Vito Defilippo
Forum Replies Created
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Do weddings where you are last so long? Here in Montreal, I change the tape just before the bride’s entrance to the church, press record, and let it go. Not once in 30 weddings have I had to change the tape before they exit the church. Even with Italian catholic weddings with communion…
I suppose if I had to, I would just change it during the signing, or during the communion. I always cut those short in the editing anyway. Do you really need to chain on another camera, look for volunteers, etc? Great idea to fix the problem, but a bit of overkill IMHO.
I use the Panasonic 63 minute tapes.
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I like to use a font viewer that I open whenever I make titles. There are lots around, but one I like is called AMP Font Viewer. Look for it at https://www.ampsoft.net/
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Oh, I just remebered. Label your tapes properly!
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Syllables maybe?
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Nice list.
I shoot with the PD150 all the time. So, yes, get everything on manual to avoid having the camera wreck your shot.
Something I would add is to make sure there is plenty of pre and post roll at the beginning and end of the tape. I don’t know how many times I’ve had to crash record the very start or end because a cameraman has given me tapes where the lack of post or preroll prevents batch digitizing. I also strongly second the comment to leave pre and post roll before and after each shot. Man, would that make editing easier.
I don’t stripe my tapes. I don’t see why I should put extra wear and tear on the camera or deck transport to stripe them, and then use what is effectively now a used tape for a shoot. I do add at least 30 seconds of colourbars at the start, and I record extra garbage at the end after I’m done my last shot. If I review a shot, I use the “find edit” button (or whatever it’s called, I forget at the moment). This will let the camera find the last frame you recorded, and stop there. Also, on a wedding shoot, I never turn off the camera, ever. I have a couple of big batteries that last the day. Shooting this way, I never have a timecode break.
I do events (weddings, corp events, etc). For weddings, and any other run and go shoots, I leave audio on Automatic Gain. The Sony does a great job I find. When I get tapes from guys that try to shoot a wedding and adjust the audio levels manually as they go, they invariably forget at some point, and the audio is, clipped, or incredibly low. Not once have I regretted Automatic Audio Gain at a wedding, but I’ve regretted manual every time. A common example is boosting the level at the ceremony to catch the speakers, then everything is blasted with music. Fortunately, we mic the groom for better audio.
Now, I don’t recommend this for other types of shoots where you have the time to set audio levels correctly…
I’ll get grief for this, but the one automatic thing I use a lot is autofocus, at least for parts of the day. I use manual on tripod at the ceremony, for parts of the reception where I know the focus will pump, etc, but I have auto on for much of the bride and groom’s house, and anywhere I have to chase things around. Sometimes, though, I will switch to manual to redo a shot that the auto focus didn’t handle well.
Interesting thread, thanks…
Vito
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Three times that I can think of, I missed something that I sure wished I hadn’t. Now I’m not talking about the usual missing Grandpa breakdancing because you decide to shoot the bride’s tearful goodbye to her favourite aunt. Or you realize that your footage could be better. That happens all the time. I mean times when I feel I made a major mistake, or wished I had had better info ahead of time. All three times, I was able to fix it, which may be an option for you as well in future.
First time, I was riding with the photog to the ceremony and he got lost. We were late, and missed the beginning of the processional. I felt awful, but for the heck of it, asked the bride and her parents (after the ceremony) to reenact her entrance to the church. Filled in my missing footage beautifully, and they never brought it up when they saw the video. I truly believe they forgot.
Second time, I pushed record during the first dance at the reception, and didn’t realize that it hadn’t pushed it hard enough. Spent five minutes circling the B&G taping nothing. Missed the whole first dance. Couldn’t believe it. So I did whatever I could for the rest of the evening to catch the bride and groom slow dancing. Framed them to cut out people dancing next to them, asked them to dance a bit when there was no one else on the floor, whatever. Also begged the photographer for copies of anything he had taken during the first dance. They ended up loving the video, and never said a thing about the fictional first dance, even though I had told them right away at the reception.
Third time was just this weekend. First dance again. No one bothered to tell me that there would be a live guitarist/singer for the first dance. I get into position with my tripod, the music starts and I shoot the b&g dancing, with some crowd cutaways, etc. The whole time there is this guy singing behind me and I had no idea. He was so good I thought it was a CD. So I asked him later if he would mind setting himself up again and singing his song (covered up by blasting disco) so I could get some footage to mix in with the audio I have already. Hopefully, it will work just fine.
My point in this long post is that no matter what you miss, perhaps you can fix it. Be honest, tell them that there is a problem, and do what you can. Chances are in the final video, they won’t even remember that there WAS a problem. Don’t offer them a refund! There’s no way you can expect a wedding video to be perfect. There’s just too much going on.
Velma and the other have great points too, to help you CYA.
My two cents,
Vito