wedding video feedback

V

vanishproductions

Member
This is a wedding that I shot recently. I've shot about 10 weddings total and various other events. Just trying to get some feedback as to what others think of my videos. Every customer has been happy so far. I shoot everything with an XH-A1s mostly handheld except for some tripod stuff, I am very clear that the footage is shaky. I've done everything on a very limited budget so far and I'm working on getting a steadicam setup and better tripods, etc. This video is shot at 30F in SD. Wondering why it looks so interlaced at certain points (church pew scenes)? Not in this version so much, but when I export as an MPEG-2 to Encore and on to DVD it looks worse. What am I doing wrong there? I just recently upgraded to a Mac with CS5, so until now I was not able to shoot HD because my system wouldn't handle it. I need to start shooting HD. Any feedback is welcomed...

http://www.vimeo.com/20142614
 
The fact that you are seeking feedback is good. It shows you are intent on increasing your skills. It doesn't matter that the customer is happy. They may be happy with something "Uncle Joe" shot. That's not us. We strive to be the best.

The first thing you should invest in is some sort of stabilization. I know you mentioned it, but you should include it in the price of the wedding. You can rent one and include the rental price in the package. That will improve most of your video right away. I know some videographers are using the Manfrotto Fig Rig at weddings with good success.

When sliding out from being the flower, you lose the viewer. Everything is out of focus at that point, so what is the viewer supposed to look at? Bring something into focus that will guide the viewer. I assume you wanted the crucifix to be the focus, but it wasn't.

Color correct your video. The camera you are using has a limited color space, so you need to give it some punch in post. Especially, when you get into low light areas. The colors get muddy.

Use supplemental lighting. There are several shots where the brides face is very dark. Use lighting to increase that area. You'll need to practice how to get this right so that it doesn't look like you are using additional light. The same with the groom when he is looking out the window. Use some light in the background to give it more depth.

When you get to the reception and the light is very low, you start seeing the noise from the camera's sensors. This is difficult to eliminate unless you use another camera with better low light sensitivity. HDSLR's are being used for this reason.

What you are seeing in the video is not interlacing, but a compression issue. The codec is trying to interpret the scene and isn't doing it very well. Try increasing the minimum bitrate and the quality setting. Are you using "VBR, 2 Pass" for the bitrate encoding?

Hope this helps.

Ken
 
Thanks Ken. That is all great advice. I really appreciate it. I really do want to be the best that I can be, and I realize that I have a lot to learn. I have been using what ever minimum bitrate that was the default and I know it was not VBR, 2 Pass. I am going to export a video i just finished using the settings you suggested and see what the results are. Thanks again...
 
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