First Wedding

[Tom Klein]

Hi Tar Neil
If this is your first attempt at a wedding go with one camera, also you should have worked with a wedding videographer a few times prior to taking on the challenge. If you mess up you’ll want to find a very dark corner to hide from the bride.
Good Luck
Tom K

[Michael Schocker]

That’s why I would go with 2 cameras.
As long as the 2nd camera is positioned (and never moved) you should have at least 1 good wide shot.
Another must is attend the wedding rehearsal.
I would take a camera with you and see what the camera sees.
This will help a lot. Plus, you will know what is happening next during the wedding.

[Stuart Allman]

The CD printers work good, look great, but aren’t durable worth squat. If you get a drop of water on the label side of the disk the ink tends to wash right off. The sticky labels tend to be the worst option. I completely agree with you there.

It really depends on if you want the disk to be durable. Burned DVD’s are only good for about 10 years anyway, so it may or may not matter depending on your clients.

[Crystal J. meisner]

Why use 3 cameras?
1: Wide shot – make sure it’s elevated to shoot over heads when the crowd stands, and it’s placed where no one will bump it. Audio – House feed, ch.1, ambient ch.2
2: Behind the minister/OTS (that’s ‘over-the-shoulder’) – Gets nice shot of Bride & Groom, plus Best Man & M-of Honor, AND parents reaction. Hide it behind flowers or find an inconspicuous spot. Audio – shotgun, ch.1, ambient ch.2
3: Side shot – Shoot the bride – it’s HER day. She spends WAY more in prep than does the groom, and wants it all seen. BE SURE TO LEAD HER DOWN THE AISLE.
Audio – shotgun, ch.1, ambient ch.2
This ensures you’ve got all the shots, plus plenty of audio.
NEVER SKIMP ON ONE-TIME ONLY LIVE EVENTS!!!
SECONDLY – Do you know these people? Are you doing this at a cut rate as a gift? If not, they’ll need to pay your REASONABLE travel expenses: $0.485/mile driven, or rental car costs, hotel for overnight – YES! you DO want to be at rehearsal – and per diem. If they’ve got a hotel for out-of-town guests, have them put you up there. They should also consider having you eat with them at rehearsal dinner, so you can familiarize yourself with them and their guests’ personalities. There’s nothing worse than shooting blind and missing what’s most important to them in terms of people.
Just make sure that what you charge is adequate for your time and expenses.
ABOVE ALL – TALK TO THEM ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT AND EXPECT – AND DON’T STRESS.

[Todd Roush]

PS, give them a coupon for 25% off their second wedding.

Kidding.

S.

Todd Roush
Dreamscape Digital Media
Panny DVX-100’s but changing so Sony or Cannon HDV soon.

[Peter Wu]

The best way to label DVD is to

(1) buy an Epson R280 printer (or other R series) that prints DVD/CD directly

(2) Taiyo Yuden Watershield hub printable DVD-R. They have shinny surface and is water resistant. The resulting label looks like a glossy photo. I put drops of water on the surface and wiped with a tissue. No smear and no color come off, although that area is no longer glossy (tissue scratch marks).

Canon’s pixima printers can also print DVD, but you have to buy a DVD tray from a foreign country or possibly ebay.