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Anyone here do Weddings?

I

Illmetaphor

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 15, 2009
56
0
One of my best friends from college is getting married this weekend. So we will be taping it, and then I will put a package together for them. He doesn't care what kind of video camera we are using...I think we may be using his aunts older handheld.

If this projects come out well...I was going to try and do more weddings.

What kind of camera would I need to be competitive in this type of business? I doubt I can afford a 3 chip camera or anything...they cost way too much.

Any feedback is great.

www.callatonic.com
 
If you want HD & looks that are impressive to the lay-man then the Sony HVR-HD1000 could be your best shot - many wedding companies (the lower, budget end of the market) use them - next step up would be a second hand Sony FX1 or similar.

However - get this one out of the way first & see how your finished product looks compared to someone who's been in the business a while (look at web demo's for ideas & comparisons) before you decide to do it commercially!

A few tips on the day - no matter what, use a tripod for the Ceremony & Speeches & any part of the day that you'll use more than a minute of on the final DVD, Don't pan, No random zooming & see if you can buy or borrow a shotgun mic to use on the day!

Good luck with it!
 
coldsweat said:
If you want HD & looks that are impressive to the lay-man then the Sony HVR-HD1000 could be your best shot - many wedding companies (the lower, budget end of the market) use them - next step up would be a second hand Sony FX1 or similar.

However - get this one out of the way first & see how your finished product looks compared to someone who's been in the business a while (look at web demo's for ideas & comparisons) before you decide to do it commercially!

A few tips on the day - no matter what, use a tripod for the Ceremony & Speeches & any part of the day that you'll use more than a minute of on the final DVD, Don't pan, No random zooming & see if you can buy or borrow a shotgun mic to use on the day!

Good luck with it!
Click to expand...

Thanks...unfortunately I won't be able to film it. I'm in the wedding as a Groomsmen(sp?) Thanks for the tips.
 
anyone else have any opinions?

I can't afford a $1500 camera lke the one above. Most of the people I have talked to about Weddings could care less what camera I have as long as it looks fine. I am sure a Sony HD camera from Sears would look perfectly fine. Especially with my editing skills and the fact I wouldn't be charging an outrageous rate like most production companies.
 
Illmetaphor said:
Most of the people I have talked to about Weddings could care less what camera I have as long as it looks fine.
Click to expand...

I have not found this to be true. When people higher someone to make a professional looking video, they expect a large camera. If you show up with your standard home video camera, they think "I'm paying how much for this? This guy has the same camera as my Uncle Jim!"

It's true that you can do a lot with inexpensive equipment, but the general populous doesn't understand that making a good video is a lot more than pointing the camera at stuff and then overlaying music over it.

Good luck.

P-Worm
 
P-Worm said:
I have not found this to be true. When people higher someone to make a professional looking video, they expect a large camera. If you show up with your standard home video camera, they think "I'm paying how much for this? This guy has the same camera as my Uncle Jim!"

It's true that you can do a lot with inexpensive equipment, but the general populous doesn't understand that making a good video is a lot more than pointing the camera at stuff and then overlaying music over it.

Good luck.

P-Worm
Click to expand...

I definitely get what you are saying. But they are expecting a huge and expensive camera because they are paying too much money. I would only charge 1/3 of what a professional production company.
 
Look....I do video production/editing. I am not a professional Wedding Videographer. I am only thinking of this a side gig to make extra money. My friend happens to be getting married this weekend and I can use this opportunity to develop a package for them and use in my portfolio

1.) Like I said before...they do not care about having a top of line, overpriced video camera

2.) A cheaper Sony true HD camera from Sears...how can the video not look good? Its HD.

3.) I have a plugins with Final Cut Pro that can give the video a "filmic" look.

4.) Instead of charging outrageous prices of $1500 or whatever they charge. I would only charge a few hundred dollars.

5.) My editing skills are not average.


www.callatonic.com
 
In my experience, wedding VIDEOS suck no matter how good they are.

Wedding PHOTOS are always cherished, always shown and always remembered.

