Save the Date Video - comments welcome!

[Travis Cossel]

This is my very first save the date video. There were a number of behind the scenes complications but I won't go into any of that right now. Just take a look and tell me what you think. Thanks!

http://www.vimeo.com/1248894

[Rick Steele]

Nice job Travis. Clever concept.

[Travis Cossel]

Originally Posted by Rick Steele

Nice job Travis. Clever concept.

Thanks, Rick!

[Ram Purad]

Good job Travis. I really like the concept.

I felt that you could have tried to minimize the "staged" shots (ex. the whole getting into the car and leaving shots). I understand that you did those shots to portray the story properly, but when I watch the video, those shots clearly shows as "staged" and that brings down the realness of the clip. Letting couple doing their own thing and capturing those moments candidly would have brought more life to the clip.

Cool concept though. This concept is actually an eye opener for me to try new things with save the date video. Thanks for posting.

[Jason Magbanua]

Loved the clip. as already said, great concept. I like the cutting at the start (car scene) leading to the abandoned place.

Some backgrounds are a bit blown out though but I understand the difficulty of getting outdoor shots under a full sun.

The man boobs got to me when they were first shown up close, perhaps a looser shirt or a different angle could have remedied this.

Thanks for sharing.

[Travis Cossel]

Originally Posted by Ram Purad

Good job Travis. I really like the concept.

I felt that you could have tried to minimize the "staged" shots (ex. the whole getting into the car and leaving shots). I understand that you did those shots to portray the story properly, but when I watch the video, those shots clearly shows as "staged" and that brings down the realness of the clip. Letting couple doing their own thing and capturing those moments candidly would have brought more life to the clip.

Cool concept though. This concept is actually an eye opener for me to try new things with save the date video. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for the comments. Part of the reason behind the staged shots was that I was dealing with a groom that quite honestly did NOT want to be there shooting this. That changed by the end of the shoot (thank God!), but in the early stages he just wasn't with it. So I had to start setting up some shots to make sure I got what I needed.

The other reason for the staged shots was that I needed multiple angles of things happening so I could do the quick cuts in the video. I was the only one shooting, so there wasn't any other way to get that other than doing some staging. Still maybe I could have done something different with the shooting to reduce the "staged" look?

Thanks again for the comments. I'm trying to develop a list of creative "save the date" ideas for the coming season, so we'll see what happens next!

[Travis Cossel]

Originally Posted by Jason Magbanua

Loved the clip. as already said, great concept. I like the cutting at the start (car scene) leading to the abandoned place.

Some backgrounds are a bit blown out though but I understand the difficulty of getting outdoor shots under a full sun.

The man boobs got to me when they were first shown up close, perhaps a looser shirt or a different angle could have remedied this.

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks, Jason. I've actually used some "overlay" compositing and blown the video out on purpose. Maybe the look isn't working? I feel like I really struggle when it comes to giving my video a distinct "look". I can do full color and standard B&W and tones just fine, but any more advanced type of color grading seems just out of my reach. I'm not really sure what to do different.

Regarding the "man boobs" I totally agree, but I don't really have much control over that. I needed a closeup of them walking away from the store, but I wanted more than just their faces because they were holding hands.

Just minutes before I shot that the groom actually stated not to shoot any "butt" shots, so I was really feeling the pressure to try and respect his insecurity but still get usable shots. I also specified white T-shirts and jeans, but they showed up in grey shirts and he had shorts on - and I honestly feel like the clothing worked against him, but what can I do really? And like I already mentioned, he didn't really want to be there shooting this so I felt a lot of pressure to just get shots and keep things moving.

Anyways, thanks for the comments and I definitely agree about that shot. I simply don't have anything else to use in it's place unfortunately. Any tips you can give regarding color grading to get a "look"? I use FCP.

[Travis Cossel]

I should also probably point out that I hadn't had the opportunity to meet the groom yet, so I had no idea what he looked like until he showed up with a bad attitude at my place for the shoot, lol. I would have rather the couple worn more stylish clothing that was more flattering to them, but obviously they were going to be getting paint on their clothes so they needed to wear something that was disposable.

[Ram Purad]

Ahhh... this is one of those rare "groomzilla" moment you had to deal with. Well, give your self a pat on the back Travis, as it didn't show at all in your clip. Job well done.

