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Home: Video University Forums: Wedding & Event Videography:
getting started...

X-al
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Apr 28, 2003, 2:12 AM

Post #1 of 12 (582 views)
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getting started...	Can't Post

..not in the truest sense, but with the video.
I just completed my first wedding gig (woo hoo!) and now I'm ready to go to work. It was a 6 hour, 2 camera/2 person setup - total footage amount: 7 tapes (3 and 4)
First of all, is that a lot? should it be less? I've seen posts on this board stating that it's better to have more than less...I've also heard that you should be selective and not tape more than half the amount of time you're there.
Anyways, back to my dilemma, I'm confused as to how you pros out here do it....do you just capture ALL the footage to your drive(s) and slice and dice it from there? or do you go through each tape and transfer selected footage? (seems to be more work)
I have the drive space to do the former, but if anybody has any advice to help save time and/or space, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks,
Al

X-rob
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Apr 28, 2003, 3:33 AM

Post #2 of 12 (581 views)
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Re: getting started...	Can't Post

: ..not in the truest sense, but with the video.
: I just completed my first wedding gig (woo hoo!) and now I'm ready to go to
work. It was a 6 hour, 2 camera/2 person setup - total footage amount: 7
tapes (3 and 4)
: First of all, is that a lot? should it be less? I've seen posts on this board stating
that it's better to have more than less...I've also heard that you should be
selective and not tape more than half the amount of time you're there.
: Anyways, back to my dilemma, I'm confused as to how you pros out here do
it....do you just capture ALL the footage to your drive(s) and slice and dice it
from there? or do you go through each tape and transfer selected footage?
(seems to be more work)
: I have the drive space to do the former, but if anybody has any advice to help
save time and/or space, I'd appreciate it.
: Thanks,
: Al
I go through my footage first and then capture just what I want. There are
times when you spend shooting 10 minutes of exteriors when all you are going
to use is 15 seconds. It will go faster and your shots will be more organized
instead of have 7 total shots each being 50-60 minutes in size. You will also
save time when you just need a specific shot which is labelled during your
capture process instead of spending an hour going through 7 1 hour shots.
Ultimately you will save time and space.
congrats on your first shoot ;-))))
rob

X-Camille
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Apr 28, 2003, 3:44 AM

Post #3 of 12 (582 views)
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Re: getting started... [In reply to]	Can't Post

: ..not in the truest sense, but with the video.
: I just completed my first wedding gig (woo hoo!) and now I'm ready to go to work. It was a 6 hour, 2 camera/2 person setup - total footage amount: 7 tapes (3 and 4)
Congrats!
: First of all, is that a lot? should it be less? I've seen posts on this board stating that it's better to have more than less...I've also heard that you should be selective and not tape more than half the amount of time you're there.
It is better to make sure you have more than enough, especially when you are starting out. That way you have plenty of footage to complete the video. As you get more experience, you can be more selective and start to know when and where you need to be to get the footage you need. Also, as you edit you will realize sections that you could get more of or need less of which will help when filming. Actually doing the camera work at the wedding and then editing the footage has helped me to do better filming on the wedding day (angles, lighting, etc.)
: Anyways, back to my dilemma, I'm confused as to how you pros out here do it....do you just capture ALL the footage to your drive(s) and slice and dice it from there? or do you go through each tape and transfer selected footage? (seems to be more work)
I would suggest going through the footage and only capturing the footage that you think you will be using in the video. It may seem like more work initially, but your footage is much more organized and it is easier to find specific segments you are looking for while editing. It also saves hard drive space :). Good luck!
Camille

X-John_Devany
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Apr 28, 2003, 7:08 AM

Post #4 of 12 (581 views)
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Re: getting started...Here's a Script [In reply to]	Can't Post

