Wedding Films

C

calif0rnian

So I just ... well almost just finished my first serious wedding film. HOLY F! That's all I can say, I have almost 100GB fo footage + audio. It was a two day glamorous wedding, really thought I was in too deep for this one considering it was my first, but I pulled it off.

One thing that I need to say though is, that it's A LOT of work. Total length right now is 2 hours and 35 minutes, clients said they wanted everything. Also going to make a shorter 5-10 minute version with just the highlights, I can't imagine anyone wanting to sit down for over two hours watching the whole wedding.


Another thing that I am definitely not going to do again is shoot the whole thing in cinestyle. HOLY COLOR GRADE.
Use natural or some other preset next time, make it match my second camera the HF G10.

It's really a lot of work, and definitely the biggest project I've ever done...ever.

Anyone have any tips for the future? I'm just starting out, but I'm getting pretty high-end clients already.
:rolleyes:
 
"Another thing that I am definitely not going to do again is shoot the whole thing in cinestyle. HOLY COLOR GRADE."

I don't get it. How is shooting (production) related to color grading (post-production) ?

It looks fun though. I hope you had some upfront cash to buy at least the storage capacity you needed.

You were alone on it ?
 
TheArtist said:
"Another thing that I am definitely not going to do again is shoot the whole thing in cinestyle. HOLY COLOR GRADE."

I don't get it. How is shooting (production) related to color grading (post-production) ?

It looks fun though. I hope you had some upfront cash to buy at least the storage capacity you needed.

You were alone on it ?
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Hey buddy. In regards to cinestyle, well it's just too much color work. I'll make sure to use a color profile that's more graded right out of the camera instead. It's just faster, and the clients really don't care too much about the look as long it's on film. At least that's what they said.

I had one other guy help me out. We had two audio recorders and two cameras, one t2i (mine) and a canon hf g10. Next time I'm debating on using two dslr's instead, just because the differences in post are huge between the videocamera and the dslr. A bit hard to match.
 
Yup, weddings are hard.

Tips for next time:
1. use matching cameras for sure. I do like to keep a safety wide shot going and that can be on a camcorder, but mostly DSLR. The neutral profile with the tweaks that everyone used before cinestyle I think looks great. Still room to grade but looks good off the cam.

2. Charge an arm and a leg. Weddings are a ton of work, and they're almost garunteed to want revisions in post. For a two day thing, 2 cameramen and shooting rehearsal, ceremony, reception and everything behind the scenes I'd charge at bare minimum $6k. That's if the bride is easy to work with. It's a once in a lifetime thing (hopefully) that costs thousands to put together, they can afford to pay for quality video if they want it.
 
This has been my part time job for about 8 years. By part time, I mean some weeks in season I have 2 full time jobs.

Yep! It's a lot of work, but you refine things along the way. I no longer take jobs where they want every frame of the wedding explaining that part of my job is making it watchable and cohesive. I use 4 cameras for the ceremony and that would be 2+ hours of raw all by itself. Most new clients are referrals from other happy clients and it's not a problem.

The best decision I ever made was making it clear in the very beginning that I don't accept every client. It has to be a good match of expectations and attitude. This has saved me from many a bridezilla and gnashing of teeth.

To me, it's the only way to do it and not end up in jail. :P
 
@Paul, can you develop on this please :

"The neutral profile with the tweaks that everyone used before cinestyle"

What tweaks ? I know about Technicolor's cinestyle, but that's all..


It seems like a common job for independent filmmakers who want to raise some money.
 
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TheArtist said:
@Paul, can you develop on this please :

"The neutral profile with the tweaks that everyone used before cinestyle"

What tweaks ? I know about Technicolor's cinestyle, but that's all..


It seems like a common job for independent filmmakers who want to raise some money.
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Yeah, the tweaks we used to use before cinestyle. Just using a custom preset basically with the contrast and saturation turned down - I believe... Was more too it though.
 
CamVader said:
This has been my part time job for about 8 years. By part time, I mean some weeks in season I have 2 full time jobs.

