Bride Prep clip to share

A.J. Briones · October 6th, 2005, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig Terott

No intention of shooting entire weddings with it and I have another camera for primary footage during pre-ceremony & post-ceremony coverage - I'm not stuck using anything shot with it. Quyen recommends a 50mm f1.4, but have not heard anything about using a zoom FD with it - I suspect it won't work well or at all.

the zoom lens should be fine. i'm getting one today so i'll bite the bullet and be the guinnea pig. the best complement would be to have a 25, 50, 70, 100 set of lenses, which is going to be great for my feature, but not good for weddings at all. also, keep in mind that the bigger the lens, the more weight you are putting on the threads. a rod system would be best.

anyway, i'm going off topic, so i'll leave it at that.

cheers!

Colby Knight · October 6th, 2005, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A.J. Briones

thanks for the comments! the song is titled "Track 4" from their album "()". seriously.

i think the song you are referring to is "Svefn-g-englar", from the vanilla sky soundtrack, also from sigur ros. i've been a fan of their music for a long time now.

you can find them on amazon and itunes, but i suggest getting their physical albums. start with "()", as it includes an awesome dvd of their videos, which are visually stunning.

The untitled track was used in the final credits if I'm not mistaken. I feel like my little personal mystery of finding where this music came from is solved! Thanks!

Craig Terott · October 7th, 2005, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A.J. Briones

for the vx series sony cameras, for example, there is a physical switch.

AJ - Pardon my ignorance but where is this "physical switch"?

A.J. Briones · October 7th, 2005, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig Terott

AJ - Pardon my ignorance but where is this "physical switch"?

keep in mind, i have not opened my vx up, but it's supposed to be on the inside of the hinge for the lcd. there's a single screw holding it togethre.

Craig Terott · October 7th, 2005, 08:38 AM

Maybe I'm inept in some way but I could not get the magnet trick to work on my VX-2000 or PD-170. Tried a few different ones too.

I saw two screws holding the LCD on and I think I'll opt not to dissasemble, so I think I'm stuck with upsidedown shots or mirror method.

A.J. Briones · October 7th, 2005, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig Terott

Maybe I'm inept in some way but I could not get the magnet trick to work on my VX-2000 or PD-170. Tried a few different ones too.

I saw two screws holding the LCD on and I think I'll opt not to dissasemble, so I think I'm stuck with upsidedown shots or mirror method.

like i said in a previous post, the magnet trick does not work for all cameras. unfortunately, this includes the vx2x00's.

A.J. Briones · October 15th, 2005, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A.J. Briones

the zoom lens should be fine. i'm getting one today so i'll bite the bullet and be the guinnea pig.

update: a couple of weeks ago i used a canon fd 28-100 lens and it was fine. no vignetting, and the picture was good. i have footage on a different thread somewhere under "alt. imaging methods", but it's not edited so i'm not going to link on this thread (it being o.t. and all).

i'm behind 10 wedding edits and i'm trying to clear my plate for a music video and a feature, but when i get around to it, i'll share the outcome.

A.J. Briones · October 15th, 2005, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben Lynn

I've stayed at that hotel several times and it's a wonderful place.

I liked the 'look' that you gave the material. You had some great film shots that added to the day.

I did get bored with it however. It just seems like the slow music kept going and going. It was all cut together well and looked great, but things just kept going. Maybe the cut could have been tighter and only half the song used?

I never thought I'd say this about handheld footage, but I really loved that opening shot. The rythem of the camera movement fit the song and made you feel a part of the scene.

Overall a nice piece.

Ben Lynn

i can't believe i just saw this. thanks for the comments ben!

running time is 5:53. it's not much longer than my usual prep, and the bride loves it, so it will stay pretty close to this length when it's done. i've still got to add more footage from the second camera too, which will hopefully add some more pop. i see what you are saying, though.

re: the handheld stuff, i always take at least 2 passes, with varying stability, unless it's live, then i go with whatever i feel. the other exception is the ceremony, where i'm pretty rock solid and smooth. everywhere else, the second camera is always taking smoother shots, so i have a safety during a one-off moment and i can take risks. i don't know why i love handheld, but i'm always trying to recreate movement of old 16mm-style home movie shots. i sometimes get it wrong, but when it comes out right, it's amazing to me. my favorite shot in this whole day is the shot from 5:27-5:38. imho, it's got that "wonder years" feel. ;-P

Craig Terott · October 19th, 2005, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A.J. Briones

the zoom lens should be fine. i'm getting one today so i'll bite the bullet and be the guinnea pig. the best complement would be to have a 25, 50, 70, 100 set of lenses, which is going to be great for my feature, but not good for weddings at all.

Care to comment yet on the performance of the Letus with zoom lens A.J.? I am currious to know if/how well it worked?

A.J. Briones · October 19th, 2005, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig Terott

Care to comment yet on the performance of the Letus with zoom lens A.J.? I am currious to know if/how well it worked?

hi craig. i used a 28-105 lens and it worked out well. i'm backlogged 10 wedding edits behind this one, so i just captured some random footage and threw together some random clips. here it is:

http://www.infinite-studios.com/movies/letusclip.mov

no color correction, no magic bullet, just what was caught on the ccds. also, note that the letus35 has a problem of having some metal shavings get loose after delivery (you'll see some bits of them in the footage). i think the best way to break the letus in is probably to shoot random stuff and carry it around for a couple of days, then open it up and clean it proper prior to a real shoot. problem is, i've got some shavings between the achromat and the macro lens, which i'm not sure how to get to. i hope i have it figured out in time for this evening's shoot. ;-P

also, if anyone here knows of a good freelance editor in the san diego, ca area, i may have some work for them... i've been playing editorial catchup for some time now and may need a hand.

