Wedding Clip

[Rich Hopkins]

Well my brother is a photographer who decided to get into weddings. I have always dabbled in Video, especially enjoyed editing small things ( iMovie, then graduating to FCP) teaching myself in my spare time. So he wants me to do weddings with him. I did my second this past August, at the lighthouse.the couple is a friend of a friend so I thought it would be a good chance to start. I give credit to all the folks here who do this for a living, or second income. It's tough! I was exhausted at the end of the day. I enjoy sitting down at my mac and edit, but shooting is another story! I did this little highlight clip, and the couple liked it- it's got flaws, and I guess the thing I learned most from reading these posts is that everyone gets better with time. I just wanted to share a clip because I enjoyed looking at other clips that were put up. the forum gave me many ideas and the confidence to actually do this. This was shot with a GL2 and a GL1 that I purchased from a member on these message boards. I had my 19 year old nephew man a second camera while I had a monopod.

http://web.mac.com/whitelightstudio/...deography.html

[Michael Dempsey]

Here's my .02 cents:

I saw many facets of what the top dogs do that need refined. For instance you do some of the tilt the camera and twist and down shot. The compostion was good but you need to work on your hand held skills. For the most part they were fine but every now and then it would shake in the middle of the twist move.

I think you have a good eye for a good shot/composition. One more thing, you may want to shoot from a lower angle. The camera looked to be pointing down a good degree. Other than those two criticisms I thought it was pretty good. Keep watching the pros. Actually it was funny because I just did my first wedding this summer and the two things I thought needed work are exactly the same things I did. I suppose we'll fix those with experience.

Nice work and I'm sure they love it.

Mike

[Rich Hopkins]

Good points Mike Thanks- There is no doubt a skill to this, that's for sure! Thanks for replying

[Mike F Smith]

You had some really nice shots. The cuts were pretty good over all. Ditto what Mike said. I would stay away from a tecnique untill you have gained some mastery of it. In this case camera tilts.

Mike Smith

[Waldemar Winkler]

Liked the work. Particularly liked the last shot with B&G in the photo frame.

My first Mini-DV camera was (and is still in service) a GL1. It is a wonderful reliable workhorse, though a bit shy on light sensitivity and shutter speed. Mine definitely looks lived-in (lived on might be a better description), but it still produces admirable results.

Because the GL series cameras have controls placed in the dumbest locations, what I suggest may take some resetting of mind-to-body reflexes, but consider shooting in manual mode all of the time. The best way I have found to do this is to set shutter and gain, then move the aperture/gain/shutter dial to aperture and try you best to leave it there (and not accidentally turn the ND filter on or off, or change the focus to manual/auto.

The biggest issue I see has to do with exposure. Your images appear to be a bit over exposed, which yields a softness which I think should not be there. I suggest you expose you shots at 2/3 stop under, because you can always bring out detail in underexposed shots with video that you can not recover if you overexpose by the same amount. Learn the wonder of 3-way color corrector in FCP. Unless you are outside, manual white balance everywhere! On second thought, manual white balance everywhere. Carry a special WB card all the time...you'll need it.

I'm not going to comment on the ebb and flow of imagery, because I feel that is more an expression of personal style.. When it comes to criticism of personal style, you are probably going to be your own best and most brutal critic.

[Tom Tomkowiak]

I agree with the previous comments. But also, I would've liked to have seen more closeups. A lot of your group shots looked to me as though you were probably standing alongside your brother as he was shooting stills.

As your cash flow increases, you might want to consider getting a stabilizer for the camcorder. Or, before then, you can read up on some techniques to be handheld but not look handheld.

I liked the shot towards the end where initially I wondered what that background was, then as the camera moved, it turned out to be the lighthouse.

[Rich Hopkins]

Thanks for everyones input. I'm looking at stabilizers now, probably be confident in using one by the time spring rolls around.

As far as the closeups: I was standing alongside my brother for many of the group shots, as it was such a huge party. I didnt want to step on his toes, and was worried about getting in his shot. I let him do most of the group arranging, and he was giving instructions to B&G and the party. I guess with experience I can gain more confidence and go after the shots I have in my mind, rather than shooting so passively.

[Damian Clarke]

Hi Rich, I quite liked your clip, I could tell the right thoughts and ideas were in the right places, although it did look overly handheld in parts. Would you listen to me eh? I only shot my first small wedding a week ago and I'm giving others direction lol. Actually, I can relate since when I reviewed my own footage I realised I should have got more close-ups, but being nervous and too timid got in the way. I also tried out the camera tilts and swoops as you have done and I was annoyed by the shaky parts I shot, so don't feel too bad. You might find that when practicing the rolls and tilts over and over in your house, they seem fluid and you think you have it nailed. But, if your anything like me, when it comes to doing it under the pressure of time and spectators, the nerves start!
I'll post mine probably in a few weeks when I get time to edit, so feel free to rip into it lol ;)

[Tom Tomkowiak]

Originally Posted by Rich Hopkins

...I didn't want to step on his toes, and was worried about getting in his shot. I let him do most of the group arranging, and he was giving instructions to B&G and the party...

Some (most? all?) photogs get annoyed when they set up the shot and the video guy gets footage from his/her efforts. I usually keep my camcorder on a tripod during the group photo shots, and stay some distance behind the photo guy. With that setup, I'm out of the photog's way, but can zoom in & get good steady shots. Rich, in your case, since he's your brother — and hopefully a friend as well — it should be easy to coordinate for both of you to get what each of you wants. Get your video before the camera flash, since that's when everyone breaks their pose & start moving.

Originally Posted by Damian Clarke

..I also tried out the camera tilts and swoops as you have done and I was annoyed by the shaky parts...

Converting shakey footage to slo mo with your editing software helps make the jitter less obvious. Slo mo is also supposed to convey a dreamy romantic effect, but I would caution about over using it. I think it's more effective if used sparingly.