Check out the below link. It's a basic script of what to capture.
http://www.cedarrock.net/scrip.html
Good Luck!
----------------------------------------------------------------
: ..not in the truest sense, but with the video.
: I just completed my first wedding gig (woo hoo!) and now I'm ready to go to work. It was a 6 hour, 2 camera/2 person setup - total footage amount: 7 tapes (3 and 4)
: First of all, is that a lot? should it be less? I've seen posts on this board stating that it's better to have more than less...I've also heard that you should be selective and not tape more than half the amount of time you're there.
: Anyways, back to my dilemma, I'm confused as to how you pros out here do it....do you just capture ALL the footage to your drive(s) and slice and dice it from there? or do you go through each tape and transfer selected footage? (seems to be more work)
: I have the drive space to do the former, but if anybody has any advice to help save time and/or space, I'd appreciate it.
: Thanks,
: Al

X-Doug_Graham
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Apr 28, 2003, 8:52 AM

Post #5 of 12 (582 views)
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Re: getting started... [In reply to]	Can't Post

: I go through my footage first and then capture just what I want. There are
: times when you spend shooting 10 minutes of exteriors when all you are going
: to use is 15 seconds. It will go faster and your shots will be more organized
: instead of have 7 total shots each being 50-60 minutes in size. You will also
: save time when you just need a specific shot which is labelled during your
: capture process instead of spending an hour going through 7 1 hour shots.
Now, I take the opposite approach from Camille and Rob. I capture everything in one fell swoop. This minimizes the time spent capturing, and once the footage is on the hard drive, it's much quicker to scrub through it and delete the bad parts. I do generally re-name the "keeper" shots so I know what they are.
Besides, sometimes you want to go back and maybe select a shot or two from material you originally thought wouldn't be used. If you capture selectively, you can't do that.
As you can see, different editors have different preferences. Nobody is "right", it's just whatever works best for you. Same with how much footage to shoot. I tend to shoot everything, because I know I am not an ace cameraman. If I get a lot of footage, enough of it is almost sure to be good enough to use. Besides, deleting material is a lot easier than trying to add material that isn't there!
On the other hand, many experienced shooters are quite selective, and this saves them a lot of time both at the shoot and in the edit. If I were more confident of my camera skills, I might do the same.
Regards,
Doug Graham

X-Jenn_M
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Apr 28, 2003, 12:07 PM

Post #6 of 12 (581 views)
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Re: getting started... [In reply to]	Can't Post

We're with Doug in that we capture everything. If you have the room to do it - you might as well. You might need something later you didn't foresee and then you have to go back and hunt for it - what a pain. Also, in our experience, the more you start and stop play on that tape, the more chances for glitches and forwarding/rewinding on a machine wears the motor quicker.
For a 6.5 hour day, we typically capture 4-5 tapes with 2 cameras. For an 8-9 hour day, about 5-6 tapes. It's true, as you become more experienced - you become more selective. We used to film EVERYTHING! And it took us forever to do some of it - like exterior shots of the hall or artsy shots of the cake, etc.
Now we are trained to film what we know will be useful and b/c we know the effect we are going for, we can set it up it much quicker. One example: if there are the same 5 people on the dance floor for every song - we won't bother filming them over and over. Once is enough.
And when we were newer, we wanted to experiment more, which is a good thing. But now we know pretty well what will/won't work, so we don't lose so much time with failed attempts at getting a particular shot.
One more thing - after you've gained experience in many different situations and crowds, you learn to read them better and you can tell when you might have a low-key crowd and you better start filming anything you can - stuff you might normally disregard. With a more upbeat crowd, we know we will have enough material to work with so we don't film too much nonsense filler stuff.
Blah blah blah
Anyway, good luck
-Jenn

X-Monte_Pix
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Apr 28, 2003, 12:53 PM

Post #7 of 12 (581 views)
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Re: getting started... [In reply to]	Can't Post

I gotta agree with Jenn on most of this. The more experienced you get, the less raw footage you end up with at the end of the day. However, the amount I capture depends on the section of the video. For ceremony, I capture all the footage from both cameras. For the pre-ceremony and reception, I "scan" the tapes first with the capture software, then select the clips I want, then batch capture them. This way, I am forced to review each clip prior to capture and I have a rough "storyboard" starting to gel in my mind based on what I see available. And I don't waste time and space capturing junk.

