watch videos from US and Canada. For you over there, vows seem like a normality, but to us it seems like something unique!

About the steady footage, we actually use glidecam mainly at the dancing sessions, when all families go for the traditional dances and also for the reception entrance and couple's dance. All the other footage (preparations, ceremony, photosession) we use only the Varizoom's Flowpod. It's small, you can do steady shots and also static shots. It takes some time to master so it will give the impression of the "actual" steady equipment, but it's worth it. Recently though we added some new gear for playing, like 7Ds, glidetrack (ok, we had that since 2009 but used it only for the more elaborate packages) and the absolutely gorgeous Omni-Tracker. I think that 2010 will be full of interesting experiments!

Thanks again for commenting! :)

PS. About my singature though, it's actually a mockery about the wedding video industry! :)

No vows... that is a bummer. Sometimes they're just routine, but other times they can make for very tender moments.

I think that's pretty impressive that you did so much of that with a flowpod. We have a friend who uses one and I don't think he has ever got it to look that much like a steadicam or glidecam.

As for your tagline, that's too funny. I thought it was completely serious. Far too often we only share our most elaborate, expensive weddings on forums and it's good to see what we can all do with an "average" wedding (not that any wedding is average to the couple, but you know what I mean).

Susanto Widjaja · March 23rd, 2010, 01:56 AM

Good work Dimitris!

One suggestion though, try to watch your levelling. I see that there are a lot of shots (especially the steadicam shots) that are not level with the horizon.

:)

Santo

Dimitris Mantalias · March 24th, 2010, 03:38 AM

Thanks for watching Santo! :) I know about the angle shots, (I avoid dutch shots though), do you think it's not right from a cinematography perspective to make use of?

Susanto Widjaja · March 24th, 2010, 05:44 AM

Its a bit weird to use unlevelled shots that much in your story.

If you think about the meaning of the shots, its not much about love and romanticism

I guess a good example is to see how romantic films are shot in the hollywood. None of them use excessive angle shots. Simply because it doesn't give you the sense of warmth and relaxing. Instead it gives you a sense of unnatural world being tilted.

Hope that helps :)

Santo

Dimitris Mantalias · March 24th, 2010, 07:34 AM

Well... I think you're right!

Dale Guthormsen · March 24th, 2010, 02:43 PM

Dimitris,

I very much enjoyed your video, if for no other reason than it is so different from the ones I shoot. My favorite part is the low light shots. I think you did exceptionally well on them. This year I moved to HD and it is compositionally quite different and will take me some getting used to.

I agree with the angled shot discussion here.

I liked the steadycam work, you did a good job keeping things smooth, and I know that is not always so easy!!

Great Job.

Dale Guthormsen

March 17th, 2010, 07:08 PM	#2
Sarah Pendergraft Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 49	This is a beautiful video. I like the mix of color grading. It may not be grandiose, but we all have "nothing special" weddings and like your tag line says, it's good to share them along with the over-the-top ones. My only critiques are very much personal opinion. I don't really like all of the moving & zooming in the beginning. I think if it had truly been 8mm or 16mm film it would have had that vintage quality about it, but the crisp video made shaky and B&W just didn't fit for me. And I would have liked to hear some vows or toasts somewhere. You have SO much good footage, but at some point it did kind of just feel like pretty pictures over music. Other than that, I really like it. You captured a lot with steadicam/glidecam too. How much of the day do you spend on it? Nice work. __________________ Sarah Pendergraft www.penweddings.com

March 18th, 2010, 02:47 AM	#3
Dimitris Mantalias Major Player Join Date: May 2009 Location: Arta, Greece Posts: 342	Thank you Sarah. To tell the truth, we also thought about doing vintage in the beginning but we changed our minds later, I don't know why, maybe we were wrong after all. :) As for vows etc, we didn't put any because there aren't any in a Greek wedding... Priests read some ancient Christian texts in old Greek all the time and we understand as much as you would do when we listen to that language. :) And this is what I am most jealous of when I watch videos from US and Canada. For you over there, vows seem like a normality, but to us it seems like something unique! About the steady footage, we actually use glidecam mainly at the dancing sessions, when all families go for the traditional dances and also for the reception entrance and couple's dance. All the other footage (preparations, ceremony, photosession) we use only the Varizoom's Flowpod. It's small, you can do steady shots and also static shots. It takes some time to master so it will give the impression of the "actual" steady equipment, but it's worth it. Recently though we added some new gear for playing, like 7Ds, glidetrack (ok, we had that since 2009 but used it only for the more elaborate packages) and the absolutely gorgeous Omni-Tracker. I think that 2010 will be full of interesting experiments! Thanks again for commenting! :) PS. About my singature though, it's actually a mockery about the wedding video industry! :) __________________ "A successful wedding videographer is the one that offers for viewing some excellent videos and some boring videos, and gets positive reviews for both". Last edited by Dimitris Mantalias; March 18th, 2010 at 03:03 AM. Reason: Adding a line

