First Ever Wedding: Alex + Zoe: C&C Welcomed and Wanted Please!

Hi All,

I've made a considerable number of posts in my thread about a slider & tripod, which turned out to be a fully-fledged guide as to how to shoot a wedding film in the end! This forum is amazing and it is directly responsible for the success I have had with shooting my first wedding.

I would sincerely like to thank so many people who have helped me here; providing me with information about gear, to different scenarios and eventually some feedback about my unfinished film.

Here it is now, completely finished:

Private Video on Vimeo

Password: 170414

The bride and groom were very happy and now I am looking for help as to how to improve!

So all comments and critiques are welcomed!

A little background:

- The bride wanted no audio from the speeches etc. But I still added what I believe is foley?
- They wanted the entire day filmed to one song.
- I shot this alone with a GH3, X800 and OMD EM5, Sachtler Ace Tripod, Cinevate Duzi slider and Manfrotto Monopod.

[Noa Put]

Nice Craig! I saw some very beautiful looking shots in there, but also a few less good looking and with that I am mainly referring to the out of focus shots. The color throughout the video was also not always the same, not sure if this was the result of in post color correction or just different camera's that don't match up too well.
But generally I think you did a great job, especially considering it was your first wedding and you did it solo.
Can I ask how you did like the omd-em5? Did you not experience codec break-up on faster moving objects and did you experience flickering in your image on indoor light?

[Craig McKenna]

Originally Posted by Noa Put

Nice Craig! I saw some very beautiful looking shots in there, but also a few less good looking and with that I am mainly referring to the out of focus shots. The color throughout the video was also not always the same, not sure if this was the result of in post color correction or just different camera's that don't match up too well.
But generally I think you did a great job, especially considering it was your first wedding and you did it solo.
Can I ask how you did like the omd-em5? Did you not experience codec break-up on faster moving objects and did you experience flickering in your image on indoor light?

Thanks Noa! Really appreciate your feedback, as you're an amazing videographer from what I've seen here!!!

Definitely. I struggled with pulling focus at times, and also knowing whether I was in or out of focus... I used the LCD and (I don't know if it's my settings), but on the GH3 I had the focus box appear before pressing record, but then during record, it would disappear? Leaving me quite bamboozled at times during the shoot, and accepting the best I could get out of the current focus. Also, during the walk through the human tunnel, I had the monopod extended to its maximum, set at something like f4 or f5 with no ability to pull focus given that it was so high above my head! So I was unable to fix that, but I thought the kiss after the walk, almost sealed the story and provided more for the film, than editing it without.

Yes. I definitely need help with colour correction! I had a big problem with my Panasonic X800, which I left (due to it's extended recording time beyond 29m59s) on my tripod as my unmanned camera. I had it on a setting which allowed it to change its exposure, but it constantly changed from one extreme to another (based on the bricks that you can see through the window in the wedding ceremony). I tried to correct it, but the footage was so shocking to begin with that it was almost impossible to retrieve and match with my GH3 footage, which I thought was excellent (love the colour and sharpness with the Oly 75).

Thanks Noa. It was a great shoot and I might have another wedding booked soon, so I'm excited to see what happens now that people will be able to see this video and whether or not I could make a go of this as a career.

The earlier edit is perhaps the best one to look at for OMD EM 5 footage (https://vimeo.com/ 92389469) - I left the dance in colour in the earlier edit. The final dance was shot with the OM-D and the GH3. To be honest, I jumped between the X800 and the GH3 throughout the day; mainly using the GH3 for everything except the ceremony and speeches, which I multi-cammed with the GH3 and X800.

However, at the end of the night, I was able to coax a friend into doing some shooting (it was a friend's wedding). So I gave him the OM-D with the 25mm f1.4 and set it up with the correct exposure, but left it on auto focusing for him with a monopod. Therefore, the very last shot and one of the shots previous to this one (in the same spot on the dance floor) was shot with the OM-D (by him). I think they're the only shots I had with the OM-D, so I'm unable to talk about fast moving subjects (as it was a slow dance) and any break in the codec.

What I did notice, from my untrained eyes, is that it didn't experience any flickering (which I've had with the GH3 when messing around under incandescent lighting - earlier on though, so it was probably my own fault). The footage I got was pleasing from the OM-D, but I'm thinking of replacing it with a GH4 before the next wedding (whenever that may be). I know that it shoots in a different frame rate and I love the form factor of the GH3 for video, with the button layout and general bulkiness. Even if I think I wish I could switch to two A7s' given their low light performance and the obvious advantages this would have with wedding situations. But that's another topic altogether.

