First Wedding Shoot...Thoughts? at DVinfo.net

Matt Portwood · June 22nd, 2011, 10:48 PM

A couple of weeks ago a photographer came to me and asked if I would like to shoot a wedding. I have been wanting to get into the wedding gig for a while now and so I said yes! It was not a paid gig so I did it purely for the experience. There was another shooter who is also a friend of the photographer there, however, he had no experience and has not turned over his footage so this video was edited with my footage only.

So...I had a lot of fun and while I know there is so much more to learn in this area I think I did ok out the gate for being the only shooter. Let me know what you think and what I can do better. Almost everything is a static shot as I don't have a steadicam yet. I used a monopod almost the entire day. So right off the bat I know that i want to invest in one to add more movement to my edits. I shot this on a 7d with 2 lenses...the plastic fantastic 50mm 1.8 and the Tokina 11-16mm.

The edit was done in Final Cut Pro X which I have to say although I was missing some of my favorite features like the widescreen matte generator I had a lot of fun with it. The couple was very gracious in letting me shoot their wedding last minute and I want to give them something they can enjoy and that will help me get some more work in the field.

Ok...enough from me...What do you folks think?

Matt Portwood · June 23rd, 2011, 08:00 AM

Bump...Probably shouldn't have posted this at midnight last night, but maybe a bump will get some feedback moving!

Matt Portwood · June 23rd, 2011, 07:54 PM

Bump...Come on you wedding pro's I know you are lurking around here somewhere ;).

Lloyd Morgan · June 29th, 2011, 06:13 AM

I think youve done a really nice job, and the couple will certainly be happy im sure!

I usually shoot weddings on HDV but would like to shoot on HDSLR, as the shallow depth of field really does look fantastic, which can be seen in your video.
What I find with Weddings is they are all different, so even though you may have an idea of what shots you want youve really got to be on the ball on the day, and shoot what you see, and be creative (which can be hard on a 12hr day!)

How you finding final cut X? Obviously a big topic at the moment, but you happy with it?

Good job though.

Matt Portwood · June 29th, 2011, 08:28 AM

Thank you Lloyd for taking the time to comment! I had a lot of fun and you are right it was a long day and I had to be at pretty much full speed all day long. I liked the excitement and flow of the experience though and I am looking forward to taking on more weddings in the future!

FCP X does seem to be the hot topic of discussion lately. I have used it quite a bit since I downloaded it on release day and I will say that for the purposes of event videography, interview, and the such it is in my opinion a very good program. I do miss some of the functionality that I had in FCP 7 that everyone is talking about and it does take some getting used, but I have found it very useful and entirely more efficient for me and my workflows since it really reduces the amount of time I spend transcoding, rendering, etc. and I really love the timeline features.

I can easily continue to use it and wait for Apple to develop it further.

Russ Reynolds · July 1st, 2011, 04:20 AM

Nice work Matt. I have a relatively low attention span, but watched your clip right to the end. I'm sure paid gigs are not far away. I did see a couple of focusing issues and the camera snuck it's way into in the mirror once. These, I'm sure, are just a shortage of editing hours and certainly have nothing to do with the excellent camera work. Looking forward to more.

Art Varga · July 1st, 2011, 05:43 AM

Matt - very nice job, especially for your first one! You captured some good moments there. Everything looked well composed, exposed and smooth. Don't rush to spend a lot of money on sliders and steadicams. You did well with you monopod so keep working that. It will remain one of your most valuable tools. Pick another thumbnail for your vimeo clip. She was a pretty bride. The one you have up there doesn't show here in the best light:)

