Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

A client of ours has fallen in love with this type of a color grade and shooting style -
I wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions achieving this type of a look and feel with C100 camera and using filmconvert? Do you think this is mostly shot hand-held or shoulder rig?

I have been playing around with filmconvert but I haven't nailed it down the color grade yet, any suggestions would be great.

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

Hand held and purposely filmed that way with little movements, a whole wedding film is off putting though, great for a trailer. Got to have up beat music.Film convert, get the preset right in camera then choose your preset in film convert, have grain at 50%, add color in the color wheels by tweaking. Add a little color to the whole thing overlay if needed in CS6 prem pro or whatever you use. Have gorgeous people to film with top clothes on...

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

No, this was all steadicam, slider, crane and tripod shots...

I think the maker didn't even do anything to the footage, probably used a 5dIII with a standard profile, not sure if the c100 has colorpresets but if so any preset that's a bit heavy on contrast and saturation would do.

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

You do realise, of course, that in her eyes you will never be able to emulate someone else's style and look exactly. If that was me I would tell her to look at my style and previous clips and see if she likes my work ..but try to copy someone else's style ...no thanks! If you don't get it perfect then you are sunk!!

I would rather send her elsewhere than be told how I must make my video look ... if she loves that look so much why doesn't she go with the guy who shot that video in the first place?? Undoubtable money is the key factor and she want the work of a Master but is only willing to pay a fraction of the price.

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

I think it's perfectly reasonable for clients to give examples of the type of video they want. What are we talking here, editing and colour grading plays a big part. The video looks like it's been graded with one of the film convert presets, can't tell which one without seeing the original footage. However with a bit of experimenting, try each of the film presets till you get one close enough, then adapt accordingly.

As for shooting style, yes we all have one, but are we locked into it so much. Even in my Weddings, a video can be either romantic, funny, fast paced, relaxed depending on the day, the music selected, behaviour of the guests. That video doesn't quite conform to my style, but I could certainly deliver something similar, not identical. As long as the couple appreciate that, there's no reason not to accommodate their request.

Looking at the video, it looks like a mix of equipment was used. The key is to look at filming for 1-2 second shots, varying between close ups and wide angle. I'd go handheld for some stuff, only because it can give an energy and pace capturing with a tripod can lack. Use a stabiliser. Pick a fast, fun track to edit to and adapt your footage to the music.

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

The me this "style" looks very amateuristic, as if they gave the camera to someone in the family and said "just point and shoot", it might be that rough style that makes it so appealing to some people, reminds me a bit of the "blair witch project".

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

It looks like the 5diii 6d film convert pro lost preset, but i agree with Chris, if you say it will look like this and it is not then you are in deep water, so make it clear i cannot get it exactly the same way...

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

Call me old fashioned but this looks to me remarkably like a piece of the fun footage that my son took on holiday with his mobile phone. It was lots of shaky very short shots, with an effect that he chose from his phone that looked just like the 'colour grading' on this one. This may well have taken someone a lot of time to do and cost a lot of money, but if people feel it's time for the pros to copy drunk mobile phone footage to get 'The Look' then it may well be time to hang up my boots!!

Roger

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

You're old fashioned!!!

Sorry, I'm such a child...

Personally I don't have a problem with it. It's not quite my style, but its fun, lively. Not to be taken seriously, like a Marryoke video but without the singing. Some couples prefer that, not all. Hardly an excuse to hang up your tripod as tastes vary and there's plenty of clients who'd frown if you gave them that video. Like photography there's a range of styles to please all customers. I enjoyed the video for its energy and sense of fun, even though my style differs from it.

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

You are right of course Steve, but when people seriously ask how they can match it and what effects and looks they should use, I have to seriously resist the temptation to suggest they use their phone ;-)

Last weeks wedding was yet another one in a barn with old Apple boxes from the back of the shed draped in bits of sacking, old jam jars of every shape and size with flowers in, a couple of battered old suitcases for the wedding presents, and a motley collection of non matching old flowery plates and cups from the local boot fares. They paid a fortune for it and loved it.

What to I know.

Roger

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

If the client likes that footage, ask who did it and suggest that she contact them. Even if you do manage to emulate that look, it's not yours - why do it?

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

Hey Paul

I had much the same in December .. "Can you make my video look like this" .. I told her no, just contact the guy that did the shoot and book him ... she still booked me !!

Chris

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

Hah - a few years ago I did a south Asian wedding and after filming for an entire evening (Mehndi) and full on wedding day I was presented a wedding video by the brother of the bride (the guy who booked me - it was his wedding video) and was told 'We'd like it to look like this one' I kid you not.

