Wedding reception

[Kegan]

Hey everyone, this topic has probably come up a million times, but this situation is just a little different. I'm shooting a wedding reception as a favour for a friend of mine, and am thinking to shoot in 60i. There's one part of the reception that I particularly want to think about though. There will be a dance, a hip hop routine I think. I want it to stand out, look different than the rest of the footage. I'm not too sure of the lighting conditions and the reception is TONIGHT. I guess I should have posted this earlier but hoping someone may be able to respond in time.

I don't want to shoot in 24pa or 24p because I think there will be too much movement and I don't want the jerkiness. I was thinking of shooting in 30p but wasn't too sure. Any advice is greatly appreciated. This is my first time shooting a wedding reception or any event like this and I don't want to screw it up. Oh and unfortunatley I will be using a shotgun mic as I don't have a hyper cardiod mic yet and just spent my remainding money on a Spiderbrace (which I will be using).

Thanks again,

-Kegan

EDIT: I do have a 20-40w on camera light and will bring it along, but my intention is not to use it as I don't want to get the "deer-stuck-in-headlights" look.

 

[spencercl]

I shoot weddings in 24PA all of the time, without any problem. I do often need to drop the shutter speed down to 1/24, though. I find that shooting in 24P adds a certain energy to the video - I've never found it to be too stroby or jerky. In any event, I'd suggest being ready with the camera light anyway (make sure to have some solid diffusion on it, though) - most receptions I see are pretty dark.

 

[Kegan]

Hey thanks, I did end up shooting in 24PA with good enough results. I got there late and didn't have enough time to position myself properly. When the dance started I ended up getting stuck in a group of aunts and uncles with cameras and wasn't able to move to get different angles. I ended up just using zooms at intense parts in the songs. It isn't very good but it's a learning experience for next time.

The open bar, dancing and wedding cake was definitley payment enough for last night--especially since I was only doing it for experience.

-Kegan