Wedding Video

alright thanks. I just like socializing on the forum I guess
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well thats cool. we all do ; )

and nobody begrudges you asking questions. but you often come in with some high level question like whats best for a wedding or the best setting for a music video. and both of those answers depend on a long list of other variables. and from your responses it often SEEMS that you dont want to put in the work of practicing or reading to gain understanding of those components. im not saying thats what you do or how you feel. its just the way you often come off.

and i dont think anyone here has any agenda to keep information from you. but generally in forums, you get more responses and BETTER responses if it appears that youve been proactive in doing some research before and while youre in a discussion. and dont just expect to be spoon-fed all the right answers. if it were that easy, wed all just read the "120 steps to great video" book and it would be all done.

I will google wireless lavs & learn then buy.
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thats the spirit!

anyway, keep the questions coming. but be ready to be directed to articles and not just catalogs ; )
 
wgzn said:
well thats cool. we all do ; )

and nobody begrudges you asking questions. but you often come in with some high level question like whats best for a wedding or the best setting for a music video. and both of those answers depend on a long list of other variables. and from your responses it often SEEMS that you dont want to put in the work of practicing or reading to gain understanding of those components. im not saying thats what you do or how you feel. its just the way you often come off.

and i dont think anyone here has any agenda to keep information from you. but generally in forums, you get more responses and BETTER responses if it appears that youve been proactive in doing some research before and while youre in a discussion. and dont just expect to be spoon-fed all the right answers. if it were that easy, wed all just read the "120 steps to great video" book and it would be all done.


thats the spirit!

anyway, keep the questions coming. but be ready to be directed to articles and not just catalogs ; )
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Yeah I deff agree I am ahead of myself. I am just trying to make the best out of my solo productions you know... I know it seems to be me just asking what to buy all the time but I really just find a good product then research it. I know I could of done better with the lighting... the rental place is down the street but I felt like the softboxes are a pretty good start for me in cases that I found I needed some quick lighting. My wedding budget is not big at all compared to everyone who does weddings. I am doing it for $500.00 just to get my foot in the door. I thought on camera lighting was perfect but instead I am going to set up the soft box lighting. The people want more of a montage type feel so I didn't think audio was that important. It all flows with the budget you know. I have used the schiensier booms mic before & wired lavs. Id like to get the wireless to experiment with but its out of my range right now. As far as the shotgun mic for the DSLR I believe they make one for like 150 bucks that just plugs into the camera without the receiver its nothing like the HVX mics I believe.
 
you also need to get away from thinking your situation is unique. many of us here (myself included) are also often "solo productions" and we ALL have budgets to stay within.

--- getting back to your wedding thing. i think just blazing those softboxes may be a really bad idea. leaving big lights on in a room is going to seriously kill the vibe of the room. if you have to go that way, youd probably be best advised to simply aim them at the ceiling to add a warm fill to the room. which is going to leave you still a bit hungry for light. but if you had that AND you rented an on camera light you could get the best of both worlds...

and always keep gear rental as an option. you dont have to OWN everything. i made that mistake early in my career and it cost me BIG!

you can always add the cost of rentals (marked up a few extra bucks for your time) into the invoice as line items. whats also cool about renting is that you develop relationships with the local rental houses. and once they know you, they tend to be a super source for gear suggestions, a freebie demo day here and there, last minute service and they might even refer clients to you. it becomes a situation of one hand washing the other ; )

another thing is that most rental shops consider a weekend just one day. so say a light kit that cost $200 on a tuesday, if rented on a friday. will give you part of friday, saturday, sunday and part of monday to play with. and that can ROCK for wedding shooters!

for this wedding, id SERIOUSLY suggest renting another 16gig P2 card (like $25) and a single wireless lav setup ($50ish) then either renting or borrowing whatever computer/device to offload one card while shooting another
 
wgzn said:
you also need to get away from thinking your situation is unique. many of us here (myself included) are also often "solo productions" and we ALL have budgets to stay within.