I edited it in my usual style, similar to the samples they had been shown - apart from the usual raft of change requests typical of this type of wedding, they were happy and tried to book me for another - I was busy for that date ;)

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

I like the varying degrees of comments and I know its definitely no right and wrong in terms of style.. ( What is the best color? ) There isnt a right answer.

This style is not what we normally do but I like the challenge. Doing the same thing over and over again is not that inspiring. We are meeting with the clients in a little bit to confirm things and that's when I want to make sure that they have a clear idea that this wouldnt really be possible for a longer type of an edit as you would simply get dizzy but for a 1-2 minute trailer that shows the couple/energy and vibe, its definitely doable.

I also have to agree that there is no reason that you shouldn't step outside of "your" style if that is what interests you.

I am sure most brides these days get their "inspiration" from pintrest and the like... so there isnt anything wrong to get inspired by something that you saw, as long as you make it your own. I guess making that clear to the clients is key, and not like we are planning to copy and specific shots or anything like that.. more just the vibe and feel.

Here is a little edit that I did from another wedding, I added some camera shake in after effects and tried to match the energy a bit...

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

I agree that the "capri" trailer has a nice energetic and vibrant feel to it but like you said, it is not something you want to watch for longer then 5 minutes. The editing part should be fairly easy, you just need to cut fast but what is more important is that you have a energetic couple/wedding, if that is missing it won't work.

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

I agree. Just added a vignette and called it a day. lol.

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

I quite like when clients send me samples they like. Takes a lot of the guesswork out, since so much of this stuff is subjective.

To me, that clip looks like it possibly uses film convert or some kinda LUT, though not guaranteed. Handheld, obviously, but to me a lot of the look comes from the snappy editing. It's cut pretty quickly but if you break it down shot by shot, it's nothing all that out of the ordinary. The editing and the music are largely what gives it it's "feel", in my opinion.

I think part of being a pro is being able to replicate all kinds of styles. No different than music production, or being a DOP. Some songs sound clean and modern, others grungy. Some lighting styles are flat and clean, others are very harsh. It's up to us to be able to do what's called upon.

That said, I certainly have my opinions on different styles. Some I loath, despite their popularity. Others might make some roll their eyes, yet I'm quite fond of. At the end of the day, it's the client's video, not ours. I just try to do what they like, even if I personally hate the style.

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

The problem that I have as a professional with that clip is that someone might have spent hours, perhaps days carefully crafting it from hours of meticulously taken footage that totally encapsulates the spirit and vitality of the couple and the magic and excitement of their day. They may have experimented with and painstaikingly tweaked the look to get something that makes a statement about them and their client. ........................ On the other hand ....................it could just as easily been a mate with various bits of random footage, unstable, frequently out of focus and nothing useable more than 2 seconds long, that was put through his phone app for a laugh and VOILA!

There's the rub though, you don't know and neither does anyone else, so it could be a work of art to some people and a big joke to others. Are their friends going to think ' Did they actually pay for that? we'd better tell them it's good but we won't be booking them for our wedding'.

Of course does it actually matter anyway as long as someone enjoyed it?

Roger

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

Put any video online and it'll reflect your style and be judged on it. Some will like it, some will not. You're looking at the video as a professional, comparing it to your style and considering how it was shot - how many people outside our industry will be thinking 'are the quick cuts the results of bad filming'. For the target clients, young people use to fast cutting music videos, their perspective is going to be somewhat different. Offering a Marryoke only service, I've spoken to many couples who flatly do not want a Wedding video and their reason for this, is that they've seen other peoples dull looking video and decided its not for them. So it swings both ways.

Also as an aside, I see the hit count for that video is over 25,000, has 78 likes vs 1 dislike. That dislike wasn't yours was it Roger? :)

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

Not so sure if that applies to wedding videographers, it's not as if we market ourselves on our website like "just tell us which videogrpaher's style you like and we"ll copy it for you!" :) Each weddingvideographer has developed their own style which takes years and it's a part of their branding or a part that makes people recognize their way of working. If you look at trailers from known videographers like Joe Simon or Ray Roman etc it all looks the same, each one of them has a very specific style, they might develop something new which becomes a trend but they won't just copy another videographers "style" just because the client wants that.

