Wedding Trailer in HD - Winery

[John Moon]

Here is a trailer we did from a wedding we did at a winery in Southern Indiana. The day before we were in Chicago filming a wedding and we were dead tired but it turned out to be a great wedding. Had an issue with wind and for the main product we will need to go into STP and do a noise print to try and remove some of the wind. I thought the minister looked like he could have played a minister in a western movie...kind of Clint Eastwoodish.

Canon A1, Panalook preset, MB.

Let me know what you think.

http://www.northernlightfilmworks.co...ebbtrailer.mov

[Carl Wilky]

Looks pretty good, I like the various angles you shot that wedding.

You used Magic Bullet for the color correction? What preset did you use by any chance? What editing software are you using?

Job well done, and good luck with the noise issue.

[John Moon]

Thanks Carl. Color for color grading. We use FCP. Mostly I used my own custom presets for MB. I like the 85 grad filter with another grad filter that is blue.

-John

[Martin Mayer]

I'm not going to make any transatlantic friends here, but I guess you want sincere constructive criticism, rather than sycophantic praise:

- long static clips with just titles or words onscreen - in a 1m49 trailer it seems a con to have a 10 second static clip at the start (that's 9% of your trailer!) - and again at 1m23 - too long
- I have never understood the American use of the dutch tilt - what is 45° all about? on lots of occasions? and slomo... why? A reveal shot of the.... ...ceiling lights!!? It doesn't create a romantic feel for me...
- early clips - too wobbly - if you're going to hand-hold, hold it steadier! if you're not going to move (like the hand holding the ring, the portraits of the minister/groom): PUT IT ON A TRIPOD!
- if you're going to clearly show the minister speaking 0m43 - don't cut out his voice, especially having started with him closed-mouth when the soundtrack has him speaking 0m27
- if the wind's going to vibrate your camera 0m46, 0m50 - use Steadyshot, despite it being on a tripod
- since when was 640x360 HD?
- don't cut just before the kiss 1m36! If it's intended to be a "wait for the real movie" clip, it's just frustrating.

[Travis Cossel]

First, in response to the previous poster ...

I don't know about dutch shots being "American", but I do know they have their uses. Sometimes a dutch shot allows you to frame the subject matter more appropriately. Sometimes a dutch shot just allows you to give some variety and dynamic play to the video. Sometimes a dutch shot can give you a different perspective on a scene or subject, and change the way you view it. I only recall seeing one such shot in the video, and it was well done, so I guess I don't see the issue.

Also, the "reveal of the ceiling lights" looked more like a shot of the decorative chair-backing to me. Didn't mind that shot at all.

Slo-mo has it's uses too. It gives extra drama to a shot. Why do you think Hollywood uses slow-motion? Slow motion also can create a stronger "caught in the moment" type feel. Granted, it can be overused, and can make a video really drag .. but this video wasn't slo-mo clip after slo-mo clip ... so again, I don't see the issue.

Shaky handheld shots scream "amateur", I would agree. But I know from experience that I don't always have the luxury of putting my cam on a tripod to get a shot. There isn't always time for that. Sometimes you have to go with handheld. That said, a shot can be handheld and "shaky" and still look good. I just depends on how the shake looks. It's hard to put this into words, but sometimes shake looks amateurish and sometimes they look fine.

Lastly, I didn't mind the video cutting off the kiss. For me it creates the desire to see more, which is the purpose of a trailer.


Now, all of that said, I have to agree that the opening shot felt just a bit too long; not by much though (1 or 2 seconds). The second static shot with the text is the one that really bugged me. It was onscreen for way too long, and for me, it just felt out of place.

I would also agree that it looks strange to hear the officiant speaking, but then the one clip where you see him he is speaking but you can no longer hear him.

The only other thing that bothered me (something the couple might never notice) was the blue gradient on the sky when the father is walking in with the bride. It makes the sky look nice but you can see the gradient coming down over the father's face, and to me it just immediately stood out as a fake sky.


Overall I felt the video was well done; looked like a professional did it. I loved the opening shot with the flowers in the wind (just a tad long, but great shot). I liked the mix of regular speed and slo-mo. The coloring was nice. Good work in my opinion.

