Fast Paced Engagement Party Video

[blondandfun]

Engagement party for an Indian couple. The client requested a fast paced video... I hope its fast enough. She picked the song.

t3i and xh-a1. Watch in HD

[Almohada]

XHA1 footage looks superb! I think it sums up the night quite nicely!

[blondandfun]

oh, you must be referred to the stuff that was in focus! LOL

[STUDIO32MID]

Hmm Blondandfun
that was a different pace this time wow worth the try. perhaps that will open some more ideas and influx of more jobs- awesome.

so which was xha1 and which t3i? what settings did you use and how did you match the shots up ie. t3i and xha1? Wow great to see xha1 in contention here.

i like the song choice, whose (artiste) version is this?. Nice good job as usual buddy.

oh, you must be referred to the stuff that was in focus! LOL

[blondandfun]

thx! It's complicated actually. The girl actually told me to make SURE that the faces weren't dark being that she knew it was a dark room. SO, I hired a guy i'd never worked for before.... He showed up with these HUGE movie set Halogen lights which were way too bright for an event like this. Just 1 of the lights completely turned the entire ballroom from cozy blue to bright white. We ended up having to bounce that light off the wall. We only had the light on during the planned dancing parts and during the traditional Muslim thingy where the family went onto the stage to give their blessings to the couple.

That explains why a lot of the Xh-a1 footage came out so great. The DSLR footage actually seems a little washed out in comparison. I love the way the XH-a1 can pick up the correct lighting and shadows, whereas the DSLR seems all washed out looking. Maybe I should have turned the ISO down to 640 or something, but like I said the client scared me about lighting.

I swear white people are 10x easier to shoot and less worrisome about exposure than South Asians.

As far as the xh-a1 setting, I accidentally(stupidly) shot all the dancing in 24p. However I think the progressive nature of 24p did help make the footage "pop" a little more than if I had shot it in 60i. If I had to do it again, I would have used 30p.

I haven't gotten any feedback yet, but will let you know. It's tough to edit a family event to a fast paced song like that. The song jumps really fast into the fast paced part. I have not done a lot of "video" work like this before and I'm not that expereinced in doing faster edits.

Also, If I had use a crane the gig would have been phenomenal. I probably should have charged a little more and hired a guy with a crane!

[STUDIO32MID]

I see you had to go though quite a lot to pull this through great! Is that to say that the xha1 requires a lot of light and was that the default setting or a preset? Certainly it's easy to forget about the 24p and shoot dancing fast movement with it with all that pressure that was around you.
Good job.

[Almohada]

I love the way the XH-a1 can pick up the correct lighting and shadows, whereas the DSLR seems all washed out looking.

One of the best sentences in modern day literature!

And yeah, a crane would have been AWESOME! Imagine those amazing swooping shots over the dance floor!

[STUDIO32MID]

Oh my you are making my mouth water at those swooping prospects or should i rather say eyes tear? Perhaps the worst sentence in modern literature? hahah just kidding.

Sure i love crane shots. I am looking forward to owning one! but guess its the hand that matters most and not the tool.

One of the best sentences in modern day literature!

And yeah, a crane would have been AWESOME! Imagine those amazing swooping shots over the dance floor!

[Almohada]

Oh my you are making my mouth water at those swooping prospects or should i rather say eyes tear?

Don't forget the motorized 360 degree pan/tilt head! And remote follow focus!

Simmer.

[blondandfun]

On second thought, a crane would be cooler for us than the client. Its amazing to see these people just dancing, with no alcohol in their systems.

Im a firm believer that if the content is good, let it speak for itself. This is not some corporate gig, these are people with emotional connections to each other.

[STUDIO32MID]

Almohada do you have any place you would recommend for this 360 head and jib arm i can snatch from?

Don't forget the motorized 360 degree pan/tilt head! And remote follow focus!

Simmer.

[HueyNRolf]

the traditional Muslim thingy where the family went onto the stage to give their blessings to the couple.

Really? Are you sure it wasn't a traditional hindu thingy?

Anyways, great video. Good job!

[blondandfun]

I made some changes to the video. I also added some contrast on the t3i shots that were shot using neutral style.

I've been getting good feedback when I bump up the contrast and do the "RGB curves", so I did that some, but not too much:

[DebG.]

VERY nice... If this is the engagement party, I can't even imagine the wedding!

Deborah