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Wedding / Event Videography Techniques
Shooting non-repeatable events: weddings, recitals, plays, performances...

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Old June 1st, 2006, 06:41 AM   #1
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Sunrise on the Beach

Ok, I have a small intimate ceremony this weekend on the beach at or close to sunrise.

I've taken precautions and will have almost everything covered, the camera, the tripod [in bags], windscreen for the mic, I'll even have a tent for my other gear storage. We plan to do various things such as walk on the beach stuff etc.

The only thing I'm still wondering is how much of the camera I should leave in auto since if I'm 'mid sun up' or so since adjusting various things with that dern raincoat is near impossible in real time.

We are very stoked about the shoot.
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Old June 1st, 2006, 07:09 AM   #2
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"The only thing I'm still wondering is how much of the camera I should leave in auto since if I'm 'mid sun up' or so since adjusting various things with that dern raincoat is near impossible in real time. "

NONE.. Manual all the way... find a WB and keep it, even when the sun rides, as this will addo the atmosphere of evolving colour throughout the sunrise. If u constantly mess with ur WB the feeling of evolving time wont have that much of an effect, however if u keep your colours stable, that time motion of colour and light will really look sweet

the only thing to kep an eye on is exposure, but if u DO need to gradually start clsing u iris, do it in segments, dont do it while soeone in speaking or when there is major event happening, even if u feel that u MUST.. u can always tweak this in post..

id strongly recommend u head off to the location in question at the time in question and take ur camera nad do a dry run. your exposure levels WILL be different (unless u take a couple of crash dummies with u) but at least youll get an ideas as ot how much time it will take for teh sun to rise and for the colour and luminance to change...
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Old June 1st, 2006, 07:13 AM   #3
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Thanks Peter.
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Old June 1st, 2006, 07:23 AM   #4
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If it's very sunny out avoid AUTO like the plague. Most DV cams tend to over expose a lot in bright sunlight. You'll get that very obvious VIDEO look. A properly exposed shot in bright sun, for my SonyDV cams, is typically 1 or 2 stops below what AUTO would choose for me.

As far as access to the cam controls go - I've shot on the beach without any camera covers with no problems. My cams are still kickin just fine. And in the back on my mind I think that I honestly don't care too much about my DV cams I have anyway because they are only standard definition and soon to be replaced with HD soon anyway. I don't want to trash them but I'm certainly not going to treat them like a 2007 Ferrari GTB.

When you say "windscreen" I think "foam" which is COMPLETELY USELESS for anything more than a gentle breeze. If you want the potential for disaster just use that useless piece of foam... otherwise get a good deadcat and play it safe. Get one for the groom's lapel also. (if you don't have one already) :p
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Old June 1st, 2006, 08:07 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig Terott
If it's very sunny out avoid AUTO like the plague. Most DV cams tend to over expose a lot in bright sunlight. You'll get that very obvious VIDEO look. A properly exposed shot in bright sun, for my SonyDV cams, is typically 1 or 2 stops below what AUTO would choose for me.

As far as access to the cam controls go - I've shot on the beach without any camera covers with no problems. My cams are still kickin just fine. And in the back on my mind I think that I honestly don't care too much about my DV cams I have anyway because they are only standard definition and soon to be replaced with HD soon anyway. I don't want to trash them but I'm certainly not going to treat them like a 2007 Ferrari GTB.

When you say "windscreen" I think "foam" which is COMPLETELY USELESS for anything more than a gentle breeze. If you want the potential for disaster just use that useless piece of foam... otherwise get a good deadcat and play it safe. Get one for the groom's lapel also. (if you don't have one already) :p


Well, I'll be using my brand spanking new Z1, so if I have any wind at all, I'll probably cover it.

With regards to the windscreen, I have two variations of fuzzy's I've made so I'll use one of them, if only to protect my long AT 895.

I'm getting the audio three ways, a lapel to my camera on the priest, an iriver in the grooms pocket, and my shotgun. Since there's only a couple people at the ceremony, I can get right up on the actors.

