Wedding cinematography question

K

kaydawgy

Active member
So I've been asked to do a friend of mine's wedding video. I have all the equipment needed (2 canon 550d's, sliders, tripods, stabiliizers, etc) For those who have done the "cinematic" wedding style shooting, do ya'll find it easier to have them act some scenes, (like running, kissing, holding hands while walking on a bridge, that sorta stuff) without the photographer there? This particular wedding will have a photographer hired which will do the usual posing photography and what not, so I was wondering, if it's best to have them act out a couple scenes AFTER the photographer is done with whatever they have to do. Thanks ya'll
 
When I shot weddings I'd usually let the photographer do his/her thing with the couple, and I'd shoot around him/her while trying to stay out of the way. It never hindered my footage and it made for a good working relationship because the photographer didn't ever feel like I was intruding.
 
I agree with Finnegan, in fact most of the photographers I work with ask the couple to run and do the various things you're talking about anyways. If I can't get the shot around the photographer then I will usually just ask the couple to repeat something one more time, this way the photographer got his/her turn to get the shot and now I get mine.
 
Good stuff guys. Got another question. So I want to include the bride and the groom getting ready, (as shown in just about ALL vimeo.com wedding videos) What would be the best way to get around capturing footage from both if they happen to be getting ready at the SAME time. I'm only a one man operation so far. Do I jump back and forth, or ask politely to get ready at separate times?
 
If they are close by you spend most of your time with the bride then go to were the guys are and have then pretend to adjust their ties and place their corsage.
 
You never need much footage of the groom. Even the groom feels this way. Only focus on the groom when he is hand in hand with the bride.
 
The bride will take around 2 hours to get ready, the groom can go from being in his underwear to fully dressed and ready to walk down the aisle in 20 minutes. Usually I begin by spending time with the bride while she gets hair and makeup done, once I have 10-15 good shots of her I go visit the groom and have him get fully dressed, then I go back to the ladies. 90% of the time the bride is still in the same chair getting the same thing done as when I left her! When I leave the bride I make sure to tell her where I'm going and that she shouldn't do anything that she wants captured on video until I get back. They'll understand!
 
kgimedia said:
That is of course unless there is no Bride and 2 Grooms.
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One of the grooms will be more into the wedding than the other. I suggest you stick with him. I do not have any suggestions for two grooms equally excited about the wedding. That could be a tough gig.
 
Hilarious stuff guys!! Okay another question. So now Ive been asked to do their engagement video which seems to be a lot more fun to do cuz you can act them out playfully without any real time constraint. Ive seen plenty of excellent vimeo engagement vids where they mix up slow mo with normal 24p (or what it appears to be). To achieve this, is it practical to ask the couple to redo certain scenes over but shoot in 60fps instead of 24p to get a nicer, smoother, slow mo effect in post? Or do ya'll just stick with 1 setting for ease?
 
kaydawgy said:
Hilarious stuff guys!! Okay another question. So now Ive been asked to do their engagement video which seems to be a lot more fun to do cuz you can act them out playfully without any real time constraint. Ive seen plenty of excellent vimeo engagement vids where they mix up slow mo with normal 24p (or what it appears to be). To achieve this, is it practical to ask the couple to redo certain scenes over but shoot in 60fps instead of 24p to get a nicer, smoother, slow mo effect in post? Or do ya'll just stick with 1 setting for ease?
Click to expand...

I'd like an answer to the last sentence - I'm doing my first wedding this weekend, a relative and am wondering if I should just shoot in 720 60p the entire time or mix with 1080p. I'll be using a newly hacked GH2. Any advice GREATLY appreciated - thanks!
 
I've always shot wedding cinema at 60p - the option to snap into slow motion, especially for montage pieces is great. I've never felt a need to switch between 1080p, and I wouldn't want to try that. There's so much pressure and strain as it's a one-time event, that the opportunity to forget that you shot something in one frame rate and want to move back to the original is huge. You'll have enough to worry about - as a first time wedding shooter specifically - without having to deal with frame rate switches. Pick one and go with it. It'll look plenty cinematic at 60p, 24p isn't a necessity. The bridge and groom won't know the difference!
 
The topic went from bride and groom weddings to groom and groom weddings, and now bridge and groom weddings?? This is getting way to weird for me. Check, please.
 
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