Wedding Videography Tips

Wedding Video Production is that art and service of producing a finished video product to a customer's requirement. Once the video is shot and the source footage is imported to the dektop editing system, the editing begins. Soundtracks, music, titles, digital effects, and color correction are added before the final product is delivered to the client on DVD.

Wedding Video Production consists of the following:

Videography - Videography is the technique of recording moving images on electronic media. Media formats include videotape, harddisk, solid state storage, or streaming media. A Videographer refers to the persona operating the video camera. He or she may be the person responsible for the visual look of the production.

Video Editing- Video Editing is the process of re-arranging or modifying segments of video to form another piece of video. Competent video editing requires the techniques of storytelling and technical experience in sound mixing, color correction, video formatting, and broadcast.

DVD Authoring- DVD authoring is the process of creating a video DVD. Most video editing software allow you to export your finished project into a DVD authoring program. To succesfully create a DVD playable on a DVD player, one must encoded their video file into a DVD compliant video format like MPEG2 and author the DVD using the appropriate software.

Shooting your first wedding video can be a nerve-racking experience. When I first began shooting videos I created a document to help me organize my shots and production needs. The following items are included:

Event Planning - It's best to plan out all the event of the wedding so you know what you can shoot on your own and whether you will need assistance. Time management is very important when recording your footage. Ask for a schedule from the bride and print it out. You may need to bring a 2nd shooter to film everything in time.

Before The Wedding - Make a checklist of things you need to do before the wedding. Being well prepared is crucial for alleviating stress and making sure you have a great shoot. Clean your lenses, bring a tripod,ac adaptor, extra microphones, extra batteries, a plastic bag to protect your camera (if it's going to rain), fresh tapes ready to go, a good nights sleep.

Video Timeline - Plan before you edit. As you digitize your footage, you should have an estimated time for each section the video. Your timeline should include, an introduction, getting ready shots, ceremony, portrait session, reception, interviews, the first dance, cake cutting, garter/bouquet toss, and titles.

B-Roll - Cut away shots are important for correcting edits and bad footage. Make sure to shoot plenty of b-roll during the ceremony. Examples include, flowers, colored windows, church interior, bride and groom holding hands, shot of the parents, close ups of the bride and groom, and shots of the wedding party.

Interviews - Interviews are often undervalued in their importance to the video. Ask the bride and groom some questions while they're getting ready - before the ceremony. How many hours of sleep did you get last night? What is the worst thing that could happen today? If your partner was an animal what would he/she be?

Additional things to keep in mind ...

Shoot extra footage - All too often videographers load their video project on to the computer only to find out that they don't have enough footage or they only took one take of what could be a great shot. I always shoot as much as possible, knowing that its much easier to cut out footage then it is to replace it.

Shoot As If Your The Only Videographer If you have an unmanned camera, don't assume that the other camera has a great shot you can't get. YOur unmanned camera should always be treated as a secondary shot. Your primary camera is the one you are shooting with and should be treated accordingly. All too often, you may find that your 2nd camera was blocked by the priest during the ring exchange or by some unsuspecting guests during the first dance.

Match Your Camera Settings - Make sure your white balance settings are identical to prevent color mismatch. Keep your exposures manual for maximum control. Automatic exposure is not as accurate as you would think - often times the camera will overexpose the whites. A very ugly quality of video to avoid. I like to keep my focus manual too. If you have shallow depth of field you may find the cameras focus drifting if left automatic.

Easy On The Tripod -If your not panning or tilting your camera and the action is still then your hands should be off the tripod. You don't want to introduce unwanted camera vibrations onto your video image.

No In-Camera Effects - Stay away from using any built-in camera effects. These effects will become permanent and can not be removed by your editing system.

Keep Your Movements Smooth - Fast zooms and abrupt pans will give your audience motion sickness. Keep your movements deliberate and smooth.

THE CAMERA
Not all video camera are the same. HDV (High-Definition Video) is one of the best choices for creating video that looks like film on a budget. With a native 16×9 aspect ratio and 1920×1080P resolution, you will be able to frame your shots in a cinematic manner and with enchanced clarity. Not be to left out, it's very important that your camera shoots 24 progressive frames per second. Otherwise known as 14P. Why? Because motion picture records at 1/48 of a second, otherwise known as 24 frames per second. a 24P ready camera like the Sony Z1U will give your video the feel and motion of film. Perfect for shooting cinematic weddings or documentaries.

DEPTH OF FIELD
One issue that plagues video is the greater-depth-of-field that keeps the foreground and background in focus. Clearly, this creates a very flat looking image unlike the prime lenses used in motion picture. The advantage of a shallow depth-of-field is you can seperate the foreground from the background and divert attention to what is most important in your composition. You can change the depth-of-field by changing the F-stop. The wider the appature, the shallower the depth-of-field. To compensate for opening up the iris, you will have to use a neutral density filter (ND) to cut down the increased amount of light now entering the camera.

FILTERS
If your running on a tight budget, some basic filters may be all you need to get the film look. By nature, video applies artificial edge enhancement to correct a problem inherent in CRTS. Some cameras allow you to adjust the edge enhancement via a "sharpness" control . Lowering the sharpness will spften up the edges and give you a more film look. You can achieve a similar effect by using a Promist filter.

