my first wedding video...n i let myself down!

[m.lomibao]

i had a canon 60d, 7d and a hv40, 3 tripods, slider, zoom h3, rode shotgun mic n a rode videomic pro. I had everything planned for me n my assistant for the big, but then my assistant failed to show up! All my envisioned shots went down the drain....at the end, i had to improvised and shot handheld 80 per cent of the time ( biggest mistake ever! ) cos i couldnt carry all my gudgets with me on that day. I felt so bad for the newly weds that i beg them to take the money back. But being such a nice couple, they refused.
I ve learned so much on that day that next time i will b ready to shoot solo.
It just a shame that the video didnt come out as i planned.

heres is my first wedding video that im not happy with.

https://vimeo.com/43820997

[BarteS]

First and foremost the way you look at things is way too negative, especially given the circumstances:

• You were not the one who didn't show up. Your assistant let you down. Although you should have had that one locked down some way, it's just that you didn't tick that box of having total control. But the thing is, that's why quite a few of the pro's stick with some people. Although there might be (way) better ones out there, they trust and can depend on them. That would be the thing you should take away from all this is to find someone you can count on. And what that person should be able to do depends on you. But it could even be someone who simply helps you out by carrying stuff or even somebody who can calm people down / handle questions / ... Those persons are still invaluable. Finally, those persons could also be pleasant to have around if you make a mess of something or so. (Or you really must prefer being alone, but with this business, I'd say you shouldn't want that. In that case you might want to consider a change of hobby/job/.. )
• You had to improvise and still were able to deliver quite a few of the shots. Its a trade-off and if I were you I would have done the very same thing. Get the shots and make sure they are at least in focus and have good audio. There is no excuse for missing that essential shot as you were still fighting with your tripod. The reason I'd do the same is because I'd think about what I could do in post. You can stabilize the shot. But you can't just add a different couple.
• You still did deliver a video and I have to say, it's absolutely, totally far from rubbish. You would have let yourself down if you would have given in at some point in time. It won't hit the top 10, but I have seen far worse, from people who maxed out there skill-set at that time. At the end of road what also matters is whether the client(s) like it. They got quite a few shots, shots which were not captures by photos. Sure it could have been better, but knowing what happened to you that day (possibly you did show some of it at that day....that's perhaps the worst thing) and still receiving this. Finally, to most newly weds the costs of the video are just a part of something which is already a substantial price. What they do care about is getting the most out of it. And possibly you should consider the money to be a reward for actually torturing yourself all that time and still delivering.
• You did learn a lot... How many times did I hear pro's complain about what they did. Failing to deliver shots, making a mess of some things. But they all said the same, I evaluated and improved themselves. (And did inflate their rates accordingly.)

Now, one of the things you should have done and might want to fix is the white balance. It's all over the place. To be honest, I consider that one to be far more distracting than some movement. Especially since the shots are rather fast paced.

Good luck on you next gig. But please, reconsider flying solo. Just evaluate who you can count on and what they could do to make your day easier. That's key. Everything else is a bonus.

[m.lomibao]

Now, one of the things you should have done and might want to fix is the white balance. It's all over the place. To be honest, I consider that one to be far more distracting than some movement. Especially since the shots are rather fast paced.

yeah thats one of my few mistakes, the white balance. as soon as i was on my own, i forgot to check everything else ( in terms of camera settings )...how do u fix the white balance in editting?

[BarteS]

It depends on the program you're using. Sometimes you have dedicated tools to set the white balance, located in one of the color correction effects. However, you should be careful as the shots might fall apart as the (color) information to work with is limited. You might want to find the middle ground of connected shots. This means the white balance is off on all shots, whereas you could get some to be spot on, but at least the shots have a better match with each other.

[blondandfun]

Dont beat yourself up! I gave up spending money on good assistants and now stick to recent college grads. Im not even going to look at the highlights, because i know how hard it is to edit footage with handheld.

I am scared to death also about 2nd shooters. I prefer to pick them up in my car.

If u live in a city its not hard to find someone looking to make cash, as long as u know 2 hrs ahead.

[m.lomibao]

It depends on the program you're using. Sometimes you have dedicated tools to set the white balance, located in one of the color correction effects. However, you should be careful as the shots might fall apart as the (color) information to work with is limited. You might want to find the middle ground of connected shots. This means the white balance is off on all shots, whereas you could get some to be spot on, but at least the shots have a better match with each other.

I'm using cs5 if ur familiar with it can u show a step by step on how to do it pls ?

[m.lomibao]

Dont beat yourself up! I gave up spending money on good assistants and now stick to recent college grads. Im not even going to look at the highlights, because i know how hard it is to edit footage with handheld.

I am scared to death also about 2nd shooters. I prefer to pick them up in my car.

