Wedding filming, questions...

[gangst]

Hi,

Well me and my friend make amateur films with our friends on a Canon XM2 (GL2 in the US), and we are pretty good at filming and editing; and to raise funds were considering filming weddings in our area for money.

My friend is adament we should do it, but I'm not to sure - this is why:

Firstly, is one camera enough for filming a wedding, or would we need two.

What would need to be done as in microphones, as to pick up the ceremony, speeches etc, I'm guessing the XM2's built in mic won't suffice or will it?

Another thing, does anyone film weddings regularly, and what is it it like?


Thanks for any input.

 

[theBB]

Well, you could just charge less for having only one video camera. Not everybody has a lot of money to spend on a wedding.

That said, the end result is a lot more engaging if there are two cameras to cut between. Even as a novice, it was more fun to watch when I cut from one angle to another while the wedding vows were recited or switching from the newly weds to the faces of the guests. We had one stationary camera on a tripod that was always on and another one that filmed a bit randomly. We used the audio from the stationary one for the soundtrack and switched back and forth between the video tracks from the two cams.

 

[Texas04]

Yeah charge around 600-700 dollars, just make sure the video is good and the quality is good and the DVD is good. Dont do a bad job. We only have one camera and we work just fine with it. Its a GL2 As well. that and my MBP make alot of money...

 

[OutThere]

That said, the end result is a lot more engaging if there are two cameras to cut between. Even as a novice, it was more fun to watch when I cut from one angle to another while the wedding vows were recited or switching from the newly weds to the faces of the guests. We had one stationary camera on a tripod that was always on and another one that filmed a bit randomly. We used the audio from the stationary one for the soundtrack and switched back and forth between the video tracks from the two cams.

That's the basic formula for filming any sort of presentation or ceremony.

1st camera on a tripod films everything from one angle, get sound.

2nd camera wanders, gets close ups and interesting shots.

2 cameras will make the wedding 100x more interesting to watch.

 

[faustfire]

Yeah charge around 600-700 dollars, just make sure the video is good and the quality is good and the DVD is good. Dont do a bad job. We only have one camera and we work just fine with it. Its a GL2 As well. that and my MBP make alot of money...

Wedding videos are a lot of very boring work, and unless the videos you produce are horrible you can charge much more than 600 to 700 dollars. Most people charge around $600 just for a reception slide show. For a quality wedding video, with two to three cameras, you can charge upwards of 2500 dollars. For a mediocre video using one or two cameras, you can still get around $1200.

 

[kingkezz]

To me, the fact that you need to ask what to do kinda suggests that your under qualified and shouldn't do it.

But all power to you, I just fear the wrath of an angry bride if her wedding video turns out a bit ****.

Good Luck!

 

[Mechcozmo]

Just remember: If you **** up, your ability to do that kind of work is going to sink faster than the Titanic.

That said...

2 cameras, perhaps a directional mike on one to get the under-canopy stuff, make sure all your tapes/batteries/mics are working before you show up and carry spares... lots of them.

 

[gangst]

Thanks for the advice.

So for filming in the actual wedding ceremony, the mic on the GL2 is good enough, or would we need wireless microphones?