One Camera Wedding shoots

[Philip Howells]

If you're intending to work unobtrusively (most UK couples prefer it and many churches insist on it), that means no moving during the ceremony until the registers are to be signed. That in turn means serious limitations on the choice of shots - or a very creative B roll (though I think many people know when they're being shown a bunch of flowers instead of the bride's face) - or an incredibly creative cameraman (whom I've never met).

In short I've never done a less than two-camera shoot and nowadays never do with less than three identical cameras. As well always tell our clients, you wouldn't shoot the local news show with less than three cameras.

[Denny Lajeunesse]

Civil weddings here far outnumber Church Weddings. At least in the Kelowna area. Destination wedding area.

[Howard Neill]

My first wedding was my only one camera shoot. That was way back in 1995. The video came out OK and the clients were happy, but I felt far too vulnerable. There is always the chance of human error, mechanical breakdown, and other forces beyond your control.

For the next shoot, I got a 2nd camera. By the end of the following year, I added a 3rd camera and we now work with 4, for the service

Good luck with your one camera shoot. I have a videographer friend who has done a one camera shoot for years and years. There are times that he has had some explaining to do, to the client, when things go wrong. Things will go wrong from time to time. A multi camera shoot helps to ease that problem.

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[Steven Arbiu]

Originally Posted by Erik Andersen

Do a few weddings, then check out the famed Still Motion 1 videographer all-7D wedding (js plus esther). It's possible to be uber creative despite being the only op, it just requires planning and not being obsessed with capturing every single second.

That Still Motion is my bible to wedding videography. What I would like to know is what they're actual full wedding video looked like and how long it was because it looks like he would have to be in a million spots at once not to mention he had 3 to 4 audio recorders going along with the 7d's and most of it looks like B roll. My true question is, do you go for the full cinematic approach and miss something and hope they don't notice or mind.

[Michael Simons]

Originally Posted by Steven Arbiu

That Still Motion is my bible to wedding videography. What I would like to know is what they're actual full wedding video looked like and how long it was because it looks like he would have to be in a million spots at once not to mention he had 3 to 4 audio recorders going along with the 7d's and most of it looks like B roll. My true question is, do you go for the full cinematic approach and miss something and hope they don't notice or mind.

Not to mention there is no photographer in the way. I'm guessing StillMotion gets brides that cater to them and the photography is secondary, which usually isn't the norm in my area.

[Marty Welk]

i dont know how anybody could do it with one, miss something or something fails and you will be the next contestant on the Judge Judey show.
even if i sell a wedding AS a one camera, i will not do the Cerimony part itself without another camera. Guess it depends on so many things though. if your only doing some cuts, or think you can just miss something that . . .

" A little girl grows up and some day she is going to be a Princess, if only for a day, she has spent the last decade(s) thinking about being this princess. MONTHS before the wedding goes off, she and anyone else she can rope in have worked on this Day endlessly in thier minds. a few days before the actual event things start to ramp up, every waking moment of her life is thinking about the event, the crowning victory of her entire existance. Daddy + others has just forked over from $5000 to $50000 dollers of hard earned money for one Glorious day that even if it could be re-enacted it can Not Be Repeated."

and you missed something. they mortaged thier house to do this, and you missed something. She spends half her life working for this moment and you blew it for her.

I cant tell you how important it is when you are "professional" that your representing every professional out there, and you screw this up or any part of it, and every single one of us are going to be editing UNCLE BOBS special freebie video.
because uncle bob has one camera , and a mac laptop.
The people everyone out there is PAYING, really have to be getting what they are paying for and really happy to be paying for it, and not having it messed up in any way. because Uncle bob loves to do this for free, and if there isnt many many advantages to paying, and the pros arent prepared for everything, uncle bob can replace us :-(

so when it comes to can i do a wedding with A camera and mabey a microphone, YES and Uncle Bob can too. And when he does, were out of a job.
ramp it up, and dont stop ramping it up, OWN uncle bob.

Disclaimer:
All charachters represented in this post are purely fictious, even if your Bob, and an uncle your not the uncle bob i was referring to, and brides are not princesses, its only a fantasy written in a big book somewhere i read once.

[Christopher Figueroa]

I only shoot 1-camera weddings. It's how I was taught, and I feel I've mastered it to the point that a 2nd camera seems like a big production to me. (Although I do like the look)

The most important characteristic a videographer needs to have when shooting a 1-camera wedding is ANTICIPATION. You cannot React to the moment, you need to Anticipate it. I need to know or at least make an educated guess what is going to happen in 5 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, and in 5 minutes. If I know the future, I know where I should be and why. I need to be in the best position for the best shot.

Obviously, when shooting 1-camera, there's always the prospect of having the dreaded "Jump Cut", so I always make sure when I start and stop recording, that my shot is entirely different. If I just ended with a close-up of the bride, then my very next shot should start with a wide shot of the church. My unedited raw footage should be totally watchable as a final product if it needed to be.

[Ilya Spektor]

Originally Posted by Christopher Figueroa

I only shoot 1-camera weddings. It's how I was taught, and I feel I've mastered it to the point that a 2nd camera seems like a big production to me. (Although I do like the look)

The most important characteristic a videographer needs to have when shooting a 1-camera wedding is ANTICIPATION. You cannot React to the moment, you need to Anticipate it. I need to know or at least make an educated guess what is going to happen in 5 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, and in 5 minutes. If I know the future, I know where I should be and why. I need to be in the best position for the best shot.