If u live in a city its not hard to find someone looking to make cash, as long as u know 2 hrs ahead.

Thanks mate

[BarteS]

I'm using cs5 if ur familiar with it can u show a step by step on how to do it pls ?

Sorry mate, I don't think that's a very good idea. At the very least head youtube.com and search for a tutorial. There are plenty of tutorials on color correction, including some which focus specifically on an easy way to change the white balance. Typically it's a matter of selecting a color correction effect and selecting the white balance feature in the effect. But as I said, be careful, you might end up with a too extreme color correction on limited information. Therefore in the end a manual correction (or white balance and countering the correction a bit by moving the pointer a bit more to the middle again) could work out best. Some tutorials will even discuss how to match shots.
Really, it's better to read a book about this or at the very least watch some tutorials and try it out for yourself, instead of me providing you a step by step. It would take me quite some time to help you get a good overall correction, as simply hitting the white balance picker possibly won't cut it. Correction and grading are important techniques and learning how to do it properly is worth all the effort.

[liverpool 1]

Thought it was ok mr lomibao... Like the guys say dont beat yourself up just learn..... and keep learning... Dslrs are hard , really hard, i have trained up my dad son and brother to use them, but first they learned on the hv40s, frame, exposure, white balance, ect.. The move to dslr is a totally different ball game. Believe me sometimes you want to throw it in the river next to the venue hehehe...Sometimes i prefer to shoot alone as i know what i want rather than tell and instruct someone who is not good enough so thats why i have family.. They know excactly what shots i want and i give them shots where they dont have to think much, ( no disrespect dad).. So move on kidda, learn, learn then learn some more, thats what i did and have 37 weddings this year, yes cheap end but hey who cares.... I treat every wedding the same, dont get into the habit of looking at your clients with contempt, every one is different and sometime i prefer the scallies ( rough necks to the yanks )... Any advice just PM me. cheers and well done

[m.lomibao]

thanks for the support guys....ill definitely bounce back on my next one.

[m.lomibao]

Thought it was ok mr lomibao... Like the guys say dont beat yourself up just learn..... and keep learning... Dslrs are hard , really hard, i have trained up my dad son and brother to use them, but first they learned on the hv40s, frame, exposure, white balance, ect.. The move to dslr is a totally different ball game. Believe me sometimes you want to throw it in the river next to the venue hehehe...Sometimes i prefer to shoot alone as i know what i want rather than tell and instruct someone who is not good enough so thats why i have family.. They know excactly what shots i want and i give them shots where they dont have to think much, ( no disrespect dad).. So move on kidda, learn, learn then learn some more, thats what i did and have 37 weddings this year, yes cheap end but hey who cares.... I treat every wedding the same, dont get into the habit of looking at your clients with contempt, every one is different and sometime i prefer the scallies ( rough necks to the yanks )... Any advice just PM me. cheers and well done

37 weddings this year?? wow, thats a hell of a lot! can i see some of ur work pls?

[kaydawgy]

Hey I still think it came out pretty good. I would say that you should invest in some monopods. No joke! We have 3 Manfrotto 681B with 717ah fluid heads on them. They are by far the best tools for run and gun work. They have 3 tiny feet at the bottom which esentially acts as a tripod and eliminates the jerky shaky handheld shots, especially if you're using dslrs. But overall, good job dogg!

[BarteS]

You're probably talking about the 561BHDV monopods. The 681B is a monopod without the feet with fluid cartridge. Odd you did get those, not the 562B as that one is basically the same (maximum height), yet does not have the fluid head, which you've replaced anyway.
(Your gear list doesn't mention those monopods yet. )

--- probably something to discuss in a different topic:
I'm still in a debate whether the 560, 561 and 562 are really invaluable. I do know many consider those the best monopods out there, but do you really feel like paying that much more to take one specific shot (panning)? Why not a regular monopod? Or are many making use of the 'simple/cheap' slider effect?
The primary things which make it hard to me is the fact I do want the height (rules out the 560), yet the weight but especially the minimum height are an issue. Price is the next, but with these kind of pieces of gear (ones outlasting cameras) I'm willing to invest more.

[m.lomibao]

Hey I still think it came out pretty good. I would say that you should invest in some monopods. No joke! We have 3 Manfrotto 681B with 717ah fluid heads on them. They are by far the best tools for run and gun work. They have 3 tiny feet at the bottom which esentially acts as a tripod and eliminates the jerky shaky handheld shots, especially if you're using dslrs. But overall, good job dogg!

Th

Thanks dude it's a shame I don't feel same but I've learned from it though I guess that's important . Yeah I think I'm gonna get one of those monopods or if I have enough money maybe a steady cam ... They r bloody expensive though

[kaydawgy]

My bad. I meant the 682B manfrotto monopods.