Wedding moves at DVinfo.net

Wedding moves · April 22nd, 2014, 09:37 PM

Just for fun, here are some camera moves from weddings:

Steadicam is mostly my second shooter's work; everything else is my shaky and out-of-focus dodge.

Adrian Tan · April 23rd, 2014, 04:41 AM

If anyone is game to show off some of their own camera movements, please post! I've been pretty much out of ideas lately.

Art Varga · April 23rd, 2014, 06:52 AM

Nice moves Adrian - thanks for sharing. Curious- how do you did the Merlin rotatation shot at 1:44

Adrian Tan · April 23rd, 2014, 09:28 AM

Hey Art, that was my second shooter, Stefan. I'll shoot with him on Saturday, and will ask him then and get back to you. I'm pretty sure it was just a case of increasing the drop time, turning the thing sideways, then stepping backwards.

(I've never actually used a Glidecam before, but I have a feeling this sort of move might be easier with a Merlin than a Glidecam. Thoughts, anyone?)

Kyle Root · April 24th, 2014, 10:32 AM

Great breakdown of the different movement types.

During my Nikon V1 + FT1 + Lenses experiment, I brought my slider along to a wedding. I've had the slider for a year now and have never used it at a wedding. Usually no time when doing a one man thing.

I had fun using it at this one and will have to make it a point to use it more often. Here's some of the shots I got using it and also a Manfrotto 561 monopod.

Adrian Tan · April 24th, 2014, 04:08 PM

Hey Kyle, there's some interesting vertical slides in that one. Did you do anything special to get these (use a different sort of tripod head, for instance)?

Here's a few other sorts of interesting camera moves under wedding circumstances:

-- Eric Coughlin's Key West wedding had a couple of vertical slides + reveals that were interesting to me: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/wedding-...nd-scenes.html

-- Creeping zoom in. Looks to me like these are servo zooms rather than optical zooms in post. I might be wrong. Anyway: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/wedding-...st-2012-a.html by Guillermo Ibanez. Included in that clip, also, is a horizontal slider reveal from behind the bride as the bride walks down the aisle that is a little different because of the way it coincides with movement, and a a monopod side-to-side move I liked (I find I normally don't like the windscreen-wiper shape the monopod traces).

-- Can't find the example, but I remember a clip someone posted here where the camera is pointed at the ceiling (can't remember whether it was a Greek icon, or a chandelier, but there was something interesting on the ceiling), and then the frame slowly does a 360. There's a couple of ways to accomplish this. Easiest is simply lying the camera flat on top of your tripod pointed upwards, and panning. Can also be done with steadicam, and also with an L-bracket. Best used with some sort of monitor or EVF to aim it and level it properly.

-- Straight slide with camera pointed downwards sometimes gets interesting results. Someone pointed an example here a while back that was simply a slide over the make-up artist's toolkit. What added to eye-candy was the way the slide combined with shallow depth of field and the different height levels of the compartments of the toolkit.

-- There's other interesting sorts of moves one can do with a monopod apart from just combining tilts/pans/leans with focus pulls. For instance, if you're using it as a poor man's steadicam, it's possible to pull focus at the same time as flying (a couple of bad examples in the Bangladeshi wedding I posted, but with a steddiepod instead of monopod: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/wedding-...reception.html).

-- Of course, there's a world of interesting motorised and timelapse moves... Bob Nicholas type moves come to mind -- 180 remote jib head rotate, plus crane up, plus dolly in on wedding dress, combined with interesting composition (dress on mannequin next to pool of water for the reflection).

Kyle Root · April 24th, 2014, 04:42 PM

Thanks. Actually there's only one vertical and that's the first one with the tree on the right side.

All the rest are simple monopod head tilt ups.

My Konova has mounting holes on the ends that allow mounting tripod quick release plates. So, I did that and was able to get the vertical movement.

I'll check those links you shared. I'm on my phone.

Adrian Tan · April 26th, 2014, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Art Varga

Nice moves Adrian - thanks for sharing. Curious- how do you did the Merlin rotatation shot at 1:44

Hey Art, I've checked with my second shooter. There isn't much more to the move than what I've described. He rehearsed it a few times. Was watching the screen as he rotated so he'd end on a nice composition. In terms of drop time, he always shoots with that degree of drop time. Re whether it's harder on a glidecam, he hadn't used a glidecam enough to know, but in principle it should be doable.

Craig McKenna · April 28th, 2014, 05:26 PM

Thanks a lot for the breakdown as to how you've captured each of these! I found it really informative and a great resource!!!