Any wedding vid would be shown once, maybe seen twice, then never again. :rolleyes:
 
"Look....I do video production/editing. I am not a professional Wedding Videographer. I am only thinking of this a side gig to make extra money. My friend happens to be getting married this weekend and I can use this opportunity to develop a package for them and use in my portfolio."

If you are an editor, you understand the need for good, clean footage. Decent codec and good audio, right? You say you are a groomsman, so someone else is in charge of filming, right? Do they know what they're doing?

"1.) Like I said before...they do not care about having a top of line, overpriced video camera"

They may not, but others will, guaranteed!

"2.) A cheaper Sony true HD camera from Sears...how can the video not look good? Its HD."

No one is saying it can not look "good." But these consumer lines have their limitations...especially with sensitivity, probably the number one most important part of shooting wedding video. All video is handicapped by light, you need it for the shot....the less you spend, typically, the more light you're going to need to get the shot. Also, manual control. White Balance, colors, focus, ND filters, Audio is HUGE!!!! If you're planning to use a consumer grade camcorder, you will need to record your sound separately, eg. Zoom H4n. Audio can ruin your piece. It can also make your production.

"3.) I have a plugins with Final Cut Pro that can give the video a "filmic" look."

LOL. That's funny. So do I. But if you shoot it without that "fimic" look, you're not going to achieve it in post with filters or plug-ins. I promise;)

"4.) Instead of charging outrageous prices of $1500 or whatever they charge. I would only charge a few hundred dollars."

$1500 is cheap and certainly not outrageous for a decent video shoot. Realize, most folks willing to invest in wedding videography are looking for something decent. If you're editing skills are up to task, and you want to pursue this as a "side" project....do the same with your "shot" skills. I think you'll be amazed at how "not easy" it is to get a shot that "looks good." Seriously. As you know...it took you a while to get the hang of editing and to execute efficiently. Shooting is another skill set entirely. You may want to explore hooking up with someone who has cameras and is into shooting, maybe not so much into editing. Together, you'll make a great team. 50/50 split on the proceeds, or whatever you guys/gals deem fair. OR, rent some gear. Don't underestimate the power of an assistant. AND, backup gear. If it can go wrong, it will.

"5.) My editing skills are not average."

Than you understand what "good footage" is compared to "crap," right? Your codec is what ultimately will matter in post. FCP does not edit AVC natively, you're obviously aware of that as an editor....another step with the bulk of consumer camcorders today....there are other proprietary codecs to take into consideration as well. Frame rates....are you truly looking for that "filmic" or "cinematic" look? May want to explore cams with 24p. Again, not easy in post, best with Shake....but not a "plug in"....Lighting and Audio are important, as you know....being an above average editor. Expect to spend some money on both aspects. Backup gear is mandatory....not matter if you're charging 20 bucks or 20,000. Folks expect a product at the end. If your camera fails you without backup, you've failed the client.

I'm not trying to disuade you from the game. Rather, prepare you. Seems you consider it a simple task. I've been shooting weddings and doing the audio/still production for almost 20 years. It's not easy. It requires a lot of work and planning and money and gear and time. Don't take it lightly. Edit this wedding and see what you think. Keep in mind, weddings can also be VERY boring. It's not like shooting sports or events. Dress nice and act professionally.

I could keep going but I'm sure you get my point. Also, remember to bring backup media (SD, HDD, P2, SxS, mini DV, etc:))

Peace

J
 
1.) Like I said before...they do not care about having a top of line, overpriced video camera
Click to expand...
Top of the line does not mean overpriced. High end cameras are expensive for a reason.
2.) A cheaper Sony true HD camera from Sears...how can the video not look good? Its HD.
Click to expand...
HD from a crappy camera will still look like crap, just at a higher, more craptastic resolution.
3.) I have a plugins with Final Cut Pro that can give the video a "filmic" look.
Click to expand...
And you can make it look extra sweet and "filmic" by trying out some tutorials on CreativeCow.com
4.) Instead of charging outrageous prices of $1500 or whatever they charge. I would only charge a few hundred dollars.
Click to expand...
$1500 would be on the low end of the scale.
5.) My editing skills are not average.
Click to expand...

