My First Wedding
 

I'm doing a wedding for free for a friend of mine. I have:
1 Sony HVR-Z1
2 '1 CCD' Cameras.
2 Tripods
1 Sony WCS-999 wireless mic system
1 shotgun mic
some other random stuff

I have a JVC-HD100 on order but it won't come in time. I hope to use this as experience and perhaps do more weddings later on if possible. For now however, this is the equipment I have.

I have gone over a lot of advice given on this forum (very helpful)...I'm more looking for advice pertaining to how to film effectively with the equipment I have. I want to do as professional a job as possible. One of my biggest concerns is the lack of extra batteries.

Dan Brown

Go buy some batteries asap. That's the first piece of advice.. Myself I use two PD-170's and a 3rd PD-150 when needed.. Between the 3 of them I have 4 NP970s, 6 NP960's and the standards that came with them.. I think I could probably tape for 24 hours before I have to worrk about batteries.. Losing footage because you had a dead camera isn't typically good for business..

Since your doing it for free, you have more than enough equipment wise to pull it off.. Just remember to white balance the cameras together and at the same time, this will help when and if you do any color correcting in post.

As for taping.. I usually plant a videog up front over the bestman's shoulder on tight facials, the other in the aisle about midway with a medium, and the 3rd from a balcony wider that the other two but enough to keep the two other cameras out of frame..

Dan, more batteries is job one.

Then you might consider a monopod, hopefull you can swap between tripod and mono quickly. A monopod will dramatically improve your results. If you get the Bogen model with retractable legs, it makes a good makeshift crane of sorts for some cool sweeping shots.

Mic could be a problem, be sure you have as many backup plans as possible.

Go to rehearsal so you knw what is going on and can plan where you want to be when. remember that people stand in your way, so be prepared to move fast during processional or other times when key shots will be blocked. That is why a monopod can come in handy.

As you quite rightly say, batteries are your concern. Solve this problem as quickly as possible.

My concern is your post production. You have a superior 3CCD camera and 2 x 1 chip cameras. Your picture quality between these cams is going to be vastly different and you are going to make sure you have your exposure and color settings (where possible) similar. I would suggest a "pre-shoot" so you can compare how your different cameras will shape up to each other. Just capture some footage at the same time of day as your wedding and capture the footage and view.

That way you will have a good reference point as to how you are going to match these cams in post.

Good luck

Cheers