Same Day Edits ROCK!!! at DVinfo.net

Michael Gebben · November 3rd, 2008, 09:30 PM

If you haven't done one yet, you have to give it a try! They are such an adrenaline rush and you get great exposure. People look at videography in a whole new way. Every wedding I have booked so far next year is getting one. Check out my latest one from this past weekend. It was a such a beautiful day. Alyson & Adam Same Day Edit Nov. 1, 08 on Vimeo

Jamie Kehoe · November 3rd, 2008, 09:59 PM

What are your methods, what cameras are you toting, how many people do you need to keep around on a day like this, is it 3 or more? I can't justify paying everyone. There is no margin in weddings, unfortunately. Basically what methods are you using to achieve this?

Tim Harjo · November 4th, 2008, 01:38 AM

SWEET! You got the first dance on there too? Great stuff. It's definitely on my to do list this year..

Travis Cossel · November 4th, 2008, 03:06 AM

Very nice. You put together a solid SDE. Care to share you workflow on the wedding day?

If I can offer any suggestions to work on ..

Some of the steadicam work was a bit wobbly. Not bad, but if you could tighten it up your steadicam shots would be really awesome. What system are you using?

Also, if you could find a way to work in some color grading you'd make an even bigger impact. I'm sure you know this already, so take it for what it is. I know SDE's are very challenging.

Peter Jefferson · November 4th, 2008, 10:39 PM

Agreed re: exposure.

Sadly here in Aus, the market would rather spend 10k on stills as opposed to investing 3k on video, let alone 5k for an SDE package

We do ours a lil differently, as I shoot and edit all the SDE material while the team takes care of the "longer" bread and butter stuff.

Jack Tran · November 5th, 2008, 12:11 AM

Awesome SDE, i would also like to know the work flow.

My only nitpick was on some of the steadicam (merlin w/ hv20?) footage was 'stuttering'
The video wasnt lagging due to loading, but certain parts doesnt flow and looked jerky to me. Not sure why.
Similar to the CMOS issue.

Second what Travis asked, what system are you using?

Hopefully i can learn enough to pull of such an awesome sde

Michael Gebben · November 5th, 2008, 08:48 AM

Jack: I wish everyone could watch the video played from a DVD, it plays almost perfectly. I noticed the same stuttering your talking about when I watched the video with HD ON on vimeo which is when it looks best :( But try watch it with HD OFF it should play better. It was shot with a Canon A1 and a Glidecam 2000. The way I shot it this time almost none of the clips had to be slowed down, most them are regular speed. Which I was really excited about because I usually slow a lot of clips down.

Peter: I think as a whole in the industry its really sad how much video is looked down upon. It is our duty as videographers to change that and get to a point where brides us before they want video. NOW THAT WILL BE DAY!!! I think its possible, the couples that I have been booking and some friends of mine have been booking are valuing video way more then PHOTO!!!!!

Travis: The steadicam work I was really happy with as a whole actually. A few things aren't "perfect" but I wasn't trying to pull off normal shots either. Plus like I mentioned to Jack not sure if you did this or not but playing it in HD on Vimeo makes it funky, try it with HD off. I actually agree with the color grading. I did enhance a lot of the colors, but overall I wanted to keep a very natural look.

Tim: I've done a bunch of Same Day Edits and that was the first one I ever got a shot from the reception in. I was pretty excited, thanks for noticing!

Jamie: SEE WORKFLOW BELOW

Workflow for everyone interested: This particular wedding I didn't have my usual help around which is me and two other guys. It was just me and my amazing DAD. The Wedding was at 4 I started shooting around 1. This setup I might add was PERFECT for a SDE. The church and the reception hall were about 3 minutes from each other. So I set my HP laptop with VEGAS up in a back room at the Reception. My dad just waited in there until I brought him a tape and then we started loading it with my Sony HC1. It was all shot in 60i on the A1 with a Glidecam 2000. My dad just basically watched to make sure that everything was capturing just fine. My dad also watched the HV30 for me to get the time lapse, which I love when I can get one but didn't think I was going to be able to because there was not a cloud in the sky anywhere when I started. I shot prep until about 3:30 then we got everything set up for the ceremony. By the time the ceremony was over everything I had shot thus far except for ceremony footage was loaded on the laptop. We had three cameras at the ceremony my dad manned one, one was unmanned, and I switched back and forth from the glidecam to a tripod. After the ceremony I got my camera loaded from the ceremony while I went and shot them taking pictures. When we got back at around 6:30 I got the pictures footage loaded and then was able to start editing around 7. I edited till 8 and then filmed the first dances and then got back to editing around 8:30. I showed the video on a DVD around 10:00. Which is much later then I normally like to show them just because you don't have everyone's attention. Had it been a 2pm wedding I most probably would have been able to show it towards the end of dinner which is in my opinion the best time to show it!!! I hope that helps and is easy enough to understand. I can get a little off track sometimes. Thanks for all the comments guys.

