Wedding Cinematography for intentional filmmakers

What distinguishes cookie cutter Wedding Cinematography from intentional and more meaningful storytelling?

Deep Storytelling
Creating compelling storytelling through interviews and/or letter reading. Most wedding videographers will just string together a bunch of pretty clips on a timeline set to some dramatic music.  What story is that telling? Yes, wedding vows are a nice addition to begin to tell a story, but where else can the couple's story be found?

By simply adding an interview or two, a videographer's work will have more meaningful, elevated storytelling than 90 percent of the videographers running around who are making a music video and not a documentary.

Who can tell the couple's story?

Parents, siblings, maid of honor and best man, grandparents, or a best friend are great options to capture short interviews during the wedding day.

Intentional Technique

Some videographers get lazy and do things like crank up the shutter speed multiple stops faster than than the 180 degree rule.  The footage will not only look choppy (like an action film), but it can look more similar to phone or camcorder footage because there is less intentional control over the cinematic image. High shutter speeds are intended for very specific things, and they should be avoided most of the time. Using a proper ND filter will avoid the choppy look of high shutter speeds.

Cinematic Look

Filming at 24 frames per second for 90 percent of the wedding day will yield a more cinematic look. Intentional storytelling does not rely too heavily on slow motion to elevate the story. Slow motion has become kitschy and overused in wedding videography. It's trendy and will probably look outdated and ridiculous in 20 or 30 years. It won't be timeless and will be obvious that the wedding was filmed during a certain time period

Building suspense

Telling things out of sequence and utilizing the power of voice over can help build suspense for the couple's unique story. 

Blu-Ray Authoring Software for Wedding Videos

Blu-ray Creator - Best Blu-ray Burning Software Free Download
Has a menu designer and supports almost every available video format, so it doesn't matter what video editor you use to export your completed videos.
Caveat: this appears to be a 

Adobe Encore CS6
Must be purchased with a creative cloud membership now (as part of Adobe Premiere) because the disc version of the software has not been available for over two years.
Many professional video editors use Encore as their go-to for DVD and Blu-Ray authoring, but it does have a learning curve if you're not familiar with Adobe applications.

Thankfully you can overcome this learning curve by watching a few Youtube videos to learn the interface:
Part 1 of 3: Blu-ray Authoring and Adobe Encore Basics - YouTube

Adobe Encore Basics 2: Creating Menus - Duration: 7:30
 

Sony DVD Architect Pro 6.0 (at B&H Photo Video)
Can author both DVDs and Blu-Rays
$150 
Doesn't appear to require any other software, as long as you can feed it your final edit exported from your video editor of choice.  This seems like it would be a comparable alternative to Adobe Encore.
"supports popular video and audio formats such as AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and AVCHD so you can make a DVD or Blu-ray disc that will play on almost any DVD/BD player or DVD/BD-capable computer."

DVD Architect - creating DVD Menus - YouTube

PowerProducer 6 | CyberLink
$80 (Ultra version that can author blu-rays).  On sale for $63.
A less expensive option that may not provide as many deep options as Sony's DVD Architect, but will get you burning discs at about half the price.  Supports many different common video formats:
AVI/ 3GPP (3g2, 3gp)/ VOB / FLV/ MOD/ MKV/ MPEG/ MPEG-2 Transport Stream(m2t, m2ts, mts, tod, tpd)/ MPEG-2 TV Recorded (trp, ts)/ MPEG-4 AVC (MOV)/ MPEG-4 Video (MP4)/ Video CD (DAT)/  VRO/ ASF/WMV/ Windows Media Center Recorded (dvr-ms, WTV)

* Can create video slideshows from your JPEG or RAW photos.

Tips for Blu-Ray authoring:

Use high-quality, reliable media. Getting the cheapest discs possible may actually cost you in the long run because their lifespan will be shorter and you'll have more discs that fail to burn, leaving you with a coaster.

Deciding on encoding format.  In your video editor, you can export either MPEG-2 for Blu-Ray or H.264 for Blu-Ray.  MPEG-2 can be used for videos that are one hour or less.  If your videos are longer, use the H.264 encoding options.

Authoring Blu-ray Discs | Videomaker.com

Total Cost of Buying a Panasonic GH3 for Wedding Videography

Using a static camera to focus on the bride or groom's face when filming weddings can mean the difference betweeen a profesisonal final product or an amateur effort.

