A couple of months ago, we received a wedding video to review and posted the rather critical critique here.  So, it was with some caution when we opened another package from the same videographer.

We listened for ticking, and had the dog sniff it for any "unusual material".  (I suppose we'd have been alerted if there had been a dog biscuit inside!)

Considering that this was a Catholic wedding video (noted for their length) with full communion (noted for being even longer), the posibility that it had been sent in revenge was still in the air! 

We're accustom to seeing gradual improvement, a metamorphis slowly changing an amateur into a pro, an evolutionary process. But this was a mutation!  They'd gone from "pretty bad" to "pretty good", in just one step. 

But still there were "issues".  There always are.  I can usually fill a page or two of critique when reviewing my own wedding videos.  So here's the critique - see if any of these problems are in YOUR wedding videos -

Nice pre-menu opening (custom animation), but I'd prefer having sound with it (probably music).  This would give the viewer a chance to adjust volume settings so they could then sit back and enjoy the video.

Wedding invitation (or whatever it was) was illegible, so why include it here?  Either get a readable image or lose it.

Good job with building exterior tilts, but the pan from the flower bed to the statue was way too fast and a bit too shaky.  Watch when the pros do pans, they tend to be very slow, (excluding whip-pans, of course) and usually done from a tripod.

I liked the use of the pre-ceremony live music for the opening sequences.  It was "acceptable" by wedding video standards, but we should all work to increase those standards.  There is no reason we can't get crisp, clear audio.  In this case, each singer should have been schooled on staying within eighteen inches of their mic. 

(It sounded like the mic(s) was/were two to five feet from the singers and piano.)

The piano should have been miked too.  I like the Shure mics for instruments and singers.  Pickup several music stands with detachable boom arms, they'll come in handy.  But even the cheapo Azden VHS wireless mics will do a better job if used up close, than a more expensive mic from further away.

Here's an example of a well-miked quartet -

(Note how we had them block windows to prevent glare.)

Several pre-ceremony and processional scenes were a half to a full stop over exposed.  Keep in mind that LCDs with brightness controls on them can get accidentally "adjusted", so check them frequently. Also, whether you look at your LCD straight-on or from an angle, can affect the apparent brightness.  Make friends with your LCD and get to know the proper way to check your exposure.  Try using your camera's zebra settings.  Look for blacks that are black - not dark gray.  Whites should still have detail and not be washed out.

I loved your frequent use of close-ups!  This is where digital video really shines.  Hands; faces; gown; decor; guests - you varied the subject matter often and kept us interested in watching.  How we hate to watch wedding videos where the camera operators point the cameras at the couple, then go to sleep.  It makes us go to sleep too!

Several cuts where made on the cusp of camera movements.  For instance, we're watching a shot holding on a subject, then the camera begins a slow zoom, but one second into the zoom, there is a cut to another camera.  Cut before the movement, cut after the movement or allow the movement to mature.  If the camera is still zooming, and it has "matured" - say a couple seconds or more, then consider a dissolve to soften the change.  Otherwise, wait for it to stop and hold a second before cutting.

You can't go wrong by staying with that "rule", but there is always a time to break a rule - just don't break it without having a good reason.

The priest starts talking about their wedding register book and you cut to the book, showing us what he is talking about - I loved it!  The more visual relief we can get, the better.  By changing from wide shots to medium to close, we get a little visual relief, but by cutting from the church altar setting to this book, the change is even more of a contrast and thus more of a relief.

COMPOSITION & FRAMING

They drill this in at vocational schools for photography and/or videography, but for self-taught practitioners, this can be an elusive concept. 

Most importantly - try not to have a subject looking out of the frame.  Lead your subject with more frame room in the direction they are looking than in the rear.

Learn the "Rule of Thirds".

Unless you are going to have the subject walk out of the frame entirely (a nice way to segue to the next shot), lead your subject so that roughly two-thirds of your frame is in front of your subject.

All too often, we see subjects centered when they are looking or moving left or right.  Remember to lead your subjects.  But there is much more to composition than leading and the Rule of Thirds.  The field of art has many books dedicated to composition.  Many photography books cover the subject.  You would do well to study composition and framing so that it is as second-nature to you as:

AFEW things. (A = audio; F = focus; E = exposure; W = wt bal)

THE RING SHOT

Yes, we all love to dive in and get a real close-up of the groom's hands placing the ring on his bride's finger.  Problem is, we don't always have the shot.  Best bet - decide beforehand which camera operator will handle this and that the other operator will hold a medium shot of both bride and groom - a shot that will be quite usable should the close-up fail.

