Omni-Tracker + Brevs + FX1 = SDE
 

In the quest to haul more and heavier equipment in wedding shoots, a bit of research led me to swipe up for a tabletop dolly.The PS TEchnik was out of the question so I settled for the much much cheaper Omni-Tracker. Truth be told, I can't see what the Skater can do the OT couldn't.

And the next day after it arrived from the post office, I put it to use right away. I was shooting my first Mormon wedding. I understood that nobody else was allowed to enter the temple and witness the ceremony. I was antsy as to what to put in the SDE. I figured I could pack in the prep footage and formals. But having the dolly, I figured I can squeeze in a bit more wedding stuff than I normally do.

(I actually was about to give up using it because of the cramped space, but lo and behold, I found an oval shaped table no more that 3.5 to 2.5 feet in dimensions. It begged to be used.)

That said it was great that they decided to hold another "ceremony" just before the reception. It was a simple vow and ring exchange. Being Filipinos, they felt the need to share the moment with the guests even though that actual ceremony did not have any legal or religious bearing.

It was a great "filler" to put between when they got inside the temple and when they went out.

Sheila and Greg - www.jmagbanua.com/vids/sheila_greg.wmv

Some other shots from the tracker - www.jmagbanua.com/vids/trackerjason.wmv.

Thanks for watching.

WOW! That is an emotional piece for sure. That music is powerful.

Great Job as usual Jason. Just felt some sort of a flash transition or wipe pan or snap zoom was missing at the spot where girls are adjusting brides vail from behind (around 1/3 way into the clip) as music picks up and call for that kind of dramatic transition. But other than that, everything else were just perfect. Thanks for posting.

Jason, I'm from the part of the US where Mormons are most heavily concentrated, so I've done a few Mormon weddings. You're very fortunate that they decided to really do up the reception (as far as I could tell from the entrance shot). Here in the states Mormon weddings are typically very low budget (especially the receptions - usually held in a gym with little to no decoration), and when you combine that with the fact that the ceremony is unrecordable it makes for a big challenge to be creative and tell an interesting story.

I thought you did a great job. There were maybe a few too many of the Omni-tracker shots in the beginning, but then again you didn't have much else to use, especially considering this was an SDE. Also, my view of the video might be a bit biased as I was already keyed to be looking for the Omni-tracker shots due to your posting.

Really, though, the video was very moving and emotional, and had a solid consistent look and feel to it. Loved the music too. What was that from?

Oh, and just so you know, anytime you see a bride in a dress with the shoulders like that you'll now know it's a Mormon bride!

I meant to also ask how you felt about working with the Omni-tracker. I checked out the website and it seems pretty straightforward as far as setup and use. What are your thoughts?

Also, did you find that you locked the tripod head controls down when doing a movement, or did you tend to keep them free? I ask because if you don't really need to use the tripod head controls then a cheaper tripod head would work for the unit, which means it might be something I could add to my budget sooner, lol.

Dude, no way- what odd timing. Just got my indislider in last week and started production on a short film that will be 100% brevis and A1 footage. We did a couple shoots last week with the slider and brevis combo and the footage is pretty slick (with of course a full lighting setup for each scene). It is certainly a very solid combo.

Just brought my indislider out for a try at a wedding today. Two exterior shots made it into the SDE, but other than that it was just too much for me to get into a rather tiny house.

Looking forward to checking out your clips.

Patrick

I suppose masochistic minds think alike, =), i'm also waiting for my Indi. =)


that snow motion clip sold me. enjoy the toys!

Ok
 

Could you please stop raising the bar? Maybe for a few years? Just so I can ake the semi-finals :)

Awesome work as usual Jason!

Thanks for sharing.

Anyone has a link to the "Omni-Tracker" or "indislider"? I could'nt find it back on the net, is it something like what the sell on glidetrack.com/ ?

Just Google it. I found it that way.

