When the big day comes, don't be too anxious! Here are some tips ...
Much as the couple - and others - will hopefully love the movie you make, they won't
thank you for getting in the way all the time. Be as inconspicuous as you can, and
not in people's faces. It’s their day, not yours. They want to enjoy the occasion.
You will want to get people's reactions and expressions ... so, use your zoom to
frame the shots from a distance. (Incidentally, don't use your zoom whilst actually
shooting - or, if you do, do it rarely and slowly, and don't go backward and forwards
like a saw. Use your zoom to frame the picture before shooting. You'll be far happier
with the result. Trust me!).
WATCH THE LIGHTING, Churches and reception areas are notoriously badly lit places
for videoing. Be careful of 'backlighting' - through church windows, for example
- which can fool exposure systems if you don't make the proper allowances with the
result that the window is wonderful but the couple appear too dark.
WATCH THE SOUND. Use headphones plugged into your camcorder. You'll be surprised
how good your camcorder is at picking up extraneous sounds that you don't want (those
shuffling feet and coughs) and dismayed at how what you could hear ok and thought
was being well recorded (the vows, for example) in fact, is quite muffled or 'distant''.
Be particularly aware of sound levels at the evening reception - where a band or
disco could easily drown out any conversations you want to record. In all circumstances,
use an external microphone if possible: that mic on your camcorder is rubbish - however
good your camcorder is!
WATCH YOUR CAMCORDER and equipment. Don't leave it around unguarded. My Dad was a
professional Press Photographer, and occasionally did weddings as a favour for family
and friends. He had expensive camera equipment stolen at the church during a family
wedding.... We are pretty certain it was an 'outsider', an opportunist who came in
to view the occasion, and saw the stuff sitting around unattended. Don't be complacent
because the family and friends are there - they're watching the wedding first, your
equipment last.
Remember that it is the Bride's day. She is the star. But don't miss out on the Groom.
He should be seen to be supportive as well as a 'leading player'.
WATCH OUT FOR THE AMUSING... try to catch people's expressions when they are unawares.
Watch for - and capture if possible - the amusing incidents. They make excellent
material for that end-credit sequence.
Shoot each shot/scene early, and end it late. You can always trim scenes (and will
need to), but you cannot make them any longer when you come to the edit. (That's
why you should have more tape cassettes available than you thought you'd need...)