Time Shifting

[Brian Bechard]

Is time shifting a fad or is it effective storytelling for a wedding film? As a wedding videographer I really like this different approach, but I'm afraid my clients won't understand it.

Thoughts?

[Don Bloom]

Time shifting has been and still is a very effective way to tell a story. HOWEVER....like anything else, some people might not care for it, HOWEVER.... if that becomes your style then people should know when they hire you that that is what you do.
One more warning...like so many other things that we do or have done over the years, if overdone, it get real old real quick, Time shifting for a trailer or highlight, sure, during the actual ceremony (if you give them the full version of the ceremony) not so much.
It's really up to you, your the editor and should have creative control but use common sense when doing time shifting.

[Jeff Harper]

If it's done well it will be understood by most anyone that views it.

What is called time shifting I was doing as a fledgling videographer just because it seemed like a cool thing to do, had no idea it would become popular years later. I now deliver primarily doc style and rarely get very creative as I used to.

If you use the right music and if the song fits what is happening onscreen, it will work. It just takes time to put something together. Find the right music, pair it up with the right clips, it will look great.

[Kren Barnes]

Time shifting is definitely not a fad. It is another creative and effective approach to storytelling. It can be used to enhance highlights, same day edits , trailers, feature films and cinematic short-form and even long form edits (50 mins). However, just like what Don said its really up to you as an editor/storyteller to decide whether it is the best way to bring out the story of a wedding day. We've never had a single complaint from clients in the 6 years since we've incorporated it to our product...funny cause there were some videographers in my area that use to tell us that the order of the footages were wrong i.e. "This is crazy! how can they be saying their vows in the beginning of the video when i haven't even seen them get dressed for the wedding..." lol! :)

Kren

[Warren Kawamoto]

My personal opinion is that it's a fad that will eventually fade. It's currently being overused. The sad thing is that everyone copies what they see online; there is rarely any fresh content anymore.

[James Manford]

Is time shifting like time lapse?

Where you see a building and clouds going past it very quickly etc?

Sorry for sounding like an absolute noob, but I am still new to this.

[Don Bloom]

Nope. Time shift is moving the events around on the TL IOW, not in lineal order. Under the right circumstances it can be very effective and frankly as Warren said it can be overused although I think the trend today is more of the super shallow DoF which is honestly getting on my last nerve. It's OK but IMO doesn't need to be in every shot.
Anyway That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! ;-)

[Bill Grant]

Brian,
The way I put this with my editors is that it's ok to do anything at all as long as it works. Don't feel obligated to the chronology or shifting the chronology. Find the opportunity to tell the story in an interesting way. Don't be concerned with the chronology as long as it works. Show it to the wife or girlfriend, she'll tell you. Let the piece guide you.
Bill

[James Manford]

Originally Posted by Don Bloom

Nope. Time shift is moving the events around on the TL IOW, not in lineal order. Under the right circumstances it can be very effective and frankly as Warren said it can be overused although I think the trend today is more of the super shallow DoF which is honestly getting on my last nerve. It's OK but IMO doesn't need to be in every shot.
Anyway That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! ;-)

The only time shifting I do is with B-Roll footage.

Not a fan of mix and matching.

[Bill Grant]

Don,
It's a beautiful day. The sun is shining. Don't let shallow DOF make you upset. :)
Bill

[Don Bloom]

Hey Bill, I like shallow depth of field as much as the next guy...hell I learned all about that back in the early 70s doing still work with big view cameras. I don't mind it but frankly a lot of the work I've seen over the last couple of years it has IMO been overdone to the point that there is no point to anymore. When you eat steak every day pretty soon steak is considered the norm. I think there are times and places for shallow DoF and times for time shifting but not necessarily in every scene of every video. Like in the 80s and 90s when flying hearts were all the rage. Pretty soon we all got sick of them and the BAM! they were gone. Judicious use of DoF and time shift keeps thing fresh and not over done.
Just my $.02 worth

[Brian Bechard]

I think the shallow DOF is here to stay. It may be over used now but the look is similar to what brides see in movies so that connection will probably keep it around. That look only recently became affordable to wedding videographers so it wasn't a common technique until the 5d Mark II came out. We have been flooded with DSLRs so everyone out there is shooting everything wide open.

IMO shallow DOF looks great for tight and some medium shots (esp. of the bride) as long as you're not hunting for focus. I hate that. Balance your aperture so you can get some depth to your shot without losing focus every 5 seconds.

[Noa Put]

Time shifting works well for trailers IF the couple or guests have something interesting to say so you can use their voices to support "the story" you are trying to tell, but I don't see it working that well for longer form films, unless the couple that hires you knows you edit in that way. I have done it once with a Serbian wedding and got the video returned, the bride wanted me to re-edit chronological as the way I did it was confusing for her family to know what happened when.

[Robert Benda]

Came here to stay almost exactly what Noa said. Time shifting can be very useful in trailers, in the cinematic style, when you want to build to an emotional moment that is pretty much never provided by dancing at the reception, which is what you would be left with in a linear story-telling.

For shallow DOF, I agree it's often overused. Other than incredibly dark situations at a reception where we need the high aperture to see at all, really the only time we use it is when we want them to feel like they're the only people in the world, like a nice tight shot of the bride or groom's face during vows.

[Bernard Lau]

Originally Posted by Brian Bechard

Is time shifting a fad or is it effective storytelling for a wedding film? As a wedding videographer I really like this different approach, but I'm afraid my clients won't understand it.

Thoughts?

Time shifting has been around for a while and as most have said, if done right, it is effective and enhances the story of the day. It shouldn't be applied for every event as it does depend on the day. Most of the really good examples around has voice overs involved, either from personal vows or speeches at the reception that are cut to complimenting footage from earlier in the day.

It's definitely not for everyone though and some people do prefer it to be chronological. Nothing's worse than watching a time shifted film that has no direction and in the end, is just a bunch of shots stuck together randomly without a storyline or arc.

Best thing is to try editing some and get feedback from people. If you have them online and you're still getting enquiries, then those are the clients/couples that understand what you're doing and are interested in having a film created that way.