Outdoor Wedding- RAIN! Need Suggestions
 

I have an outdoor wedding tomorrow. I met with a couple a few weeks ago and they said "We have no backup plan so let's pray for sun". Sure enough, we have severe thunderstorms forecast for the entire afternoon and evening. Today I am scrambling to find a rain cover for my XL2. I'm bummed for a couple reasons. First, I love the footage I get from my XL2 outdoors and now I'm afraid the emergency backup plan will be a dimly lit hall. Second, I have never shot in rain before. If we are outdoors, what kinds of things do I need to be aware of (besides the obvious- keeping rain out of my gear)? Thanks fin advance for your help everyone!

Hey Paul,

First off, my heartfelt condolences for the tragedy in your state.

As for rain, the quick and dirty way is to use a trash bag and gaffers tape. Place bag over camera, run gaffers tape around lens hood, then cut a hole for the lens. Do the same for the viewfinder.

-gb-

Biggest thing to watch out for on your first shoot is water drops on the lens. You may not notice them as your scrambling to save all your equipment from sure death, but when you get back to editing and the lens is covered in water drops, it is pretty tough to use any of the footage.

Patrick

Yep, rain, always fun. Either you can cover the camera as Greg suggested, or try some umbrella over the camera, although, not in lighting. Hopefully your ceremony will happen between the rain, but if it doesn't there's not a lot you can do. I'll be in the 96 degree heat tomorrow, so hopefully you'll have sunshine as well.

Hey, thanks Greg. It's been pretty surreal here the past few days. We all know someone who was close to or just missed this bridge collapse. My wife missed it by about an hour. It really puts things in perspective. I was tempted to head down there with my camera (I'm only 10 minutes away) but decided I would be in the way.

Hi Paul,
First let me also offer my heartfelt smypathy to your fellow Minnestoians. I used to know some folks up there and when you see stuff like this it really makes you think about life.

On to the rain cover--first get a nice garbage bag and pit it on the camera and then cut for the lens, mic and VF. Don't laugh, I did some work recently with a company that protects $100,000 cameras with $.25 bags and they work fine.
As for shooting watch the exposure. It's real easy to go over or under by a stop or more. The lighting during a rain can change rapidly.
Also cover most of the mic with the "cover"-nothing sounds like the pitter patter of raindrops falling on the on board mic. Also protect yourself. I hate getting wet while dressed for a wedding. You might also think about a golf size umbrelly and clamp it to your tripod. Don't laugh. I got caught once - outdoor ceremony no chance of rain so guess what happeded. A nice steady even rain pretty much throughout. One person was kind enough to hand me an umbrella and I held it over the rig (I was on a tripod) until the rain stopped.
Hey it worked ;-)
Don

Thanks Don. Good suggestion on the mic. That's the kind of stuff I wouldn't have thought of. Anyone else have any advice?

I always let the couple know when they book me for an outdoor wedding that we will not under any circumstance have our equipment out in the rain. We don't want to take any chances with our equipment getting ruined. So far though we haven't run into that situation... hopefully we wont ever!

I am with you, however my contract states that if anything, anything happens to my gear while filming for you, you are responsible for repair/replacement.

I could only imagine how much it would suck to get wet wearing a tux filming, then have to film the reception in a wet tux.

Hey Don, he shouldn't laugh, I suggested the very same thing you did. I've thrown a nice big lawn and leaf bag over my camera before to protect from the elements. Get the drawstring bags, and you can cinch it up below the camera so that wind can't yank it off. I carry some of those bags in my truck all the time now, 'just in case'.

-gb-

Ok I'm curious. First how do you get the bride and groom to control the weather? Second, does this mean that if you're taping an event outdoors and it starts to rain you leave? Thirdly, I can't believe that people would actually agree to being responsible for your gear in the event something happens to it.

I'm sorry if I sound a bit curmungenly but I've been around for a while and have shot news and sports and yes even parts of weddings in the rain, snow, sleet and hail-not to mention the really hot and humid and below zero weather and not once was I EVER able to leave a job due to weather and even though I've worked for some pretty high end clients both coprorate and private not a single one of them would have ever signed an agreement if I was making them responsible for MY gear. Responsible to keep the drunks away, perhaps, responsible if it got wet, no way. Thats why they make raincovers for cameras or use a plastic bag.
Hey if you can get away with not shooting in bad weather great, if YOUR clients are willing to take responsibility for YOUR gear great but in my world you shoot in good or bad weather and since the client doesn't own the gear why would they be responsible for it, as my lawyer said 'that's what you have insurance for'-BUT if it works for you more power to ya.

Don

Focus-Focus!
 

You probably know this already, but I'll state it anyway. I made this mistake.

When shooting the hurricanes in 2004, I was trying to keep the camera and lens as dry as possible, so I was holding it low and trying to keep it covered. Of course, no matter what I did, rain did hit the lens. I thought it was no big deal and just when in and cleaned it regularly.

What I did not think about was that I was using auto focus because I was not looking through the viewfinder. After enough drops of rain kit the lens, it caused the camera to try and focus on the drops and not the subject I was shooting. So some footage was out of focus.

Just a little tip if you did not know it. If you are getting any drops on the lens, use manual focus. The water on the lens did not mess up the footage that much, but the focus did.

Good Luck-----Mike

Well, Don... I really don't expect the B&G to control the weather... it would be nice though. I simply let them know that I won't subject my gear to bad weather. If it rains my gear gets put away. I wouldn't leave. So far I have never been put into this situtation and hope that I won't be..but, I do warn them ahead of time so there are no surprises. Hopefully they will have a backup plan incase of rain. If there are breaks in the weather then I'd shoot.

I personally do not hold the B&G responsible for what may happen to my equipment. My equipment is my responsibility... that's why I protect it by not having it out in bad weather.


Yes... cheer up!

Yes, I too read what Jim Fields and gassped at the thought of the poor couples who signs his contracts. Stipulating in writing that the availability of safe use of the equipment is paramount and that if the operater feels that climate poses a reasonable and significant threat to their equipment, they have the right to pull the equipment from danger is one thing. But to hold teh B&G responsible for repairing ANYTHING that may happen to occur is unreasonable.

Jon

The reason I put that in there is to protect me. I was filming a High School Volleyball video, and one of the girls hit a ball right into the side of my lens, broke it clean off the camera ( HD110U) you have any idea what that lens costs? Due to the contract, they replaced the lens and fixed the camera.
I am now on my 3rd year with filming for them.

Shooting a TV Pilot in a dance club, drunk people grabbing the camera, pulling me down.

2 weeks ago I was filming another pilot, some drunk guy shoves the camera into my face. nothing happened to the camera, I got a bruise, but he got the business end of an Anton Bauer battery to the forehead.

When a client sits down to sign, I show them the clause for replacement. 10 out of 10 times they dont question it, they do state they understand why it is in there, and 99% of the time, they have the insurance to cover it.

I am constantly in tough situations with my camera gear, especially in the past year with shooting in clubs, on the streets at night, sporting events where a ball, bat, puck, etc will hit my camera.

I have hung from a bridge to get a shot.

A wedding? yes it is in the contract, but I dont think I would have anything to worry about, unless a drunk uncle Bob decided to smash my gear.

Yes my contract states that upon damage to my gear the client is responsible for replacement/repair. Do you guys still think I am a dick?
No I would never leave a wedding due to rain, I would put the rain cover on the camera.