IN[FOCUS]

Hey folks!

As wedding filmmakers, we have some of the hardest jobs in the film/video industry. I live in the film town of Wilmington, NC (home of the biggest sound stage/studio outside Hollywood and Universal). And everyone here in the film industry CAN’T BELIEVE what we do because of the amount of stress involved in shooting a live event while intentionally being creative at the same time.

Just like our silver-screen counterparts, we need to plan ahead for our shoots…gear, shot lists, location maps, etc. One part of our planning involves using a questionnaire with the couple – here’s how we collect info into it:

About a month before the wedding day we send an email with our questionnaire attached. If you saw my previous post on ShootQ, you’ll notice how this INCREDIBLE service sends out a questionnaire for you automatically and then you don’t have to bug the bride and groom about any details, directions, names, phone numbers, or song selections during the week of the wedding. SO, it makes us look great when we are organized a month out.

What do we accomplish with our questionnaire?

• It provides us with not only the names and numbers of the bride/groom and their families, but also the contact info for every vendor of importance for the wedding. We use this info to immediately network after the wedding. We also call the coordinator and photographer before the wedding to introduce ourselves and let them know we are on their side. Team building!
• It allows the couple to give us their preferences on certain aspects of their wedding video. Our studio has final say in the edit (including songs) but it gives us a better idea of their style of music and personalities so we know a little bit of what they are like before we even meet them. Having songs in mind before the wedding day allows us to visualize “the edit” while we are shooting the wedding.
• It gives us an order of events for the day. We know nothing happens on time, but we need to know the order of how things will play out that evening to be prepared for camera placement, and we need to know the time frames of getting from one place to the next.
• It gives us names of family members and wedding party members. Remembering people’s names gains us immediate trust.
• It lets us know of any unique details, sentimental rituals/items or special moments to make the video that much better if we are prepared to capture them.
• It gathers all necessary info from bride and groom on what is most exciting to them about their wedding. If they mention they are most excited about the venue, we make it a point to get more b-roll than usual of the location. However, if they mention they have people coming from all over the country and are super excited to be surrounded by them, we emphasize relationships more in the shooting.

These are just a few of the reasons why having a great questionnaire to send the couple before the wedding is one of the more beneficial tasks your studio can implement. And even if you already are implementing one, hopefully I’ve given you some ideas on how to make yours even better.

If you use ShootQ and you’d like to implement our very successful questionnaire immediately, head over to your “marketplace” tab under your ShootQ account and download our pre-wedding questionnaire.

Matt Davis, Lifestage

Matt Davis

Matt Davis (coaching at lifestagefilms.com) of Life Stage Films has been described as the “head coach of wedding videography,” providing one-on-one business coaching as well as group coaching webinars. A featured speaker at both WEVA 2009-10 and IN[FOCUS] 2010-11, as well as a multiple CEA award winner and 2009-10 EventDV 25 All-Star, he is based in Wilmington, N.C.

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Shooting totally handheld with the new DSLR cameras, such as the Canon 5D Mark II, is certainly possible, but the results can be mixed.

Camera shake and rolling shutter are certainly more evident in handheld footage, so to take your DSLR projects to the next level, you must have a shoulder mount or DSLR rig.

More models and types of DSLR rigs are hitting the market every day so it’s a great time to be shooting with these awesome cameras.

In the video below I talk briefly about the Digital SLR Shoot Rig by Cinevate. The 2nd video is an example of shooting totally handheld with the 5D Mark II, and the 3rd video uses the 5D plus the Cinevate DSLR Rig.

Cinevate DSLR Rig from Matt E on Vimeo

The clip below is the first one I shot with the 5D Mark II. A photographer mate of mine kindly let me borrow his brand new 5D Mark II so that I could shoot what was possibly the first 5D wedding in Australia.Prior to shooting this footage I hadn’t actually used the 5D Mark II before. The footage and depth of field is great but you can see that the clip is plagued throughout with shake and rolling shutter.

Ben and Sally – a 5D Mark II wedding video – HD from Matt E on Vimeo

Here’s a more recent clip shot with the 5D Mark II using the Cinevate DSLR Rig. The footage still has the natural, organic movement that I love, but none of the shake and rolling shutter of the previous clip. 

Roger and Hayley – Short eShoot Clip – 5D Mark II from Matt E on Vimeo.

After shooting with a DSLR Rig there’s no going back to being totally handheld for me.  The difference is like night and day!

Matt E., Shadowplay

Matt Ebenezer

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If you didn’t check out our first entry on incorporating onetime use video cameras to upsell your services, read about how we utilize them to create a honeymoon highlight.

If you did check out our previous post, carry on below to hear about how we use them at wedding receptions:

Friends/Family Filmmakers from Soulbox Productions on Vimeo

Here’s a sticker we put on the cameras to help the guests know what to do:

And here are a few other tips, we:

• emphasize the selling point that we don’t approach their guests during the reception to have them say something to our cameras, so this is the perfect way for guests to record themselves giving well wishes.

• do not tell them how long their Friends/Family Filmmakers portion of their Wedding FIlm will be since we have no control over how much or how little their guests shoot with the cameras

• put an arrow on the cameras to show the correct direction to hold the camera while shooting (some guests have been holding it horizontally instead of vertically)

• scale down the image size to make it look sharper

• keep an eye on the cameras during the event to make sure guests are using them correctly and passing them on to other guests

Give it a shot!

We look forward to your comments and/or questions.

Happy filming,
Corbin & Dave, Soulbox

Dave and Corbin Baxter

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