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Archive 2016 · First Wedding Film

  
 
joelconner
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · First Wedding Film


I have been talking for ages about trying out wedding films. I love good film, and even though I had never shot any video, I wanted to make one. I had told one our brides 18 months before her wedding that we would "definitely" be offering it by the time her wedding came around. Since her wedding was in mid-December, it would be easy for me to find another video person to help, so even if she decided to add it on last minute, we could do it.

I completely forgot. She did not.

We met a month before the wedding, and she said she wanted to do it. I agreed. I then had to figure out how to get it done. I realized I had to get video people, because I had to shoot the stills. Long story short, I got two people, one of whom is a close friend, and I explained my vision to my friend. The wedding came, and it was stressful and we did not get to do much of what I had planned for the video. But, I just kept telling her to get intimate details of the couple and their family and friends.

So, here is the film...if anyone wants to watch it. It is no where close to technically perfect, and I learned a lot from it. But, on the whole, it really does fit the vision I had. I did not want Hollywood or MTV or prime time upbeat or romantic comedy. I wanted deep, personal interactions that showed depth and heart and relationship. It's not perfect, but for a first attempt, I am chuffed about it.

Less than 5 minutes long, if you care to watch:

https://youtu.be/PpLDgK3iMbw



Apr 01, 2016 at 10:33 PM
FrancisK7
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · First Wedding Film


We started doing video last year and we love it too.

Nice video, I like your style. Very similar to ours.

I too hate directed Hollywood type of videos.



Apr 02, 2016 at 09:57 AM
johnrg
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · First Wedding Film


I like it, Joel, nicely done!


Apr 02, 2016 at 10:45 AM
Mark_L
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · First Wedding Film


The video really doesn’t work for me at all, sorry. The repeated fixed frame clips makes it view like a choppy series of stills and don’t flow one to the other at all.

Good video work feels smooth and seamless; establishing shots then moving closer into the action and the detail with the cuts moving from one to the other. Good camera movement is a key part and it is clear very little proper equipment was used - this looks like a photographer’s first attempt at video and the shaky footage and use of light looks unprofessional.

I’m sorry if this sounds harsh but I would not have delivered this.



Apr 02, 2016 at 02:40 PM
joelconner
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · First Wedding Film


No worries...to each their own. I know there are a lot of technical issues that need to be better, as I said. I think one of the problems I am have with "good video work" many times is how predictable it is. I watch a lot of wedding films, and it always annoys me how predictable they are. I did not want that, and I wanted something that forced people to stay on images longer than they normally would in a way to force them to hang their.

In term's of proper equipment, we had all that I wanted. The people had monopods, and I specially did not want any sliders being used. They shot on 5D3's

We talk about the homogenization of wedding photography. Wedding films are way, way worse. 90+% or more look exactly the same with just varying levels of skill. I wanted something different. There will be a ton of people who do not like it, and I am perfectly ok with that.

Thanks for the feedback, though!



Apr 03, 2016 at 10:12 AM
jbregar
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · First Wedding Film


I apologize in advance for any hurt feelings this post causes... but you say you want to get better at this, so here you go.

First off, there are some technical issues (in some cases severe):

- Dips to black are distracting as a transition.
- Way too much use of shallow DOF. I know it's the hip, cool look that all the kids are doing these days, but it's hard to pull off right. Unless you have an experienced focus puller (and probably not even then) using your full-frame lenses wide-open is a recipe for a soft OOF mess.
- Related: Focus racks are pretty sweet... if you hit the focus point on the end... unfortunately most of the racks in this piece overshoot. There are also too many of them.
- The audio quality is really bad. It sounds like Katie was interviewed in a tile bathroom using a mic you got secondhand at the dollar store. Jesse is almost incomprehensible because the mix is way off (music is too loud, it's a bad backing track, etc.). Audio is well over half of an audiences' enjoyment of a video piece, so be careful with it.
- Did you slow it down in post around the 1:24 mark? When they move in for the kiss, it looks like a stop motion animation. Generally if you want slow motion, you need to shoot it at a higher framerate and then overcrank. This effect could also be a shutter speed that's too fast. It needs to be 1/<frame rate>... so for 24fps your shutter would be 1/24 (or as close as you can get).
- I'd rethink your aversion to a slider. Quality camera movement (like you get from a slider, dolly, jib, etc.) add a TON of production value to your piece. I get the standard slider shot is pretty overdone, but that doesn't mean you throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Technical issues aside, there's just no story here. It's a bunch of short clips with no story tying them together at all. Which brings me to:

