Reception Edit

[Denny Kyser]

I have a few questions for you pros, I am editing the reception and there are 3 toasts, and they take forever, also the groom dances with both a step mom and his mother, 2 songs.

Do you include all of the speaches or bits and pieces.
How much of the dances do you leave in the final edit.

Thanks

[Shawn Kessler]

Well for me depending on how much time I have left on the DVD I usually leave it all on there. As most couples i've delta with usually in most cases want to remember what was said. But thats really up to your customer I would just ask them.


My two cents for
what it's worth.
Shawn

[Victor Kellar]

I've done this a few different ways, it all depends on the format you've set up with the client

Generally the studios I edit for do a short form effects intensive edit where the entire wedding day is not longer than 40 - 60 minutes. That means things like toasts, speeches and dances are highly edited. In that case, we usually include a "special feature" option on the DVD where we include the speeches and family dances in their entirety

Other studios put the speeches and dances right in the video; this seems to go along with the more "candid" or "documentary" style edits

As a rule, I find people usually want all the speeches in some form

As previously posted, it really depends upon client expectations

[Rick Steele]

Originally Posted by Denny Kyser

Do you include all of the speaches or bits and pieces.

Now why in the heck would you want to cut things from people's mouths you don't even know who will never say these things again to people who will never have another day like this?

Honestly... I often wonder what goes through our minds when we consider editing this stuff out for "artistic" reasons. It's a freaking wedding - and very personal.

Granted, you aren't specifying how long these toasters are droning on... is it 15 minutes? 30? 45? (I know there are limits to a viewer's sanity). At the very least, edit to save time but include every word on a seperate DVD. Same goes for the dances. Which "mom" are you going to leave out? (think about it).

You will never get in trouble for showing the day as it truly happened. It might night make for a great demo reel but it's still what you were hired to do.

[Denny Kyser]

Originally Posted by Rick Steele

Now why in the heck would you want to cut things from people's mouths you don't even know who will never say these things again to people who will never have another day like this?

Honestly... I often wonder what goes through our minds when we consider editing this stuff out for "artistic" reasons. It's a freaking wedding - and very personal.

Granted, you aren't specifying how long these toasters are droning on... is it 15 minutes? 30? 45? (I know there are limits to a viewer's sanity). At the very least, edit to save time but include every word on a seperate DVD. Same goes for the dances. Which "mom" are you going to leave out? (think about it).

You will never get in trouble for showing the day as it truly happened. It might night make for a great demo reel but it's still what you were hired to do.

This speach did go on and on and he talked about many of the ex girl friends and how much money he spent on them and did some hand motions and sound effects that left little to the imagination. The bride did ask us to edit some of that out.

The dances, I was not planning on leaving any mother out, just didnt know if you left in the entire dance or part of it. To be honest I would much rather see some of the cute and emotional clips of the dance, say 1-2 mins worth than every second of them going round and round. But that is only my opinion, thats why I asked

[Vito DeFilippo]

Originally Posted by Denny Kyser

The dances, I was not planning on leaving any mother out, just didnt know if you left in the entire dance or part of it.

I generally cut a verse out of each song to shorten it up. This lets me remove bad camera moves, use more interesting cuts, and allow some use of slow motion or what have you for interest.

As for the speeches, I leave them in their entirety. I may edit out tiny things like mistakes, nose blowing, whatever. If the evening's speeches get to be too long, say over 45 minutes in all, I put them on a separate DVD.

[Rick Steele]

The bride did ask us to edit some of that out.

You kind of left this piece of info out of your initial post.

I seldom have the luxury of getting the client's input about their video "after" the fact. And I would never call and tell her, "Uncle Joe was tanked, boring, and talking stupid so what do you want me to do?". Now that the bride has given permission just make cuts and fade to the sweet spots.

As far as the dancing goes... how will you shorten these 2 dances up without tweaking the song? I assume each song was hand picked and has meaning so combining all the footage into something new might not work.

