Virgin Islands Wedding Film

It's been a while since I've posted anything here, it's just been such a busy wedding season I haven't had time to be involved in the forum. I had a great time at this wedding and it came out cool so I thought I would share it with you guys.

Two weeks ago we shot this wedding in St. John. It all took place on this private yacht called the Sea Dream, it's a 400' boat. Ryan Koral from Epic Motion came with me to 2nd shoot, if you haven't seen his work you should check it out.

You would think shooting on a boat would be the best thing ever but it was pretty hard. I only got about 3 hours of sleep the night before the wedding because we were traveling form Puerto Rico to St. John and there were 3 meter waves the whole way over night. I was sleeping in the front of the boat and that section had a ton of movement, it just felt way to weird to sleep......

The other issues we had were dealing with the vibrating decks, very limited 110v plugs, and tight shooting quarters. Every-time we would go to use a tripod, monopod, pegasus ect. it was so shaking looking because of the deck's vibration. It might have been ok with a normal video camera but since we were shooting 5Ds it made very difficult. So for the ceremony we had to try and find the best area to put the tripods so it didn't look like we were shaking the cameras.

As well for the ceremony we had very limited space to move since the back deck was tight with all the chairs and railings. The chuppah made it even worse by adding another pole to obstruct our shots.

But in the end we got it done and had an awesome time shooting with the couple. The party went till 3am but we had to put the cameras away at about 1am when it started getting pretty loose LOL.

This was shot with 2 5DMKIIs, 1 7D, Glidecam 4000 HD, Cinevate Pegasus Carbon. Audio was with the Rode Video Mic on camera and Zoom H4n's for speeches and the ceremony.

Lenses Used -

15 f2.8
24-70 f2.8
24 f1.4
50 f1.4
85 f1.2
70-200 f2.8

You can see the short film here - Kim + Adam - Sea Dream Yacht, Virgin Islands Wedding ~ Joe Simon Productions- International Wedding Cinematography

Thanks for checking it out! All comments, suggestions and questions appreciated.

[Noel Lising]

I hear your name being mentioned along side other "star" videographers but I have never seen your work. Thanks for posting. One word to describe it " Beautiful".

Now you have made my stalk list. LOL

[Monday Isa]

Hey Joe,

Fantastic job! The opening shot of the yacht was one heck of a shot! Good pacing throughout. I have no idea how you guys could film on a boat with all that motion going on. I would've been sick from it. Good job with the challenges you faced. During the reception I could see you were struggling with focus a bit on the glidecam. Is it like that for all your glidecam reception footage with the vdslr? Lastly on the next boat shoot try not do slight dutch's with the horizon visible. That line can be brutal. Thanks for sharing! Really enjoyed it.

Monday

[Oleg Kalyan]

That looks really nice, great work Joe!

[Bruce Patterson]

Awesome job - loved it from beginning to end!

[John J. Arnold]

Outstanding Joe. I love your use of natural sound throughout, and some really gorgeous shots throughout as well. So smooth and steady, despite the boat and tight quarters. Nice work!

[Joe Simon]

Thanks guys!

Monday - I'm not sure what you mean by struggling on focus..... The bridesmaids coming in was the only thing that was out of focus, this was because the B&G didn't tell us they were doing this special entrance. But all the dancing and rest of the reception was focused. When we shoot with a long lens we use selective focus to keep the attention where we want our viewer looking.

[Monday Isa]

Yes the entrance part during the reception of the bridesmaids. That was the part I was talking about. Sorry about not being specific.

[Justin Ferar]

Joe, I see you brought along a 7d along with two 5d's. Just curious what your thoughts are regarding 7d vs. 5d- any preference? I've read lots of comparisons but none from a wedding videographer's perspective : )

[Dimitris Mantalias]

This is truly excellent! This kind of yacht wedding is a dream not only to couples but also many videographers and you surely didn't miss the opportunity to do something extraordinary. The editing is top-notch and your shots (especially the one with the yacht at the beginning and the bride at the window at 1:35), are superb as well.

Well... what more can I say? :)

[Joe Simon]

Originally Posted by Justin Ferar

Joe, I see you brought along a 7d along with two 5d's. Just curious what your thoughts are regarding 7d vs. 5d- any preference? I've read lots of comparisons but none from a wedding videographer's perspective : )

I love my 5D, the 7D is so so....... I can't wait till the update comes out for the 5D for 24p. The 7D overheats all the time, and in warm climates this is a huge problem. Here is my list of issues the the 7D

CONS -
Overheats
1.6 crop, Loose my good wide lenses
LCD not as sharp
Footage not as sharp
harder to focus
not as good in low light
image doesn't seem as good.

PROS-
1.6 crop, I get get better tight shots
level bubble
24p
60p

I mostly use my 7D for the ceremony so I can get those tighter shots with a shorter lens. But the 5D is my camera of choice right now.

[Justin Ferar]

Wow, this overheating issue with the 7d is pretty MAJOR! You don't have this problem with the 5d?

[Joe Simon]

Never had problems with my 5D's overheating. I'm going to push my 7D a bit more on my next shoot and see if it will actually shut down. The overheating thermometer that shows up always scares me so I shut it off for a few minutes. But I've been thinking lately that maybe it will run like that for a while, I'll see this week.

[Tom Bostick]

absolutely love this video Joe
breathtaking and very inspiring!

[Kevin Shahinian]

Great piece Joe, as always.