Missing Tape - How would you handle this?
 

In almost 5 years of filming weddings I have never lost a tape. I'm actually really anal about having a system for everything from the way equipment is stored to the way I keep track of tapes at a wedding. Still, I seem to be missing the final tape from a recent wedding.

So my question is, in case I can't find this tape, how would you handle this issue with the client?

I have the first dance, father/daughter, mother/son, anniversary dance and cake cutting. What I'm missing are the toasts, the money dance and the boquet and garter toss, as well as the additional dancing/socializing that happened that night. My assistant shooter's tape has the toasts and money dance, but it's basically B-roll footage.

Anyways, I'd love to hear some ideas on how to approach this issue, especially from any of you who have had similar problems in the past.

Travis, sorry to hear about this. How to handle the editing depends on how you normally edit your client videos ie. do you do long form or short form style edits?

If you have good audio or atleast usable audio from your b shooters toasts, you could use the audio underneath some of the dances mixed with the music....sure, your gonna bemissing some of the visuals but this could work. I do it often, and not because I lost the tape but because it adds to the piece. You could start some of the toasts during the footage of the grand entrance as well.

Some of the other footage that is missing, well you cant replace what is lost but maybe some still images from their pro photographer could help...???

I think you should be honest to your client....stuff happens and could happen to anyone, you are human. Perhaps you could offer to do a "love story" and photo montage if you didnt already include it in your package free of charge of course. It wont replace anything but it could help mend the bruise. I would definately give them plenty of extra dvds once its all done and some sort of discount.

If you are confident you can still produce a quality video for them which I am betting you can, you should "emphasize" that and not whats not going to be on the dvd. The heart and soul of the video wasnt lost (the ceremony). To most I think that may be the most important.

I could walk you through some of this stuff if you end up needing more help...just email me directly and i'll give you my ph number.

good luck-joe

Joe,

Thanks for the tips on editing. I've done a great job on the project up to this point, and I'm fairly confident I can finish off the reception and highlights video with a good edit.

My real question was how to handle the issue with the clients themselves. I definitely plan on being totally up front with them, but I wasn't really sure what to offer in return for the loss of footage. I guess I could offer to do a love story video, instead of just giving them cash back. Extra DVD's probably wouldn't be something they are interested in, since I already include 3 in each package, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Travis, since you're being up front and honest, inquire as to whether other attendees at the wedding might happen to have video of the missing events. You might even offer a small monetary compensation to someone who has the needed video.

-gb-

That's funny. I've been laying here awake thinking of where the tape could have gone and what I could do, and then I thought of maybe asking to see if anyone else had footage I could use. I just got up to go through all my tapes again and saw your post. Might be my best bet at this point. Thanks for the idea.

I would try a get still images from the photographer and use those.

My wife's the photographer, so that probably wouldn't be too hard. The only problem with that is that they receive a slideshow from her already, so it would be redundant for me to provide them with another one. Thanks for the idea though!

[QUOTE=Travis Cossel;710485]My wife's the photographer, so that probably wouldn't be too hard. The only problem with that is that they receive a slideshow from her already, so it would be redundant for me to provide them with another one. Thanks for the idea though![/QUOTE

What I meant was to use a photo in the the spots where the footage is missing, bring it in full res and apply motion to it (like pan across it from an angle) I've incorporated photos from my Nkion D200 into my videos and everyone so far has liked the look. Just a suggestion for CYA in this situation.
There is a fine example of that in the Trash the dress in 24p thread...

Well, having the photos in the "trash the dress" video fit. The video would lead up to the resulting photo, so it made sense.

With what I'm doing, it doesn't really make sense to go from video to photos, and especially when the couple is getting a slideshow on DVD with those same photos already. Having the photos in the video might just serve as a reminder to the couple that the video is missing. Not a happy thought for them.

I'm still considering the idea, but my gut feeling is that it just won't feel right in this case.

However, I did contact the bride yesterday to break the news. She took it fairly well, all things considered, so we'll see how things go.

((Ooops....I posted this in the wrong forum))

Hi Travis -
This works both ways actually - my wife has had a few blocked shots or been at the wrong angle, and I save the day with a frame or two off the video... not quite as good res, but with some tweaking I've never had a complaint... even been complmented a few times for the "cool special effects"!

What I think is being suggested is that "Ken Burns effect" - you pan/crop on the photos so it's a bit different from just a static shot - been meaning to play with that myself, just never had the time, but it's a very effective technique - I see it used all the time on TV to add a bit of "life" to static shots/pictures - the movement changes the "feel" if done right so it's not just a "slide show" anymore...

If the wife got some good shots, you'll typically have plenty of res to work with and should be able to use even smaller portions of a shot! Prolly better if you had footage to intercut, but I'd look those pix over and see what you've got to work with!

Yeah, I'm mulling it all over today. After this I'm gonna have to rig all of my tapes with "lo jack" devices so I can track them via satellite, lol.

Not just a slide show? Is this something that is new to most of us? Because I apply motion to all of my photos when I do photo montages for my clients.

Same here...
 

I don't ever leave a photo stationary on Photo Memory Movie. If I do, it would just seem.... dead. I have some where it only moves slightly to the side, but there is always movement. I actually use the subtle movement "effect" many times. Usually towards the subject of the shot.

The "Ken Burns" effect is my most used tool, mainly because it has been so long since I have had a client using video for source material (almost 3 months ago).

Jason

its possible to take it a step further and try to make the video of the panning photo look as close a posible to real footage by doing these 2 things to it.

1. adding a little noise to it.

2. when keyframing to scale a photo up or down it helps to add a little of what would really happen if this action was taking place, concave and convex look on either end.

if your zooming from point A out to point B you could keyframe a little optics compensation into it. if you dont have that filter just use a tiny amount of bulge - to + on either end of the clip.

i know it seems excessive for the average job but in Travis' case he needs every edge he can get.

Its the luck of the draw for yourself Travis as to the type of B&G your dealing with.
If they are nice people and you try extra hard in post and they can see that it may stand in your favour.