Wedding on Guernsey at DVinfo.net

Wedding on Guernsey · November 12th, 2014, 04:44 PM

After some really nice feedback and being asked to share more her is a highlights that I shot on the island of Guernsey were I live. Most of these guest had actually travelled as far as Texas. This was a solo shoot shot on the cannon c100, edited in FCPx.

I hope you enjoy , Luke

Adrian Tan · November 12th, 2014, 06:22 PM

Hey Luke, thanks for posting. My main reactions are:

* 0:12: dress shot -- really liked that the dress shot had foreground in it. I think the temptation I fall into is to get boring dress shots with no foreground, but just framing for the object.

* Shot by shot, it was all good compositions, great images, but it did feel a bit like, throughout the video, it was mostly close-ups -- during bride prep, during photoshoot, etc. Even the cake shot at 1:35: you don't get to see the whole cake, although, as a viewer, I was curious. And do we ever get to see the whole bridal outfit? I can't remember.

* Pacing of the start seemed too fast to me. Just my subjective feeling. Felt a bit relieved when you got to the church and the pacing slowed down a little.

* Dance sequence, like your Hong Kong video, I found really, really inspiring. The mood that was created -- so different from pretty much any wedding video I've seen elsewhere. And some of the particular shots were just wow, and I'm really curious how you accomplished them, if you'd be willing to share that info?. For instance:

-- the ghosting effect with the couple dancing at 2:20
-- the "double exposure" type shot at 2:32
-- the fuzzy foreground shot at 2:39 -- was that between wine glasses?

* Loved the ending, with the lead off under the table.

Robert Benda · November 12th, 2014, 08:18 PM

Pretty much exactly with Adrian, Really my only issue would be with how its pieced together. There was never a time when it took a breath, slowed down, and felt romantic, thus it also never felt it climaxed or reached a peak.

It feels like a great show reel, not a wedding trailer.

Adrian Tan · November 12th, 2014, 08:37 PM

Luke, for what it's worth, here's two things your reception dancing reminds me of:

-- Lens whacking. Not sure if you've seen any of James Miller's lens-whacking videos, but there's a sort of impressionistic feel to them. Link below to my favourite one.

-- There's a current trend amongst photographers to use a technique called... Well, the Canon term is "second curtain shutter sync". You do a long exposure, then the flash goes off just before the shutter clicks. If there's movement of camera or movement of subject, the effect is a bit of ghosting, but with the final frame frozen in focus. Not sure what the mood of this technique is. Maybe it's, "The night was all a blur" of impressions of this and that. Or maybe it conveys excitement.

Luke Oliver · November 13th, 2014, 06:59 AM

Thanks for the comments guys, always taken as good criticism. I agree with the pacing its perhaps is a little too fast, perhaps more of a teaser trailer than a highlights it should be called. But i do agree perhaps it was cut a bit too quick.

The dancing shots were as follows.

The double exposure was just a comp laid on top of antoher and added in with an ' add" i think or a " lighten", i normally don't try stuff like this in weddings as it can be a bit cheesy but i think it worked ok with the electro dream esq music track.

The shot where the guy grabs my arms and drags me around was just an effect in FCPX called trails, I liked the effect as though you the viewer were dancing with him, again if anyone actually picks up on this i doubt it but it seemed to fit the dreamy approach. Again i never really use stuff like this but its always nice to try new things out.

And yes the last shot was between 2 wine glasses. I follow Chrisman studios photography and they always have some lovely images shot through reflective objects. It helps when mixing up the regular dance footage.

Ill be posting another one today as I'm off travelling soon so won't be online sharing for a while.

Thanks again for the feedback guys

Kind regards

Luke

Andrew Maclaurin · December 2nd, 2014, 04:37 PM

I liked the ghost effect when the couple were dancing, it worked well. The colours were great as well. What settings do you use on the C100 and FCPX? I have a C100 and I think my images look more washed out although that could be because of the intense light here in Madrid.

Luke Oliver · December 4th, 2014, 06:11 PM

HI Andrew

I use wide DR ( still scared to use C log on a wedding) in FCP i apply a custom filter on film convert can't remember which one off the top of my head, but its not a heavy grade, your can hardly tell turning it off an on, and then adjust slightly with the saturation mids blacks and whites in FCPX

Andrew Maclaurin · December 5th, 2014, 02:16 AM

Thanks Luke. I use WDR as well. I might try Film Convert next season.