Why buy a Panasonic DSLR for wedding videography?
They are the only DSLR manufacturer that allows their cameras to record for longer than 30 minutes continuously.  If you're filming wedding ceremonies or any other live event that runs longer than 30 minutes, other great DSLRs from Nikon and Canon may create production challenges.

Regular DSLRs can also overheat if they are used continuously throughout a day for too long.  Panasonic has engineered their GH3 and GH4 cameras to withstand longer video recording times.

If you're considering buying a Panasonic GH3 for wedding videography (as a second camera), here's a cost breakdown for the camera and accessories you'll need.

Panasonic GH3 camera body
$800-850 new or about $620 used in very good condition.

Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8 lens (70-200mm equivalent)
$1,095 to 1,500 new or about $940 used.
This lens will allow you to get tight close-ups that are essential to capture the emotion of a wedding ceremony.  This type of cinematic look will separate you from videographers that are using camcorders.

Panasonic DMW-BLF19 Lithium-Ion Battery (extra battery)
$51
If you're shooting long events, keep at least three batteries for each camera.  Four batteries will probably ensure you don't run out of power.

Tiffen 58mm Variable ND Filter (fits the Panasonic 35-100mm lens)
$110
Anytime you're shooting outdoors and want to keep a fast aperture to get the cinematic look, you'll need an ND filter to reduce the light reaching your lens to allow f/2.8-f/5.6 to be possible.

Shotgun mic (to pickup scratch audio for syncing later or ambient audio when filming things other than the ceremony)
$200-300

Panasonic MS2 Shotgun Microphone
$230

Rode VideoMic Pro
$203

Rode Stereo VideoMic Pro
$259

Here's a cost summary for buying the Panasonic GH3 to shoot medium telephoto footage. Again, this assumes you would be buying the GH3 as a second camera when you already own a Canon, Nikon, or Sony DSLR.

Camera $800
Lens $1,200
Two extra batteries $102
Variable ND Filter $110
Shotgun mic $230
-----------------
Total: $2,442

10 Things to Know About Videography with DSLR Cameras

1. Most DSLRs can only record for 20-30 minutes per clip.  Nikon, Canon, Sony, and most major DSLR makers have set a maximum clip limit at 29 minutes and 59 seconds to avoid a European tax on cameras that record for more than 30 minutes continuously. The only DSLR cameras on the (2015) market that shoot longer than 30 minutes are the Panasonic GH2, GH3, and GH4.
2. Focusing (pulling focus) on a DSLR can be very difficult on the fly.  Focusing using your camera's viewfinder for photography is easy, but constantly changing focus using a tiny 3" LCD is very difficult .  Shoot at f/4-5.6 to still get shallow depth of field with your telephoto zoom lenses, but give yourself a wider target to hit.
3. Video will be unacceptably shaky unless you use some kind of camera support.  Wedding and event videographers typically use monopods or shoulder mounts to quickly move from shot to shot.  Turning on image stabilization in your lenses will also help smooth out camera shake when not using a tripod.
4. Older DSLRs do not shoot full 1080 HD at 60 frames per second.  Only specific models of DSLR cameras (and the 2015 models from Nikon and Canon) can shoot slow motion at 1080p.  Many professional camcorders offer 1080p at 60 frames per second, but most DSLRs on the market today only shoot 60 frames per second at 720p.
5. Be prepared for extra audio equipment.  External audio recorders are essential if you want to capture professional quality audio.  Some DSLRS do not have a headphone jack to monitor your audio, but you can solve this problem by using a splitter cable on your audio recorder.  One end of the splitter would feed into your DSLR so your audio can be pre-synced and the other end would allow you to monitor the audio with headphones.
6. ND filters are not built into DSLRs.  If you're shooting in sunny or partly sunny conditions, you'll need an ND (neutral density) filter to reduce how much light is reaching the lens.  This will allow you to keep the cinematic look.  Without an ND filter, you'll have so much in focus that it will look like you filmed with a camcorder.  Look for a variable ND filter that can give you 2 to 6 to 2 to 8 stops of light reduction.  Lenses can have different filter thread sizes (measured in mm).  Most professional Canon lenses use a 77mm filter thread, so you may be able to get away with buying only one or two ND filters.
7. Have lots of batteries on hand.  If you're shooting live events where the camera cannot be plugged into the wall for power, ensure you have lots of extra batteries.  When recording video, DSLRs drain batteries very quickly.  I recommend having a minimum of three batteries for each camera if you want to film weddings or other long events.  Bring your battery chargers with you just in case you need to recharge them on location.
8. Always use full manual exposure.  Even mid-range DSLRs that shoot video should allow you to have full manual control over your Aperture (F-stop), shutter speed, and ISO settings.
9. Focusing will be even more difficult in low-light situations.  Modern DSLRs can produce fantastic images at high ISOs, but because the camera sensor is doing extra processing for low-light settings, the image on your Live View LCD will be less sharp than when you're shooting in daylight.  It will be more difficult to tell if your focus is set correctly.  Use an on-camera LED light or another light strategically positioned and "gelled" to give your camera more light to work with so you get sharper and less noisy footage.
10. Faster memory cards will save you time.  Ensure you purchase CLASS 10 or faster SD/Compact Flash memory cards for your camera.  If you invest extra in faster cards, you'll save time transferring footage from long shooting days.  Mid-range cards will transfer at about 60 MB/s over a USB 3 connection and high end cards will transfer at 80-100+ MB/s.