Art

June 22nd, 2011, 10:48 PM	#1
Matt Portwood Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Danville, IN Posts: 54	First Wedding Shoot...Cut in FCP X...Thoughts? Wesley and Kristen on Vimeo A couple of weeks ago a photographer came to me and asked if I would like to shoot a wedding. I have been wanting to get into the wedding gig for a while now and so I said yes! It was not a paid gig so I did it purely for the experience. There was another shooter who is also a friend of the photographer there, however, he had no experience and has not turned over his footage so this video was edited with my footage only. So...I had a lot of fun and while I know there is so much more to learn in this area I think I did ok out the gate for being the only shooter. Let me know what you think and what I can do better. Almost everything is a static shot as I don't have a steadicam yet. I used a monopod almost the entire day. So right off the bat I know that i want to invest in one to add more movement to my edits. I shot this on a 7d with 2 lenses...the plastic fantastic 50mm 1.8 and the Tokina 11-16mm. The edit was done in Final Cut Pro X which I have to say although I was missing some of my favorite features like the widescreen matte generator I had a lot of fun with it. The couple was very gracious in letting me shoot their wedding last minute and I want to give them something they can enjoy and that will help me get some more work in the field. Ok...enough from me...What do you folks think? __________________ Matthew Portwood - http://www.matthewportwoodfilms.com --Sony A7s, Premiere Pro CC, iMac i5 Last edited by Matt Portwood; June 23rd, 2011 at 10:18 PM. Reason: Title Modification / embed change

June 23rd, 2011, 08:00 AM	#2
Matt Portwood Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Danville, IN Posts: 54	Re: First Wedding Shoot...Thoughts? Bump...Probably shouldn't have posted this at midnight last night, but maybe a bump will get some feedback moving! __________________ Matthew Portwood - http://www.matthewportwoodfilms.com --Sony A7s, Premiere Pro CC, iMac i5

June 23rd, 2011, 07:54 PM	#3
Matt Portwood Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Danville, IN Posts: 54	Re: First Wedding Shoot...Thoughts? Bump...Come on you wedding pro's I know you are lurking around here somewhere ;). __________________ Matthew Portwood - http://www.matthewportwoodfilms.com --Sony A7s, Premiere Pro CC, iMac i5

June 29th, 2011, 06:13 AM	#4
Lloyd Morgan New Boot Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bournemouth, UK Posts: 12	Re: First Wedding Shoot...Thoughts? I think youve done a really nice job, and the couple will certainly be happy im sure! I usually shoot weddings on HDV but would like to shoot on HDSLR, as the shallow depth of field really does look fantastic, which can be seen in your video. What I find with Weddings is they are all different, so even though you may have an idea of what shots you want youve really got to be on the ball on the day, and shoot what you see, and be creative (which can be hard on a 12hr day!) How you finding final cut X? Obviously a big topic at the moment, but you happy with it? Good job though. __________________ Lloyd Morgan Productions Video Production UK

June 29th, 2011, 08:28 AM	#5
Matt Portwood Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Danville, IN Posts: 54	Re: First Wedding Shoot...Thoughts? Thank you Lloyd for taking the time to comment! I had a lot of fun and you are right it was a long day and I had to be at pretty much full speed all day long. I liked the excitement and flow of the experience though and I am looking forward to taking on more weddings in the future! FCP X does seem to be the hot topic of discussion lately. I have used it quite a bit since I downloaded it on release day and I will say that for the purposes of event videography, interview, and the such it is in my opinion a very good program. I do miss some of the functionality that I had in FCP 7 that everyone is talking about and it does take some getting used, but I have found it very useful and entirely more efficient for me and my workflows since it really reduces the amount of time I spend transcoding, rendering, etc. and I really love the timeline features. I can easily continue to use it and wait for Apple to develop it further. __________________ Matthew Portwood - http://www.matthewportwoodfilms.com --Sony A7s, Premiere Pro CC, iMac i5

July 1st, 2011, 04:20 AM	#6
Russ Reynolds New Boot Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: NSW Australia Posts: 21	Re: First Wedding Shoot...Thoughts? Nice work Matt. I have a relatively low attention span, but watched your clip right to the end. I'm sure paid gigs are not far away. I did see a couple of focusing issues and the camera snuck it's way into in the mirror once. These, I'm sure, are just a shortage of editing hours and certainly have nothing to do with the excellent camera work. Looking forward to more.

July 1st, 2011, 05:43 AM	#7
Art Varga Major Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Belle Mead, NJ Posts: 552	Re: First Wedding Shoot...Thoughts? Matt - very nice job, especially for your first one! You captured some good moments there. Everything looked well composed, exposed and smooth. Don't rush to spend a lot of money on sliders and steadicams. You did well with you monopod so keep working that. It will remain one of your most valuable tools. Pick another thumbnail for your vimeo clip. She was a pretty bride. The one you have up there doesn't show here in the best light:) Art __________________ __________________________________ - Art Varga www.vargaproductions.com