Gary the Llama
Well-known member
I'm off to shoot my first (unpaid) wedding gig for a friend. I've got my camera, tripod, two batteries + charger, filters, plenty of tape... This is the part where you guys give me any last minute tips or advice! 
Any last minute advice for wedding videos?
- Thread starter Gary the Llama
- Start date
HorseFilms
Look ma no hands
When picking your spot, anticipate where people will be standing (including the entire audience when the bride walks down the aisle) so that no one is blocking your shot.
OregonDank
Well-known member
don't clean your lens with steel wool :thumbsup:
have fun man
have fun man
andybiz_2005
Well-known member
Well, my advice would be to mount your DVX on the tripod. With the tripod, retract all 3 legs until all legs are fully retracted & close the tripod so that all 3 legs are close together. Lossen all the knobs on the tripod so that it moves freely. Then with your right hand in the hand craddle of the DVX & your left hand grasping the 3 legs of the tripod (make sure the flip-out LCD of your DVX is opened) you can actually shoot extremely stable, smooth & non-jerky video while walking backwards to film the couple coming in, or following them while they are walking. I frequently shoot with my camcorder fastened to my tripod & holding both camera & tripod, I can achieve extremely steady shots even while doing a slow jog. But make sure your tripod is pretty light, else you'll have aching shoulders.
Since I can't afford a Steadicam, I resort to this cheap-o method, but it still gets me amazing results everytime I do a moving shot.
Another advice, during the wedding dinner, when guests are seated at the dinner table, never shoot the back of people's heads. Always zoom in to take the faces of guests. Frame your shot so that each time, only about 4-5 people are in the frame. Then move around the table till all guests are covered. Close-ups always look better & clearer than far shots.
My videographer mentor always stressed the point NEVER to leave the DVX mounted on the tripod unattended. What if some child knocks both camera & tripod over? Your DVX will be totally smashed up & you can't shoot the rest of the wedding. You can take out the DVX & hand-carry it wherever you go & just leave the empty tripod where it is.
Frequently after shooting some video, press the mode check button to make sure what you just shot comes out as expected.
Remember to check that you're getting a good audio feed by plugging in a set of earphones into the earphone jack of the DVX. I made the mistake once where I didn't check the audiofeed. When it came time to upload the video to my PC to edit, I realised the volume was too soft. I didn't adjust the volume appropriately before the shoot.
Most important, ALWAYS anticipate what will happen next, where the wedding couple will be so that you can position yourself to get the best angle of them.
Try to be unobtrusive so that both wedding guests & couple will not be aware of your presence & be their natural selves. This is what you strive to achieve.
Lastly, do a videosearch on www.yahoo.com Type in something like wedding videos & you'll be amazed at the number of wedding videos you can download to view. That's what I did when I first started my wedding videography business. I particularly like the video demos from http://www.inshotproductions.iinet.net.au/
Hope my 2 cents worth has helped.
Andrew
Since I can't afford a Steadicam, I resort to this cheap-o method, but it still gets me amazing results everytime I do a moving shot.
Another advice, during the wedding dinner, when guests are seated at the dinner table, never shoot the back of people's heads. Always zoom in to take the faces of guests. Frame your shot so that each time, only about 4-5 people are in the frame. Then move around the table till all guests are covered. Close-ups always look better & clearer than far shots.
My videographer mentor always stressed the point NEVER to leave the DVX mounted on the tripod unattended. What if some child knocks both camera & tripod over? Your DVX will be totally smashed up & you can't shoot the rest of the wedding. You can take out the DVX & hand-carry it wherever you go & just leave the empty tripod where it is.
Frequently after shooting some video, press the mode check button to make sure what you just shot comes out as expected.
Remember to check that you're getting a good audio feed by plugging in a set of earphones into the earphone jack of the DVX. I made the mistake once where I didn't check the audiofeed. When it came time to upload the video to my PC to edit, I realised the volume was too soft. I didn't adjust the volume appropriately before the shoot.
Most important, ALWAYS anticipate what will happen next, where the wedding couple will be so that you can position yourself to get the best angle of them.
Try to be unobtrusive so that both wedding guests & couple will not be aware of your presence & be their natural selves. This is what you strive to achieve.
Lastly, do a videosearch on www.yahoo.com Type in something like wedding videos & you'll be amazed at the number of wedding videos you can download to view. That's what I did when I first started my wedding videography business. I particularly like the video demos from http://www.inshotproductions.iinet.net.au/
Hope my 2 cents worth has helped.
Andrew
Last edited:
SilverWolf
Veteran
That's some good advice
Kevin Dorsey
Veteran
Last minute advice...hmmm.
The bride is the star. I would position myself to the right of the altar...so you can see the bride's face during the vows.
A wireless mic is a must. If you don't have one then get as close as you can during the vows. That's the most important part of the ceremony.
