My First Post - Wedding Promo Reel

[Matthew Ebenezer]

Hi,

I've just put together my first Wedding Promo Reel. It is made up of footage from the three weddings I've done so far. I'm hoping to use it to (obviously) get more weddings but I'm also after a chance to do TV commercials for some local wedding stores.

Comments and feedback are most welcome.

http://www.ebenezerfilms.com/Wedding_Promo_Reel.wmv

Thanks,

Matthew.

[Craig Terott]

I liked it. I thought the jazz portion was a nice light-hearted touch. The only other feedback I have is some of the camera work / some quick zooms are portions that I would have edited out. Zooms are evil... and the faster the zoom - the more evil it is. -just my opinion

[Jimmy McKenzie]

That was very nice. Just the right amount of filtration.
Perhaps you can describe your cam and settings?
I did like the pull back zooms. Maybe the one zoom in could have had it's out point trimmed, but I think your work is incredible.

[Peter Jefferson]

Hey Matt,
good to seee ur gettin some good use out of that XL2 :)
but this is some really good stuff here :)

as mentioned the zooms early on the piece to get a lil dizzying, but if i were to do that, id deliberaty run a track motion on those clips to sway them a little more as theyre zooming then re-centre it as u find your target.
Youll get that CSI/Medium/Without a Trace handheld feel to it.. without it being out of place. It also conveys that real life rawness, and edited well like u have done here, it could easily pass off with some classic "standard' shots

Some people say dont zoom at all, but sometimes, some of the best shots are taken at the spur of the moment, and sometimes you really have to sacrifice artistic "no zoom" methodology to be able to present this event as it happend to the best of your ability.
Its what we do and its what were paid to do..

Hell id love to be able to cut a wedding to how i like it, but i dont have that option.. the actual freedom i get is with highlights, and even then i get people wanting it to be more akin to their own ideas of what they believe is a good video, even if i dont agree with them..
But Theyre payin me, and once i give them what they want, i then go and redo it for how i like and then use that as a demo..

So dont be afraid to take risks and dont be afraid to be out there and do some crazy shit, coz doing wat we do here in oz, there arent that many people willing to go all out.. they all play it safe and it becomes boring, stale and very competitive.

Good stuff man, keep it up, and if ur ever in sydeny, drop me a line :)

on a side note, dont u just love aussie bridesmaids... :)~

[Matthew Ebenezer]

Thanks for the feedback so far.

Jimmy - The one with the shorter girl with the curly hair was shot on a Canon XL1s in Frame Mode - fully auto. I'd only borrowed the camera the day before and didn't have a clue how to use it :)

The other two were done with the Canon XL2 and an XL1s as a second camera - most of the shots in the reel were from the XL2. The XL2 was run in manual mode.

Peter - I agree about the 'run and gun' nature of shooting weddings - especially the photos. You don't have the luxury of setting up shots - I figure the couple is already getting posed shots from the photographer and I need to catch the other 'candid' moments. And I certainly agree about taking risks - there's a lot of 'play it safe' attitude around my area.

More comments and feedback from others is most welcome.

Thanks.

[Young Lee]

I enjoyed every sec of it~ Nice use of zoom~! Thank you for posting.

[Mike Cook]

Dude,

That was nice. You gave me quite a few ideas for the two weddings I am shooting this weekend. I like your candid shots and you obviously can get people to work well with you on the staged stuff. Lots of sweet focus work too.

I like the zooms. I think for these couples it works. If you have a younger, hipper crowd that plays well to the camera you can get away with that stuff. My favorite rule; "Once you know the rules, break 'em when you see the opportunity".

Keep up the good work.

Mike

[Anthony Mooney]

I see lots of wedding videography and the bottom line is : wedding videographers try to copy cinematographers and the end up with a wedding scenario like this : Slow motion, soft and glow filters, lots and lots of panning shots (coming back from the tree, hiding behind the chairs e.t.c).
And at the end you can't say who imitates who, they all look the same - flashy! The same moves and the same beuty. Ttataly boring but a good way to get the monies. What I don't usualy like (besides that they all look the same) is that most shoters forget the people and the candit moments .

Young people or new people ahev a fresh way of doing things , until the start imitate the "standart".

You have a fresh approach. I like it, it didn't got me sleep, and people were fresh (because you got their moments - not because they were young , like some one said). Good job - almost original when you didn't try to imitate the "crane shots" that almost every body uses.

Good job. Keep it fresh!

Anthony. -
Sorry for my gramar.

[Peter Jefferson]

i totally agree, the "play it safe" attitude get the jobs, however it does nothing to show how different you are from the guy who charges 250bux less than you...

with regard to cinematogaphy, on thing i refuse to do is soft focus... i had one guy try to tell me that it was a "standard wedding effect" i just laughed in his face, and i talk to ALOT of weding producers as i supply most of their gear...
Ive seen alot of shit out there, and ive seen alot of lame, everyday standard kinda videos.. which frankly, put me to sleep..

take a risk every now and then, and youd be surprised at what u might find...
and if people think youre crazy, even better... at least they wont try to plaguiarise your work... so long as the customer likes it, thats all that matters..

[Matthew Ebenezer]

Mike - It's great that you've got some ideas from this piece. That's what I like about this forum. It's a great place to get ideas and also share your work in a constructive environment. I've certainly learned heaps in my short time here.

Peter/Anthony - Why don't you guys tell us what you really think? :) Just kidding. I agree with you about the 'play it safe stuff' - it's so important to offer something unique that stands out from the crowd. Not everyone will like it but those that do love it - and you can satisfy your own "artistic" tendencies and be happy that you're being true to yourself (cue inspirational music here ....) Call me a naive and idealistic dreamer but I hope I can hold on to that way of thinking and keep doing work that I'm genuinely proud of for as long as possible.

Anyway, good to see such an interesting conversation coming out of this. The piece is still there if others are interested in weighing in.

Thanks,

Matthew.

[Dennis Cummins]

Good work Matt, very impessive for your first few weddings you defo have an eye for this kind of work. What filters did you use??

[Mike Cook]

A note on playing it safe with the more "standard" stuff. This is about the couple and specifically, the bride. You do what she wants.

If that means lots of sappy slow mo to create the "romantic look" that she told you she loves on the demos, that's what you do. This is not about satisfying your creative needs, it's about making the client happy while making money.

My partner and I cut 5 different styles of demo to show clients and so far, without fail, the bride has preferred the slo mo/glow/soft look. That may be an indicator we need to do a better job with our other styles but I think it is more indicative of what a bride prefers.

Looking at 50 wedding demos can jade a person. Keep in mind that the bride is looking at one, hers. One comment stands out clearly though - get the candid shots. Nothing brings out the people more than that.

Mike

[Mike F Smith]

It's very good work. But don't send it to prospective birdes with the broken light bulb logo. That conjures up all kinds of bad for me.

Mike

[Matthew Ebenezer]

Originally Posted by Mike F Smith

It's very good work. But don't send it to prospective birdes with the broken light bulb logo. That conjures up all kinds of bad for me.

Mike

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your comments. Any specific reasons why you wouldn't put the lightbulb logo at the end?

[David Mathew Bonner]

some nice shots and a nice ' film look".
I like the light bulb blowing up myself,
I also see this post is from a few months back, has the demo worked for you?
Cause if it works, dont "insert word of choice" with it :)

in other words, If it aint broke don't fix it