You are correct, they are below average.
 
"In my experience, wedding VIDEOS suck no matter how good they are."

Responsibility of the editor. Most weddings are boring, as I mentioned above. It's the job of the DP and editors to provide a compelling final product. We do 75-120 second "Fast Edits" for all of our clients bundled with the "Director's Extended Cut" :). The quickies, as we call them, are edited MTV style (fast) and made to fit on iPhones, websites, email, etc.....AND, so your friends and family don't have to sit through the entire ceremony again!

These days, video is much more relevant than days passed (or is it past?)_
Ala, Youtube, Vimeo, websites, iPhones, etc. IMO, if you cannot edit a compelling wedding video, you shouldn't be in the business. Because Sdashiki is right....if they're boring, they'll only be seen once.

J
 
Illmetaphor said:
2.) A cheaper Sony true HD camera from Sears...how can the video not look good? Its HD.
Click to expand...

I'm sold!

Illmetaphor said:
3.) I have a plugins with Final Cut Pro that can give the video a "filmic" look.
Click to expand...

Do you have any of those explosion clips to drop in?

Illmetaphor said:
5.) My editing skills are not average.
Click to expand...

Is that meant to be a good or bad thing?

But in all seriousness — and I'm not trying to piss all over your idea here — weddings are still a once-in-a-lifetime thing for some people, and they might get pretty annoyed if what they're expecting and what you deliver don't match up. It's difficult to qualify missing the one-time-only vows with "yeah, but $500 — what were you expecting?" So I'm just urging some thorough homework before you jump in.
 
faustfire said:
Top of the line does not mean overpriced. High end cameras are expensive for a reason.

HD from a crappy camera will still look like crap, just at a higher, more craptastic resolution.

And you can make it look extra sweet and "filmic" by trying out some tutorials on CreativeCow.com

$1500 would be on the low end of the scale.


You are correct, they are below average.
Click to expand...

You are a hater. In what way are my editing skills below average? I have people all over the world asking me to make videos for them.

In no way am I saying the greatest editor ever. I am definitely not below average. Please elaborate.

Thanks to AKDJ for actually giving me an intelligent, thoughtful response.
 
Illmetaphor said:
You are a hater. In what way are my editing skills below average? I have people all over the world asking me to make videos for them.

In no way am I saying the greatest editor ever. I am definitely not below average. Please elaborate.

Thanks to AKDJ for actually giving me an intelligent, thoughtful response.
Click to expand...
Dude, calm down. He's just telling you the truth to be honest, and I have to agree that he is right about the camera. The resolution is pretty much a marketing gimmick on any camera under $1,000, and the odds are the sensor isn't going to cope too well.

As faustfire said:
"HD from a crappy camera will still look like crap, just at a higher, more craptastic resolution."

and again:
"Top of the line does not mean overpriced. High end cameras are expensive for a reason."
 
I shot a wedding during the summer using 3 Canon GL2s for a client. I only own one and I had to rent two at Samy's. You can rent them for $120 with student discount I think and if you're charging them for the wedding, it's reasonable. I really wouldn't advice taping something like a wedding with a handheld cam. It's a wedding not a vacation. LOL. You will definitely have to use a 3 CCCD someway somehow if your friends care at all about filming their wedding.
 
I understand about the cameras...and agree with pretty much everything said other than my editing skills.

Please elaborate....please don't give me a speech on color correction. I am talking about creativity...graphic animation....things you don't learn in a book.
 
Illmetaphor said:
You are a hater. In what way are my editing skills below average? I have people all over the world asking me to make videos for them.

In no way am I saying the greatest editor ever. I am definitely not below average. Please elaborate.
Click to expand...

Well, when you are only charging a couple hundred dollars, people
are going to be skeptical. When you are charging tens of thousands of
dollars and STILL have people all over the world asking you to
make videos for them, despite the cost, THEN you can say that
you are definitely 'above average'. I'm not saying you are below
average, cause I haven't seen your work. I WILL say, that most
'above average' editors, realize that $1500 for a wedding is low.