Only once and years ago I had a couple saying they liked still-motions work and if I was able to make something similar for them, they showed me one trailer in particular on their website and I said, "yes I can" and then I pointed at the "our films start at $$$$$dollar" and I said "at that price". :D

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

No, but many do say they will tailor the video to the couples needs. Each Wedding is unique and your video will reflect that and other such marketing jargon there to impress potential clients and make us seem accommodating to their needs. I don't think delivering a video to a similar style constitutes ripping other peoples work off. If you copied it shot for shot, yes, but if you just used it for inspiration. Even in TV and Film, certain styles become the in thing and copied across to other productions.

I suppose you're more than in your right to say no, that the style isn't your own, but equally there's hardly anything wrong in adapting your style or even trying to do something different. Its very easy with such a fast turn around and pace to get locked into a certain way of doing things. Sometimes its beneficial to be forced to film outside your own comfort level, to look at a Wedding with a different perspective. I've taken on work where I've been forced to film different to my usual style. Its a difficult frustrating experience at times, but looking back, it did change how I approached my own work.,

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

Beside that one couple long ago that wanted a still-motion alike video I have not had one couple asking for a specific style, they all pick me because of the work they see on my website and it's a very consistent style, that style does change over the years and I might try out something new now and then but if someone wants me to shoot blair witch style for their wedding I wouldn't accept it, I am not that desperate for work that I need to lower my standards to please one client. What would worry me is when other people see it they might think that's my "style" and before you know it you are known as the uncle bob of wedding video, no thanks. :)

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

Hi Oleg,

This might help.


Andrew

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

Plane crash videos get many times more hits than that, but doesn't mean that plane crashes are popular or fashionable. There is also no way of knowing whether people actually enjoyed watching the video or stopped watching after a few seconds.

It's not that I like it or dislike it, more the fact that it doesn't require any skill to produce or demonstrate any particular ability. You could use great skill to produce it, but it doesn't show that. Whether it is a style that is of interest to people is a different matter entirely and I'm quite sure that it could be demonstrated that there is a market for it, but not one that I personally would get any satisfaction from, or want to copy.

I suppose I see it in a similar light to some modern art that is supposed to reflect the world around us----
Man A goes out, gets drunk, eats a pizza and throws up in the street. Man B walks along, sees the vomit and thinks 'What a wonderful statement on modern street life'. He takes a few pictures and spends the next few weeks carefully recreating the vomit as an art form, complete with bits of simulated diced carrot and.peperoni and all lovingly floating in simulated regurgitated beer. his work is shown at a big art gallery and is acclaimed by critics. On day 3 of the exhibition, Man A staggers in drunk again when the exhibition is empty, and promptly throws up alongside the artwork. Critics and exhibitions goers immediately assume it is by man B and acclaim it as another great work of art, all except me, who just see them both as a pile of vomit.

Sorry I digress:-)

Roger

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

I've heard that line before. Actually Youtube does give statistics to the owner of the video that shows average view length of video. For my videos, average view is 3 minutes for a 4 minute video for the first month, then approx 2 minutes after that. Plus you could see the ratio of likes to dislikes to get an idea of common perception on the video.

We've all quoted the puke art gag in reference to modern art. Does it relate to this video - not really. We're talking a 1 minute 20 second highlight of the day video, not the Videographers expression of modern Weddings. I saw enough shots to consider that some thought was given in producing it. It does mimic the appearance of iphone shot video - whether it was shot with it, I don't know, but whilst not to everyones tastes, it's hardly a threat to Professional Videography.

Plus I have to say for such a short video, it does cram a lot in and you do get a feel for the Bride's personality, the fun, energy and location of the Wedding and some of the guests. It's energetic, cheerful and doesn't take itself too seriously. My online videos currently sit at 4 minutes, but watching this makes me wonder if perhaps they're too long. I also wonder if more natural audio, something I shy from apart from the vows, could be better used. So all in all I'd say an inspirational video for me.

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

Inspired or insipid! Steve it would be a boring old world if we all liked and produced the same old thing and of course disagreement keeps good discussion alive :-)

Roger

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

I think there is a limit in the time you use to show each shot for the viewer to process it, in the capri video I found the transition often too fast and that barely gave me the time to see what was going on.

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

It's the sort of video my parents would hate. Probably more popular with younger people than the older generation, with exceptions of course. :)

Re: Wedding - color grade and shooting style
 

Don't forget, different videos for different purposes (or people).

For instance, I can easily see that this would target their friends relations who really just aren't going to watch a 15 or 45 minute video. Or maybe the bride and her close family (parents) would like this, too, as long as they knew they ALSO got a 15, 45, or 90 minute video that shows more.

That's how we sell our videos... 3 different edits for 3 different purposes. Cover the bases.