No doubt. I just finally got myself a Merlin, then dropped $10k on an HD upgrade last week. I'm out of money, lol!

that's really cool Jason (as ever), and it must be great for tight spots..but it's only downside is looking for flat surfaces to use it on?

so in an ideal world, I'd use my lovely Glidetrack for outside establishing shots, and that thing for small inside detail shots

great work...

And like a shark swooping in, does this mean any of your GL2s will be up for sale? :-)

Just googled them
 

http://omni-tracker.com/www.omni-tracker.com.html

http://www.indifocus.com/products_indisliderpro.htm

Know the indie slider may make me want to use the pod for bigger weddings :) That things looks really cool.

How heavy OR how much of a PITA is it to use and carry?

You made me cry, you big jerk. Now I officially hate you, too.

Man, that was great...

You made me cry, you big jerk. Now I officially hate you, too.

Man, that was great...

LOL Vito! I have these pangs of self doubt when I watch great work like this and Travis C's stuff.

Jason, if it's not too "inside" do you have assistants and or other shooters on your events? I seem to get major pushback on the second camera or assistant idea when I propose it. Probably about 50/50 between budget or the clients perception that there will be too much distraction with more than one cam.

Do you use warm cards? I find that perfect white balance nausating literally. I'm not sure what it is but for some reason I hate it. Your vids seem so much warmer but that may be the serious Bokeh you got going on. That Brevis is a bad motor scooter:)

Still can't get over the fact that I would need to carry that much more junk around. My jobs are really short and fast paced. Your SDEs just blow away so many others highlights that take months for people to get.

Do you plan your shots ahead of time? Like a story board? Oh yeah, and boxers or briefs? :)

Mike

Yes, it really needs a flat surface to achieve the effect. But I was surprised that It just really needed an area 1.5x as wide as it was in order to be useable.

hahahaha. you have a hardcore badass mob name and wedding videos tear you up? YOU MAKE ME SICK! hahahah

thanks for watching.

Mike.

1. I always have another shooter to cover the groom prep and the 2nd/reverse angles at church and ceremony. I would hate to miss anything at the bride prep and run around in the church to find a better angle. I know it can be done but I'm no Joel P.

Labor is cheap here so I can afford two other assistants to setup stuff and take care of equipment. I don't however pay them cheap. =) If I'm feeling like it, I hire another person to wipe my sweat. j/k

2. I don't like perfect WB too. Too blah, too antiseptic. I like warm (almost too much). No warm cards but approximate a good WB within a given situation. As you know, we also color in post so a great deal is added after the fact.

3. I know what you mean about the junk. Necessary evils I suppose. I started out with a GL1 and a Velbon tripod with not much else.

4. Except for a couple of looks/pegs/approaches/trick shots that dawn upon me from time to time. SDEs are mostly winged. The song however is chosen prior. Sometimes months before, sometimes the night before.

5. Commando.

Travis.

I love the unit. Assembly could have been done by a seven year old. There was no manual or setup sheet.

A quick glance at the website (where all the instructions were) told me everything I needed to know.

I suppose a cheap head would work perfectly, but I guess as I become a more advanced user, I'll practice tilting up while dollying in and out.

Lol Mike. I can't. Not when StillMotion and Mayad don't sleep either.

Hey! We Italians have no trouble with showing our emotions. You ever see the mother-groom dance at an Italian wedding? It's a sob fest...

Always a pleasure to view your videos, Jason. Keep up the stellar work.

Jason, great piece,
if I could ask you, how much time it took you to edit this SDE, please?

Stunning! Best wedding videographer in my book!

They will be soon, as long as all of the new stuff works out. One of my assistants has first dibs, though. You also interested?

Yes. (Message sent offline to keep this from getting too off topic).

Hi Oleg.

We left the temple at around 430pm and sped to the reception. I edited 5-7pm and waited for the 2nd ceremony to commence. I was filling in the blanks around 8pm. We screened around 8:45p.

We're not worthy!
 

I think it's safe to say in unison

Bow to the JMAG and repeat:

"WE'RE NOT WORTHY"