X-al
Imported Account

Apr 28, 2003, 1:07 PM

Post #8 of 12 (582 views)
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Thanks everyone! [In reply to]	Can't Post

Yeah, I think I'll always transfer ALL the footage to my system, but where I'll improve is what I initially capture at the wedding.
And I hear what you're saying about capturing the same couple or exterior shots....I can honestly say that I taped the same bird bath outside the wedding venue on 3 different occassions...hehehe
Thanks again Jenn!
Al

: We're with Doug in that we capture everything. If you have the room to do it - you might as well. You might need something later you didn't foresee and then you have to go back and hunt for it - what a pain. Also, in our experience, the more you start and stop play on that tape, the more chances for glitches and forwarding/rewinding on a machine wears the motor quicker.
: For a 6.5 hour day, we typically capture 4-5 tapes with 2 cameras. For an 8-9 hour day, about 5-6 tapes. It's true, as you become more experienced - you become more selective. We used to film EVERYTHING! And it took us forever to do some of it - like exterior shots of the hall or artsy shots of the cake, etc.
: Now we are trained to film what we know will be useful and b/c we know the effect we are going for, we can set it up it much quicker. One example: if there are the same 5 people on the dance floor for every song - we won't bother filming them over and over. Once is enough.
: And when we were newer, we wanted to experiment more, which is a good thing. But now we know pretty well what will/won't work, so we don't lose so much time with failed attempts at getting a particular shot.
: One more thing - after you've gained experience in many different situations and crowds, you learn to read them better and you can tell when you might have a low-key crowd and you better start filming anything you can - stuff you might normally disregard. With a more upbeat crowd, we know we will have enough material to work with so we don't film too much nonsense filler stuff.
: Blah blah blah
: Anyway, good luck
: -Jenn

X-Postal
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Apr 28, 2003, 1:16 PM

Post #9 of 12 (582 views)
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Re: getting started... [In reply to]	Can't Post

My preferred method (in Premiere) is to capture everything. Then I scrub through it on the video 2 track or something other than the main track, cut the parts I want to use, then copy/paste that small section in the video 1 slot. That way the clips I want to use all get stacked up at the beginning of the video 1 track since premiere puts the pasted tracks as far left (towards the beginning) as it can. That way I don't have to scroll all the way back to place a 5 second clip. Once I get them all stacked up, I just go in and remove the unused portions from the timeline. This also allows you to adjust the start/end points of each clip to better fit what you are doing. If you capture individual clips you are stuck with the start/end that you captured, so you better be sure you get EVERYTHING you may need on the front and end or you will have to go back and recapture to add that extra 10 frames :(
Postal

: : I go through my footage first and then capture just what I want. There are
: : times when you spend shooting 10 minutes of exteriors when all you are going
: : to use is 15 seconds. It will go faster and your shots will be more organized
: : instead of have 7 total shots each being 50-60 minutes in size. You will also
: : save time when you just need a specific shot which is labelled during your
: : capture process instead of spending an hour going through 7 1 hour shots.
: Now, I take the opposite approach from Camille and Rob. I capture everything in one fell swoop. This minimizes the time spent capturing, and once the footage is on the hard drive, it's much quicker to scrub through it and delete the bad parts. I do generally re-name the "keeper" shots so I know what they are.
: Besides, sometimes you want to go back and maybe select a shot or two from material you originally thought wouldn't be used. If you capture selectively, you can't do that.
: As you can see, different editors have different preferences. Nobody is "right", it's just whatever works best for you. Same with how much footage to shoot. I tend to shoot everything, because I know I am not an ace cameraman. If I get a lot of footage, enough of it is almost sure to be good enough to use. Besides, deleting material is a lot easier than trying to add material that isn't there!
: On the other hand, many experienced shooters are quite selective, and this saves them a lot of time both at the shoot and in the edit. If I were more confident of my camera skills, I might do the same.
: Regards,
: Doug Graham