Some of my favourites included the dance floor, moving back towards the cake (steadicam merlin reveal)... as I thought this had a very cinematic feel. The timed focus pull was excellent, a really great, simple and intuitive way of creating something that's already interesting, into something even better! The straight slide on the reflective surface was a great capture to set up the post-wedding ceremony, whilst the monopod as a steadycam was also brilliantly captured by the DJ - something I still haven't managed myself - need more practice.

In fact, a lot of your monopod moves are brilliantly executed - especially the ones where you're simultaneously pulling focus. The slide and pan is something I attempted, but found difficult to perfect too - I guess the more simpler steps are the best... I tried sliding and panning an entire building, and it was too challenging (for me as a novice). The steadicam with merlin rotation too, on the sheet beats the pants off a shallow depth of field shot with focus racking.

Thanks for posting this!

Adrian Tan · April 28th, 2014, 05:41 PM

Thanks Craig. Some time I've got to do a part 2, because there's some longer moves requiring different techniques.

By the way, I've just seen two brilliant uses of slider, and the first one blows my mind:

1. Slide in and rotate. Accomplished by turning 90 degrees the quick release plate that attaches camera to slider, so that the tilt axis becomes a roll.

2. Diagonally vertically slide. Accomplished by: (1) having two fluid heads (one between tripod and slider, and one between slider and camera); (2) turning 90 degrees the quick release plate attaching slider to tripod, so that you can now angle your slider; (3) turning 90 degrees the quick release plate attaching camera to slider, so you can correct for Dutch tilt.

Incidentally, there are ball heads available that allow you to correct for Dutch tilt without adjusting the plate connecting camera to slider.

Stevan Ostojic · May 14th, 2014, 04:54 AM

Hey Adrian,

Great topic, and great work with some of your moves, particularly some of the ones that would involve sliding, panning, tilting and focusing all at the same time, impressive.

I generally love the forward/backwards slide (as opposed to side to side) and experiment with different variations, focus pulls, etc.

Recently tried a side to side slide with camera pointing down, ring nested on the bride's shoes (2nd shot in this teaser (

) and was pretty pleased with the result. Also experimented in the same clip with reversing (in post) a couple of glidecam moves which I did with a bit more pace than usual and seemed to work well.

Stevan.

April 23rd, 2014, 04:41 AM	#2
Adrian Tan Trustee Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 1,149	Re: Wedding moves If anyone is game to show off some of their own camera movements, please post! I've been pretty much out of ideas lately.

April 23rd, 2014, 06:52 AM	#3
Art Varga Major Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Belle Mead, NJ Posts: 552	Re: Wedding moves Nice moves Adrian - thanks for sharing. Curious- how do you did the Merlin rotatation shot at 1:44 __________________ __________________________________ - Art Varga www.vargaproductions.com

April 23rd, 2014, 09:28 AM	#4
Adrian Tan Trustee Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 1,149	Re: Wedding moves Hey Art, that was my second shooter, Stefan. I'll shoot with him on Saturday, and will ask him then and get back to you. I'm pretty sure it was just a case of increasing the drop time, turning the thing sideways, then stepping backwards. (I've never actually used a Glidecam before, but I have a feeling this sort of move might be easier with a Merlin than a Glidecam. Thoughts, anyone?)

April 24th, 2014, 10:32 AM	#5
Kyle Root Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Decatur, AL Posts: 881	Re: Wedding moves Great breakdown of the different movement types. During my Nikon V1 + FT1 + Lenses experiment, I brought my slider along to a wedding. I've had the slider for a year now and have never used it at a wedding. Usually no time when doing a one man thing. I had fun using it at this one and will have to make it a point to use it more often. Here's some of the shots I got using it and also a Manfrotto 561 monopod. YouTube (Short URL) __________________ Kyle KR Productions; www.kyleroot.com Last edited by Kyle Root; April 24th, 2014 at 10:34 AM. Reason: video