Also, consumer HD cameras with the highly compressed codecs they
use, are often times NOT very good for editing. They are recording in
what would be known as a 'delivery' codec and NOT a codec that is
good for editing with. In other words, when you add things
like transitions, a film look filter, or titles and graphics, the quality of
that HD video is going to degrade dramatically. Also you are going
to lose a ton of manual control, and trust me, these consumer cameras
don't know what you want as good as you do.....prime example, I was
doing a destination wedding in front of a glacier. I had set the camera to auto iris to see what it thought was the best exposure. It saw all that white from the glacier and stopped down enough that the couple were just
'shadows'. Now I had an expensive 3 chip camera, so I just switched to
manual iris and opened up the iris ring to expose correctly. Can't do that with a consumer 'auto everything' camera. There is a reason that
pro cameras cost more than consumer cameras.....

The HV20 has a good reputation in consumer circles. I can't vouch for it
because I use 'expensive pro cameras.' You might take a look at it and
see what you think.
 
AKcameradude said:
Well, when you are only charging a couple hundred dollars, people
are going to be skeptical. When you are charging tens of thousands of
dollars and STILL have people all over the world asking you to
make videos for them, despite the cost, THEN you can say that
you are definitely 'above average'. I'm not saying you are below
average, cause I haven't seen your work. I WILL say, that most
'above average' editors, realize that $1500 for a wedding is low.

Also, consumer HD cameras with the highly compressed codecs they
use, are often times NOT very good for editing. They are recording in
what would be known as a 'delivery' codec and NOT a codec that is
good for editing with. In other words, when you add things
like transitions, a film look filter, or titles and graphics, the quality of
that HD video is going to degrade dramatically. Also you are going
to lose a ton of manual control, and trust me, these consumer cameras
don't know what you want as good as you do.....prime example, I was
doing a destination wedding in front of a glacier. I had set the camera to auto iris to see what it thought was the best exposure. It saw all that white from the glacier and stopped down enough that the couple were just
'shadows'. Now I had an expensive 3 chip camera, so I just switched to
manual iris and opened up the iris ring to expose correctly. Can't do that with a consumer 'auto everything' camera. There is a reason that
pro cameras cost more than consumer cameras.....

The HV20 has a good reputation in consumer circles. I can't vouch for it
because I use 'expensive pro cameras.' You might take a look at it and
see what you think.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help AKCameraDude...I wasn't speaking about my editing skills with Weddings, but just in general. Creativity, Emotion, Graphic animation is what I am talking about.You can view some of my work at www.youtube.com/CommonForte.

I have no experience with Weddings...which is why I posted in the first place. You guys really schooled on me the real advantages with using a 3 chip camera. I just cant afford one. Thanks to everyone for all the help.
 
Illmetaphor said:
Thanks for the help AKCameraDude...I wasn't speaking about my editing skills with Weddings, but just in general. Creativity, Emotion, Graphic animation is what I am talking about.You can view some of my work at www.youtube.com/CommonForte.

I have no experience with Weddings...which is why I posted in the first place. You guys really schooled on me the real advantages with using a 3 chip camera. I just cant afford one. Thanks to everyone for all the help.
Click to expand...

Well, you do what you can with what you have or can afford.
Not saying don't try, just be aware of the limitations of the gear you
have or can afford and try to work around them as best you can.
First tip, if you are using a consumer camcorder, shoot where there
is plenty of light and don't let them 'backlight' the subject. I had a
couple do this, where they wanted to have the mountains behind them
for a nice view......but they forgot that the SUN would be there too,
and that just doesn't work! The real problems of consumer camcorders
seem to rear their ugly head whenever circumstances aren't 'perfect'
so try to keep things as 'perfect' as you can........

By the way, I just looked at your videos.....I'm a HUGE basketball fan,
and played in college, now I just play in a rec league. I remember
a bunch of those highlights from watching games over the past few
years......I just got back from the store from getting the new NBA games
for my Xbox 360.......
 