X-al
Imported Account

Apr 28, 2003, 1:39 PM

Post #10 of 12 (582 views)
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Re: getting started... [In reply to]	Can't Post

I use Premiere as well and that's exactly what I started to do! I had a few issues with the audio doing is this way...but it's nothing unlinking can't fix...yeah, and I hear what you're saying about it stacking to the far left.
cool deal....I knew there was a method to my madness.
Thanks Postal!

: My preferred method (in Premiere) is to capture everything. Then I scrub through it on the video 2 track or something other than the main track, cut the parts I want to use, then copy/paste that small section in the video 1 slot. That way the clips I want to use all get stacked up at the beginning of the video 1 track since premiere puts the pasted tracks as far left (towards the beginning) as it can. That way I don't have to scroll all the way back to place a 5 second clip. Once I get them all stacked up, I just go in and remove the unused portions from the timeline. This also allows you to adjust the start/end points of each clip to better fit what you are doing. If you capture individual clips you are stuck with the start/end that you captured, so you better be sure you get EVERYTHING you may need on the front and end or you will have to go back and recapture to add that extra 10 frames :(
: Postal

: : : I go through my footage first and then capture just what I want. There are
: : : times when you spend shooting 10 minutes of exteriors when all you are going
: : : to use is 15 seconds. It will go faster and your shots will be more organized
: : : instead of have 7 total shots each being 50-60 minutes in size. You will also
: : : save time when you just need a specific shot which is labelled during your
: : : capture process instead of spending an hour going through 7 1 hour shots.
: : Now, I take the opposite approach from Camille and Rob. I capture everything in one fell swoop. This minimizes the time spent capturing, and once the footage is on the hard drive, it's much quicker to scrub through it and delete the bad parts. I do generally re-name the "keeper" shots so I know what they are.
: : Besides, sometimes you want to go back and maybe select a shot or two from material you originally thought wouldn't be used. If you capture selectively, you can't do that.
: : As you can see, different editors have different preferences. Nobody is "right", it's just whatever works best for you. Same with how much footage to shoot. I tend to shoot everything, because I know I am not an ace cameraman. If I get a lot of footage, enough of it is almost sure to be good enough to use. Besides, deleting material is a lot easier than trying to add material that isn't there!
: : On the other hand, many experienced shooters are quite selective, and this saves them a lot of time both at the shoot and in the edit. If I were more confident of my camera skills, I might do the same.
: : Regards,
: : Doug Graham

X-Mike_C
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Apr 28, 2003, 8:01 PM

Post #11 of 12 (581 views)
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Re: getting started... [In reply to]	Can't Post

I capture the entire ceremony from both cams.
Then, I use scenalyzer to capture the pre-ceremony, and reception footage so that it is already cut up into little chunks. I can skip the tedius cut and paste routine. I simply drag the entire "pre-ceremony" bin into a new storyboard, set the in and out points of each clip, delete the stuff I don't want, and then automate to timeline.
Once on the timeline, I fine tune it with whatever filters, effects, etc.
Huge timesaver. Check it out at www.scenalyzer.com

Mike C

X-Monte_Pix
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Apr 29, 2003, 8:03 AM

Post #12 of 12 (581 views)
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Re: getting started... [In reply to]	Can't Post

Yes I understand the idea that you may find a useful clip in something you might have discarded prior to capture. Fortunately, with SCLive, when you scan the tape, it creates an "index" file that shows you all the clips and allows you to "preview" each clip within the index. Thus, if you didn't capture something in the original batch capture, you can always slip the tape back in, select the clip in the index, and then tell SCLive to go find it (or them) on the tape and capture them.