[John Moon]

Originally Posted by Martin Mayer

I'm not going to make any transatlantic friends here, but I guess you want sincere constructive criticism, rather than sycophantic praise:

- long static clips with just titles or words onscreen - in a 1m49 trailer it seems a con to have a 10 second static clip at the start (that's 9% of your trailer!) - and again at 1m23 - too long
- I have never understood the American use of the dutch tilt - what is 45° all about? on lots of occasions? and slomo... why? A reveal shot of the.... ...ceiling lights!!? It doesn't create a romantic feel for me...
- early clips - too wobbly - if you're going to hand-hold, hold it steadier! if you're not going to move (like the hand holding the ring, the portraits of the minister/groom): PUT IT ON A TRIPOD!
- if you're going to clearly show the minister speaking 0m43 - don't cut out his voice, especially having started with him closed-mouth when the soundtrack has him speaking 0m27
- if the wind's going to vibrate your camera 0m46, 0m50 - use Steadyshot, despite it being on a tripod
- since when was 640x360 HD?
- don't cut just before the kiss 1m36! If it's intended to be a "wait for the real movie" clip, it's just frustrating.

Thanks Martin. The shot you assumed was a reveal shot was not it was to set the tone for the colors of the wedding. I hate camera shake but many times its unavoidable especially if you capture moments as they occur....its generally not practical to drag a tripod around with the couple. Steadyshot was on. It was shot in HD...I custom framed to experiment with screen size. One thing about my trailers is that these are color graded and edited in less than an hour. I do this to hone my skills for SDE's.

The cut before the kiss is intended to be frustrating...thats the money shot and you don't want to give it away in a trailer.

[John Moon]

Originally Posted by Travis Cossel

First, in response to the previous poster ...

I don't know about dutch shots being "American", but I do know they have their uses. Sometimes a dutch shot allows you to frame the subject matter more appropriately. Sometimes a dutch shot just allows you to give some variety and dynamic play to the video. Sometimes a dutch shot can give you a different perspective on a scene or subject, and change the way you view it. I only recall seeing one such shot in the video, and it was well done, so I guess I don't see the issue.

Also, the "reveal of the ceiling lights" looked more like a shot of the decorative chair-backing to me. Didn't mind that shot at all.

Slo-mo has it's uses too. It gives extra drama to a shot. Why do you think Hollywood uses slow-motion? Slow motion also can create a stronger "caught in the moment" type feel. Granted, it can be overused, and can make a video really drag .. but this video wasn't slo-mo clip after slo-mo clip ... so again, I don't see the issue.

Shaky handheld shots scream "amateur", I would agree. But I know from experience that I don't always have the luxury of putting my cam on a tripod to get a shot. There isn't always time for that. Sometimes you have to go with handheld. That said, a shot can be handheld and "shaky" and still look good. I just depends on how the shake looks. It's hard to put this into words, but sometimes shake looks amateurish and sometimes they look fine.

Lastly, I didn't mind the video cutting off the kiss. For me it creates the desire to see more, which is the purpose of a trailer.


Now, all of that said, I have to agree that the opening shot felt just a bit too long; not by much though (1 or 2 seconds). The second static shot with the text is the one that really bugged me. It was onscreen for way too long, and for me, it just felt out of place.

I would also agree that it looks strange to hear the officiant speaking, but then the one clip where you see him he is speaking but you can no longer hear him.

The only other thing that bothered me (something the couple might never notice) was the blue gradient on the sky when the father is walking in with the bride. It makes the sky look nice but you can see the gradient coming down over the father's face, and to me it just immediately stood out as a fake sky.


Overall I felt the video was well done; looked like a professional did it. I loved the opening shot with the flowers in the wind (just a tad long, but great shot). I liked the mix of regular speed and slo-mo. The coloring was nice. Good work in my opinion.

Thanks Travis....I debated about the gradient sky. I also agree about the last text sequence. I was trying to burn some time as I didn't really want to use any other shots and wanted to save for later. Probably could have shortened then our name and let the song taper in black.

Appreciate the feedback.

[Travis Cossel]

Originally Posted by John Moon

Thanks Travis....I debated about the gradient sky. I also agree about the last text sequence. I was trying to burn some time as I didn't really want to use any other shots and wanted to save for later. Probably could have shortened then our name and let the song taper in black.

Appreciate the feedback.

Yeah, the shot with the text felt like you had more song than you wanted to use. Maybe shorten the song next time, although sometimes it's just not possible and you have to work with what you have.

[Finn Nielsen]

Hello John.

Can you tell me, in what program have you make your logo "northernlightfilmworks" at the end of the trailer?

[John Moon]

Originally Posted by Finn Nielsen

Hello John.

Can you tell me, in what program have you make your logo "northernlightfilmworks" at the end of the trailer?

Finn:

That was very simple to do in Motion.

-John