advise

[Matthew Le Tissier]

hi. im getting married in December and i have been to a few edding fairs etc. the video people wanted 2 k to film the wedding so i went out and purchased a nice 10mp hd sony camcorder with a hardrive and all lenses and tripod etc for about a grand all in total, this way i can have a camera on honeymoon to.

 

has anyone got any tips etc as i haven't got a clue

[Roman]

hi. im getting married in December and i have been to a few edding fairs etc. the video people wanted 2 k to film the wedding so i went out and purchased a nice 10mp hd sony camcorder with a hardrive and all lenses and tripod etc for about a grand all in total, this way i can have a camera on honeymoon to.

 

has anyone got any tips etc as i haven't got a clue

 

With the camera or the honeymoon?

[Roman]

The classic beginner's mistake is to try and 'hoover' everything with the camera. Don't do it. You'll have the classic crap wedding video.

 

Think of every situation you shoot in terms of master shots (a wide shot of everything that's going one), single close ups and smaller groups shots, plus what are called cutaways (a close up of the wedding cake for example, or the huge pile of wedding gifts.

 

Don't think about 'linking' any of these shots. Instead, get your wide shot, then crash in and get a good close up, or cutaway. Make sure during these shots you keep the camera as still as possible!!

 

To make things look really professional, you'll have to be careful not to 'cross the line' (which can get complicated, but it basically means that if you are filming two people talking to each other, the close ups should be one person looking camera left to right, and the other camera right to left.)

 

If you shoot in this way, you'll find that when you come to EDIT what you've shot, you'll have enough building blocks to put together cut sequences.

 

Oh, and by the way - you'll have to invest in some editing software. If you have a Mac, get Final Cut Express. If a PC, there are lots of options out there, costing around £75 to £150.

 

During editing, try and resist the innumerable silly ways of making a transition - ripple dissolves, 3-d wipes etc, etc. The good old fashioned CUT will give you the best and most professional results.

 

Once you've done this, you'll be able to output to DVD, Quicktime or tape.

 

That's a start, if it's any help.

[Ponty]

Are you going to have a stunt double at the altar whilst you're filming this wedding?

[Roman]

...and get someone else to shoot it.

[Pancake]

What type of Wedding and reception are you having? I guess there are few basic type and all have their certain plus and minus points for Wedding filming:

 

Pre-Wedding filming.

 

I will assume that you and the Bride will be leaving from different places for the ceremony. If this is the case, you WILL need either 2 cameras or someone that is mobile and doesn’t mind being a runner. Things to capture pre-Wedding are:

 

• Groom getting suited and booted with the Bestman and Parents etc. A simple shot of putting the bowtie on etc is really nice and starts the video off well. Add to this some footage of you driving away from the house on the way to ceremony.
  
• The Bride and Bridesmaid(s). A lot of filming here of her getting ready, getting make up done and posing for photos with her family. Don’t forget this is HER day more than it is yours. Get footage of her and her entourage getting into the car and driving away. Get the filmer to get to the ceremony BEFORE the Bride. Once there, they can film them arriving and getting out of the car.
  

 

A few things to consider before hand are:

 

• Does the church/registry office allow filming during the ceremony?
  
• Do they require the videographer to be a member of the Videographers Guild (or whatever its called) as a lot of Anglican Churches specify this,as do some registry offices.
  
• Can you get someone who is willing to stand at the back with a tripod and film it.
  

 

What you need to capture at the Church:

 

• Guests getting seated
  
• Close up of the Groom and Bestman looking nervous before the Bride arrives.
  
• Bride entering
  
• Ceremony. Capture ALL of it and edit later, its better to have it and bin it than not to have it at all, the joys of digital.
  
• The signing of the register. Try and get this before all the guests pop up with the snappy cams as flash looks nasty on film.
  
• The Groom and bride leaving the church. This is where 2 cameras come in handy as one can get a shot from inside and one from outside.
  