I've been shooting weddings for 3 years now. The only quick advice I have for you is get a light for your camera. You need one for a wedding because you shoot a lot in low light. Also somebody mentioned renting a 3-chip cam. Good idea. My final advice- Please don't think you can start shooting weddings "professionally" after you do this one. You even said yourself that you have no experience so don't sell yourself to a client like you do. I was an assistant (2nd shooter) for an entire wedding season at first to learn the ropes and tips of the trade. Then later on I got into editing... I'm not saying you are like this but I can't stand when people just think they can "pick-up" on wedding videography and do it as a side gig for extra money just because they think they know how to shoot with a camera. There's way more than does into it... I graduated with a degree in Electronic Media and work at a television station currently... I make that known to clients.
 
AKcameradude said:
Well, you do what you can with what you have or can afford.
Not saying don't try, just be aware of the limitations of the gear you
have or can afford and try to work around them as best you can.
First tip, if you are using a consumer camcorder, shoot where there
is plenty of light and don't let them 'backlight' the subject. I had a
couple do this, where they wanted to have the mountains behind them
for a nice view......but they forgot that the SUN would be there too,
and that just doesn't work! The real problems of consumer camcorders
seem to rear their ugly head whenever circumstances aren't 'perfect'
so try to keep things as 'perfect' as you can........

By the way, I just looked at your videos.....I'm a HUGE basketball fan,
and played in college, now I just play in a rec league. I remember
a bunch of those highlights from watching games over the past few
years......I just got back from the store from getting the new NBA games
for my Xbox 360.......
Click to expand...

Nice...I'm obviously a huge Bball fan myself. I assume your talking about the greatest moments video? Hope you liked it.
 
Wow, everyone really ripped into you, didn't they? :(

Some suggestions I would give:

Since this is your first wedding, I would try and follow around the professional photographer as he's getting photos. Observe what he does to get good reactions from people and try to mimic that with others. I've often gotten some interesting shots by zooming in on the subjects the photographer has gotten together for a picture.

Remember to try and have a lot of people that you can tell are close to the bride and groom in the video but don't forget whose wedding it is! These two are paying for a video and I can guarantee that their favorite parts will be seeing themselves. That doesn't mean overdo it. You don't need them in every shot. Just make sure they are in most of it.

If there is a reception and some dancing, try to get some shots of the kids that attended, especially if they are nieces or nephews. Try and get some really cute shots of the kids "cutting a rug" on the dance floor.

Watch the lighting! This is going to be incredibly tough for a few reasons. One, weddings tend to be very dark. In order to create a mood, almost everything will be poorly lit (think The Cheesecake Factory). Unless you have a very expensive camera, your camera is really going to struggle with lowlight situations. If you can, try and lead your subjects to places where more light will be on them. Obviously, during the ceremony you will have almost no control over the situation so you will have to do the best you can with what you are able to do.

I would recommend watching a bunch of wedding videos and taking notes on what kind of shots are present. Pay attention to how the videos portray a story and how the music is incorporated. Having a firm mental picture (possibly with a checklist of shots) going in will pay dividends while you're editing later.

Good luck with your first wedding video!

P-Worm
 
I wouldn't even think about doing the ceremony with only one camera; you cannot possibly get the bride coming down the aisle, then smoothly transition to the altar/groom/etc, without Cloverfield style whip-pans, etc. You need a cam on a tripod for your b-roll shot, so you can cover your movement with the main cam. As others said, a video light is extremely important, as well as an external mic (most specifically for spot interviews of the guests at the reception, if nothing else). Look at some wedding videographers websites, and maybe google for a shot list; there are shots you cannot miss; bride coming down the aisle, dad giving her away, best man's speach, first dances, etc. Exterior shots of the church/hall are important establishing shots as well. I'd recommend whoever's shooting go there before hand (during rehearsal is a good time) and figure out where the camera will be, whether the position will capture what you need when everybody stands up for the bride, whether or not there's power if you need it, etc.
 
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