April 24th, 2014, 04:08 PM	#6
Adrian Tan Trustee Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 1,149	Re: Wedding moves Hey Kyle, there's some interesting vertical slides in that one. Did you do anything special to get these (use a different sort of tripod head, for instance)? Here's a few other sorts of interesting camera moves under wedding circumstances: -- Eric Coughlin's Key West wedding had a couple of vertical slides + reveals that were interesting to me: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/wedding-...nd-scenes.html -- Creeping zoom in. Looks to me like these are servo zooms rather than optical zooms in post. I might be wrong. Anyway: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/wedding-...st-2012-a.html by Guillermo Ibanez. Included in that clip, also, is a horizontal slider reveal from behind the bride as the bride walks down the aisle that is a little different because of the way it coincides with movement, and a a monopod side-to-side move I liked (I find I normally don't like the windscreen-wiper shape the monopod traces). -- Can't find the example, but I remember a clip someone posted here where the camera is pointed at the ceiling (can't remember whether it was a Greek icon, or a chandelier, but there was something interesting on the ceiling), and then the frame slowly does a 360. There's a couple of ways to accomplish this. Easiest is simply lying the camera flat on top of your tripod pointed upwards, and panning. Can also be done with steadicam, and also with an L-bracket. Best used with some sort of monitor or EVF to aim it and level it properly. -- Straight slide with camera pointed downwards sometimes gets interesting results. Someone pointed an example here a while back that was simply a slide over the make-up artist's toolkit. What added to eye-candy was the way the slide combined with shallow depth of field and the different height levels of the compartments of the toolkit. -- There's other interesting sorts of moves one can do with a monopod apart from just combining tilts/pans/leans with focus pulls. For instance, if you're using it as a poor man's steadicam, it's possible to pull focus at the same time as flying (a couple of bad examples in the Bangladeshi wedding I posted, but with a steddiepod instead of monopod: http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/wedding-...reception.html). -- Of course, there's a world of interesting motorised and timelapse moves... Bob Nicholas type moves come to mind -- 180 remote jib head rotate, plus crane up, plus dolly in on wedding dress, combined with interesting composition (dress on mannequin next to pool of water for the reflection).

April 24th, 2014, 04:42 PM	#7
Kyle Root Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Decatur, AL Posts: 881	Re: Wedding moves Thanks. Actually there's only one vertical and that's the first one with the tree on the right side. All the rest are simple monopod head tilt ups. My Konova has mounting holes on the ends that allow mounting tripod quick release plates. So, I did that and was able to get the vertical movement. I'll check those links you shared. I'm on my phone. __________________ Kyle KR Productions; www.kyleroot.com

April 28th, 2014, 05:26 PM	#9
Craig McKenna Major Player Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Liverpool Posts: 495	Re: Wedding moves Thanks a lot for the breakdown as to how you've captured each of these! I found it really informative and a great resource!!! Some of my favourites included the dance floor, moving back towards the cake (steadicam merlin reveal)... as I thought this had a very cinematic feel. The timed focus pull was excellent, a really great, simple and intuitive way of creating something that's already interesting, into something even better! The straight slide on the reflective surface was a great capture to set up the post-wedding ceremony, whilst the monopod as a steadycam was also brilliantly captured by the DJ - something I still haven't managed myself - need more practice. In fact, a lot of your monopod moves are brilliantly executed - especially the ones where you're simultaneously pulling focus. The slide and pan is something I attempted, but found difficult to perfect too - I guess the more simpler steps are the best... I tried sliding and panning an entire building, and it was too challenging (for me as a novice). The steadicam with merlin rotation too, on the sheet beats the pants off a shallow depth of field shot with focus racking. Thanks for posting this!

April 28th, 2014, 05:41 PM	#10
Adrian Tan Trustee Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 1,149	Re: Wedding moves Thanks Craig. Some time I've got to do a part 2, because there's some longer moves requiring different techniques. By the way, I've just seen two brilliant uses of slider, and the first one blows my mind: 1. Slide in and rotate. Accomplished by turning 90 degrees the quick release plate that attaches camera to slider, so that the tilt axis becomes a roll. 2. Diagonally vertically slide. Accomplished by: (1) having two fluid heads (one between tripod and slider, and one between slider and camera); (2) turning 90 degrees the quick release plate attaching slider to tripod, so that you can now angle your slider; (3) turning 90 degrees the quick release plate attaching camera to slider, so you can correct for Dutch tilt. Cinematography Tutorial: Dramatic Camera Slider Moves - YouTube Incidentally, there are ball heads available that allow you to correct for Dutch tilt without adjusting the plate connecting camera to slider.

May 14th, 2014, 04:54 AM	#11
Stevan Ostojic New Boot Join Date: May 2010 Location: Victoria Posts: 23	Re: Wedding moves Hey Adrian, Great topic, and great work with some of your moves, particularly some of the ones that would involve sliding, panning, tilting and focusing all at the same time, impressive. I generally love the forward/backwards slide (as opposed to side to side) and experiment with different variations, focus pulls, etc. Recently tried a side to side slide with camera pointing down, ring nested on the bride's shoes (2nd shot in this teaser ( Michael + Michelle - Trailer on Vimeo ) and was pretty pleased with the result. Also experimented in the same clip with reversing (in post) a couple of glidecam moves which I did with a bit more pace than usual and seemed to work well. Stevan.