I think one of the problems I am have with "good video work" many times is how predictable it is. I watch a lot of wedding films, and it always annoys me how predictable they are. I did not want that, and I wanted something that forced people to stay on images longer than they normally would in a way to force them to hang their.

Know (and operate within) the rules for a while before you decide to head off in your own direction. Learn to crawl before you walk/run/fly. Don't be the guy who decides he can "do it better" and refuses to learn the craft because everything else is "formulaic" or "predictable." Sometimes these things are formulaic and predictable because that's what doing it right entails in the majority of cases. There's a reason laptop computers all look the same... because they're more usable if we design them that way. The same goes here. That's not to say you can't break out of the mold, but you need to do so with a firm grounding in the craft or it ends up a mess.

This piece is lacking the craft portion of the art/craft that is film. While it may make you happy, it's not great. It doesn't tell a story, there are glaring technical issues, and it has very little structure. It looks (from the outside, I know this isn't true) like a bunch of grab shots someone edited over some music.



Apr 05, 2016 at 04:31 PM
BSPhotog
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · First Wedding Film


joelconner wrote:
No worries...to each their own. I know there are a lot of technical issues that need to be better, as I said. I think one of the problems I am have with "good video work" many times is how predictable it is. I watch a lot of wedding films, and it always annoys me how predictable they are. I did not want that, and I wanted something that forced people to stay on images longer than they normally would in a way to force them to hang their.

In term's of proper equipment, we had all that I wanted. The people
...Show more

I watched this a few times and I think that I liked it more each time. I think my biggest gripes are some awkward shake and audio. Clean audio on a dodgy video is much more tolerable than bad audio on a clean video for some reason. This can be difficult for the run & gun wedding situations, but it really would be something huge to take this to the next level. It could have so much more finished of a feeling. I know only enough about video to be dangerous, taking clips of my kid and whatever...so I am not the guy to help you out with the details. You need a good audio guy to come with the right gear, know how to use it, and process it to sound professional.

I know that sliders can be overdone and seem like a staple of the cookie cutter wedding video, but that is for a reason. If used properly, they give a dynamic element (motion) to a shot from a smooth and stable point of view. You basically used focus pulls everywhere that a slider normally would exist. I like the idea of minimal equipment to get in the way and all of that, but this rule seems arbitrary and maybe not helpful. I will say, the backlit shot of the bride by the window is fucking magical when it comes in. Loved that.

How big was your video team? Had they done wedding work before? Did they have strong background in video? Were they using a larger external monitor to more accurately pull focus? Apparently this new 80D use the AF to pull focus from a touch of the rear LCD (or a wifi linked tablet). If you want to do more of this, might be a better tool for the job.



Apr 06, 2016 at 01:43 PM
klee.007
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · First Wedding Film


I think the editing of the video fits your photography brand and your clients will love it since it's about moments about their wedding day. I've always appreciated the art and technical side of videography/cinematography and you need a completely different mindset to do it. For me, it's like graphic and interior design... IDK how to do it but I like it when I see it.

I know we've talked about it before but what is your main reason for doing video? To have more control of the overall wedding day? To branch out and try something new that you are passionate about? To make more money? All of the above?

Keith



Apr 06, 2016 at 02:36 PM
friscoron
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · First Wedding Film


I was exclusively a wedding videographer in Phoenix before moving to Chicago and switching to photography in 2008. Now, I still offer wedding videos and I have a really good couple of shooters that I rely on that understand my style/branding. I still edit all my wedding videos that my guys shoot for me.

