Composition

Monte Casey · October 2nd, 2004, 04:05 PM

I'm looking to get into wedding videos, however, I am a bit unclear as how the average video is supposed to pan out.

+Reception
+Vows, kiss, cutting cake
+Interview w/ B+G
+Family Members
+Picture Montage

And even worse of a problem, is that, for my first wedding I was going to rent an XL2, and then set up two ZR60's on tripods (gaurded by friends/relatives). However, is this too ambitious (for matching up the footage later on?)

John DeLuca · October 3rd, 2004, 01:07 AM

Every wedding could have a different flow of events(some actually have mass), but in general....

1.) Opening scene composed of footage that flows scene to scene using cuts, pans, zooms, focus shifts, dissolves, ext with music and sound effects overlayed.

2.) People fill the church, bridal party walks down isle, candles are lit.

3.) Bride walks down isle, father hands off bride.

4.) Minister talks for a bit.

5.) Usually one or two people speak/read or sing.

6.) Minister gives speech/does cerimony

7.) Bride and groom walk down isle followed by wedding party

8.) Bride and groom mingle for a bit

9.) Bride and goom walk out and into limo for a quick drive around the block, then back to take pictures for the photographer(great time to shoot your dvd menu footage)

10.) Usually the bride and groom drive around and drink a bit before they get to the after party, if you have two cameras put one on the bus with them, and have one go to the afterparty ahead of time and shoot opening footage/talk to dj about event flow.

11.) Bride and groom arrive at after party with bridal party, someone goes in and tells dj while they mingle for a bit outside.

12.) Bridal party announced by dj, bride and groom announced by dj

13.) Then next scenes are wild cards. Almost every wedding has a different flow from this point. Talk to the dj, he controls everything. Always tell him to make a five, to ten miniute announcment before each scene so you can get to your cameras in time, or mic people for speeches.

As for your cameras, more footage is always better than less. If you have more footage to work with, especially for your first wedding, its gonna be alot easier for you to edit. One camera weddings are flat, and having the others there for back up and b-roll/cut away is always going to be more dynamic.

Good Luck

John

John DeLuca · October 3rd, 2004, 01:37 AM

Personally I put the interviews as the last scene, then overlay the credits on the montage with some music. Get creative. Make every wedding alittle different.

John

Monte Casey · October 3rd, 2004, 09:49 AM

Ok, thanks Johnnie

I'm trying to tag along with maybe a stills photographer (or a videographer if i can find one that's going to a wedding) and scope out how everything pans out, before I take care of my first wedding.

EDIT: Forgot to ask a quick one: Would it be acceptable to be hauling around a steadi-cam? I know I can always ask the B+G/family if theyd mind but I was wondering if it was common practice or not

John DeLuca · October 3rd, 2004, 02:29 PM

Why not ask the bride and groom how everything will pan out..lol(they usually give you a print off of event flow). Always under promise and over deliver with weddings. What model steadi-cam are we talking about? If you place your cameras right, odds are you wont need it(need is key word here). If money isnt an issue then why not, it would be sweet to have steadi cam footage to edit with.

John

Kevin Shaw · October 4th, 2004, 07:01 AM

Lining up footage from multiple cameras isn't too hard so long as you keep all of the cameras rolling continously. That said, I'd caution you about getting too ambitious with equipment on your first job, and your main camera shouldn't be a rental unless that's a model you're familiar with using. Better you should concentrate on having one camera with a good wireless microphone, and don't let notions of having other cameras distract you from running the main one properly.

Monte Casey · October 4th, 2004, 08:38 PM

The steadycam would be a fugly (But effecctive) homebuilt rig of mine...

And about Matching up the footage, I meant that the ZR canon cameras are very low res and handle colors terribly, I'm thinking that it would look weird cutting from that to a XL2 (if i decide to go through renting) or else i could shoot it all on ZR's... but would that be worth getting paid?

Hmm its a thinker, for sure

Kevin Shaw · October 4th, 2004, 10:43 PM

I've mixed footage from a Canon Ultura and a GL1, and although that's fairly obvious to me I haven't had any complaints from customers about it. The trick if you are going to do this is to understand the limitations of such an approach, and be judicious about when and how you cut back and forth. I do think having more cameras is a good thing, but not if it distracts you from running the main camera.

John DeLuca · October 4th, 2004, 11:04 PM

Glen Elliott used a TRV33(along with three other cameras) for a few shots in his highlight vignette and it turned out amazing.It wouldnt take but five mins to set up a wide static shot on a tripod using a camera you already know to have for back up, but kevin is right about the rental and the wireless mics. If you dont know the XL2 that well, a few suprises would more than likely show up after the wedding. Using the two ZRs would be the best way to go untill you get more experience with weddings. Offer to shoot it on spec. Tell the bride and groom if you get good footage, it would be xxx amount, but if you dont, it wouldnt be a problem. BTW- For the price of renting an XL2, you could rent two pd-150s or 170s. Do the bride and groom have a wide screen?

John

Monte Casey · October 6th, 2004, 05:33 PM

This is embarassing, but...

I've heard the term spec in phrases like "Yah I did a few spec spots for (enter company name here)"

I'm assuming this means "unpaid"?

