Maximizing Your Time in Post Production

By Adam Hoggatt (Forever Endeavor)

Shooting to Edit

I am often asked how I can possibly complete my wedding video projects in a week and still deliver a quality product. The answer is in organizing a system and planning ahead. Just as you would not go to a shoot with your batteries low, you should not begin post production without being prepared. But being prepared for post production begins in pre-production. In order to maximize your editing time, you need to have your footage organized and ready to go from the start. In this part of the series, I will discuss exactly how to accomplish that kind of organization and get you started on the road to faster edits, which in turn lead to increased profits and more time to spend growing your business.

Before the Shoot

Just like most systems that work, simplification is the key to being prepared for post production. When you prepare for a shoot, remember these things: First, have tapes labeled and ready to go. Chances are, you will not have time to label the tape during the shoot so do it ahead of time. On the label, include things like what camera is using it, what the tape is used for (e.g. ceremony or reception) and other information that will distinguish the footage from that of other tapes.

[comment by Hank: Our labels look something like this - {C2b - Jackson 20070808} This means camera #2, second tape (b), Jackson wedding and the date in yyyymmdd format.]

Next, have a good understanding of what events will happen and at what time during the day. The reason this is so important is that if you aren't aware of exactly what is happening, you will end up with way more footage than you actually need. Footage that will eat up your editing time and end up on the cutting room floor. I try to attend the rehearsal if possible so I know the order of events. When it's not possible, I try to arrive early on the wedding date so I can learn as much as possible about what is happening. You want to be prepared when the groom whips out a karaoke machine and sings to the bride unbeknownst to her (that has happened to me).

[comment by Hank: We always attend rehearsals to ensure good shooting lanes, establish some repoire, warn against gum-chewing, decide mic placement, check out the sound system, etc.]

During the shoot

A few simple rules will help keep the editing process to a minimum. First, when getting B-Roll (filler shots), only shoot what will probably make it into the video. This doesn't mean turn off the camera all the time except when something is happening, but don't leave the camera running all the time just for the sake of getting whatever you can. It is a common thing for camera operators to want to record every single little thing they can and try new shots to be creative but this will end up wasting a huge amount of your time in the long run. Instead, know exactly what you want to see in the video. Be very selective with the B-Roll footage. If you see a great shot and know what you want to do with it, by all means, get it! Second, and this may sound contrary the the previous point (but it isn't), when using multiple camera angles, keep the cameras rolling during key moments (for instance, the toasts). For example, don't turn off the camera after the first dance to save tape when another dance is coming right after it. This will only make multi cam editing in post production a hassle that can easily be avoided. A good rule of thumb is that if there is another “formality” coming up next, keep the cameras rolling. Third, try to keep like footage together on tape. When the ceremony is over, if the tape is running low, change it before the reception events start. This will make logging tapes easier later on.

[comment by Hank: Everyone has a method that works for them, I suppose. As for 'b-roll', if you're talking about decorations - I say, shoot everything. You may have no idea that the 'puny' little decoration you didn't shoot was made by a very special relative, until the bride views her video and complains. Yes, this has happened to us! ]

The amount of footage you end up with will vary based on the number of cameras, the type of wedding and the package items you include. A basic 2 camera wedding that I do will generally get me about 3½ – 4 hours of footage (a 3rd camera should only result in about another hour of footage). If you end up with way more than this on average, it's time to rethink your shooting style.

[comment by Hank: We cover ceremonies AND receptions with at least three cameras. Obviously, this could give you two or more hours of reception video from each camera, as well as an hour from each for the ceremony. Actually, the camera(s) that cover bridal preps could get more than an hour of total video depending on preps and the length of the ceremony. So while a two-camera shooter might think that two hours or less per camera is a lot, it isn't really, especially if your static camera keeps running to cover the dance floor, etc., during the entire reception - which could easily last three or four hours. Now, obviously you won't use all this video, but you may well use key parts of it. For instance, let's say the bride unexpectedly belts out a tune on the dance floor (this has happened to us) about the time you were shooting guests. Your static camera got the bride wide, giving you the opening shot for the sequence and you'll cut to the closer shot as soon as your camera(s) are on her. Assuming you've tapped the DJ's sound system and she's using his mic, you're in good shape.]

After the Shoot

When tapes come out, lock them and make sure they are in a safe place all together (I have lost a tape before and it was a nightmare). I have a zipper pocket on a small bag I carry that is ONLY for used tapes. Later, when I go to log the tapes, they are all right where I know they are and I don't have to “gather them”. It's very tempting to go straight home and go to bed but I always locate my tapes and have them in my desk drawer and everything else put away before beddiebye. This way, I don't have to worry about the mess and equipment all over the next day when I begin the logging and editing process...but we'll save that for part 2: Logging, Capturing and Organizing Footage.

Logging, Capturing and Organizing Footage

When you're shooting a wedding every weekend for seven months of the year, you just can't afford to have your main editing computer tied up capturing video. Jean does all our capturing on her computer, leaving mine free for editing and (shh..) computer games! OK, I'm kidding. There's no time for games during wedding season.

I'd prefer to capture with a cheap consumer camera to save wear and tear on my better cameras, and since the video data is all digital, it shouldn't matter, but I've learned that it's best to capture each tape with the camera that shot that tape. If this means changing camera models, be sure you change the camera model setting in your NLE.

The first thing I do is create bins for each sequence I plan to have. This generally means:

Open; Preps; Ceremony; PhotoSess; Rec-1; Rec-2; Exit; Greetings

Then I create an empty sequence for each of those. Sequences that will require multi-camera synching, I make in pairs, i.e.: ceremony-src & ceremony-trg (source & target).

Like most NLEs, Premiere Pro has a checkbox for automatic scene detection. This means that every time you switched from record to standby, there will be a separate video clip file. This makes it more convenient to work with your video and allows capture to proceed unmonitored, which saves you a ton of time, though you may find it helpful to watch the capture window so you know what you have to work with.

When I open the capture window, I double check to ensure that the files will go into the folders I expect them to. By the way, don't mistake Premier Pro's "bins" for Windows folders. Bins are virtual folders that exist only to Premiere Pro. Also, changing a clip's name does not change the Windows file name.

Premiere Pro lets you input the tape name and the name of the first clip. It will name subsequent clips with a numeric suffix. for the Jackson wedidng, I'll name the first tape, "Jackson C1a" (camera #1, first tape, 'a') I'll name the first clip, "Jcksn-c1a" Premiere Pro will add " 01"; " 02"; etc. to each clip.

If you interrupt the capture session for any reason, PP will take the last clip name, "Jcksn-c1a 05" for instance and make the next clip, "Jcksn-c1a 05 01", which can be a little confusing. We capture to external drives to make it easier to get the project files into the editing computer.

After capturing each tape, we rewind it (we have a tape rewinder, we would never put our cameras through this), replace it in it's plastic case and set it aside until all tapes are captured. We capture them in order, all Camera #1 tapes, then all Camera #2, etc. When all are finished, the tapes get filed in plastic stacking drawers we purchase at Walmart.

All capture files (AVIs) from a particular wedding will go onto an external drive and into its own folder. For instance, H:/Weddings/Jackson/

When I'm ready to work on this project, I'll connect the external drive to my editing computer and copy the project folder onto a local drive with the same folder name. I've edited from an external drive, but when editing three to five video tracks and a half-dozen audio tracks, things tend to go faster on local drives.

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.