Having said that, your wedding video is very avant garde, very hip, very different, and for those very reasons, very interesting. The audio didn't bother me at all, and I hate bad audio. Traditionalists are naturally going to hate this, it doesn't really fit into the current short form or long form wedding videos, not even close. Personally, whether I make it that way or not, I like different. I get bored with the same shit that is, like you said, so predictable.

Love to see where you take this if you continue to do wedding films.



Apr 06, 2016 at 09:43 PM
joelconner
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · First Wedding Film


Thanks for the feedback all!

jbregar wrote:
I apologize in advance for any hurt feelings this post causes... but you say you want to get better at this, so here you go.

Know (and operate within) the rules for a while before you decide to head off in your own direction. Learn to crawl before you walk/run/fly. Don't be the guy who decides he can "do it better" and refuses to learn the craft because everything else is "formulaic" or "predictable." Sometimes these things are formulaic and predictable because that's what doing it right entails in the majority of cases. There's a reason laptop computers all look the
...Show more


No worries at all...I can take it. :-) Thanks a lot for the detailed feedback, and I spent a lot of last night thinking about it. Like I said, I fully recognize there are a lot of technical issues. Those really are very easy to fix. I had never done this before, so there were things that I did not have any way to know they would be an issue. Issues like sound and framerate were the biggest ones. There were a few shots were the camera shake was a bit much, but on the whole it did not bother me. Honestly, I am not trying to create a technically perfect, seamless film. I do not want it to be overly refined.

One other thing that comes in to play for me is that I am friends with one of the best wedding videographers in the country. Their work is perfect...and so so good. Honestly, it would take me years and years to even come close to that, and there are already so many others doing the same thing. If I wanted to do something like they do, I would just have them do it.

I understand the importance of having a grasp on the rules before you can break them, but I also know that with a lack of preset formulas, you can also more easily go outside the lines. I am very technical photographer...and I know how that limits me at times. For the films, I would rather risk going outside the lines in a slightly messy way than to be confined to perfection. I am fascinated with old home videos, so that was part of the feel I was going for. Not polished or refined or flashy...just honest.

As for the story aspect, that was actually something I wanted to avoid for this one. I am not sure I will stick with that, but I was not trying to tell a story as much as I was trying to focus on relationships. It's hard to say which aspects of this first film will stay and what will change, but I still want the relationships to be the main part. If I can get by without ever showing video of a bride getting her makeup done, I will be a happy man.

I am sure that years later, I will look back on this and cringe...but that is to be expected. Right now, though, I am proud and encouraged...and I am going to use that feeling to make the next one better and the one after that even better.

---------------------------------------------

BSPhotog wrote:
How big was your video team? Had they done wedding work before? Did they have strong background in video? Were they using a larger external monitor to more accurately pull focus? Apparently this new 80D use the AF to pull focus from a touch of the rear LCD (or a wifi linked tablet). If you want to do more of this, might be a better tool for the job.


Two people. One who has some experience (probably 5 or 6 weddings, I think), and one who I thought had a lot of video experience (but ended up with very few shots that were usable). So, it was a very new crew on the whole. No external monitors...just the back of the camera. My main girl definitely has a room for improvement on the technical side, but I am very pleased with her timing an ability to get great moments. I would take the great moments over technical perfection any day of the week.

I will look into the 80D...that sounds very interesting. Thanks for the feedback!


---------------------------------------------

klee.007 wrote:
I know we've talked about it before but what is your main reason for doing video? To have more control of the overall wedding day? To branch out and try something new that you are passionate about? To make more money? All of the above?


I just freaking love film. I am a movie nerd, and I think video has a unique power that still never will. Granted, between the two, I would take stills every time, but I think that both sides of the coin have great value. It's not about money...I will not be making much on it at all. I really want our couples to have something special and intimate that years later they can look back and see them with their loved ones in motion.



Apr 07, 2016 at 09:06 AM
MRomine
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · First Wedding Film


joelconner wrote:
Less than 5 minutes long, if you care to watch:


Your clients are gong to love this! No it's not perfect technically but the moments that you got will mean worth millions to the family years down the road, especially if they have children.

What a great start!



Apr 07, 2016 at 09:29 AM





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