Do I need a glidecam for a highlight wedding film?

[Joseph Lau]

Has anyone filmed with just a monopod and a slider?

Thanks!
Joe

[Kelly Huffaker]

It is illegal in 48 states to post a wedding film WITHOUT the usage of a glidecam! Naw just kidding. Of course you don't need one. It's just a tool to enhance.......that being said, I never film a wedding without my glidecam though :)

[James Manford]

Originally Posted by Joseph Lau

Has anyone filmed with just a monopod and a slider?

Thanks!
Joe

Obviously ...

I've seen amazing trailers done clearly with just a monopod and a dslr. They were good because they can story tell ....

I don't use a glidecam.

I use 3 items that's it ... my monopod, tripod & slider. More than enough to make a decent wedding film / trailer. The rest is down to your filming, style, story telling & editing abilities.

[Arthur Gannis]

You can't film with just a monopod with a slider, you will also need a camera.
Just kiddin' Joe
I have tried it for experimenting a bit last year, and was like OK but not great. With practice I got a little better at it. I hope you don't mind my asking, but why not use a tripod ?
A warm welcome from all of us Joe !

[Nigel Barker]

I have got fed up with lugging a slider around & although I usually take it along it always seems to be left in the car. It's just so cumbersome & time-consuming. I rely more & more on handheld Glidecam to put some movement into my shots & can emulate dolly & jib shots quite well now. Good enough for our requirements anyway. Some judicious work in post with a stabiliser plugin can make the movement rock solid. I do own a proper Steadicam Pilot & have been on a couple of Tiffen Steadicam workshops Plus I am getting pretty experienced with the Glidecam now. I now keep a camera permanently on the Glidecam ready to pick up & fly. I also get some nice movement in the shots just with a monopod leaning right forward/back.

[Don Bloom]

There are lots of TOP professionals that produced TOP notch work WITHOUT a slider, glider or monopod. Watch Mark Vonlakens early works for example. You'd never know there wasn't a slider or glidecam being used.
The question is can YOU work with just a monopod and a slider.
I agree about the tripod. I've used a monopod years ago with small form factor video cameras and frankly not as comfortable or stable as I wanted. For long shots like a wedding ceremony, a tripod is definitely the big +.

[Noa Put]

In the final full version of the film it plays a smaller role as it's just another tool in the box but for a 3-5 minute highlights for your website I find it very beneficial to use. You can concentrate on "storytelling" which you could even do shooting handheld or you can try to visually blow them away with glidecam shots. They do give a sense of "cinema" which your clients could perceive as professional, special, high-end or whatever. I remember trailers from Still-motion years ago when they where not into "storytelling" yet and it was their glidecam shots that stood out for me which made it special and look where they are now :)

[Joseph Lau]

Thank you all. I forgot to tell you guys that the couple will have a ceremony at the bride's house (Chinese Tea Ceremony) follow by Catholic wedding mass.

Which shooting mode (Tv or M) do you use the most?

[Don Bloom]

Originally Posted by Joseph Lau

Which shooting mode (Tv or M) do you use the most?

What modes are these? I've never heard of them? Probably be easier if you told us what kind of camera you're referring to.

[Noa Put]

A canon xh-a1?

[Adrian Tan]

Hey guys, I think he's talking about shutter priority or manual on DSLRs.

Joseph, two quick thoughts.

-- M is definitely the way to go unless you can't touch the camera for some reason (eg you're doing a glidecam shot between changing light environments). You don't want your DOF changing all over the place if you can help it, nor the camera doing those jumpy aperture changes.

-- Re whether you can get by without a glidecam, it all depends. Shooting style, client expectations, etc etc. But think of it this way: generalising a lot, glidecam shots in weddings are almost always more about the image than the content or the "actors'" emotions. If someone's crying or whatever, you generally don't want to be on a glidecam -- you want simple static, with no distracting movement, and with close enough lens to see the emotion in someone's eyes.

[Joseph Lau]

Originally Posted by Don Bloom

What modes are these? I've never heard of them? Probably be easier if you told us what kind of camera you're referring to.

I'm sorry. I'm using Canon 5D Mark III

[Noa Put]

In that case I do prefer shooting with all manual settings.

[Nigel Barker]

If you must use an auto mode on the 5D3 then Auto-ISO does a pretty decent job especially as it gradually rises & falls so that the changes are smoother. You definitely don't want to use TV mode where the shutter is constant but the aperture changes varying the look & DoF & you absolutely don't want to use AV mode where the aperture stays constant but the shutter speed varies as you will get all sorts of weird motion. On the 5D3 you can limit the range for Auto-ISO but there is no real need as 12800 is noise free albeit getting a little soft.

[Joseph Lau]

I opted for monopod and slider since glidecam is a bit pricey :-) Thank you all.