Wedding Dress With Long Train

[Lisa Maxwell]

I need your help! How can I film a wedding dress with a long train outdoors? Any ideas? Of course I can't get it dirty. I'm shooting the lovely couple this evening in a field but they may be game to drive around a bit. How can I get a glamour shot of the dress without getting it dirty? Any thoughts anyone? I originally thought I might just hang it from a branch on a tree or something up high, but with a long train, this changes that.

Thanks for any ideas in advance.

[Steve Bleasdale]

Hi Lisa
Im confused is this before the wedding?? because in england the groom cannot see the dress before the wedding??
If not!!
I would find some kind of a long fence!! put the hanger with dress on the fence and trail the dress with the train as far as it can go and then do a slide shot right along the the fence looking at the dress. from 10 yrds away.

Or the same set up but use the glidecam, start at the front of the dress and move along the dress then come away from the dress in a glidecam movement....??
Or am i missing something?

[Lisa Maxwell]

Steve,

That might work, but fences are dirty around here right now being just the beginning of spring.

Yeah, the groom will have to look away! I'm sure she won't want him seeing it!

Maybe I'll wait till the wedding day to get footage of the dress. I so wanted to get a shot of it hanging! LOVE those shots!

[Steve Bleasdale]

I mean the hanger on the fence and let the dress train on the grass part? Lisa since the dress is very long, it would be difficult to hang? so the word train means train and let it do that? Maybe if that field you where talking about is clean, just a simple post in the field with the dress on! then use your glidecam from the front of the dress, walk past with your glidecam in one movement walking away from the dress? maybe?
But let your artistic flair take over on the day, there is always a great idea that you will come up with as a wedding day is live and happening and unpredictable. you will come up with things you would never dream of in the norm....
On the day in the morning prep a nice hang of the dress on anything with a slide or glidecam shot is nice.
Even the dress spread out on a bed is ace!! steve

[Jeff Harper]

There is usually more than enough opportunity to shoot the dress before she puts in on in her preparation area. Taking the dress outdoors before the wedding day just seems a bit too adventurous to me. If it was your idea, and anything happens to the dress....I don't know, unless you can find a very safe place.

Wisconsin in spring just doesn't sound practical.

[Philip Howells]

Lisa, could I respectfully suggest you look at some of the sample programmes available here and elsewhere? You'll see the way others have solved your problem and perhaps devise a better solution for yourself.

It's not that I and others here don't want to help but it's not as if there's one right way and a description can never be as useful as seeing the sample for yourself.