It's a filter in your FCP effects folder that automatically takes everything down to a broadcast safe level. In the case of the blown out wedding video, it might not be a good idea to use it because it might make the entire scene too dark. Best to do it manually, in my opinion.

Thanks everyone -

Sorry I've been off the board for a day or two because of schedule.
Thanks for all the great suggestions. Some of them I'm going to have to go in and think on them a bit more - such as the layering suggestion - these are very creative. I might need to ask more questions about those as I get more into them if that's okay.

I did tell my friend that some of the footage was blown out - didn't even think of the creative options! I thought she needed to know. She hasn't seen the footage yet. Right now I'm just trying to get the basic structure edited so I can watch it, then tighten up some things, do a preliminary DVD design and show her some kind of rough edit to make sure her and I are on the same page. All this before i bring my Mac in for service next week (don't ask).

Then at that point I"m going to go in and see what I can do to get more creative - so I'll start implementing some of these suggestions at that point.

I am VERY upset about the blown out footage but if there is one good thing that will come out of this, I've resolved to really master my camera so this never happens again. I know I have the potential to be a good shooter and have a good eye and this is just the thing to really push me into that. I figure, if I have to go through this embarrassment, I'm going to USE it to make sure that I DO know how to handle lighting situations in the future - and when I get two seconds to breathe I'll come up with a plan to challenge myself to learn this stuff.

Regarding posting some footage - I'll see what I can do - however for reasons I can't go into here I can't show any of the faces at the wedding outside of her and her immediate circle of friends, and I have specific instructions from her not to do so, so I am bound by strict confidentiality. (She has a good reason). So let me see if there's a way to get around that.

dont forget, sthat sometime sblowing the shot deliberately can increase the impact of the shot itself..

i love doin blown out background silhouette shots...