How to get work on weddings with XL2

December 10, 2004

:blink:

???

Hi,

I have just purchased a Canon XL2 and I am still waiting for it to be delivered. My first step will be to call some wedding planners to get some work. The income generated will pay off my personal loan for the camera.

Does anybody have any pointers for getting work at weddings?

I was willing to do it for free while I get used to the camera.

Thanks.

Paul.

J. Lamar King IMPOSTOR · December 10, 2004

Actually, in some places it's a very hard business to crack. One tip I know works is to get business through bridal stores. Some stores have preffered photographers. I know the big chains do. You can get locked into one store and they send everything through you. You'll probably find all these slots are filled up already but maybe not by a videographer. You might have to find out who the photographer is and team with him.

Phil Rhodes · December 10, 2004

Hi,

A word of warning - people tend to expect quite a lot out of weddings, for quite a little. Everyone expects it to look like "Four Weddings and a Funeral" with no money and no involvement, then bitches at you when it doesn't happen. What's more, people tend to insist that the end product is incredibly lengthy - meaning nobody will ever actually sit through it all anyway - so it takes forever to do. I find them to be near-impossible to get right, poorly-paid and uninteresting, and I avoid doing them like the plague.

Phil

Rich Steel · December 10, 2004

I have to agree with Phil,

I've only ever shot 2 wedding video's, my sister and my partners best freind. They are a nightmare. Constantly thinking 3 steps ahead of the wedding party. I was burn't out by the end of the night, they are very hard work. I have to salute those who do it really well and make a living from it.

In hind sight I would definetly shoot a wedding with at least 2 camera's if your serious about starting a business, a bigger invetsment but I think you'll be glad to have the backup/coverage of a second unit.

December 11, 2004

Fair enough.

I would imagine that I should shoot in 50i mode, seeing that 24p is for film transfers?

Thanks.

January 2, 2005

Fair enough.

I would imagine that I should shoot in 50i mode, seeing that 24p is for film transfers?

Thanks.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not quite. Since you are talking 50i then the camera is a PAL unit and as such, it dont have 24P. The PAL version has 25P and at PAL format. If you are doing Weddings (Not I said the Chook) then you will probably going to output on DVD. Prog Scan is really a must for DVD. There is a lot of garbage about deinterlace filters but the old rules still apply. Shoot well and at the best reso poss. All the rest is patch up

Jon Armstrong

Guy Meachin · January 7, 2005

I shot a wedding about six months ago with exactly the same intentions as you - to pay off my XL1s. We had 2 XL1's (2 cameras a must really)shooting a freinds wedding, we offered to do it for free so we could produce a sample dvd to send to potential clients. It went well but like the others said - it's hard work and very, very uninspiring!! On the upside - most bridesmaids like a man with a camera!

Needless to say the rushes are on my shelf gathering dust waiting to be edited. Who know's if it will ever happen!

If you're still interested I'd recommend doing some simple market research before you do anything. Send off from other companies who do the same and watch their sample DVD's. Depending on where you live you'll prob find they're utter garbage! One camera and 3 hours of dull, boring editing. O and let's not forget some shockingly cheesy transitions and typography! If you leave all that out and cut together no more than 30-45 minutes of some good stuff then you'll have found a niche, believe me!

You don't even need to contact companies to become part of their team - just find a freind of anyone you know of and ask them if they want a video made. Emotional blackmale comes in handy in this kind of work. Find the bride and ask them, do they want a 'special' video of 'her' day she'll 'remember forever?' And do use those words! 'Daddy?..."

You might be suprised to find - despite what Phil says that people are amazed by what you've made. People generally are too obsessed with seeing themselves on the tele to take notice of the quality!

Also I'd recommend sitting down with the client and telling them exactly how you do things - why it's better than others and why you make 30 min vids rather than 3 hour ones! Quality not quantity. We were going to use a non-linear narritive (I bet that's never been used in the same sentence as wedding vids before) technique - kind of like a documentary but a more personal one - to break the vid up and make it more interesting. Also break it up with some photographs an what not! Work with the photographer maybe.

One more thing, as soon as you've shot it, get it edited - it will plague you unitil you do! To make wedding vids you must be very efficient!

Hope that helped some... prob just a load of old rubbish!

Alessandro Machi · January 10, 2005

I have the utmost respect for those who make a living making wedding videos because in some respect it can be the most thankless type of work on a day filled with justifiable (not really) narcism by the participants.

I also have a bit of scorn over the concept that I can't put my camera where I deem the best location. When I am told to stand at a certain spot and I see that my background will be empty rows of church benches, I would rather drop the camera from the ceiling then commit such an atrocious camera angle to tape.

And that is why I don't shoot wedding videos, the cameras no longer work after they have been dropped. :unsure:

As for getting work, I would recommend trying to hired as a "shooter" by an existing wedding video production company. It allows one to focus on that companies particular method for videotaping weddings and takes the pressure off of actually having to edit the project.

Just be very careful to not miss key moments and to make sure you are monitoring your audio with headphones, that you have a wireless lav mic you trust (plus a back-up), a wireless handheld mike an unharsh camera light AND a back-up camera as well.

It's not as easy as it looks!

January 20, 2005

It's an interesting fact that, since my last post, I have been in contact with several wedding video companies and all of them have told me that they are getting out of it.

All I wanted was a bit of experience and cashflow, in my head it was easy to film a wedding. But now I have second thoughts, why get into it when I don't really want to be doing it in the first place.

Uninspiring is definitely a key word.

Bob Hayes · January 20, 2005

Wedding are about the hardest thing I?ve ever filmed. I?ve pretty much just shot for friends. The problem with the ceremony is there are two critical angles; the bride's and the groom's. Get the bride ya miss the groom. Ouch. You need two cameras. Buy yourself a cheaper camera and give it to an assistant or even someone one in the audience so they can shoot another angle. These people don?t care that much about quality they want coverage! Sound is also critical and you need a wireless mike on the Priest, Rabi, Shaman, etc.. It is pretty complex. Then you are going to spend the rest of the evening shoving a mike and a sun gun in people?s faces. Post, which I?ve never done, has to become like a cookie cuter paint by numbers project. Do a couple of friends wedding and see if you like it.

Side note:

I actually shot a producer?s daughter?s wedding and he stopped the ceremony half way through and made them back it up completely so I could shoot the reverses. That was the day I decided this wasn?t for me.

Edited January 20, 2005 by bob1dp