March 18th, 2010, 01:31 PM	#4
John De Rienzo Major Player Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: London Posts: 313	Hi Dimitris. I liked the overall feel of the highlights, and the way you use movement within the shots. Liked the shot of the bride waiting in the car and low shot of walking down the stairs. I did notice a few out of focus shots and overexposed shots. Not sure if thats done in post! The only thing I found distracting, and not really your fault! is when the B+G look into the camera while posing but in a way that is not natural, but more of not knowing what to do. I would personally leave these shots out, or give them a little direction! I'm sure the B+G will absolutely love it. Thx for sharing. Cheers. John De Rienzo __________________ De Rienzo Films www.derienzo-films.co.uk

March 18th, 2010, 02:11 PM	#5
Dimitris Mantalias Major Player Join Date: May 2009 Location: Arta, Greece Posts: 342	Hi John and thanks for the feedback! The out-of-focus are not made in post but they were manual and intentional! :) With the exception of the steady shot at 1:12-1:16 which lost focus (and probably it shouldn't be at the final product) the other shots are intentionally that way, Net quality is not helping much, but in the final DVD, the focus-defocus from one point to the other is clear. Overexposure done in post, but you know, to my eyes it's not really overexposure! :)) Just a creative decision I guess. Also you are right about some of the photosession shots. PS I can't wait to start editing some mean stuff we have lying in a locked drawer. Hope that soon we'll come to that. __________________ "A successful wedding videographer is the one that offers for viewing some excellent videos and some boring videos, and gets positive reviews for both".

March 23rd, 2010, 01:56 AM	#7
Susanto Widjaja Major Player Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 622	Good work Dimitris! One suggestion though, try to watch your levelling. I see that there are a lot of shots (especially the steadicam shots) that are not level with the horizon. :) Santo __________________ If a picture is worth a thousand words, what about motion picture? website: www.papercranes.com.au \| blog: www.weddingvideosydney.net

March 24th, 2010, 03:38 AM	#8
Dimitris Mantalias Major Player Join Date: May 2009 Location: Arta, Greece Posts: 342	Thanks for watching Santo! :) I know about the angle shots, (I avoid dutch shots though), do you think it's not right from a cinematography perspective to make use of? __________________ "A successful wedding videographer is the one that offers for viewing some excellent videos and some boring videos, and gets positive reviews for both".

March 24th, 2010, 05:44 AM	#9
Susanto Widjaja Major Player Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 622	Its a bit weird to use unlevelled shots that much in your story. If you think about the meaning of the shots, its not much about love and romanticism I guess a good example is to see how romantic films are shot in the hollywood. None of them use excessive angle shots. Simply because it doesn't give you the sense of warmth and relaxing. Instead it gives you a sense of unnatural world being tilted. Hope that helps :) Santo __________________ If a picture is worth a thousand words, what about motion picture? website: www.papercranes.com.au \| blog: www.weddingvideosydney.net

March 24th, 2010, 07:34 AM	#10
Dimitris Mantalias Major Player Join Date: May 2009 Location: Arta, Greece Posts: 342	Well... I think you're right! __________________ "A successful wedding videographer is the one that offers for viewing some excellent videos and some boring videos, and gets positive reviews for both".

March 24th, 2010, 02:43 PM	#11
Dale Guthormsen Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 3,048	Dimitris, I very much enjoyed your video, if for no other reason than it is so different from the ones I shoot. My favorite part is the low light shots. I think you did exceptionally well on them. This year I moved to HD and it is compositionally quite different and will take me some getting used to. I agree with the angled shot discussion here. I liked the steadycam work, you did a good job keeping things smooth, and I know that is not always so easy!! Great Job. Dale Guthormsen __________________ DATS ALL FOLKS Dale W. Guthormsen