Pre event planning at DVinfo.net

Joe Thompson · October 13th, 2011, 03:40 AM

Folks,

As part of pre - event planning for each wedding, I'd see myself visiting the venues in advance, to get an idea of those creative "must have", which may involve a timelapse from a specific location, a location or exterior establishing shot.

Is there a general rule really though?. Do folks take the risk on weather & capture scenes in advance, that the clients may not live through themselves, and may not accurately reflect their story, or should pre-event planning be kept primarily as an exercise to maximise your time on the day, and get an idea of your shot plan.

I'm coming from two angles with this. The extremes in Irish weather & the size of my team. Ideally, getting some of the establishing shots out of the way beforehand, may free up time on the day to do B or G preparations, but on the other hand, i may be wasting time, if there's inconsistent weather on the day.

If it's a case of on the day footage only, would some of you advise on the timeframes you factor in during the morning for the creative & establishing shots.

Has anyone ever found themselves returning to the scene of the crime, post event for any reason :-)

Chris Harding · October 13th, 2011, 03:52 AM

Hi Joe

Outdoor shots might be a tad tricky with weather...if I have weddings anytime after November I can almost guarantee that I can use stock shots ..that's our weather and not yours!!

It's probably safer to do them on the day unless you have specific closeups that won't give away that it wasn't shot on the day!!!

Chris

Joe Thompson · October 13th, 2011, 08:37 AM

Cheers Chris,

Silly question really, but was just looking at possible ways of maximising my time, and coverage on the day, especially as a one man shooter, but weather permitting, it just means starting an hour or two earlier on the day, before the bridal &/or groom preps, and a big bucket of coffee.

The ideal solution might be to work out of Perth from November, & moving back to this soggy island for the rainy summer.

Chris Harding · October 13th, 2011, 08:57 AM

Hi Joe

Our season last year ran from September thru to May and I didn't have one wedding that had rain!!! All our rain (when we get it) if essentially June/July/August only ... in fact I did 4 weddings in July last year (our normally wettest month) and they were not rained out either. It's quite a scarce product here sometimes, quite unlike the Emerald Isle!!!

Then again it's not exactly fun shooting a video shoot in a park with a full stedicam vest at 42 degrees Celcius!!!

Chris

Peter Rush · October 13th, 2011, 08:58 AM

Hi - I've returned to a location after the event to get an odd shot that I'd wished I'd have got on the day (for fairly local weddings) but really I suppose time's money, and i charge my time at £25/hour so realistically, if it's a 2 hour round trip then that trip has cost me £50

Then also you have to go back when the conditions are similar and I'm always busy so I might be returning to the scene of the crime when I could be working on a new job....so it's a bit of a judgement call - doesn't crop up that often - I always allow an hour at a ceremony venue to get establishing shots and cutaways.

If it's raining then that's what they'll get on the video - it will be how they remember it after all - I just use a massive umbrealla and shoot away

Pete

Long Truong · October 13th, 2011, 10:05 AM

Good topic Joe!

I was also considering spending some time on non-wedding days to shoot random clips and timelapses of different "generic" environments around town in different weather condition and stock them up in a folder so I could use them whenever I don't have time to actually shoot them on the day of a wedding.

Another thing I sometimes do is post-wedding shooting. If I realize that I'm missing some environmental shots of a certain location, I would sometimes go back to the same location on a day that matches the weather and cover what I need for my final edit.

Ideally, I would want to cover everything on the day of, but sometimes you are just too overwhelmed and don't have time to shoot everything at the same time.

Joe Thompson · October 14th, 2011, 02:50 AM

Pete you're a legend:-).

I'm an Irish man of 31 years, and still optimistic when it comes to the rain, so finally need to bite the bullet, and get a super sized umbrella. If there's one thing i'll take away from this thread, it's the need for a large umbrella, in the boot of the car on wedding days.

Mary Crowley · October 14th, 2011, 03:24 PM

Hi Joe,

as a fellow 'Paddy' and mainly solo shooter, I thought I'd add my bit.

I've often thought of getting to the venues a few days ahead just to get establishing shots etc, but it's not just the weather continuity that you've to think of. A lot of people are decorating the exteriors of venues now as well, which renders the 'preshot' footage useless.

And anyway, as Peter said, if it is raining (if!!!) that's how everyone will remember it and they'll all have umbrellas etc too.

It would be lovely of course, as a timesaving effort on the day, to know that you don't need to bother with certain shots, so maybe if you do happen to be passing the venue beforehand, you could take a chance and shoot it. It may not be useable for the current wedding, but maybe down the road...!