Making You Video Look Like Film

If your ready to take the plunge into wedding videography, you'll need a great video camera.

Choosing your editing software will depend on which platform you use - Mac or PC. Both platforms offer great editing solutions. Things you'll want to consider in a program include the editing tools offered, video capture, playback performance, ease of installation, overall ease of use, system requirements, learning curve, and tech support.


FINAL CUT STUDIO 2
Includes Final Cut 6, Color, Soundtrack Pro, Motion 3, DVD Studio Pro 4

Let's begin with a look at what is offered by Apple computer. Apple's Final Cut Studio 2 has become extremely popular with wedding and event videographers. This can be attributed to it's ease of useness, robustness, and competitive price. FCS 2 is a complete editing solution that has been tightly integrated for the all-in-one videgrapher and editor that edits, mixes, grades, produces audio and video.

System Requirements ...

Minimum requirements demand a 1.25 GHZ Mac running OS 10.4.9 with 1 GB of RAM and approx 60 GB (Yes, that is 60 GB) of free space for all the media, templates, and tutorials. Installation can take anywhere between 1-4 hrs, depending on which machine you run. I recommend beefing up your graphics card if you plan on doing lots of compositing and special effects.

The Look And Feel ...

Apple's interface is highly polished and impressive, consisting of multiple panels, which include the timeline, a file browser, canvas, clip viewer, and tool palettes. This latest update allows you to drag and drop an assortment of clips in various formats into a project without transcoding. You can mix PAL clips with NTSC and they will scale automatically. This makes mixing formats so much easier.

Apple has delivered some great features for the HD crowd. Apple's new ProRese 422 codec allows you to store high-definition video into the space that a standard-definition project would normally take up. A 13 minute uncompressed HD project would require a RAID drive array - but not anymore. With 422, you could get by with a 170GB drive and the image would lok virtually the same.

Color ...

A great addition to FCS2, Color adds a bunch of ways to view and adjust color beyond the basic correction tools of Final Cut Pro. Relatively easy to use, Color allows you to adjust shadows, highlights, mids, and alos create custom looks and styles - just like in the movies. Color adds 10-bit support up to 2K.

Motion 3 ...

Motion 3 is a full-fledge compositing and animation program. The newest version includes new behaviors, a curves editor, and 3d space. The coolest add-on is Smoothcam. Smoothcam technology allows you to take unusable shaky footage and stabilize it with its advanced motion algorithm. Apple has also added more 3d text effects, and templates.

Soundtrack Pro 2 ...

Along with a new look and feel, Soundtrack Pro 2 features support for 5.1 surround sound mixing and improved spectral display for analyzing pops, clicks, and other sound corrections. Non-destructive waveform editing allows you to make changes without losing earlier work, should you change your mind. The Conform cool allows you to update your project file to and recent changes or edits you made in you Final Cut timeline without a loss of audio and video sync.

Compressor 3 ...

Compressor 3 allows for batch processing and lets you easily apply dynamic filters, such as watermarks, without rendering. You can also preview and adjust the gamma, saturation, noise reduction of your video before encoding. Apple has benchmarked speed increases of up to 2.8 faster than Compressor 2. Compressor is the swiss army knife for DVD, web, Ipod, and HD.

Support ...

Final Cut Studio 2 includes 4 volumes of printed material as well as free videos. Their is several video training courses and books available online for the latest version.

Conclusion ...

Wedding videographers will love the cutting-edge tools and integration of Final Cut Studio 2. This suite provides an all-in-one editing solution that pays for itself by handling color correction and other projects that might otherwise cost thousands of dollars to buy seperately. Overall, the new features in this suite are speedy, impressive time savers. Other software packages may be friendlier for beginners or even seasoned amateurs, but Final Cut Studio 2 remains a solid choice for experienced wedding professionals.

The Final Cut Pro Workflows handbook is a great guide for the aspiring editor that wants to work faster and smarter. Learn how to organize your projects and reduce your workload while still having fun.

Alot of us get inspired by movies to want to shoot great video with our video cameras - unfortunately there is a difference between want and being able to. Like photography, good videography requires a level of competence and artistic know-how. After all, there's MORE to shooting great footage than pressing the record button.

Read more at: Video Shooting Secrets

1. Attend the rehearsal. This means visiting the location beforehand to assess the layout, lighting, and powerpoints for recharging. Make sure to be nice to the priest.

2. Make sure your parked in a location to enable a quick getaway from house to the church and to the reception.

3. Have a checklist for the Big Day, so you don't forget a single thing. And don't pack up at the last minute, and don't use your new untried kit on the day.

Read More: Top 10 Wedding Video Tips

Some may think that shooting in low light will result in bad video, but in many cases, the increased ratio of darkness to brightness results in a more DRAMATIC and artistic looking image. However, shooting in less light requires more attention to detail and familiarity with your camera. I've listed below what I feel are essential tips when shooting in such conditions.

Read More: How To Shoot Video In Low Light

If you are professional videographer working in the wedding market, you're probably aware that video shooters and photographers don't always get along. Depending on your perspective, attitude and business matter the most when working together. I've been fortunate to work with my father who is a great wedding photographer, and experienced what it's like and how it relates to video.

Read More: Editing with Photos