Booked my first real client

[Ken Hendrickson]

First, I have to say this site is excellent. I've been lurking the past few days reading up on some old posts, which answered several questions that I've had.

A bit about me, I've been involved in the media department in my church for the past 8 years, which is what really sparked my desire to shoot and edit video professionally. The begining of the year, I decided to make my hobby my profession and started my own wedding videography business.

But down to my real question, since I have my first real client, I want to make sure I have all of my bases covered.

What I have:
GL2
An old Canon Optura (hopefully I'll be able to rent an XL1 instead)
Tripod w/ lanc (It's not the best, but it works for now)
Audio-Technica Pro 88w (for the officiant)
Audio-Technica shotgun mic, I forgot the model (for ambient capture)
Iriver on the way, I would have never thought of this without this forum (for the vows)
Glidecam 2000 pro (for the reception)
3 BP-915 and 2 BP-945
Headphones

Is there anything else that I might need?

I also was called to help film a wedding at my church a few months ago. I switched cameras for the ceremony(we have a 3 camera setup w/ a live switcher), and I ended up shooting and editing the reception as well. Since I ended up doing most of the work, I decided to make a highlight montage, so let me know what you think.

http://onespecialmoment.com/Demo%20HQ.wmv

[Tim Borek]

Ken,

As for any missed bases, you should look into a low-powered (10-40 watts) on-camera light for your GL2 -- especially since that camera has 1/4" CCD chips instead of the larger 1/3" and 1/2" chips used in bigger camcorders. Smaller CCDs = more grain in dim lighting. The GL2 is certainly up to task -- my two assistants both use them -- but in the darkest of dark banquet halls.

I'm curious about the use of the shotgun mic for ambient, "nat" sound. By rejecting sound from the rear and sides, a shotgun microphone limits the recorded room ambience. May just be a difference of personal preference. I record ambient sound through an external stereo microphone on my rear camera; if using my DVC80, I use the built-in stereo mic it sounds that good and is not "tinny." Recording in stereo, in my opinion, increases the sense of realism by hearing different sounds come from different locations; for example, a cough coming from the left and a giggle on the right. Of course, I still lower or even mute the abient sound during vows and readings, but applause and singing sounds great in stereo and gives more of a feeling of being there.

Thanks for posting the WMV clip. I'll be sure to check it out.

Good luck, and enjoy!

TJB

[Ken Hendrickson]

Originally Posted by Tim Borek

Ken,

As for any missed bases, you should look into a low-powered (10-40 watts) on-camera light for your GL2 -- especially since that camera has 1/4" CCD chips instead of the larger 1/3" and 1/2" chips used in bigger camcorders. Smaller CCDs = more grain in dim lighting. The GL2 is certainly up to task -- my two assistants both use them -- but in the darkest of dark banquet halls.

I'm curious about the use of the shotgun mic for ambient, "nat" sound. By rejecting sound from the rear and sides, a shotgun microphone limits the recorded room ambience. May just be a difference of personal preference. I record ambient sound through an external stereo microphone on my rear camera; if using my DVC80, I use the built-in stereo mic it sounds that good and is not "tinny." Recording in stereo, in my opinion, increases the sense of realism by hearing different sounds come from different locations; for example, a cough coming from the left and a giggle on the right. Of course, I still lower or even mute the abient sound during vows and readings, but applause and singing sounds great in stereo and gives more of a feeling of being there.

Thanks for posting the WMV clip. I'll be sure to check it out.

Good luck, and enjoy!

TJB

Now that I think about it, I'll just use the camera mic for now instead of the shotgun.

So other then the light, I pretty much have everything covered?