October 2nd, 2004, 04:05 PM	#1
Monte Casey New Boot Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: MPLS MN Posts: 10	Composition - I looked! I'm looking to get into wedding videos, however, I am a bit unclear as how the average video is supposed to pan out. +Reception +Vows, kiss, cutting cake +Interview w/ B+G +Family Members +Picture Montage And even worse of a problem, is that, for my first wedding I was going to rent an XL2, and then set up two ZR60's on tripods (gaurded by friends/relatives). However, is this too ambitious (for matching up the footage later on?)

October 3rd, 2004, 01:07 AM	#2
John DeLuca Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Akron, Ohio Posts: 496	Every wedding could have a different flow of events(some actually have mass), but in general.... 1.) Opening scene composed of footage that flows scene to scene using cuts, pans, zooms, focus shifts, dissolves, ext with music and sound effects overlayed. 2.) People fill the church, bridal party walks down isle, candles are lit. 3.) Bride walks down isle, father hands off bride. 4.) Minister talks for a bit. 5.) Usually one or two people speak/read or sing. 6.) Minister gives speech/does cerimony 7.) Bride and groom walk down isle followed by wedding party 8.) Bride and groom mingle for a bit 9.) Bride and goom walk out and into limo for a quick drive around the block, then back to take pictures for the photographer(great time to shoot your dvd menu footage) 10.) Usually the bride and groom drive around and drink a bit before they get to the after party, if you have two cameras put one on the bus with them, and have one go to the afterparty ahead of time and shoot opening footage/talk to dj about event flow. 11.) Bride and groom arrive at after party with bridal party, someone goes in and tells dj while they mingle for a bit outside. 12.) Bridal party announced by dj, bride and groom announced by dj 13.) Then next scenes are wild cards. Almost every wedding has a different flow from this point. Talk to the dj, he controls everything. Always tell him to make a five, to ten miniute announcment before each scene so you can get to your cameras in time, or mic people for speeches. As for your cameras, more footage is always better than less. If you have more footage to work with, especially for your first wedding, its gonna be alot easier for you to edit. One camera weddings are flat, and having the others there for back up and b-roll/cut away is always going to be more dynamic. Good Luck John

October 3rd, 2004, 01:37 AM	#3
John DeLuca Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Akron, Ohio Posts: 496	Personally I put the interviews as the last scene, then overlay the credits on the montage with some music. Get creative. Make every wedding alittle different. John

October 3rd, 2004, 09:49 AM	#4
Monte Casey New Boot Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: MPLS MN Posts: 10	Ok, thanks Johnnie I'm trying to tag along with maybe a stills photographer (or a videographer if i can find one that's going to a wedding) and scope out how everything pans out, before I take care of my first wedding. EDIT: Forgot to ask a quick one: Would it be acceptable to be hauling around a steadi-cam? I know I can always ask the B+G/family if theyd mind but I was wondering if it was common practice or not

October 3rd, 2004, 02:29 PM	#5
John DeLuca Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Akron, Ohio Posts: 496	Why not ask the bride and groom how everything will pan out..lol(they usually give you a print off of event flow). Always under promise and over deliver with weddings. What model steadi-cam are we talking about? If you place your cameras right, odds are you wont need it(need is key word here). If money isnt an issue then why not, it would be sweet to have steadi cam footage to edit with. John

October 4th, 2004, 07:01 AM	#6
Kevin Shaw Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 2,488	Lining up footage from multiple cameras isn't too hard so long as you keep all of the cameras rolling continously. That said, I'd caution you about getting too ambitious with equipment on your first job, and your main camera shouldn't be a rental unless that's a model you're familiar with using. Better you should concentrate on having one camera with a good wireless microphone, and don't let notions of having other cameras distract you from running the main one properly.

October 4th, 2004, 08:38 PM	#7
Monte Casey New Boot Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: MPLS MN Posts: 10	The steadycam would be a fugly (But effecctive) homebuilt rig of mine... And about Matching up the footage, I meant that the ZR canon cameras are very low res and handle colors terribly, I'm thinking that it would look weird cutting from that to a XL2 (if i decide to go through renting) or else i could shoot it all on ZR's... but would that be worth getting paid? Hmm its a thinker, for sure

October 4th, 2004, 10:43 PM	#8
Kevin Shaw Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 2,488	I've mixed footage from a Canon Ultura and a GL1, and although that's fairly obvious to me I haven't had any complaints from customers about it. The trick if you are going to do this is to understand the limitations of such an approach, and be judicious about when and how you cut back and forth. I do think having more cameras is a good thing, but not if it distracts you from running the main camera.

October 4th, 2004, 11:04 PM	#9
John DeLuca Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Akron, Ohio Posts: 496	Glen Elliott used a TRV33(along with three other cameras) for a few shots in his highlight vignette and it turned out amazing.It wouldnt take but five mins to set up a wide static shot on a tripod using a camera you already know to have for back up, but kevin is right about the rental and the wireless mics. If you dont know the XL2 that well, a few suprises would more than likely show up after the wedding. Using the two ZRs would be the best way to go untill you get more experience with weddings. Offer to shoot it on spec. Tell the bride and groom if you get good footage, it would be xxx amount, but if you dont, it wouldnt be a problem. BTW- For the price of renting an XL2, you could rent two pd-150s or 170s. Do the bride and groom have a wide screen? John

October 6th, 2004, 05:33 PM	#10
Monte Casey New Boot Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: MPLS MN Posts: 10	This is embarassing, but... I've heard the term spec in phrases like "Yah I did a few spec spots for (enter company name here)" I'm assuming this means "unpaid"?