Reception Clip
 

Here is a reception clip that I completed.

The colors are off a bit in spots, but what do you think overall?

The Clip

Real nice edit Matt. Maybe you should have given the bride a little dose of laughing gas before you started rolling the camera though. :)

LoL, thanks Robert. When can I look forward to chapter two of sales 101?

I'm still working on it Matt ...LOL. I did start working on it the other night, but haven't picked it up again and finished. It's something I really do need to do, for myself, if nothing else.

Matt, I like the video, but I wanted to see an exterior shot. Was the weather bad or is the exterior unattractive? It also looks a bit dark, but that may be a computer vs. TV gamma issue. The only clip I didn't like was a shot of table 20 at about 0:32 in the edit. There was a great overhead shot of a table setting just before it, so it looked poor in contrast. What camera do you use?

There are exterior shots in other portions of the video. I had two DVX100a's running in 30p. It does look darker on the computer than the tv. I tried to bump up gamma, pull the blacks back down a bit, and boost saturation before encoding but it never comes out perfect.

I really liked the overhead shot of the table and a couple shots of the disco ball were framed really well. I also liked how you tried to fit in some fast cuts in a slightly slower song, but only in certaain parts - I think that gave it more of a unique look. Overall I noticed quite a bit of shake in some of your moving shots (were they hand held?) and a lot of half zoom either starting at the beginning and ending half way through or vice versa. It also looked like the song was too long for the content as there were a lot of cake shots, as an example. As a suggestion, it can be nice to add the highlights of one speech to a clip like this as a voice over and occasionally cut back to the podium. I was also surprised at how bright the footage looks considering your position on lighting and the cameras your using- I thought that was very well done.

Patrick

Thanks, I tried to break up the cake shots as much as possible. All shots were handheld or on a monopod. Practically everything I shoot myself is handheld, except for the ceremony (tripod) and the high shots where the camera is on a monopod.

The lift off the table was a monopod. I have since purchased the legs for the manfrotto monopod that Glen talks about. They help stabilize things like the overhead table shot. I would like to purchase a glidecam but I'm still paying for my PowerMac, PowerBook, and Final Cut Studio. :-/

As far as lights at the reception. I try to use the DJ's lights as much to my advantage as possible. Just choosing the right angle can make a huge difference when trying to use the available light. I do have a frezzi mini-fill dimmer (50w) that I use at most receptions. I put the frezzi softbox on and it does a pretty nice job.

Don't get me wrong on lighting. It is the most important thing to good video or film (apart from good audio but I consider that separately). Shooting without light would be like painting without paint. My view on lighting is to be as resourceful as possible with what is there.. before I start interfering with the ambience of the event.

The DVX is great. It is a very capable camera for so many applications and I do miss having them. I now have a PD170 and VX2100. The gain in light sensitivity is a big plus, but I miss the convenience of the controls on the DVX. My next camera change will be to an HD format but I don't see myself taking this leap for at least a year.

I would have like it better if you started with a cake shot. the first two shots weren't great shots so it didn't have the rule of a fantastic start. There was a really beautiful shot of two kids dancing i think that was cut very short. I would have liked to have seen more of that shot. Maybe some slowmo here and there? and cross fades when cutting from flowers to dancers. Very hard place to shoot and I appreciated what you have done here. It is good work.

Sometimes getting good establishing shots is not possible or not warranted. I think it's a good idea to have the bride send you an invitation without your name on it in the mail with a few copies of photos of them that they cherish. You can set up a still life with flowers the invitation and the photographs, candles etc. This can make a good establishing shot, because really it's not about the building they are to be married in it's about the relationship between these two people. This also involves the bride in the project which is good. When they see that at the beginning of their dvd it will instantly put them in the proper viewing mood. Also you can use this still life for the dvd cover and disk art as shooting with a still camera will produce better art for printing.

Just a thought.

Mike