Over the years, I've modified that "rule" a bit and added that the operator who intends to zoom in, must wait until he/she is certain they have the shot, otherwise holding on the next-best shot. 

Yes, it is nice to get the close-up, but this is not a time you want to have to go to camera 3, way in the back, for the wide overview.  And that's exactly what may happen if the "zoomer" misses the shot (perhaps because the hands just aren't within his view), and if by a quick turn of a head, or other inopportunement, the other operator doesn't have a usable shot either.

I've seen cases where both camera operators dove in for the ring shot and both missed miserably.  Hello camera three!

In the case of Catholic weddings, they often try to keep vidographers back in the nose-bleed sections.  If you don't have a telephoto lens and you aren't close enough for a real close-up on the ring shot, then again, don't even try.  Framing the couple from chest to knee is not a great shot!

In summary, at least as far as the ring shot goes, it is better to have the waist-up, medium shot than a failed attempt at a close-up.

A sweeping pan of guests, just before the ceremony was a great idea, but it was executed too fast.  Slow those pans down!

Also, somewhere in here there was a 'Z-pan'.  That's a pan that starts out in one direction, reverses, then back again to the original direction.  Now, I suppose there may be a case or two where such movement would be a positive thing, but I'm having difficulty coming up with the scenario.

As a general rule, your shot should not change motion.  If it's a pan or tilt, continue the movement in a steady fasion until the end of the shot (with a likely dissolve) or stop and hold a second or so before the cut.  Obviously, if your subject is zig-zagging, that may be a good reason to break the rule.

CONTRAST

Several scenes seemed to have their exposure alright, but the contrast was off.  When your blacks look like charcoal gray, it's time to double-check brightness and contrast.  Strive for black blacks and white whites, but strive to retain detail in each.  (Often difficult with the narrow latitude of digital video).

GLARE

The couple and wedding party were seated in front of a large window while the sun was still shining brightly.  This is one reason we go to rehearsals.  We would have cautioned the couple about this and strove to either have curtains pulled or move the table.  At the very least, the couple would have been forewarned that this did not make for good video.

AUDIO ISSUES

At the ceremony, you got around the problem of not having enough microphones, by plugging into the house sound system.  Would you mortgage your home, fly to Vegas and put it all on red?  We've found that about half the times we plug into a sound system, the results are less than favorable and often miserable.

More often than not, this is because the sound guy or DJ doesn't know his board that well and will inadvertently do something to mess up your audio capture.  Sometimes, it is just due to bad settings on the board or on your recorder.

I now prefer to cut the board and sound guy out of the equation by putting a mic in front of a loud speaker and tap the board only as backup.  We always use ALC settings because they can change their volume without notice.

When it comes to a ceremony, both techniques would be for backup only.  We always mic the minister with our best wireless set.  After all, this is the guy everyone will be listening to for 90% of the ceremony!

Here is the situation this videographer described for the reception audio -

"We'd planned to tap the DJ's soundboard, but at the last minute we were told that toasts, etc. would be through the house system and house mics.  We were not able to tap the house board and the only loudspeakers were tiny ones way up in the ceiling.  What could we have done?"

OK, so you're going to have people with handheld house mics giving toasts and speeches.  Here's some tips on how to get decent audio when you can't tap the house board and you can't get a mic near the loudspeaker -

• Place a mic on a mic stand and ask all persons speaking to stand at the mic stand.
• The closest camera operator uses a shotgun mic and gets as close as possible to toasters.
• Couple (rubberband, etc.) your wireless handheld to the house handheld mic.
• Place shotgun mic on mic stand extended as high as possible, place in the quietest spot possible and where it isn't likely to be disturbed and point the shotgun at a ceiling speaker.

I would do at least two of the above (one for backup).

Congratulations on producing a wedding video that can truly be called "professional", and one we know your bride will be thrilled with.  There is no such thing as a "perfect" event video and that goes even moreso for wedding videos, but with constant study, and always striving to improve, we can always get better.  Our "product", if done correctly, will become one of the most cherished possessions in our client's lives.  This places tremendous responsibility on our shoulders - a responsibilty that you've proven you take seriously.

We commend you and your wedding video has successfully passed certification.

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