--- getting back to your wedding thing. i think just blazing those softboxes may be a really bad idea. leaving big lights on in a room is going to seriously kill the vibe of the room. if you have to go that way, youd probably be best advised to simply aim them at the ceiling to add a warm fill to the room. which is going to leave you still a bit hungry for light. but if you had that AND you rented an on camera light you could get the best of both worlds...

and always keep gear rental as an option. you dont have to OWN everything. i made that mistake early in my career and it cost me BIG!

you can always add the cost of rentals (marked up a few extra bucks for your time) into the invoice as line items. whats also cool about renting is that you develop relationships with the local rental houses. and once they know you, they tend to be a super source for gear suggestions, a freebie demo day here and there, last minute service and they might even refer clients to you. it becomes a situation of one hand washing the other ; )

another thing is that most rental shops consider a weekend just one day. so say a light kit that cost $200 on a tuesday, if rented on a friday. will give you part of friday, saturday, sunday and part of monday to play with. and that can ROCK for wedding shooters!

for this wedding, id SERIOUSLY suggest renting another 16gig P2 card (like $25) and a single wireless lav setup ($50ish) then either renting or borrowing whatever computer/device to offload one card while shooting another
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yeah - great advice not much I can say to that. The reasons I got the softbox lights is because I am interested in getting the white & black screen to switch up scenes in my music videos & promo videos - so I figured that lighting will be good enough. You can adjust the watts from 250-1000 per light.
 
softboxes are a great lighting option. i suggested them to you a long time ago. but like any kind of light, they wont be good for ALL situations.

they suit my needs pretty well as a core kit because they are pretty flexible. but there are many where they simply wont do.

but for a wedding, you dont want to kill the vibe of the room with your lights. you might find the key area of interest and bounce one left and right. then get an on-camera light for closeups. but then you have to be conscious of getting your own lights in your shots... but hey, we on the forum here dont have any idea what the room is like. your softboxes might well CREATE THE VIBE in the room...

i dont shoot weddings. ive done a few, and they can be fun. but weddings are a *****! people who do them well. make a LOT of money. but they give up their weekends as a career choice. and they put up with angry aunts, fighting mothers in law and uncooperative venues... its nice work if it suits you. but im too apt to punch people ; )
 
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wgzn said:
softboxes are a great lighting option. i suggested them to you a long time ago. but like any kind of light, they wont be good for ALL situations.

they suit my needs pretty well as a core kit because they are pretty flexible. but there are many where they simply wont do.

but for a wedding, you dont want to kill the vibe of the room with your lights. you might find the key area of interest and bounce one left and right. then get an on-camera light for closeups. but then you have to be conscious of getting your own lights in your shots... but hey, we on the forum here dont have any idea what the room is like. your softboxes might well CREATE THE VIBE in the room...

i dont shoot weddings. ive done a few, and they can be fun. but weddings are a *****! people who do them well. make a LOT of money. but they give up their weekends as a career choice. and they put up with angry aunts, fighting mothers in law and uncooperative venues... its nice work if it suits you. but im too apt to punch people ; )
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I have done a couple weddings before they do suck! but thats the only business I can find right now. I was deff thinking about bouncing the lights. I haven't seen the room yet but the lights will be here tomorrow.
 
Brandon, regarding the softboxes- they don't "throw" light very far, don't bounce very much, and the closer they are to the subject, the softer the light.
They would probably have to be close to the dance floor or head table to be useable.
Harder light sources bounce better and can be further away.

Experiment with the softboxes at home (are they 5600K or 3200K?).
Check out the reception space as soon as you can and find out the layout of the room for receptions. Decide where you can set up lights, and what will work in this situation.

You definitely need a wireless lav for the HVX and shotgun for the DSLR.

Sounds like you're doing your learning. Good luck, have a great shoot.
 
groveChuck said:
Brandon, regarding the softboxes- they don't "throw" light very far, don't bounce very much, and the closer they are to the subject, the softer the light.
They would probably have to be close to the dance floor or head table to be useable.
Harder light sources bounce better and can be further away.

Experiment with the softboxes at home (are they 5600K or 3200K?).
Check out the reception space as soon as you can and find out the layout of the room for receptions. Decide where you can set up lights, and what will work in this situation.

