A recap, and something different.
 

Well, it's the end of the year and I'm putting up some work that was produced this past summer. Like it, love it, hate it, whatever. Not everyone's ready for this kind of editing and production techniques in a wedding video.

This is just something to break the flow and open some ideas.

The recap is just that, a plain and simple recap. 2 songs mixed and cut. Nothing fancy.

The Reality wedding clip is a 20min piece (yes that's right, just download the recap if you don't want to watch the full clip). It gives you a better scope of the full production and it touches on some of the aspects of the wedding that were covered (3 major cities- NY, Chicago, Miami, and a lot of production days). The total production has a 65min run time.

Big thanks to the crews who worked on this production. Looking forward to '06.

Recap: http://www.benlynn.tv/BenLynnProduct...lynn_recap.wmv

Reality Wedding Clip: http://www.benlynn.tv/BenLynnProduct...dding_Demo.wmv

I'm only going to have these links up for a couple of days so please download the file to your drive if you want to see it more than once.

Ben Lynn

Hi Ben,
I liked the reality wedding. Just like a TV show good flow. Did the B&G pay for you to go to NY and Miami. And how much would you charge for something like this. Not sure if asking price is proper etiquette or not. Sorry if it isn't.

Jason

Jason,

I hired a crew in Miami, and I sent someone to NY to get the material there. I only shot a couple of scenes myself. There were actually 10 camera operators used in the course of the production, each with various skills and strengths. I handled the bulk of the editing myself with portions done by 3 other people (Don Bloom being one of them). It was a very collaborative effort to put this together but I'm happy with the end result. The people who worked on it did a great job and we had some fun times bringing it together.

Pricing, well, I don't post pricing but of course the price is higher than a traditional, single day high end video. That's to be expected when you cover multiple days and bring it all together in a one hour program.

Ben

Ben exceptional work here. I really got sucked into the story (a sign of exellent editing/storytelling). It had a few minor technical quirks: too much headroom in some of the talking head interviews, some outdoor (overcast) exposures looked a bit dull and under exposed, and some of the camera moves were shakey. However on the other hand there were shots that looked fantastic, great lighting, perfect exposure, and sharp as a tack. Knowing that there were several shooters involved covering many locations consistancy isn't always able to be achieved.

I didn't think it took away from the piece as a whole. In fact it's one of the best, most engrossing pieces I've seen in a long time. Very contemporary, charming, and personal. I love the style of working the talking heads and VO's throughout the program. I was originally inspired towards this by Ken E's work. I haven't taken the step to actually produce a video like this- it really does require a considerable amount more pre-planning.

Again excellent work- very inspirational to me as I'm sure several others here at DVinfo as it's a product/style that can be very valuable to potential clients and worth very good money considering the level of production put into it.
You don't even have to tell us a price- I "know" what something like this is worth and hope you guys were compensated accordingly. Thanks for sharing Ben.

Thanks Glenn.

It was a new format for me to utilize in weddings, but it really was a lot more interesting to create than a single day of coverage. From the time I approached the client with the idea until completion it spanned 8 months.

Technical issues, there were quite a few. That's a focus area for me in 2006. I want there to be more consistancy with the production work and the quality. As you pointed out, the shooters varied and with noticable results. Some of the camera operators were network tv professionals, while others were just part time shooters. 2006 will see a much more evened approach and more consistant results in some of those areas.

Ken Ehrhart really puts some polish into this type of work! He's masterful at adding in effects and details that enhance the production without ever being noticed. Clean audio is a key and he does that very well.

Off topic Glenn, but are you going to 4evergroup's convention next month? Ken will be there along with some other crafty people (great videographers). I won't be there because I have some business in Chicago that week, but it sounds really good. I'm wishing I could make it.

Ben

Ben, I would LOVE to make it out to Orlando next month but I'm a bit wiped out from Christmas plus I spent money earlier in the year for LasVegas (WEVA). In addition to that I have many self-imposed deadlines I'm trying to meet with getting my backlog flushed before the 06 season starts. A large backlog makes me uneasy.

Once again, thanks for sharing the clip. It really was an excellent piece, I look forward to seeing more from you and your crew in the future. Best regards.

Hey Ben,

Sorry you can't come to Orlando next month. It's going to be a great show. Hopefully you can make it down for '07.

Anyway about your video, I really liked your approach to the wedding video. It's original and I didn't feel the need to bail which is a big accomplishment given online video. Thanks for sharing and I look forward to seeing more from you.

Chris Watson
Watson Videography
www.dynamovideo.com

Thanks Chris, sorry I'll miss being there. If WEVA does a town meeting in Chicago, St. Louis, or Indy, then I'll be there for that. Next year I want to attend the 4evergroup convention. I think Jan. is a pretty good time of year to hold a convention. Enjoy the sun and warm weather! Here in central Illinois it's been in the teen's and twenty's for weeks on end. Florida sounds really good right now.

Glenn, I hope you have a restfull Christmas and finish up the work after the holidays in the timeline that you've set. I just finished up last week on my cousins wedding video (only a 5 tape wedding thank goodness) and that was it for the year. I like editing, but I've done so much in the past few months that I'm ready for a long break from it.

Ben

Great Work Ben
 

This is excellent work ben. Only minor gripe is bride says maria played and sang, some of maria playing and singing would be good.

mike

Bug
 

One more thing, maybe it would be good to have your bug in embossed metalic gold or silver to exude a feeling of value. I get that you are down playing it but you could still do that and have it look good.

Mike

Great Work
 

The editing of the reality video is amazing. I coudn't even fathom the amount of footage you had.

And yet the interest is sustained all throughout.

Cheers!

I love it, but the wording...
 

Ben,

I love the concept. My only concern is that the word "reality" may scare away many of the affluent clientelle who can afford this sort of wedding video. The may associate "reality" with reality TV, which seems to be falling out of vogue (thank goodness) due to the fact that so many reality TV show themes are morally objectionable and juvenile. When I hear the word "reality TV," I think of stuff like Jackass (which I enjoy), Fear Factor, Breaking Bonaduce, etc. Most reality TV is people degrading and humiliating themselves for cash.

Just something you may want to consider. The approach itself -- whatever you call it -- is very entertaining.

(BTW, if you ever need a crew in Indiana, I'm located just north of Indianapolis.)

Good luck in '06!

T.J.

Thanks all.

Tim, you've touched on an area that I've thought over since first creating the work. And exactly for the reasons that you pointed out. This genre title will be changing as time goes on. At this point I just use reality term loosely to associate a general feel of the work. I'd love to see it change to a "documentive" production title or something along those lines, but there needs to be a lot more polish on it for that to fly. Possibly in '07 I'll make a transition to that.

Ben

BTW- There were roughly 42 hours of raw material shot. The total video was 1 hr. and 5 min. in length.