Thanks for the heads up on the stops.
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Old June 1st, 2006, 05:03 PM   #6
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"I can get right up on the actors"

i wouldnt. The long throw on the shotgun should be sufficient to be about 5 to 10 metres from the subjects and a tighter zoom in would give you a shallower DoF, which is what u want..

as for the officant, have u discussed it with them re-lapel?
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Old June 1st, 2006, 05:28 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Davis
Well, I'll be using my brand spanking new Z1, so if I have any wind at all, I'll probably cover it.
I think I might be the same way with a new HD cam.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Davis
With regards to the windscreen, I have two variations of fuzzy's I've made so I'll use one of them, if only to protect my long AT 895.
Any lapel mic, subjected to a lot of wind, the audio will be trashed. When you get to post you'll get a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach -if you get what I mean. They make wind jammers for lapel mics. Rycotes comes to mind. Beaches are windy 90% of the time. When vows are spoken your customers will want to hear them ...not thtthhttththhhtththtthth you Brian ...ththtthhthththt ....my husba..... thththt ththth tthh ththtthth
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Old June 1st, 2006, 05:50 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Jefferson
The long throw on the shotgun should be sufficient to be about 5 to 10 metres from the subjects

The variables are the amount of wind and the volume level of the Bride & Groom & the officiant. It varies a lot. I've had people speak very loud and you can hear everything and I've had those couples that have NO volume in their voice and they are practically at wisper level. On a windy beach this could be a problem. Lately I've told the couples prior to the ceremony to "speak at a normal level - don't wisper your vows." But every now and then I still get the shy couple that speaks softly. The lapel is like a bar of gold in that case. My credo is never to rely on the camera mic and monitor the audio with headphones.
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Old June 1st, 2006, 07:34 PM   #9
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Well, my hope, for the wind is, that between the three audios which will be in different positions, one will pick up less wind. I'll have a fur thingy on my shotgun, and the b&g will be opposite of the priest who I will mic as well.


Hey Peter, i'm not sure what you mean by "as for the officant, have u discussed it with them re-lapel?" If you mean did I tell the B&G I would be using lapels, yes.
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Old June 1st, 2006, 10:00 PM   #10
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nah dude, tif u want the officant to wear one, u going to have to ask, and its best to ask of this elemetnt prior to the actual event, as in some cases, they might not want to wear it, and u dont want to be left hanging n the wedding day.

what craig says about wind is on the nail. but in situations like this, even with a softie on the lapel (looks like a furry testicle.. lol hey a bride said it not me) what wa i saying.. oh yes.. even with a softie on teh capsule, if the groom is wearing a jacket (and vest), clip the mic on the vest. IF hes not wearing a vest, clip it on his shirt. If u have a white mic, use it.. not many ppl do though.. (am i the only stupid one here? ) anyways, the jacket will work as a windshield, however u need to tell the groom to not moove to much as if the mic rubs on the jacket, ur sound will be nuked
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Old June 1st, 2006, 10:10 PM   #11
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"The variables are the amount of wind and the volume level of the Bride & Groom & the officiant. It varies a lot."
Of course, this is a given... in fact, its funny how people DONT consider this when theyre working out where theyre getting married though.. lol .. id be more inclined to reenact my ceremony in front of a green screen.. on a sound stage.. lol
As for sound, like visuals, it all comes down to variables and how you match them.. in an ideal world, youd be running your mic in a Zeppelin windshield, on a boom 3 feet from the talent.. LOL but we all know that wedding video production is not part of the real world.. Hahhahaha ok shut up pete..


"My credo is never to rely on the camera mic and monitor the audio with headphones."

Agreed.. im using Pioneer HDJ1000's studio phones. http://www.pioneeraus.com.au/pro_dj/...ex.html#anch_4
These bastards can take a pounding (were talking 3500mw) wth ZERO distortion (i ran them through my JP8000 with a direct feed, ran a fat pad with an LFO assigned to the oscillators pitch and THEN ran a cutoff sweep.. the SAME thing was run on 4 different sets of fones, and they ALL died... the sonys, technics, audio technica and numarks all died, while the pioneers (and sennheisers) just laughed through it.. then again the sennys are 500 bux, the pioneers are 300
Not cheap for phones, but hey.. this isnt a cheap industry i guess..I been producing music for 13 years and these would have to be the best set of cans ive ever come across.. ever... EVER... nothign comes close to these.. believe me, u wont know until you put these on and crank it... al the way up .. and youd still be left with some headroom... believe me.. all i can say is that these phones will completely blow u away..

and no i dont work for pioneer.. LOL
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Old June 2nd, 2006, 10:31 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Jefferson
nah dude, tif u want the officant to wear one, u going to have to ask, and its best to ask of this elemetnt prior to the actual event, as in some cases, they might not want to wear it, and u dont want to be left hanging n the wedding day.