November 12th, 2014, 06:22 PM	#2
Adrian Tan Trustee Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 1,149	Re: Wedding on Guernsey Hey Luke, thanks for posting. My main reactions are: * 0:12: dress shot -- really liked that the dress shot had foreground in it. I think the temptation I fall into is to get boring dress shots with no foreground, but just framing for the object. * Shot by shot, it was all good compositions, great images, but it did feel a bit like, throughout the video, it was mostly close-ups -- during bride prep, during photoshoot, etc. Even the cake shot at 1:35: you don't get to see the whole cake, although, as a viewer, I was curious. And do we ever get to see the whole bridal outfit? I can't remember. * Pacing of the start seemed too fast to me. Just my subjective feeling. Felt a bit relieved when you got to the church and the pacing slowed down a little. * Dance sequence, like your Hong Kong video, I found really, really inspiring. The mood that was created -- so different from pretty much any wedding video I've seen elsewhere. And some of the particular shots were just wow, and I'm really curious how you accomplished them, if you'd be willing to share that info?. For instance: -- the ghosting effect with the couple dancing at 2:20 -- the "double exposure" type shot at 2:32 -- the fuzzy foreground shot at 2:39 -- was that between wine glasses? * Loved the ending, with the lead off under the table.

November 12th, 2014, 08:18 PM	#3
Robert Benda Trustee Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Crookston, MN Posts: 1,353	Re: Wedding on Guernsey Pretty much exactly with Adrian, Really my only issue would be with how its pieced together. There was never a time when it took a breath, slowed down, and felt romantic, thus it also never felt it climaxed or reached a peak. It feels like a great show reel, not a wedding trailer.

November 12th, 2014, 08:37 PM	#4
Adrian Tan Trustee Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 1,149	Re: Wedding on Guernsey Luke, for what it's worth, here's two things your reception dancing reminds me of: -- Lens whacking. Not sure if you've seen any of James Miller's lens-whacking videos, but there's a sort of impressionistic feel to them. Link below to my favourite one. -- There's a current trend amongst photographers to use a technique called... Well, the Canon term is "second curtain shutter sync". You do a long exposure, then the flash goes off just before the shutter clicks. If there's movement of camera or movement of subject, the effect is a bit of ghosting, but with the final frame frozen in focus. Not sure what the mood of this technique is. Maybe it's, "The night was all a blur" of impressions of this and that. Or maybe it conveys excitement. Nina Naustdal - Couture / Celebrity Launch Party on Vimeo

November 13th, 2014, 06:59 AM	#5
Luke Oliver Major Player Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Guernsey , Channel Islands Posts: 242	Re: Wedding on Guernsey Thanks for the comments guys, always taken as good criticism. I agree with the pacing its perhaps is a little too fast, perhaps more of a teaser trailer than a highlights it should be called. But i do agree perhaps it was cut a bit too quick. The dancing shots were as follows. The double exposure was just a comp laid on top of antoher and added in with an ' add" i think or a " lighten", i normally don't try stuff like this in weddings as it can be a bit cheesy but i think it worked ok with the electro dream esq music track. The shot where the guy grabs my arms and drags me around was just an effect in FCPX called trails, I liked the effect as though you the viewer were dancing with him, again if anyone actually picks up on this i doubt it but it seemed to fit the dreamy approach. Again i never really use stuff like this but its always nice to try new things out. And yes the last shot was between 2 wine glasses. I follow Chrisman studios photography and they always have some lovely images shot through reflective objects. It helps when mixing up the regular dance footage. Ill be posting another one today as I'm off travelling soon so won't be online sharing for a while. Thanks again for the feedback guys Kind regards Luke

December 2nd, 2014, 04:37 PM	#6
Andrew Maclaurin Major Player Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 396	Re: Wedding on Guernsey I liked the ghost effect when the couple were dancing, it worked well. The colours were great as well. What settings do you use on the C100 and FCPX? I have a C100 and I think my images look more washed out although that could be because of the intense light here in Madrid.

December 4th, 2014, 06:11 PM	#7
Luke Oliver Major Player Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Guernsey , Channel Islands Posts: 242	Re: Wedding on Guernsey HI Andrew I use wide DR ( still scared to use C log on a wedding) in FCP i apply a custom filter on film convert can't remember which one off the top of my head, but its not a heavy grade, your can hardly tell turning it off an on, and then adjust slightly with the saturation mids blacks and whites in FCPX

December 5th, 2014, 02:16 AM	#8
Andrew Maclaurin Major Player Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 396	Re: Wedding on Guernsey Thanks Luke. I use WDR as well. I might try Film Convert next season.