• A few of the official photos being taken (if you are having them)
  
• The Bride and Groom leaving for the reception with confetti.
  

 

What you need to capture at the Reception.

 

• Bride and Groom arriving. This means getting away before them and finding a nice shot as they turn up
  
• Guests arriving and drinks being had
  
• People mingling and talking. Get a few “hellos” from BOTH sides of the families here before people start to drink.
  
• The Line Up. Its going to be long, but film it all, a la the ceremony.
  
• People taking their seats.
  
• ALL of the speeches, maybe from 2 angles.
  
• A few sweeping shots of the meal being eaten, but don’t intrude on people eating as it makes for crap shots and boring viewing.
  
• Cutting of the cake. If your Photographer insists on a “fake” cake cutting for them to photograph, get in on that as it will look better than the free-for-all at the real one with guests taking snap shots.
  
• The “real” cake cutting from a distance to capture the guests as well as this gives a feel of enjoyment and people will love seeing themselves.
  
• The First Dance is a must, get it all, including the Bestman/Bridesmaid and Fathers/Mothers.
  
• A few shots of people dancing.
  

 

Now, another great thing to have here, which is rather easy to sort out but gives a great bit of footage is the following:

 

• At the reception, find a quiet room where the videographer can set up the camera on a tripod with decent light. Get the Bestman to politely ask various guests during the night to pop to the room and film them wishing your and your Bride a greeting. Make sure you get AT LEAST the direct relatives, Bestman and Bridesmaids. Add to this is distant relatives and friends for more “fun” messages and clean jokes.
  

 

Now you have your footages, you obviously need it edited and cur for viewing. If you feel you can, have a go yourself, but if not, a cunning plan is to pop to your local Uni and find the Media department. Here you will find students, but don’t let that put you off. They will need a project and you have raw footage… what could make a better solution to both the problems!

 

Speak to a few students and choose one that you like and sells their work well, keeping in mind that if you don’t like that they have done, you haven’t lost any footages as you still have all the raw data. Give them a brief of what you want (some monochrome shots, some still…) and give them some info on the Wedding:

 

• Guest list – who is who so they can make sure they don’t forget to include anyone special in the final edit. They can also add titles to the “greeting” footages detailed above.
  
• The colour scheme. A lot of video doesn’t render the colours as you had them on the day, so make sure you give them direction so they can add the correct colours to the menus etc.
  
• The schedule – what happened in what order so they can piece it together in the correct way.
  
• What you DON’T want cut – tell them if you want all the ceremony and all the speeches, if not you ight find they cut bits out you really wanted.
  
• The music of the day – Give them a CD with the songs one from the day (first dance song, 2nd dance song, 3rd dance song; some other music the DJ played; any music you had during the meal etc.) They can hopefully match up the good quality songs with the music on the video for a nice sync.
  
• Give them any digital photos you have already as they can add these as cut-shots and also as a “digital album” as a bonus feature on the DVD.
  

 

Hope this makes sense.

[Matthew Le Tissier]

ohhh dear looks more to it than i first thought, i am not bothered about some a1 movie video, just something we can watch and remember it one day.

 

the wedding is at the new place in wickham and so is the evening **** up, in the manor house with a casino and a few live bands and a dj ..with a curry buffet.

 

has anyone got any hooky editing software for sale?

[hamster]

Try to avoid the temptation of looking heer http:///www.isohunt.com

And certainly do not search what is on offer by certain users named fxg or axxo, they are allegedly very naughty people, allegedly.

[Matthew Le Tissier]

Try to avoid the temptation of looking heer http:///www.isohunt.com

And certainly do not search what is on offer by certain users named fxg or axxo, they are allegedly very naughty people, allegedly.

 

 

what are you saying?

[Matthew Le Tissier]

im injured at the mo so i took the video down to video the lads game the weekend, i was realy happy with the picture etc ...buttttttt.......it sounds like im in the middle of a hurricane???? how do you hide the wind but still get noises from the pitch??????