Someone mentioned on another forum that although the Same Day Edits are great they are still not for everyone. Which I do believe is very true. The can be very stressful. Also as much as a Same Day Edit can raise the standards for videography if done correctly they can also do a lot of damage if you are not experienced enough and do not put a quality video together. So I believe there is fine line there........

One last thing, for anyone out there who charges extra for just about everything you are doing yourself a great disservice. You can't sell a bride on equipment that is irrelevant to them. All they care about is a quality video and a genuine person to be there with them on their wedding day. I believe you will get to where you want to be a lot quicker if you give people what they technically might not be paying for..... In the beginning I believe I gave people WAY more then they deserved for what they were paying. But I was able to get footage that I would have never got people to PAY for. But now that they see it they WANT it. The more I give the more I keep benefitting each and every year because I'm able to produce a product way superior to any of my competition in my area except for one company who I feel I'm right on par with. But now I'm able to get $4000 for my average booking and I'm only 22 years old. I just had a mom, her daughter and the fiance in last night. They actually were referred to me from one company that I'm friends with. I talked to the girl once on the phone just to setup the appointment. They drove 45 minutes to get to my studio. I showed them the above SDE and a handful of other videos, joked with them, made them very comfortable, explained my two packages and what they included and the whole time not saying anything about TECHNOLOGY....The final thing I mentioned was what the packages cost which was $2500 and $4000. The mom immediately got out her checkbook and wrote a check for a 1/3 of $4000. I felt that my personality, low pressure and videos are what sold that package. Not that I shoot in HD or charge extra to shoot in HD, use a glide cam, use 3 to 4 cameras. The bottom line is sell yourself and let the videos speak for themselves. Do more and you will get MORE. If they don't appreciate that then you probably don't want them anyways. So STOP trying to sell technology or charge to use a particular piece of equipment people WON'T BUY it. Just make the sacrifice and use it even if you don't think your getting paid for it. It takes a little pain to get where you want to be. I'm the kind of person that wants to make the video look the best it possibly can and I have just built being able to use all that into my packages, because I would not be able to NOT shoot with it because they wouldn't pay for it. Once you get the shots and make your videos better you technically should be able to get more. Sorry about the RANT....... Hope all that makes since.......

Travis Cossel · November 5th, 2008, 01:21 PM

I couldn't agree more about not selling your equipment. Brides don't care.

November 3rd, 2008, 09:30 PM	#1
Michael Gebben Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 64	Same Day Edits ROCK!!! If you haven't done one yet, you have to give it a try! They are such an adrenaline rush and you get great exposure. People look at videography in a whole new way. Every wedding I have booked so far next year is getting one. Check out my latest one from this past weekend. It was a such a beautiful day. Alyson & Adam Same Day Edit Nov. 1, 08 on Vimeo

November 3rd, 2008, 09:59 PM	#2
Jamie Kehoe Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 28	Methods What are your methods, what cameras are you toting, how many people do you need to keep around on a day like this, is it 3 or more? I can't justify paying everyone. There is no margin in weddings, unfortunately. Basically what methods are you using to achieve this?

November 4th, 2008, 01:38 AM	#3
Tim Harjo Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sacramento, California Posts: 195	SWEET! You got the first dance on there too? Great stuff. It's definitely on my to do list this year.. Last edited by Tim Harjo; November 5th, 2008 at 01:25 AM. Reason: spelling

November 4th, 2008, 03:06 AM	#4
Travis Cossel Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 2,933	Very nice. You put together a solid SDE. Care to share you workflow on the wedding day? If I can offer any suggestions to work on .. Some of the steadicam work was a bit wobbly. Not bad, but if you could tighten it up your steadicam shots would be really awesome. What system are you using? Also, if you could find a way to work in some color grading you'd make an even bigger impact. I'm sure you know this already, so take it for what it is. I know SDE's are very challenging. __________________ Black Label Films www.blacklabelweddingfilms.com

November 5th, 2008, 01:21 PM	#8
Travis Cossel Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 2,933	I couldn't agree more about not selling your equipment. Brides don't care. __________________ Black Label Films www.blacklabelweddingfilms.com

November 4th, 2008, 10:39 PM	#5
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	Agreed re: exposure. Sadly here in Aus, the market would rather spend 10k on stills as opposed to investing 3k on video, let alone 5k for an SDE package We do ours a lil differently, as I shoot and edit all the SDE material while the team takes care of the "longer" bread and butter stuff.

