First Wedding Shoot of 2008

[HankCastello]

REHEARSAL

It was a 7pm Friday night wedding, with an early (4pm) Thursday rehearsal. A mostly glass chapel. Can you see the problem?

Rehearsal is during daylight hours while ceremony is after dark. Commercial chapel closed by 7pm Thursday, so we cannot forsee the effects of interior lights reflecting on the glass when it is dark outside.

Further complicating things is a common issue in commercial chapels - a narrow stage area, preventing normal shooting positions and good angles. (Please refer to the image of the chapel layout). Cameras 1 through 3 are VX2100s, camera 4 is FX1. I did not use the jib because there simply was no room to set it up, but there was an alcove on second floor for the FX1 which gave a nice over-looking view for this widescreen shoot.

(c1 is jean; c2 is hank; c3 aimed at guests; c4 in upper alcove)

CEREMONY

We used polarizing filters to reduce reflections. There was a pianist/soloist. FOB refused to wear a mic. We miked officiant and groom with lavs. Setup wireless handheld on mic stand for soloist and tapped sound board with Marantz 660. Also used shotgun mics on guests and piano.

In the dressing room, groom came across as flippant, macho type, but doing vows, he melted and choked up a couple times as did the bride. Turned out to be a great wedding and great shoot.

A couple of "gotchas" we ran into - Jean, perhaps rusty from not shooting since last year, forgot that the VX2100 audio levels group the two channels. She had officiant's lav and soloist's mic. Trying to adjust soloist, she turned audio way down and thought it was still clipping. Trouble was that the officiant's mic was clipping - not the soloist's. It wouldn't hurt to have the minister's mic clip since I would turn it off in post during the music part, but I'm afraid she might have turned down the soloist to the point that I won't be able to use that track. Still, there is the shotgun and soundboard tap to use, so we should be OK.

Some other issues were the shooting angles. Especially before the couple goes up the steps (during the bride giveaway) we only had the end person to shoot. We'd brought this up during rehearsal that groom should be a bit back, dad a bit forward so C1 could shoot all three. Well, they all forgot and lined up perfectly parallel to the stage, giving camera's 1 & 2 absolutely no decent faces to shoot. C3 was aimed for guests, and probably didn't get it either. Realizing I had no decent shot and presuming C1 had gone for the full group, I panned the bridesmaids and groomsmen, then went hunting for parents, etc.

RECEPTION

After the ceremony, I packed up tripods, cameras, mics, etc. and headed for the reception area. (Don't you just love these weddings that have everything in one place?) I'd been told ahead of time that I could tap the DJ board, so I setup the Marantz, handed the DJ the RCA cables and he plugged them in. As I was chatting with him, he suddenly exclaimed that he'd plugged me into an "input". He then searched for a "Tape Out", "Line Out", "Pre-fader Out" or any kind of out he could find and claimed he could find nothing but "headphones out".

Well, I know this board has several outs, and I mentioned this to him as I setup a wireless lav-drop in front of a tweeter and plugged the receiver into the Marantz.

All this took up several minutes, so I was glad I'd arrived early and setup the jib in a corner of the room behind several small drink tables, before the ceremony. I put the wide angle lens on camera #3 and slammed it into the quick-release plate of my Pro-Am camera jib. We had a low ceiling and not a lot of room, so I only used the eight foot configuration (instead of the twelve foot). It got a great view of the dance floor from overhead, but knowing we'd be doing cake cutting and toasts, then a break before dancing, I aimed it toward the other end of the room.

I love having a third camera on a jib for receptions. It means you always have a shot to go to for continuity, which can be especially important when you have music with vocals.

I inserted my camera (c2) onto the quick-release plate of my shoulder mount as Jean entered, having covered the photo session which just ended. We'd had a bit of problem with our Motorola comm radios but they seemed suddenly to be working again now.

Jean setup front and center of the cake table, with c1 on her tripod and aimed at the door to cover the entrance. I dropped to one knee between her and the door to cover the entrance. She'd left just enough room for people to pass behind her and that will be the path I'll take if I need to cross to the other side for cake-coverage.

The photographer was a pro and really good to work with. This is a rare occurance for us! We pretty much stayed out of each others way, except for a few minutes during dancing when he got 180 degrees from us. (Don't you just hate when that happens?) Of course if the photog is 180 from you, you will be in his photos and he will be in your video. Not a good situation.

Well, it was a really good shoot and I'm looking forward to editing.

[BillGrant]

Hank,
Great looking at "game film" on Sunday isn't it? I had a doozy of a ceremony yesterday. I had 2 split aisles, and everybody processed at the same time. It was a mess to shoot, but we'll see. How did you get the bride shot with the setup you described here. Great information, always good to see ther peoples takes on the way we all do business. Looks like you really bring out the equipment with the jib etc. Thanks for sharing.
Bill

[HankCastello]

Bill,

First let me welcome you to WVDR.  It is a pleasure and privilege to have someone of your stature here.

I think it helps to post Monday morning quarterbacking of our shoots.  It not only shares our problems and solutions but lets those newer to the biz see that even the more experienced are just regular people who put on their trousers one leg at a time and occasionally screw something up.  Of course, having experience, we know to back up everything and sometimes even backup the backup, so everything usually turns out OK.

Camera 1 usually gets the bride shots and cam 2 gets groom.  Cam 2 does more roaming around, picking off the parents, guests, bridal party and whatever goings on there might be while camera 1 does less of that and spends more time on the most important people.

Those shallow angles make it tough to get the shots, but a bit of prepping the couple and asking for assistance from the officiant at the rehearsal - plus a bit of luck - and we always get the shots.  Also, my drawing exaggerates the narrowness of the stage and our shooting angles somewhat.

Of course, the time before they went up the steps was rough.  Basically no faces of the couple or even fob there, unless camera 3 got lucky.  Thankfully there's always camera 4 and of course, knowing that I didn't have a shot at the couple, I let cam 1 hold the group shot while I picked off cu's of parents, bridal party, flower girl playing with her basket of petals, etc.

Thankfully, the officiant didn't mess around and they went up the stage fairly quickly.

As for the jib - that really makes our job so much easier.  From its height and wide angle lens, it always has a shot - I haven't seen a photog yet who was tall enough to block it!

In this reception, during the chicken dance, the DJ asked everyone to tighten the circle up at one point.  That closed the doors to cameras 1 & 2.  It took me a few seconds to find a place where I could hold my camera above my head and have a good shot.  By the time my arms were about to give out, the circle loosened up enough again. Good ole camera 3 (on the jib) will allow me to keep the continuity, during the times we were otherwise shut out, if I need it, during post.

The jib gives an unusual viewpoint (something all of us usually strive for) and always has a shot - which is a blessing to an editor.