Have an idea of how you want the finished video to look...it will help you get all the shots you'll need when editing.
I could go on forever. But I have to get ready for all my weddings coming up. "Cel-e-brate good times, cmon!"
The bride is the star. I would position myself to the right of the altar...so you can see the bride's face during the vows.
A wireless mic is a must. If you don't have one then get as close as you can during the vows. That's the most important part of the ceremony.
Have an idea of how you want the finished video to look...it will help you get all the shots you'll need when editing.
I could go on forever. But I have to get ready for all my weddings coming up. "Cel-e-brate good times, cmon!"
Gary the Llama
Well-known member
Well, I just got back from the wedding. I shot 3 hours of footage and my back and feet are aching beyond belief. Overall? I'm very, very happy with the footage I got. I was constantly on the move, getting as much as I could. The bride was the star and I brought that out with a ton of lovely footage of her.
The weather was perfect. You couldn't have lit it better... There were beautiful clouds that made for a gorgeous sunset and kept all the sunlight diffused. Once the sun went down I was worried about the footage (since I was shooting 24pA) but stopped worrying when I started getting some shots. They turned out great and the dancing looked fantastic. (Especially between the groom and bride.)
Some stuff wasn't perfect... For instance, I didn't position myself well enough for the bride's walk down the aisle and when everyone stood up - sure enough, I couldn't see a thing. That was my fault but I was trying to be unobtrusive. Oh well, a lesson learned.
On the other hand - all the other footage turned out fantastic. I was able to achieve incredible depth of field for that "film look" that everyone keeps talking about. I had plenty of room to frame my shots and take my time.
I was so amazed at what I was seeing on my LCD screen - and so was the wedding photographer (the bride's brother and my mentor). I kept looking at the "real life" scene and then back in my LCD and was consistantly amazed that what I was filming looked better.
I'm sure not everything was perfect. Focusing was something I was really worried about as I was trying to keep up the energy of everyone around me. I wanted it to have a fun look... Energetic - especially on the dance floor - so I learned to quickly rack focus to get my subject in focus. It seemed to come natural and I never had a difficult time focusing on my subject quickly. Obviously, I won't know for sure until I see the footage...
But some of the footage was incredible. Looked like a film. I can't wait to dump this to my hard drive and see it on my monitor. It's going to look incredible. And yes, I'll have screen captures and video up as soon as possible.
All in all... It was a blast and has only cemented my choice of career change. I loved the creative freedom I was given by the couple. To experiment and make a fun video. And I know I accomplished that. For my first professional gig... It turned out really well. In addition, I received excellent compliments on my footage from my mentor (the photographer and brother of the bride) which meant a lot to me.
Well, off to bed. I'm dead tired.
Edit: Forgot to mention... Put the lav mic on the guy officiating and it worked like a charm. From everything I can remember, there weren't any problems with the audio and it came out crisp and clear.
The weather was perfect. You couldn't have lit it better... There were beautiful clouds that made for a gorgeous sunset and kept all the sunlight diffused. Once the sun went down I was worried about the footage (since I was shooting 24pA) but stopped worrying when I started getting some shots. They turned out great and the dancing looked fantastic. (Especially between the groom and bride.)
Some stuff wasn't perfect... For instance, I didn't position myself well enough for the bride's walk down the aisle and when everyone stood up - sure enough, I couldn't see a thing. That was my fault but I was trying to be unobtrusive. Oh well, a lesson learned.
On the other hand - all the other footage turned out fantastic. I was able to achieve incredible depth of field for that "film look" that everyone keeps talking about.
I had plenty of room to frame my shots and take my time.I was so amazed at what I was seeing on my LCD screen - and so was the wedding photographer (the bride's brother and my mentor). I kept looking at the "real life" scene and then back in my LCD and was consistantly amazed that what I was filming looked better.
I'm sure not everything was perfect. Focusing was something I was really worried about as I was trying to keep up the energy of everyone around me. I wanted it to have a fun look... Energetic - especially on the dance floor - so I learned to quickly rack focus to get my subject in focus. It seemed to come natural and I never had a difficult time focusing on my subject quickly. Obviously, I won't know for sure until I see the footage...
But some of the footage was incredible. Looked like a film. I can't wait to dump this to my hard drive and see it on my monitor. It's going to look incredible. And yes, I'll have screen captures and video up as soon as possible.
All in all... It was a blast and has only cemented my choice of career change. I loved the creative freedom I was given by the couple. To experiment and make a fun video. And I know I accomplished that. For my first professional gig... It turned out really well. In addition, I received excellent compliments on my footage from my mentor (the photographer and brother of the bride) which meant a lot to me.
Well, off to bed. I'm dead tired.
Edit: Forgot to mention... Put the lav mic on the guy officiating and it worked like a charm. From everything I can remember, there weren't any problems with the audio and it came out crisp and clear.