Obviously, when shooting 1-camera, there's always the prospect of having the dreaded "Jump Cut", so I always make sure when I start and stop recording, that my shot is entirely different. If I just ended with a close-up of the bride, then my very next shot should start with a wide shot of the church. My unedited raw footage should be totally watchable as a final product if it needed to be.

I absolutely agree with Christopher - I shoot the same 1-camera style, 'in-camera edit'. It is very important, in addition to wireless, to have at least one independent audio recorder though: video can be interrupted and covered up in post but audio should be continuous (I use Zoom-4n for this...)

[Christopher Figueroa]

Thank you Ilya.

Yes, starting and stopping the recording CAN be an issue with audio if one is not anticipating. So what exactly is Zoom4-n?

[Mitja Gregorin]

I am not a professional videographer, but occasionally captures a wedding for some friends, neighbors,relatives or coworkers. This is just my hoby. Shooting with the single sd camera Canon XM2 (GL2). Because I made a lot of of the quick move and change positions, so I use monopod. In addition, I try to capture a lot of material for the B-roll. For backup I have my old camera that I have in the backpack, or just turn on at the ceremony and placed on a tripod. But almost never use this clip in the final edit.

?pela Ameno on Vimeo

[Philip Howells]

I've just come back to this thread again and want to add this comment. I know I'm a pro and many here are just hobbyists but frankly why bother investing in a good camera if your second camera is going to be a "cheap" old, inferior camera. So will the shots from it so you might just as well use two or three cheap, old cameras. At least the results will look the same.

[Denny Lajeunesse]

Yeah, that's what bothered me with the "use a cheap cam for 2nd cam" suggestions.

1: It's static so no ability to reframe etc.

2: Quality. Maybe some consumer HD cams I could get away with but then, they aren't exactly "cheap" either. I use an HMC150 so the footage would need to match some what. (Otherwise why did I buy a $3000+ cam in the first place?)

That said. Anyone know of a reasonably priced consumer cam that is HD? Might be OK for outdoors but any low light will probably kill me with those tiny sensors. Might train up a friend to work the 2nd cam during the ceremony so I have some coverage while I move positions. I oculd hire an op with cam that i trust but then then I would have to charge sig more for that and pricing is already an issue. Especially being new to the wedding end of the business.

[Philip Howells]

Danny, one of the qualities which separates pros from amateurs is that "matching somewhat" isn't acceptable. Matching in television terms isn't a quality that can be qualified; it either matches or it doesn't.

Sure, you may be able to take something away from the "better" image in post to make it match the "lesser" one but that comes back to my point that you might just as well buy two or three cheap cameras - at least they'll match.

Finally, it is a matter of much regret that manufacturers are able to add the term "HD" to single chip cheap cameras and even get pros exercised about their possibilities. It's rather like "power watts" or "music power watts" - terms that were used to boost the apparent rating of audio amplifiers. There only ever was one that mattered, "rms", and so it remains.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Philip

An excellent point!! My friend Chip sent me a "professional" DVD that he managed to get at a wedding fair and the videographer was obviously using different cameras and the difference was remarkable!! The cutaway shots were a world away from the main shots and where he had shot at different angles even an amateur would have noticed the difference ..it appeared as if two different companies, with different cameras and in totally different lighting conditions had shot footage and he had then "merged" the two. If was horrific and even more so considering that this was the "premium DVD sample" that he was giving out to potential clients!!!

He would have done far better to have used two cheaper cameras! Even if the resolution was a little down at least it would have seemed that it was the same wedding shoot!!!

I buy my cams in pairs and that's the way it will stay...however with a single camera shoot it's still OK to have a backup camera so you have something to fall back on if your main cam dies but I certainly wouldn't try a two cam shoot with vastly different cameras!

Chris

[Denny Lajeunesse]

By "match some what" I mean like matching and HVX200 or even a HMC40 to an HMC150. I can see the difference. 99% of others will not.

In a well lit situation some of the consumer HD cameras probably will be close enough. But I don't know. I have only used pro cameras. (Even in broadcast you see sonys and pannys interchanged).

Bad use of terms I suppose. :)

I see a lot of DSLR/HMC150 combo's around though.
I don't exactly think those match but that seems to work for many people. So I have to come to the conclusion that either I am excessively picky or people consider the footage similar enough.


What kind of cutting during the ceremony are those of you that shoot single camera doing? I have seen several one cam videos online and never see the whole ceremony shot. It is usually the the entire audio overlaid with multi angle cuts (obviously from the same cam) and b-roll. (Talking ceremony here not a high light video).

I do take your point Phillip. (Though besides RMS, THD and and wattge at a given speaker ohm rating was also important ;) )

Originally Posted by Philip Howells

Danny, one of the qualities which separates pros from amateurs is that "matching somewhat" isn't acceptable. Matching in television terms isn't a quality that can be qualified; it either matches or it doesn't.

Sure, you may be able to take something away from the "better" image in post to make it match the "lesser" one but that comes back to my point that you might just as well buy two or three cheap cameras - at least they'll match.

Finally, it is a matter of much regret that manufacturers are able to add the term "HD" to single chip cheap cameras and even get pros exercised about their possibilities. It's rather like "power watts" or "music power watts" - terms that were used to boost the apparent rating of audio amplifiers. There only ever was one that mattered, "rms", and so it remains.