Again, what would it hurt to keep them both intact? Unless you don't have decent footage which you aren't saying. All I'm hearing is *you* have decided things are boring. Heck... if that were the criteria for an edit I'd be leaving out the ceremony. :)

[Denny Kyser]

Originally Posted by Rick Steele

You kind of left this piece of info out of your initial post.

I seldom have the luxury of getting the client's input about their video "after" the fact. And I would never call and tell her, "Uncle Joe was tanked, boring, and talking stupid so what do you want me to do?". Now that the bride has given permission just make cuts and fade to the sweet spots.

As far as the dancing goes... how will you shorten these 2 dances up without tweaking the song? I assume each song was hand picked and has meaning so combining all the footage into something new might not work.

Again, what would it hurt to keep them both intact? Unless you don't have decent footage which you aren't saying. All I'm hearing is *you* have decided things are boring. Heck... if that were the criteria for an edit I'd be leaving out the ceremony. :)

Rick I see your point and the footage is good, both cameras footage is great so not a problem with that. I was thinking of just eliminating one verse from each song,not with the B&G dance just the other dances.

[Jason Robinson]

I tell my potential clients that I will not cut a speech, but if it runs waaaaay long, I may put the entire thing on the extras of the dvd.

Regarding dances, I usually include the first minute or two (or the best parts) and I ask them if it is OK to put the entire dances on the extras if I run into play time restrictions.

I have yet to have a speech go over about 10 minutes. When I do (not if, but when) I'll work the rest of the edit to save time, but if that isn't possible, and because I base my fees on finished movie play time, I'll contact the couple and see what they want to do.

I feel that being flexible is the best option.

[Tom Tomkowiak]

The great thing about the DVD standard is that it can handle up to 99 chapters. I haven't hit the limit yet, but I certainly make liberal use of the feature.

So, speeches and every other event, even the small stuff, on the video gets a chapter marker. That way, it's up to the viewer to watch, FF, or skip entirely to the next chapter.

I haven't had the long speech problem, but I have had a many speeches problem -- like every member of the wedding party plus some guests felt they needed mike time. The couple wanted it all saved for posterity, so the speeches and some other things they requested be included ended up on a separate DVD.

[Jim OBrien]

I generally leave the speeches "as is" unless someone is being rude or is obviously drunk and rambling incoherently. I also put in the complete dances for the first dance, bridal party dance & parents dances. Tom is right, with chapters they can easily jump to the next thing if their bored. But in 20 years I'm sure they'll want to see the whole thing, especially if it's someone who is no longer around.

[Steven Davis]

Originally Posted by Denny Kyser

I have a few questions for you pros, I am editing the reception and there are 3 toasts, and they take forever, also the groom dances with both a step mom and his mother, 2 songs.

Do you include all of the speaches or bits and pieces.
How much of the dances do you leave in the final edit.

Thanks

I cut the eating, breaks if nothing is happening, but everthing else goes into the mix unless it's really long. Then the client has the option for an additional DVD if needed.

Yeah, I agree Rick, it's a wedding, and what an editor finds cuttable, might be that most important thing. If you have questions Danny, just communicate with your client.

[Denny Kyser]

One more question for the reception footage. do you still mix in multiple camera views or go more of a straight edit.

sorry for so many questions, just wanting to give my client as much as I can with out killing myself editing.

[Art Varga]

I've been putting the toasts on the extras menu. This way I can keep them whole without having to slow down the story too much.

[Dawn Brennan]

Originally Posted by Denny Kyser

One more question for the reception footage. do you still mix in multiple camera views or go more of a straight edit.

sorry for so many questions, just wanting to give my client as much as I can with out killing myself editing.

If I tape with 2 cameras at the reception, I use both in editing, typically by just lining them up and mixing with straight cuts. I don't shoot with both cameras for every event though. Mainly, First Dance, Cake Cutting, Garter/Bouquet, Bridal Party Dance (helps to get them all in) and somtimes parent dances.