My first wedding shoot shot with a vx2000
 

Hello,

This is my first wedding shoot. I'm looking for any pointers that will help in my next shoot. http://www.earthquakeproductions.net/wedding/flash.html
Btw, the above link is a flash stream and requires a high speed connecting to view.

Thanks,
Troy

Looks nice
 

Troy, the clarity on that flash compression is great. How big is that file? What did you use to make the player?

I really liked the bridal walk angle you had. I think you captured a lot of stuff, some really great footage. Was this thier final, or a snippet. Did you have to work around a photographer?

If I had one simple opinion, it would be the affects on the end were a little heavy, the heart, the sun beam etc, but that's up to your client, hehe.

I think the clarity of that video is great. If that was your first shoot, you did great.

Steven,

The flash flv is pretty large (well over 10 meg I think) and the player was made using Flash 8 medium quality.The video was edited in Vegas 6 and then imported into Flash. This was just a snippet and the final is due in June. And yes, I did have to work around the photographer, but he was very accomodating. I'm glad you pointed out the sunbeam at the end. I only used this to cover up a large water spot I had on the lens from the water shot :-) I thought the heart trans was a little corny and won't be using it in the final. Thanks for you input.

Troy:

Great shots.

Did you shoot in 16:9 or add letterbox in post ?

Way to go. Love my VX2000, and you really show what it can do !!

Thanks Chris. I shot in 16:9 and it worked out pretty good in post.

so, you added the letter box in post? So you needed to think about that when composing your shots?

Yes, I shot in 16:9 mode, so the letter box frame was in the camera. In post the letter box effect was automatically there. I hope this makes sense.

Simon:

VX2000 and VX2100 and PD 150 and 170, can select 16:9 in camera. It does show up, then, as 16:9 in editing. When I first bought my VX2K, there was a lot of talk that the 16:9 selection created some issues with respect to resolution. In fact, recommendation by some was to shoot 4:3, and place a matte on your LCD finder, or to insert a letterbox from a .jpg file using memory mix. I've done it that way for many years. But you can see Troy got some pretty nice images, and since I am now mixing DV SD from my FX1 in 16:9, I will probably be using the built in 16:9 mode.

Thanks for the info..

It’s just these letterbox issues confuse me as when I watch films on my widescreen TV, sometimes its letterboxed sometimes its not, new and old films.

When I shoot, I do want the letterbox look. But even if the camera shoots in 16:9 the letterbox is not there and I need to put tape over the monitor to compose the shots.

Is there a different way or do some cameras have the letterbox automatically?

Simon:

Yes, there are cameras that are native 16:9. All of Sony's new HDV cameras shoot native 16:9HDV and SD, with provisions to shoot 4:3 as an option.

The real confusion with DV in my mind is that whether it is filmed in 4:3 or 16:9 nominally, it still comes in the same 720 x 480 package, from what I understand. I had this drilled into me by one of the tech guys on this forum. Because of that, I always felt you can't go wrong by shooting in 4:3 and adding a letter box matte. You lose the bottom and top pixels, but it would seem to me you would loose it anyway by shooting in 16:9 mode on the Sonys. Now, as I understand it, the native 16:9 s have more pixels, but that would mean it still gets squeezed back into the 720 x 480 nominal package. If any of this makes sense to anybody, maybe they can pick up the technical explanation from there.