The photographers on the day were superb, and they've offered to help me with my possible venture into the wedding business, which I'm looking forward to possibly doing. They even said that they'd tell clients about me and explain that I'm offering a smaller price as I'm just starting out, which I thought was amazing of them!

Do you think it's a possible venture that I could consider Noa?

[Adrian Tan]

Hey Craig, great work. Can't believe it's your first one! My first is hopefully buried in the depths of YouTube never to be seen again. You could definitely make a go of this as a career.

There's some shots there that I've never done and which possibly I might steal from you. For instance, loved the slow motion walking away from the church stuff. Liked the idea of getting an over-the-shoulder from groom's perspective of bride walking down the aisle (have seen it done before, but never been game enough to try this myself -- you're in the tog's shot shooting from behind her, and you'd be in your own wide shot). And I liked what you did with the cake cut -- medium shot with couple's faces, tilting down as they lean in.

One comment: don't be afraid to move junk out of the way if you don't feel it adds to a shot. I'm thinking of the cake shot with the glass bowl next to it. I mean, it's a matter of taste whether it's adds or detracts, and no doubt you were under time pressure to get the shot while action is happening elsewhere or guests are about to walk in or you need to set up properly for bridal party entrance. But, you know, when you can you can cheat and prettify reality just a little bit.

[Craig McKenna]

Originally Posted by Adrian Tan

Hey Craig, great work. Can't believe it's your first one! My first is hopefully buried in the depths of YouTube never to be seen again. You could definitely make a go of this as a career.

There's some shots there that I've never done and which possibly I might steal from you. For instance, loved the slow motion walking away from the church stuff. Liked the idea of getting an over-the-shoulder from groom's perspective of bride walking down the aisle (have seen it done before, but never been game enough to try this myself -- you're in the tog's shot shooting from behind her, and you'd be in your own wide shot). And I liked what you did with the cake cut -- medium shot with couple's faces, tilting down as they lean in.

One comment: don't be afraid to move junk out of the way if you don't feel it adds to a shot. I'm thinking of the cake shot with the glass bowl next to it. I mean, it's a matter of taste whether it's adds or detracts, and no doubt you were under time pressure to get the shot while action is happening elsewhere or guests are about to walk in or you need to set up properly for bridal party entrance. But, you know, when you can you can cheat and prettify reality just a little bit.

Thanks Adrian! Really appreciate your feedback and thoughts!!!

Steal away! The walking away from the church was greatly down to the photographer that I was shooting with. He explained that he usually gets a little bit of the walk out of the ceremony, and then 'legs it'! In my research of watching the pros do their thing on Creative Live, it was often stated to do the same as the photographer. "You're shooting with a 70-200? I'm going to shoot with a 70-200", and that sort of thing. I also did not want to be the 'video guy' who is in all of their shots, because I was a novice and wanted to ensure that he (and his wife) got everything that they needed, as they were being paid after all. As a result of this approach, I think the photographers helped me greatly with their communication. And even though I had a seven page plan of what I wanted to capture, I think it worked out even better to have them as a direct help sheet if I ever needed to ask anything about what was to happen next.

Therefore, the isle shot wasn't a bold attempt from myself (I'd like to say that it was!). I had originally planned to capture the walk down the isle from my wide angle, unmanned camera and shoot the entrance from the back. Then use a slider to shoot the couple holding hands and revealing from behind a chair, with all the audience in view. But the photographer explained (rightly) that I only had one way to get into the ceremony, and that would mean walking down the isle a few minutes later, to capture from the front, which wouldn't be appropriate / good etiquette. So he'd already decided to shoot the isle from the front (with his wife who you can see, shooting from the back) and so I decided to shoot right alongside him (over the groom's shoulder to ensure that I had the same view as him, and therefore capturing more of her emotions / more of his direct view, which would help with the story). But I have to admit, I realised how risky it was when trying to capture her walk at the time - if she'd have been a fast walker, I might have missed framing it, as it's difficult when using a monopod (for me at least, at the moment) to move and maintain smoothness. Nevertheless, it did make for a good shot (I thought).

The cake cut was the only one that made sense at the time - probably a fluke - or a direct result of shooting with primes and having no other choice.

Thanks for that tip! I thought the same with the preparation shots - there were things on the bed that really didn't need to be there... I wanted to move it out of the frame, but then I didn't feel confident enough to make that decision at the time. Maybe next time, I will.

Thanks for watching the video, really appreciate you taking the time!!! Loved your video in the other thread too.