[Travis Cossel]

Originally Posted by Ram Purad

Ahhh... this is one of those rare "groomzilla" moment you had to deal with. Well, give your self a pat on the back Travis, as it didn't show at all in your clip. Job well done.

Thanks. In his defense I did schedule this shoot for right when he got off work, and he's a construction worker so he probably was just tired and wanted to go home and chill. Not to mention who knows what his fiance had told him about the shoot. He was probably pretty much in the dark on what was going on.

I learned a good lesson. If I haven't met the groom and earned his trust and gotten to know him, then I probably should speak with him about when the best time for him to shoot is. At first I thought maybe I should have just picked a weekend, but then who knows maybe that's when he was planning to go golfing with his buddies. I learned I should consult with COUPLE on a shoot time and not just the bride.

My initial plan, since I hadn't met the groom, was to ride with them to the store so I could have a chat and get everyone in the mood and relaxed. Well, despite me telling the bride to make sure the car was washed and cleaned out, it wasn't, and I couldn't ride with them to the store. So since I wasn't able to earn his trust and cooperation in the car I simply laid it on the line when we all got to the store. I told them that the key to this video working and looking right was them having fun and enjoying themselves. I told them I needed to know that they were both up for it that night. That made only a slight improvement to his attitude at the store, but it was enough to get the shots. Once they started painting he loosened up little by little.

The other problem was that they showed up late, so we had to rush the shoot at the store and get to the factory before the light was gone. That meant I had to shoot the footage of the driving TO THE FACTORY after they had already done the painting. Of course this meant they already had paint on their clothes and faces and hands, etc. So a lot of the shots I had planned or that I did had to get trashed because you could see the paint, and it wouldn't work with the continuity of the video.

The worst is that I had a really cool shot from outside the passenger window looking through at both of them while they were driving. Yeah, I had to put myself out the backseat window and hold the camera about two feet from the open window to get the shot. It would have been worth it but the bride had paint on her cheek on that side, so I had to dump the shot. Them being late sure did make the editing of the driving portion a real pain, lol!

[Oren Arieli]

Great job, especially considering the challenges you faced. I like the opening sequence, well cut and paced. The 'moobs' (man boobs) shot should be an incentive to the groom to drop a few pounds (as women are oft to do before a wedding). Maybe he can get a 'manzziere' or a 'bro' (Sienfeld anyone?)
What were you using for a steadycam? Fig rig?

[Travis Cossel]

Originally Posted by Oren Arieli

Great job, especially considering the challenges you faced. I like the opening sequence, well cut and paced. The 'moobs' (man boobs) shot should be an incentive to the groom to drop a few pounds (as women are oft to do before a wedding). Maybe he can get a 'manzziere' or a 'bro' (Sienfeld anyone?)
What were you using for a steadycam? Fig rig?

Thanks, Oren. I'm a huge Seinfeld fan and quote it all the time around my wife ... she's only mildly amused.

I was using a Steadicam Merlin handheld for some of the shots. It was a pretty breezy day, and the breeze was funneling through the factory so that was no fun. Plus I still just need more practice with learning to walk properly with the Merlin.

[Kelsey Emuss]

LOVED IT and loved the idea you chose!

[Travis Cossel]

Originally Posted by Kelsey Emuss

LOVED IT and loved the idea you chose!

Thanks, Kelsey!

[Jason Robinson]

Originally Posted by Travis Cossel

This is my very first save the date video. There were a number of behind the scenes complications but I won't go into any of that right now. Just take a look and tell me what you think. Thanks!

http://www.vimeo.com/1248894

The only thing that kind of bugged me was I kept waiting for a DOF shot at the very start but the couple never came into focus till a cut. Not a biggie, I just was sitting there thinking...... "and..... focus...... nope....... annnnnnnnnd..... focus""

And naturally I'm interested to know what surface you actually had her painting on that was in front of the camera.

I enjoyed seeing the merlin in use and the only shot with it that stood out was walking through the weeds and into the building where the side to side rocking is visible. But the rest looked pretty dang good for a new piece of gear. My MultiRig floating shots are never that smooth, probably because I leave the shock pod attached when I should hold in my hands instead.

I am sympathetic on the struggle of finding a color pallet that is "my look." I've tried colorization a few times and either I cannot remember how I tinted things last time, or I just have no inspiration for a tint / effect.

The video kept me entertained especially once the painting started. I found myself thinking, "what are they painting....?"