Rookie seeks advice from vetrans

[Steve Gill]

Hi Everyone.....Im new to this gig in terms of being professional as I would certainly not classify myself at the level of some of you. I have watched many of the demos provided in this community and I am impressed.

Anyway....I have made the jump into the wedding video ring..and have a few slated for this summer....problem is I have never had the responsibility of doing the whole job.

Equipment wise I have
-1 Xl1s
-1 Panasonic PV-dv201....i know...crap
-PC 1Gb Ram/240 GB HD/
-Running Premiere 6.0(just got pro but havent really used it)
-Aslo have After Effects which is also new to me
-planning on using Irivers for audio

Can any of you vets please provide me with some tips...do's donts....how to prepare. etc. Getting $500 per wedding but would like to perform like a pro as best as I can.

Also ....any tips on mastering these adobe products..Ie online tutorials or something.....After effects seems difficult .

Also interested in various presets XL1s users may have for doing weddings.

Thanks in advance
Steve

[Glen Elliott]

I'd use your Panny as your CYA (cover your a**) camera in the balcony or mounted high on a tripod in the rear of the church framed with a rather wide composition.

Use the XL-1s on the floor as your main cam. Shooting solo is a very difficult task, however, I've seen some phenomenal work from solo shooters. It really depends on how much flexability you have with movement during the ceremony, and if so how you can do so without being distracting. I've seen some examples you'd swear were shot with multiple cameras...though in reality was only shot with one. The trick is to get varying focal lengths and angles to "cut" to in post giving it the illusion of a multi-cam shoot. This however might be a bit advanced for someone starting out. I merely wanted to describe there aren't as many limitations to solo shooting as many might think.

If you are less experienced you should be more mindful of simply getting good clean coverage. I usually shoot from the groom side, front. That way when they face each other to do vows I get a nice close up of the brides face. Another good position would be to shoot from the rear of the alter that way you can see the couples' faces if their backs are to the crowd during the ceremony. The two issues with this are- 1) Some churches/temples don't allow anyone on the alter. ...and 2) You might see yourself when you cut to the CYA camera in the balcony.

iRivers are a great tool for audio aquisition. If your only going to use 1 I'd put it on the officiant with a lav mic that boast a fairly wide pickup pattern. That way you'll get all the audio from the officiant during the ceremony and the audio from the couple during the vows/rings because he usually stands close to the couple. Optimally, if your only using iRivers, I'd at least have 3. One on the officiant, one on the groom, and one on the podium for readers/speakers. Sometimes I mic the soloist or harpist as well.

Regarding becoming proficient at an NLE there are plenty of training materials available for all NLEs. Are you planning on sticking with Premiere 6.0? Total Training has a good deal of Adobe training material as does the 4EverGroup. I'd stray away from After Effects for the time being- while I HAVE seen people make good use of it for effects in wedding and event videography it's not to often. Plus it boast a very high learning curve. I'd put my time and effort into becoming proficient with my NLE first and foremost.

Various presets for the XL1-s....I don't shoot with this cam but I'm sure many of the standard rules apply. Work with zebras- it'll help show you when your image is overexposed. Never go below a 60 shutter unless your working in a really dark environmenta and don't mind the stroby effect sub 60 shutters can give. Watch your gain- I know the XL-1s doesn't have the cleanest gain algorithm. I highly suggest supplementing it with an on- camera light for receptions.

[Steve Gill]

Thank you for the advice....I will remember that when the dates come up. Might try and grab 3rd camera to set up as stationary as well at front of church that way I wont distract.

By the way.....loved your last video you posted...did you use that trapcode shine plug in....????

Anyway thanks again...I really do appreciate your response and advice.


Steve

[Glen Elliott]

Thanks but no, I don't use AE. Though some of the trapcode plugs look mighty appealing.

[Patrick Moreau]

Regarding Glen's comment about never shooting below a shutter of 60. I know that the resolution loss when shooting with a sony at a shutter speed of 30 can be quite significant but, from what I have read and seen, this is not as bad with the Canon. Of course, you do have to mind the motion as Glen mentioned, as you probably want to avoid the strobe effect. Steve, with your XL1s, I have done reception speechs (with very little motion) and shot without an on camera light with a shutter of 30, mid level gain and got pretty clean footage. In my opinion, in this type of situation, I would lower the shutter to 30 before I boosted the gain too high on the XL1s as it is not as clean as the Sony.

[Glen Elliott]

<<<-- Originally posted by Patrick Moreau : Regarding Glen's comment about never shooting below a shutter of 60. I know that the resolution loss when shooting with a sony at a shutter speed of 30 can be quite significant but, from what I have read and seen, this is not as bad with the Canon. Of course, you do have to mind the motion as Glen mentioned, as you probably want to avoid the strobe effect. Steve, with your XL1s, I have done reception speechs (with very little motion) and shot without an on camera light with a shutter of 30, mid level gain and got pretty clean footage. In my opinion, in this type of situation, I would lower the shutter to 30 before I boosted the gain too high on the XL1s as it is not as clean as the Sony. -->>>

Enter... the Frezzi Mini Dimmer with Softbox. It's one of the things I'm looking to invest in this season...better on camera lighting. I believe with the correct amount of diffusion I can light my images at receptions to the point where I'm using very little gain and the image won't have hot spots like a non-diffused light. Plus there won't be much squinting. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is wearing a dreaded battery belt.

[Steve Gill]

Thanks for info...all is appreciated

Steve

[Arnaldo Paixao]

I do 20 to 25 weddings a year solo shooting with one camera and another for backup. My humble thoughts:

If you are realy solo, meaning, there will be no one to help you, forget shooting with two cameras. You should focus on getting the shots that make the day and not be distracted thinking if your other camera is recording or someone bumped the tripod. Leave it in the car. It will be your inssurance if your main camera plays a trick on you.

You didn't mention extra batteries and a light for your camera with respective batteries. You will be shooting for a lot of hours. You'll need enough batteries to power your camera and your light through the day.

Allways carry with you (not in the car, but in a small bag attached to you) a cleaning tape, a lens cleaning tissue, extra lamp for your light and extra battery for the camera).

Number your tapes. If you taped the B/G preparations, put a new tape for the ceremony. Those have a tendency to be on the long side and you don't want to get caught changing tapes when they say "I Do".

Look at the RECORD indicator on the viewfinder/LCD, and look again. Sometimes you thing you are recording, but you didn't press the button. Believe me, it WILL happen to you.

Be cool, try to relax, take a deep breath, that way you will not be sweating like a pig :) (I did in my first wedding) and making things worst by having to clean you face constantly.

I assume you can edit video. Can you author a DVD? Do you have a printer that can print on DVDs? No labels. I say again: NO Labels. I'v used them on DVDs for some time, but it's not worth the risk of having problems with some clients not beeing able to play them.

There are a 1000 more tips me and others can give you. Just tried to help you getting started. Please keep us posted on your progress. Go slow - Go Steady :)

The best of luck to you on your new adventure (yes, shooting weddings can be a real adventure).

Best regards.
Arnaldo

[Steve Gill]

Thank you for the info...good point on being prepared with tapes/batteries etc.

Thank you for the support and encouragement. This site has been great for me in assisting in my preperation and learning.
Thanks again

Ill keep you posted.

Steve