Help (Weddings)
 

I am looking to Capture Weddings on Camcorder and Edit it on my PC at home. Can Anyone help me with some Information.

1. What is the best Camera to use, considering I have a very small budget as in €1000 - €2000. I already have a new Panasonic PV-DV203, but people in the DVI Community keep talking about 16.9,14.3 and Framed formats, can I do this with the PV-DV203.

2. Sound what is the best and cheapest way to pick up the sound in the church. I have taught about purchasing a Sony Mini disc recorder to plug into the Church PA system.

3. Secondly what is the best software to bring it all together. I am currently using Pinnical. But I find the Titles and very disappointing.

Please and thanks
Ken

So many things that I could talk about, but in the long run it is trial and error. Here are some top suggestions:

1. Get a three chip camera if you can. What brand? They all have good models. Personally I have a GL-1 and a Sony TRV-900 and I really like them both.

2. You can use mini-disk to contact to churches PA, but you might want to think about having the Groom wear a mic with a mini-disk or wireless mic. Usually you can hear the father or victor, but you still can't hear the Bride and Groom. A mic on the Groom helps out a lot.

3. Editing programs are like cameras, they all do the job, some better in certain areas than others. I've worked with D-Vision (very old system), Avid, Premiere, Globecaster and now Liquid Edition. Other programs are Media Studio Pro and Vegas. Most programs have a demo, so look at your system specs, budget, take the time to download a demo and give them a try.

Cheers,

David

I give my vote for the wireless mic on the groom. I taped my first one last week with my new Sennheiser Evolution 100 wireless lav and got great results. I used my XL1S onboard mic(on lightwave mount) for music etc. , and had the groom mic'd. Thier vows were clear as a bell. The vows weren't weren't picked up well by the church PA system. I think the pastor's mic was more directional than my ME2 lav. Figuring out the combinations to use the onboard and lav was interesting but makes sense once you do it.

Thanks for the help

Ken, On another note - I don't know what the specifics are about your camera - but if it makes a good picture - then run with it . I would even recommend getting a 2nd one!. The sound is a biggie - getting that good goes a long way - but then also a multi-camera setup would be a big improvement. After looking at my footage, what I would like to do differently, is to have one camera as a static overview shot and use for sound. The second would be used for closeups, or following the wedding party. I hated having to zoom in and out to get shots. I did set up a 2nd camera behind the officiant and to the side, which I may be able to use. The second camera was an old Panasonic AG450 using SVHS. I have yet to see how vastly different the footage will look!

You might also want to think about how a movie is shot (you could even use one camera only). You have the whole ceremony taped - then when the photographer is done (or before) you can get single shots to edit in - like have a closeup of the Groom's face and have him smile like he's seeing his Bride walking down the aisle. Have the Bride put her veil back over, and have whomever is giving her away walk her down the aisle again. Have them re-enact placing the ring on each other's finger. These can be edited in, just like a movie and give you a much better production value.


Doug