Shooting and Editing an Egyptian Reception
 

Hi all,

Here's a question open for artistic and practical input.

I recently shot my first Egyptian reception (no ceremony - it was done somewhere else months before). I did a little research into how the Egyptian culture did these and felt as prepared as possible. When the B&G arrive there is a Grand Entrance. Lots of drummers, sword holders, etc. What I wasn't ready for was the rush of guests surrounding the couple in dance, yelling, clapping, singing, etc. This happened at the reception beginning as well. Both situations continued for at least 20 minutes.

To say that getting good, steady shots was rough is a severe understatment. Moving was impossible so where I started is where I stayed. Now I have handheld drums in the shots as well as hands, fez's, people....I tried to lift my tripod over the crowd for some shots but now I have people bumping into my sides and the camera is shaking.

Photographers can sneak in and out for their photos at times like these. But we video guys need (mostly) continuous shots otherwise we are piecing together 5 second nuggets of the intended subject - whether that's the B&G, guests, drummers, etc.

I know some creativity can save some of the footage. For instance, I'll keep the audio track continuous and slow down some of the shots I took. It's a neat effect but won't suffice for the whole thing.

Have any of you encountered similar shooting problems and do you have any tips for the future? In retrospect I could've climbed a staircase that was near the grand entrance, but for the reception portion, there was no where to go but closer to try to get tight shots of the B&G, or lifting the tripod and working around guest cameras, guest hands, drummers, etc, etc. etc.