How Do You Choose to Shoot/Edit Reception Dancing?

Chris Harding · May 4th, 2015, 07:50 PM

Despite the extra money earned when you work until midnight, it does make a very long day so I dropped all my long packages about a year ago! If you finish around 9:00 -9:30pm you can pack up your gear and be home and download all your footage, relax and be tucked up in bed before midnight.

I found that waiting for the bride to leave meant I was getting home around 1:00am and by the time the footage was transferred it was nearly 2:00am and I was wide awake still so ended up only getting to bed at ridiculous hours and was a zombie the next day!

Doing it this way also limits the amount of footage that will be ruined by LED lighting and strobes!!

I'm with Pete on this one!!

Steve Burkett · May 4th, 2015, 10:51 PM

Well some need their beauty sleep more than others. :) 5 hours is more than enough for me. Last year I finished a Wedding once at 3, home for 4. Straight to bed - footage downloads whilst I'm asleep. Up at 8 to do a few hours of editing, then was out with my brother and mates for a 15 mile walk. Way I see it, I'll get plenty of rest when I'm dead. :)

Ian Atkins · May 8th, 2015, 06:24 AM

Most of the weddings I'm hired to film include the full reception.
Most in my area have special exits (sparklers, bubbles, car, etc.) that is worth capture on video.

So, I'm stuck with covering most of the reception.

Here is the problem I've found with using anything but natural sound:
Most of the songs played at receptions either have a significant dance step (i.e. Wobble) or
well-known lyrics. Either way, people are "synced" to the dance by either their movement or
mouthing of the words. And sometimes this makes for the best type of footage!

So, if you edit the images to a different part of the song, or a different song entirely, sometimes it doesn't jive
well.

Here is an example I just edited where I used a completely different song than what people are dancing/singing to. I think this case actually works well, but this is just a short highlight video, not a full reception. I would love to see samples of what you guys are doing! Do you have any links to provide?
Here is my recent sample:

May 4th, 2015, 07:50 PM	#16
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: How Do You Choose to Shoot/Edit Reception Dancing? Despite the extra money earned when you work until midnight, it does make a very long day so I dropped all my long packages about a year ago! If you finish around 9:00 -9:30pm you can pack up your gear and be home and download all your footage, relax and be tucked up in bed before midnight. I found that waiting for the bride to leave meant I was getting home around 1:00am and by the time the footage was transferred it was nearly 2:00am and I was wide awake still so ended up only getting to bed at ridiculous hours and was a zombie the next day! Doing it this way also limits the amount of footage that will be ruined by LED lighting and strobes!! I'm with Pete on this one!!

May 4th, 2015, 10:51 PM	#17
Steve Burkett Trustee Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Romsey, UK Posts: 1,261	Re: How Do You Choose to Shoot/Edit Reception Dancing? Well some need their beauty sleep more than others. :) 5 hours is more than enough for me. Last year I finished a Wedding once at 3, home for 4. Straight to bed - footage downloads whilst I'm asleep. Up at 8 to do a few hours of editing, then was out with my brother and mates for a 15 mile walk. Way I see it, I'll get plenty of rest when I'm dead. :)

May 8th, 2015, 06:24 AM	#18
Ian Atkins Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Charlottesville Virginia Posts: 128	Re: How Do You Choose to Shoot/Edit Reception Dancing? Most of the weddings I'm hired to film include the full reception. Most in my area have special exits (sparklers, bubbles, car, etc.) that is worth capture on video. So, I'm stuck with covering most of the reception. Here is the problem I've found with using anything but natural sound: Most of the songs played at receptions either have a significant dance step (i.e. Wobble) or well-known lyrics. Either way, people are "synced" to the dance by either their movement or mouthing of the words. And sometimes this makes for the best type of footage! So, if you edit the images to a different part of the song, or a different song entirely, sometimes it doesn't jive well. Here is an example I just edited where I used a completely different song than what people are dancing/singing to. I think this case actually works well, but this is just a short highlight video, not a full reception. I would love to see samples of what you guys are doing! Do you have any links to provide? Here is my recent sample: Sarah and Brian on Vimeo