I would never bank on the officiant wearing a mic because as Peter said sometimes you'll strike out. But I think my success rate in getting the officiant to wear a mic seems to be more related to the venue and less in seeking permision before hand. In a church, I get a lot of resistance or flat out refusal, but anywhere else "willingness" has tended to be above 90% (estimate). And the Priests have been the most stubborn (here we go again Pete!!!). I had one priest last month give me this vile look and instead of responding to my request he says "I have things to do" and turned his back on me and walked away with not even a shred of kindness. I turned and looked at my wife (just 3ft away) and said to her "was I not polite to him Brenda?" ...with disbelieving eyes - she says "yes - you were - you were." Sorry I have a hair accross my arse on that one - still.
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Old June 2nd, 2006, 10:57 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Jefferson
im using Pioneer HDJ1000's studio phones. http://www.pioneeraus.com.au/pro_dj/...ex.html#anch_4
These bastards can take a pounding (were talking 3500mw) wth ZERO distortion (i ran them through my JP8000 with a direct feed, ran a fat pad with an LFO assigned to the oscillators pitch and THEN ran a cutoff sweep.. the SAME thing was run on 4 different sets of fones, and they ALL died... the sonys, technics, audio technica and numarks all died, while the pioneers (and sennheisers) just laughed through it.. then again the sennys are 500 bux, the pioneers are 300
Not cheap for phones, but hey.. this isnt a cheap industry i guess..I been producing music for 13 years and these would have to be the best set of cans ive ever come across.. ever... EVER... nothign comes close to these.. believe me, u wont know until you put these on and crank it... al the way up .. and youd still be left with some headroom... believe me.. all i can say is that these phones will completely blow u away..

and no i dont work for pioneer.. LOL
Yeah, I just submitted this thread to Pioneer for testimonial. They'll be giving you a call for a spot in their next commercial. ha ha

I'm embarrased to say I use cheapola headphones. For me the major criteria was getting enough volume out of them and of course they must be the muff style.

These are similar to the ones I use but mine are all black:

http://www.koss.com/koss/kossweb.nsf/p?OpenForm&pc^fs^PRO3AA

Pete, have you ever considered noise cancellation headphones? I was wondering how they would perform sor me since I'm always trying to discern the difference between audio I'm hearing in my headphones and everything else.
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Old June 2nd, 2006, 06:38 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Davis
Ok, I have a small intimate ceremony this weekend on the beach at or close to sunrise.
sunrise on the east coast means that the sun is over the ocean when it rises, which could be the worst possible situation, if you want the ocean in the background of the shot... always put the sun behind you if possible.

as for wind being an issue, i live and surf at the beach, so i can tell you that sunrise is the best possible scenario for no wind... unless there is a storm, or some kind of a low pressure cell in the area, you shouldn't see much wind.
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Old June 4th, 2006, 12:04 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig Terott
Yeah, I just submitted this thread to Pioneer for testimonial. They'll be giving you a call for a spot in their next commercial. ha ha

I'm embarrased to say I use cheapola headphones. For me the major criteria was getting enough volume out of them and of course they must be the muff style.

These are similar to the ones I use but mine are all black:

http://www.koss.com/koss/kossweb.nsf/p?OpenForm&pc^fs^PRO3AA

Pete, have you ever considered noise cancellation headphones? I was wondering how they would perform sor me since I'm always trying to discern the difference between audio I'm hearing in my headphones and everything else.
Yea dude, these ones cancel.. they cancel everything... even the naggin wife lol
for smaller units, (ones i carry in my pocket for shooting run and gun) i use in ear type panas http://panasonic.com.au/products/det...?objectID=3144
I'd prefer these http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/uleasu5prois.html but theyre a mite expensive for what they are...
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