Places one aches after a shoot

[David Tripp]

Hello all,

The places I ache
Feet, back and triceps. The triceps from holding the camera or stedicam in my right hand most of the day. And of course my eyes get quite dry and tired from looking at the display on my camera.

As far as energy levels, it's always good to have a high carb meal the night before, something like pizza, pasta, potatoes. This helps top up the Glycogen levels. And then something quite large in the morning. a couple of bagels or a bowl of porridge to just top them up, from the night before. Drink a lot of water through the day. and nibble on food if you get the chance.
I avoid energy drinks (especially those with Caffeine in) as they just make me go all jittery and twitchy which isn;t great for filming. Also you get a high but on the swing side you get the low, which you have to counter by drinking more energy drinks, which makes you even more jittery. I find that eating the right food instead helps heaps more.

I do a lot of triathlons, and I ache just as much from filming a full days wedding than after I have just competed in 2-3hr triathlon.

Thanks DT

[Noel Lising]

My foot hurts after a long day, other than that I am okay. I am 46 years old and have gout attacks from time to time. I shot a wedding once while having a gout attack, I literally have tears in my eyes from the pain while shooting.

[Chris Harding]

Hi David

That's a very good point as most don't mention food and water! On a full wedding here I probably need to leave home at 10am (my weddings are never around the corner, always completely opposite to the suburb we live in) and then you often need to go right thru to anything as late as 9pm until the venue gives you a meal and that's often a "boutique meal" so the nourishment value isn't that great either. I have a decent breakfast but you still have the nearly 11 hour gap where you are working...!!

I take chess/biscuit snacks and plenty of water but it would be interesting to know if other have time to say, stop for lunch or if you eat on the run, what do you take with you?

Chris

[Jeff Harper]

I eat very lightly before a shoot. This is the opposite of what some people do. This gives me more energy, not less. I then find a high protein something, very low fat, between the ceremony and reception.

Food takes a tremendous amount of energy to digest. I eat low fat the day before, and the day of. I skate on the edge of hunger and I'm more alert, and I move much faster this way. I make up my eating on the day after.

[Stelios Christofides]

I always keep Johnnie Walker black label in my Stainless Steel Pocket Hip Flask, This does the trick when I am getting tired. Always works.

stelios

[Chris Harding]

Hi Stelios

...and when the DVD's are delivered the bride will ask you "Stelios, why were you filming the ceiling at the reception and lying on your back on the dance floor and singing?"

Alcohol would certainly give me a boost but I wouldn't like to watch my footage after finishing a hip flask of Johnnie Walker .... I could imagine the local paper saying "Local Videographer causes Chaos at Wedding" ..that would be me...I have to stay alcohol free!!

I would have thought that the answer would be high energy snacks ...Mmmmm chocolate bars for me!!

Chris

[Adrian Tan]

Snacks I take range from borderline healthy to outright junk. Sort of half-hearted gesturings towards health without properly committing.

Muesli bars, Le Snack cheese and biscuits, roasted broadbeans covered in salt, roasted chickpeas covered in salt, Nestlé space food bars, Uncle Toby's LCM bars...

Really should change. Not Jeff's age yet, but do wish I'll have half his fitness levels when I am.

[Buba Kastorski]

I agree with Jeff, gym helps a lot, there is no way i could run for 2 hrs with the 15 - 20lb setup on steadicam for two hours non stop without my workouts, i do train every day and i do train heavy, well i am 50, so as heavy as my joints allow :), but i still bench my body weight, and do 40 min of cardio every day, if it's not my feet, i could film for three days in a row :)

[Warren Kawamoto]

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

That's a very good point as most don't mention food and water!
I take chess/biscuit snacks and plenty of water but it would be interesting to know if other have time to say, stop for lunch or if you eat on the run, what do you take with you?

Chris

I have a cooler packed with water and snacks, and I'm always munching in between locations. The client usually provide meals for us, so all is good. In the rare instance that we are not fed, I still have my trusty cooler full of fresh fruit, juice, water, sandwiches, and granola bars.

BTW I usually don't ache. I may feel tired, but don't ache. I try to play as much beach volleyball as I can during the week.

[Stelios Christofides]

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

Hi Stelios

...and when the DVD's are delivered the bride will ask you "Stelios, why were you filming the ceiling at the reception and lying on your back on the dance floor and singing?"

Alcohol would certainly give me a boost but I wouldn't like to watch my footage after finishing a hip flask of Johnnie Walker .... I could imagine the local paper saying "Local Videographer causes Chaos at Wedding" ..that would be me...I have to stay alcohol free!!

I would have thought that the answer would be high energy snacks ...Mmmmm chocolate bars for me!!

Chris

Chris you are really funny. lol
Now seriously, Of course I don't drink at the job, but to be honest after 10pm when all the typical wedding things have finished (entrance, first dance,speeches, e.t.c) and it's only dancing, then I do really enjoy my whiskey with ice and soda, maybe 2-3 drinks, at this age ( I am 60plus ) I can take it.

[Bernie Johansen]

Sorry to bump an almost month-old thread here, it's just an interesting topic and I want to chime. :)

The only place where I ache towards the end and after a wedding, is the webbing between my thumb and index finger on my right hand. I do a lot of handheld work and having four pounds of camera pressing against this one spot really takes its toll over a long day. Even like 2-3 days later that whole area is still pretty tender.

Anybody else have that problem? I know other videographers use harnesses or even have a hands-free setup. Plus I know my Sony V1U is lighter than a Z1, which I think is more popular for wedding videographers anyway.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Bernie

That's a darn good point!! I also get a bit of a sore thumb and forefinger area soreness..I'm using a lot of handheld but on shoulder mount cameras but the right hand is the one that works the hardest..The cam is on my shoulder and my left hand usually grabs the EVF on the side but my right hand, thru the strap, is doing the hardest job which is keeping the camera frame vertical and also doing the main work on tilts and pans.

Dunno what your age is my with me I also have the added disadvantage of maybe some mild arthritis in my thumb ?? ...During receptions I'm running a camera handheld all the time (speeches has the 2nd cam on a tripod) so during that period I also have an ENG mount which is a sprung ball-head mounted rod under the lenshood that goes to a waist belt...That takes all the front weight away BUT the camera can still topple from side to side and my right hand again keeps the camera level so it's always working.

I'm doing two full weddings (both bridal preps right thru to reception end) back to back this weekend so I'm make a note of what hurts the most on Monday morning!!

Chris