NOLA Trash the Dress

[Ethan Cooper]

We tagged along while 4 photographers had a little fun with some brides in New Orleans a few weeks ago & had a lot of fun shooting. This is what came out of it:
www.silver-media.net/trashthedress

[Cole McDonald]

beautiful...what was it shot with, and what kind of post coloring did you do to the footage?

[Ethan Cooper]

Shot with an FX7 on a Merlin, edited in FCP, graded in FCP with a variety of things (magic bullet, FCP's 3 way color corrector).
Song is Aqualung's "Strange & Beautiful"

[Alastair Brown]

Seriously well done. That was just "eye candy" shot after shot. The locations were all stunning and the colour work was really good. It didn't really tell a story but.....I enjoyed every second of it except...for the smoking shot. Found myself sitting thinking about why it bothered me on loads of levels rather than watching the following shots.

Additonaly, you almost change up a gear after the motorbike shots, just shouts...I'm having so much fun doing this!

Genuinely REALLY loved it. Thanks for sharing!

Away to watch it again now.

[Michael Nistler]

Hi Ethan,

Thanks for sharing - excellent job with good camera work and editing to the beat. Strange and Beautiful worked perfectly (just downloaded a copy myself, along with Brighter Than Sunshine). Oh yeah, including the wolf was awesome!

Way to go, Michael

[Ethan Cooper]

Originally Posted by Alastair Brown

The locations were all stunning and the colour work was really good.

If you've got a good location and a nice sunny day, it's pretty hard to screw things up. BTW, to illustrate this point further, we just shot a wedding at a plantation house in Mississippi on a prefect day last weekend. When I get the trailer done I'll post it. Location, location, location. Makes all the difference in the world.

It didn't really tell a story but.....I enjoyed every second of it except...for the smoking shot. Found myself sitting thinking about why it bothered me on loads of levels rather than watching the following shots.

I agree about the story telling part. We were tagging along on the shoot and had very little input. There were 4 photographers and 4 brides, so things were a bit chaotic. If I do one of these again I'd love to have a little more control, and just one bride to work with. Also, this really wasn't very "trashy" for a trash the dress shoot. I'd like to work a bride over pretty good and really mess her up. This shoot actually turned into a semi-normal bridal portrait session.

My wife hated the smoking bride shot too, but I love that shot. It's actually one of my favorites. I've always been a big fan of contrast and contradiction, so a smoking bride is right down my alley.

Additonaly, you almost change up a gear after the motorbike shots, just shouts...I'm having so much fun doing this!

If I'm understanding you correctly you're talking about pacing? Actually, I'm not sure what you're talking about. I very well could have picked up the pace although I'm not sure it was a conscious decision. I still do think that the beginning moves a little too slowly, but I've had to move on to paying projects. There are a lot of things I personally don't like about this video. To be honest, it never was what I was looking/hoping for. I think a Letus is in my future for some shallow DOF shots. I'd really love to have one on my Merlin, but controlling focus on a hand held stabilizer while using a Letus has to be pretty much next to impossible.

Genuinely REALLY loved it. Thanks for sharing!
Away to watch it again now.

Glad you liked it. I appreciate all the input as well. I for one don't mind critiques of my work, cause I don't think anyone can be any more harsh of a critic than I am of my own stuff.

[Ethan Cooper]

Originally Posted by Michael Nistler

Hi Ethan,
Thanks for sharing - excellent job with good camera work and editing to the beat. Strange and Beautiful worked perfectly (just downloaded a copy myself, along with Brighter Than Sunshine). Oh yeah, including the wolf was awesome!
Way to go, Michael

Thanks Michael. I tend to edit to the beat, but this is beginning to bother me a little. Opinions? Anyone else having these thoughts or is it just me?

[Michael Nistler]

Originally Posted by Ethan Cooper

Thanks Michael. I tend to edit to the beat, but this is beginning to bother me a little. Opinions? Anyone else having these thoughts or is it just me?

Rehi Ethan,

I've seen too many that really overdo editing to the beat. To me, it should create a positive emotional response (viewer emotional involvement) but not so noticeable to be distrating - we want the audience to be paying attention to our client and subjects, not showing that we are cool editors.

Your video was just right - perceptible to our critical eyes as editors, but not overdone or heavy handed. Of course, we all have our unique tastes... Some time ago, I was enjoying a demo video by one of the industry tops; everything was proceeding fine and then the music had four fast drum beats - the video tried to keep up, bang, Bang, BANG, BANG - ugg, what a distraction! The cadence was too fast for transition changes, distracting the mood of the video, music, lighting, composition, color, etc. In summary, just like everything else, the pacing of the beat edits gotta' match the overall theme.

Good luck, Michael