Yep! It's a lot of work, but you refine things along the way. I no longer take jobs where they want every frame of the wedding explaining that part of my job is making it watchable and cohesive. I use 4 cameras for the ceremony and that would be 2+ hours of raw all by itself. Most new clients are referrals from other happy clients and it's not a problem.

The best decision I ever made was making it clear in the very beginning that I don't accept every client. It has to be a good match of expectations and attitude. This has saved me from many a bridezilla and gnashing of teeth.

To me, it's the only way to do it and not end up in jail. :P
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Indeed, I know now that I need a second DSLR, I used a Canon Legria HF G10 and my t2i (along with a 50mm, and a 70-210mm) Damn did that 70-210 come in handy during the ceremony and the party.

I've graded the HF G10 to look a lot like the shots from the t2i now, of course they're different but color wise they match at least.

One thing that I find is a real pain is the amount of footage they want, they want every speech, every thing that I filmed. Total film time is now 2:50 minutes. Barely fits on a dual layer dvd - I'd rather give them blueray, but they don't have a blueray player.

Also, thing is I'm really new to this whole wedding thing, it's fun but I really need more than just me to work with me. I had my dad help out last time, so you got the god damn constant zooming and shaking around the camera like a madman. Man is that annoying. I'm glad I have a solid videohead and a good tripod, allows me to calm down and get good shots.
 
calif0rnian said:
Indeed, I know now that I need a second DSLR, I used a Canon Legria HF G10 and my t2i (along with a 50mm, and a 70-210mm) Damn did that 70-210 come in handy during the ceremony and the party.

I've graded the HF G10 to look a lot like the shots from the t2i now, of course they're different but color wise they match at least.

One thing that I find is a real pain is the amount of footage they want, they want every speech, every thing that I filmed. Total film time is now 2:50 minutes. Barely fits on a dual layer dvd - I'd rather give them blueray, but they don't have a blueray player.

Also, thing is I'm really new to this whole wedding thing, it's fun but I really need more than just me to work with me. I had my dad help out last time, so you got the god damn constant zooming and shaking around the camera like a madman. Man is that annoying. I'm glad I have a solid videohead and a good tripod, allows me to calm down and get good shots.
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SDHC is also a format that is catching on for delivery. Also, fixed, unmanned cameras are the way to get multiple shot angles. It doesn't cause distraction from the ceremony which has been a popular selling point. I won't tell you all my secrets, but you can do creeping tracking shots in AE which really amps up the production value. One DSLR is all you need for b-roll and reaction shots for the ceremony, but they're great for everything else visually, as long as you're getting sound from somewhere else.
 
calif0rnian said:
Yeah that's it. Question for you, do you sharpen up in post? (Thinking specifically when shooting with cinestyle).
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No, I find that film has a softness to it if you compare it side by side to video HD. If you're burning to DVD, it won't make a bit of difference.

That said, I seldom deliver above 720p to give me the most options in post. Long story, but it's what it came down to that made the most sense with everything considered.
 
CamVader said:
No, I find that film has a softness to it if you compare it side by side to video HD. If you're burning to DVD, it won't make a bit of difference.

That said, I seldom deliver above 720p to give me the most options in post. Long story, but it's what it came down to that made the most sense with everything considered.
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Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it. :( Rendering this project is taking HOURS. I /really/ need to invest in a better graphics card, other than this Nvidia 9600GT; I need CUDA, and the mercury playback engine for sure.
 
TheArtist said:
@Paul, can you develop on this please :

"The neutral profile with the tweaks that everyone used before cinestyle"

What tweaks ? I know about Technicolor's cinestyle, but that's all..
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Yeah what they said.

The Philip Bloom settings.

Neutral Profile customized to:
Sharpness:-4
Contrast:-4
Saturation:-2
Color tone:0

Actually I don't like to lower the sharpness, I just do the Contrast and Saturation and leave sharpness at zero. Or Zed :)

Now, if I'm shooting something that I'm editing or I know the editor and he's going to grade, I use CineStyle. If I'm just grabbing footage to give to someone who just wants broll or it has to look great in cam, I use that profile. It looks great as is, and is just flat enough to do some grading if someone is so inclined. CineStyle looks awful raw.
 
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