Mike F Smith · October 19th, 2005, 07:43 PM

That was good work. The only gripe I have is you showed me some sick leaves in the beginning. I didn't like that. Kind of like how a real estate agent doesn't want and brown house plant around when they show your house. I would have gone more quickly to the people. Too much scene setting in the beginning is not a good thing.

Reall Good Though,

Mike

Craig Terott · October 20th, 2005, 11:36 AM

I think most videos lack enough "scene setting" shots. If you consider the length of the song - I think this one was 7 plus minutes & just precermony! That's quite a bit of music to sync. Easy to judge - harder to do.

A.J. Briones · October 20th, 2005, 12:22 PM

hi mike, thanks for the comments! that's funny, i didn't really notice that the leaves were browning at the edges! but hey, it's an october wedding. one thing i'm trying to get better at is being aware of more than just the composition of what i'm shooting and paying attention to details like that... i'm the kind of guy that will spend time composing a really cool closeup candid shot and not even notice my tripod in the background. ;-P

re: less establishing and cutting to the people sooner: the location means a lot to this couple, so i included more of it.

each of the edits i've done has been different. for this one, i felt that in all the times i talked with the couple that they wanted something less finessed, less polished, less glossy, and more arthouse, gritty, real, i don't know what you'd call it. i guess i'm trying to get a cinematic feel by doing the exact opposite of what a cinematic videographer would do. is it working? i don't know, but i showed them this cliip and they love it, which is all that counts, i guess. for me, it was a chance to do something different from the swoopy and glossy stuff that most of our brides request, which is refreshing. it will also show some range for future consultations, as we can show this stuff alongside the usual stuff and make a determination on how we shoot according to the couple's reaction.

this is by far the longest bride prep i've edited, and it's not even done yet (still have to add the footage from the second unit camera). that said, i still want these shots to run long and kind of meander, as it definitely caught the feel of the day, and will be a strong contrast to the reception edit. the ceremony was a bit rushed and happened very quickly, and the reception is the payoff and everyone had a lot of fun and there was a lot of energy, so i wanted the beginning to ease into the day and take its time, so you felt like you were there with them, hanging out sipping on an appletini with the girls as they got ready.

Craig Terott · October 20th, 2005, 02:00 PM

appletini seems to be the "in" drink... if they're made well, muy delicious!

October 7th, 2005, 08:38 AM	#20
Craig Terott Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Glendale, AZ Posts: 691	Maybe I'm inept in some way but I could not get the magnet trick to work on my VX-2000 or PD-170. Tried a few different ones too. I saw two screws holding the LCD on and I think I'll opt not to dissasemble, so I think I'm stuck with upsidedown shots or mirror method.

October 19th, 2005, 07:43 PM	#26
Mike F Smith Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 156	That was good work. The only gripe I have is you showed me some sick leaves in the beginning. I didn't like that. Kind of like how a real estate agent doesn't want and brown house plant around when they show your house. I would have gone more quickly to the people. Too much scene setting in the beginning is not a good thing. Reall Good Though, Mike

October 20th, 2005, 11:36 AM	#27
Craig Terott Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Glendale, AZ Posts: 691	I think most videos lack enough "scene setting" shots. If you consider the length of the song - I think this one was 7 plus minutes & just precermony! That's quite a bit of music to sync. Easy to judge - harder to do.

October 20th, 2005, 12:22 PM	#28
A.J. Briones Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 275	hi mike, thanks for the comments! that's funny, i didn't really notice that the leaves were browning at the edges! but hey, it's an october wedding. one thing i'm trying to get better at is being aware of more than just the composition of what i'm shooting and paying attention to details like that... i'm the kind of guy that will spend time composing a really cool closeup candid shot and not even notice my tripod in the background. ;-P re: less establishing and cutting to the people sooner: the location means a lot to this couple, so i included more of it. each of the edits i've done has been different. for this one, i felt that in all the times i talked with the couple that they wanted something less finessed, less polished, less glossy, and more arthouse, gritty, real, i don't know what you'd call it. i guess i'm trying to get a cinematic feel by doing the exact opposite of what a cinematic videographer would do. is it working? i don't know, but i showed them this cliip and they love it, which is all that counts, i guess. for me, it was a chance to do something different from the swoopy and glossy stuff that most of our brides request, which is refreshing. it will also show some range for future consultations, as we can show this stuff alongside the usual stuff and make a determination on how we shoot according to the couple's reaction. this is by far the longest bride prep i've edited, and it's not even done yet (still have to add the footage from the second unit camera). that said, i still want these shots to run long and kind of meander, as it definitely caught the feel of the day, and will be a strong contrast to the reception edit. the ceremony was a bit rushed and happened very quickly, and the reception is the payoff and everyone had a lot of fun and there was a lot of energy, so i wanted the beginning to ease into the day and take its time, so you felt like you were there with them, hanging out sipping on an appletini with the girls as they got ready.

October 20th, 2005, 02:00 PM	#29
Craig Terott Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Glendale, AZ Posts: 691	appletini seems to be the "in" drink... if they're made well, muy delicious!