You definitely need a wireless lav for the HVX and shotgun for the DSLR.

Sounds like you're doing your learning. Good luck, have a great shoot.
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They are 5600k. I was thinking the rode shotgun mic for the dslr & as far as the lavs go I probably won't have those in time.
 
as far as the lavs go I probably won't have those in time.
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you really cant shoot a wedding without a lav. you need to rent a set.

if you absolutely cant use a lav. put your shotgun on a LONG cable and put it up near the bride and groom
 
bclighting said:
None of those mics state what frequency band they are in. 700mhz is no longer legal in the US and I'm sure that there are people trying to scam others into buying their illegal mics. Buyer Beware!
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I found that whole thing kinda ****ed up. So does our equipment suddenly become obsolete? Does it stop working? Do my Mics sprout legs and run away from me? I used my G2 system on a shoot last week and it worked great, does that make me a felon?

Seriously, the US should replace my mic packs to G3s if thats the case. :furious3:
 
JesterJJZ said:
I found that whole thing kinda ****ed up. So does our equipment suddenly become obsolete? Does it stop working? Do my Mics sprout legs and run away from me? I used my G2 system on a shoot last week and it worked great, does that make me a felon?

Seriously, the US should replace my mic packs to G3s if thats the case. :furious3:
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The G2's are fine and fall with in the acceptable band range. Sennheizer new this was coming when they introduced the G2 Series.... I have an "A" Set that falls within the 518 - 529. This is fine. I've called Sennheizer and they have told me that the G2 Series does not fall within the 700 BAN.
 
NC17z said:
The G2's are fine and fall with in the acceptable band range. Sennheizer new this was coming when they introduced the G2 Series.... I have an "A" Set that falls within the 518 - 529. This is fine. I've called Sennheizer and they have told me that the G2 Series does not fall within the 700 BAN.
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Hmm...I've seen many listings for used G2 systems that state they can only be used outside the US. I like my G2, I just need to make sure I won't get in trouble if I get caught using it. I don't care so much on private and personal shoots, but if I'm shooting a big convention at the Javits Center or something, who's to know they won't have a "Mic Police" running around flagging people.
 
JesterJJZ said:
I found that whole thing kinda ****ed up. So does our equipment suddenly become obsolete? Does it stop working? Do my Mics sprout legs and run away from me? I used my G2 system on a shoot last week and it worked great, does that make me a felon?

Seriously, the US should replace my mic packs to G3s if thats the case. :furious3:
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I feel your pain. My company had a couple of dozen 700mhz wireless kits that we had to sell outside of the US in order to afford new ones. I really doubt that the FCC is going to spend any time trying to track down people. What I could see happening though is that when they sell off the freqs you may get some serious interference that will basically make the 700 mics unusable. They are still good mics and very viable, outside of the FCC controlled area. I'm just advising anyone that is looking to buy a used wireless set to be very careful right now and make sure that they are outside of that band. There are plenty of dishonest sellers out there as I'm sure we all know.

I personally bought an A band G3 camera set. Since we are a Sennheiser Pro User shop I was able to get my hands on one of the first ones shipped even before the major sellers had them in stock. They stopped shipping the G2 camera sets 6 months before the G3's started shipping. I had to call and beg over and over to get mine shipped since I was stuck in limbo and I finally got it the week before my first shoot. It is a great mic for the price and I have proceeded to buy a few more.
 
Hmmm, it'd be a better test if you had a face and some skin tones in it, you know?

And yes- beg, borrow or rent (don't steal) a lav for the ceremony- it's crucial.
Unless the minister is using a mic and you can patch into the PA, but then you're not controlling your sound, they are...
 
I have never been to or worked a wedding with video lighting. I have an on camera light that has been out of the bag 4 maybe 5 times (for a wedding). I am not saying to do what I do, but I think unless you have a dedicated Grip bring your own AC lights, softbox or not, is a recipe for issues. The list of cons is so long and the only pro I can think of is maybe things will happen were you point them.

You will need a lav or another way to connect to other peoples sound gear. A $2000 shotgun mic in the middle of that mass of people will sound only slightly better then the mic on the camera.
 
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