October 13th, 2011, 03:40 AM	#1
Joe Thompson Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Ireland Posts: 70	Pre event planning Folks, As part of pre - event planning for each wedding, I'd see myself visiting the venues in advance, to get an idea of those creative "must have", which may involve a timelapse from a specific location, a location or exterior establishing shot. Is there a general rule really though?. Do folks take the risk on weather & capture scenes in advance, that the clients may not live through themselves, and may not accurately reflect their story, or should pre-event planning be kept primarily as an exercise to maximise your time on the day, and get an idea of your shot plan. I'm coming from two angles with this. The extremes in Irish weather & the size of my team. Ideally, getting some of the establishing shots out of the way beforehand, may free up time on the day to do B or G preparations, but on the other hand, i may be wasting time, if there's inconsistent weather on the day. If it's a case of on the day footage only, would some of you advise on the timeframes you factor in during the morning for the creative & establishing shots. Has anyone ever found themselves returning to the scene of the crime, post event for any reason :-)

October 13th, 2011, 03:52 AM	#2
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Pre event planning Hi Joe Outdoor shots might be a tad tricky with weather...if I have weddings anytime after November I can almost guarantee that I can use stock shots ..that's our weather and not yours!! It's probably safer to do them on the day unless you have specific closeups that won't give away that it wasn't shot on the day!!! Chris

October 13th, 2011, 08:37 AM	#3
Joe Thompson Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Ireland Posts: 70	Re: Pre event planning Cheers Chris, Silly question really, but was just looking at possible ways of maximising my time, and coverage on the day, especially as a one man shooter, but weather permitting, it just means starting an hour or two earlier on the day, before the bridal &/or groom preps, and a big bucket of coffee. The ideal solution might be to work out of Perth from November, & moving back to this soggy island for the rainy summer.

October 13th, 2011, 08:57 AM	#4
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Pre event planning Hi Joe Our season last year ran from September thru to May and I didn't have one wedding that had rain!!! All our rain (when we get it) if essentially June/July/August only ... in fact I did 4 weddings in July last year (our normally wettest month) and they were not rained out either. It's quite a scarce product here sometimes, quite unlike the Emerald Isle!!! Then again it's not exactly fun shooting a video shoot in a park with a full stedicam vest at 42 degrees Celcius!!! Chris

October 13th, 2011, 08:58 AM	#5
Peter Rush Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: UK/Yorkshire Posts: 2,069	Re: Pre event planning Hi - I've returned to a location after the event to get an odd shot that I'd wished I'd have got on the day (for fairly local weddings) but really I suppose time's money, and i charge my time at £25/hour so realistically, if it's a 2 hour round trip then that trip has cost me £50 Then also you have to go back when the conditions are similar and I'm always busy so I might be returning to the scene of the crime when I could be working on a new job....so it's a bit of a judgement call - doesn't crop up that often - I always allow an hour at a ceremony venue to get establishing shots and cutaways. If it's raining then that's what they'll get on the video - it will be how they remember it after all - I just use a massive umbrealla and shoot away Pete

October 13th, 2011, 10:05 AM	#6
Long Truong Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Toronto & Montreal Posts: 188	Re: Pre event planning Good topic Joe! I was also considering spending some time on non-wedding days to shoot random clips and timelapses of different "generic" environments around town in different weather condition and stock them up in a folder so I could use them whenever I don't have time to actually shoot them on the day of a wedding. Another thing I sometimes do is post-wedding shooting. If I realize that I'm missing some environmental shots of a certain location, I would sometimes go back to the same location on a day that matches the weather and cover what I need for my final edit. Ideally, I would want to cover everything on the day of, but sometimes you are just too overwhelmed and don't have time to shoot everything at the same time.

October 14th, 2011, 02:50 AM	#7
Joe Thompson Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Ireland Posts: 70	Re: Pre event planning Pete you're a legend:-). I'm an Irish man of 31 years, and still optimistic when it comes to the rain, so finally need to bite the bullet, and get a super sized umbrella. If there's one thing i'll take away from this thread, it's the need for a large umbrella, in the boot of the car on wedding days.

October 14th, 2011, 03:24 PM	#8
Mary Crowley Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Ireland Posts: 31	Re: Pre event planning Hi Joe, as a fellow 'Paddy' and mainly solo shooter, I thought I'd add my bit. I've often thought of getting to the venues a few days ahead just to get establishing shots etc, but it's not just the weather continuity that you've to think of. A lot of people are decorating the exteriors of venues now as well, which renders the 'preshot' footage useless. And anyway, as Peter said, if it is raining (if!!!) that's how everyone will remember it and they'll all have umbrellas etc too. It would be lovely of course, as a timesaving effort on the day, to know that you don't need to bother with certain shots, so maybe if you do happen to be passing the venue beforehand, you could take a chance and shoot it. It may not be useable for the current wedding, but maybe down the road...!