November 5th, 2008, 12:11 AM	#6
Jack Tran Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Houston USA Posts: 90	Awesome SDE, i would also like to know the work flow. My only nitpick was on some of the steadicam (merlin w/ hv20?) footage was 'stuttering' The video wasnt lagging due to loading, but certain parts doesnt flow and looked jerky to me. Not sure why. Similar to the CMOS issue. Second what Travis asked, what system are you using? Hopefully i can learn enough to pull of such an awesome sde

November 5th, 2008, 08:48 AM	#7
Michael Gebben Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 64	Jack: I wish everyone could watch the video played from a DVD, it plays almost perfectly. I noticed the same stuttering your talking about when I watched the video with HD ON on vimeo which is when it looks best :( But try watch it with HD OFF it should play better. It was shot with a Canon A1 and a Glidecam 2000. The way I shot it this time almost none of the clips had to be slowed down, most them are regular speed. Which I was really excited about because I usually slow a lot of clips down. Peter: I think as a whole in the industry its really sad how much video is looked down upon. It is our duty as videographers to change that and get to a point where brides us before they want video. NOW THAT WILL BE DAY!!! I think its possible, the couples that I have been booking and some friends of mine have been booking are valuing video way more then PHOTO!!!!! Travis: The steadicam work I was really happy with as a whole actually. A few things aren't "perfect" but I wasn't trying to pull off normal shots either. Plus like I mentioned to Jack not sure if you did this or not but playing it in HD on Vimeo makes it funky, try it with HD off. I actually agree with the color grading. I did enhance a lot of the colors, but overall I wanted to keep a very natural look. Tim: I've done a bunch of Same Day Edits and that was the first one I ever got a shot from the reception in. I was pretty excited, thanks for noticing! Jamie: SEE WORKFLOW BELOW Workflow for everyone interested: This particular wedding I didn't have my usual help around which is me and two other guys. It was just me and my amazing DAD. The Wedding was at 4 I started shooting around 1. This setup I might add was PERFECT for a SDE. The church and the reception hall were about 3 minutes from each other. So I set my HP laptop with VEGAS up in a back room at the Reception. My dad just waited in there until I brought him a tape and then we started loading it with my Sony HC1. It was all shot in 60i on the A1 with a Glidecam 2000. My dad just basically watched to make sure that everything was capturing just fine. My dad also watched the HV30 for me to get the time lapse, which I love when I can get one but didn't think I was going to be able to because there was not a cloud in the sky anywhere when I started. I shot prep until about 3:30 then we got everything set up for the ceremony. By the time the ceremony was over everything I had shot thus far except for ceremony footage was loaded on the laptop. We had three cameras at the ceremony my dad manned one, one was unmanned, and I switched back and forth from the glidecam to a tripod. After the ceremony I got my camera loaded from the ceremony while I went and shot them taking pictures. When we got back at around 6:30 I got the pictures footage loaded and then was able to start editing around 7. I edited till 8 and then filmed the first dances and then got back to editing around 8:30. I showed the video on a DVD around 10:00. Which is much later then I normally like to show them just because you don't have everyone's attention. Had it been a 2pm wedding I most probably would have been able to show it towards the end of dinner which is in my opinion the best time to show it!!! I hope that helps and is easy enough to understand. I can get a little off track sometimes. Thanks for all the comments guys. Someone mentioned on another forum that although the Same Day Edits are great they are still not for everyone. Which I do believe is very true. The can be very stressful. Also as much as a Same Day Edit can raise the standards for videography if done correctly they can also do a lot of damage if you are not experienced enough and do not put a quality video together. So I believe there is fine line there........ One last thing, for anyone out there who charges extra for just about everything you are doing yourself a great disservice. You can't sell a bride on equipment that is irrelevant to them. All they care about is a quality video and a genuine person to be there with them on their wedding day. I believe you will get to where you want to be a lot quicker if you give people what they technically might not be paying for..... In the beginning I believe I gave people WAY more then they deserved for what they were paying. But I was able to get footage that I would have never got people to PAY for. But now that they see it they WANT it. The more I give the more I keep benefitting each and every year because I'm able to produce a product way superior to any of my competition in my area except for one company who I feel I'm right on par with. But now I'm able to get $4000 for my average booking and I'm only 22 years old. I just had a mom, her daughter and the fiance in last night. They actually were referred to me from one company that I'm friends with. I talked to the girl once on the phone just to setup the appointment. They drove 45 minutes to get to my studio. I showed them the above SDE and a handful of other videos, joked with them, made them very comfortable, explained my two packages and what they included and the whole time not saying anything about TECHNOLOGY....The final thing I mentioned was what the packages cost which was $2500 and $4000. The mom immediately got out her checkbook and wrote a check for a 1/3 of $4000. I felt that my personality, low pressure and videos are what sold that package. Not that I shoot in HD or charge extra to shoot in HD, use a glide cam, use 3 to 4 cameras. The bottom line is sell yourself and let the videos speak for themselves. Do more and you will get MORE. If they don't appreciate that then you probably don't want them anyways. So STOP trying to sell technology or charge to use a particular piece of equipment people WON'T BUY it. Just make the sacrifice and use it even if you don't think your getting paid for it. It takes a little pain to get where you want to be. I'm the kind of person that wants to make the video look the best it possibly can and I have just built being able to use all that into my packages, because I would not be able to NOT shoot with it because they wouldn't pay for it. Once you get the shots and make your videos better you technically should be able to get more. Sorry about the RANT....... Hope all that makes since.......