Gear to Capture Stunning Wedding Videos

New cameras come out every year, but any DSLR made since the Canon 7D released in 2009 or the Canon 5D Mark II from 2008 can capture amazing cinematic video when paired with the right lenses.

Invest the most in your lenses

Cameras come and go, but your lenses will be capturing incredible footage for years to come.  Spend money on the fastest (widest aperture) lenses you can afford. You won't regret it, and every good lens you purchase will benefit your projects in different ways.

Some great lenses for video:

Fast Standard lens
50mm f/1.4 made by Canon or Nikon.
* Great for isolating your subjects against a beautifully soft and blurry background.
* The most cost-effective way to capture tons of light.  Critically for anything indoors after sundown when you can't use lights.

Telephoto Zoom
70-200mm f/2.8
Perfect for keeping a more comfortable distance from your subjects when filming weddings.  Use a tripod when using this lens to keep your shots stable.

Wide Zoom
16-35mm f/2.8
An excellent wide-angle zoom to capture landscapes, or to pair with a GlideCam.

85mm f/1.8

Use Neutral Density filters during daylight hours

Video cameras are capturing much more light by shooting at a slow shutter speed (1/50th of a second, or 1/125 of a second for slow-motion), you can only get the exposure right by stopping down on your lens.  The problem with stopping down to f/8, f/11, or lower is that the image looks less cinematic and more like video coming from a consumer camcorder.  The more you can shoot between f/2.8 and f/5.6, the better.  Your shots will look more cinematic with beautifully blurred backgrounds.

Professional Quality Wedding Ceremony Audio Recording for $125

If you're not quite ready to invest the $600 needed to get a quality wireless lavalier system, consider a budget alternative that gets great sound, but will not empty your wallet.

Griffin Hammond (known from Indy Mogul on Youtube) is a professional videographer whose freelance work is about 25% weddings.  He captures professional quality audio of wedding ceremonies by placing the recorder with a lavalier attached into the groom's pocket.  This allows clean, distortion free audio capture of all the wedding vows.

He uses the older Tascam DR-08 that is almost identical in size and weight to the newer DR-05 model.

The Tascam DR-05 handheld audio recorder is only $100 on Amazon and B&H Photo.

The omnidirectional Azden EX-503 lavalier mic is just $23 at Amazon or B&H Photo.

I've used this Azden mic for almost all of my video interviews and it records clear, crisp audio for interviews and promo videos. The only time I couldn't use it was during a education demonstrations where I needed to monitor that the audio was in fact being recorded. Previously I would connect the lavalier mic to a Zoom H4n recorder and place the recorder on the lap of the person talking (or in their back pocket if they were standing).

The zoom is bulky and it was obvious that some the interview subjects were uncomfortable having the recorder bulging out of their pocket.

For controlled environments and indoor interviews, this combination is a great way to get solid audio quality for less than $200.

Without batteries, the DR-05 audio recorder weighs just 4 ounces.  With two AA's it weighs 6 ounces.  The Zoom H4n does not fit as well in a pocket and is a heavy 12 ounces with batteries installed.

How to Price Wedding Videography

Determine your pricing by the hourly rate you want to earn.  If you're just starting, you'll probably have to charge 50-60% of what a full-time professional charges for wedding videography.

Expect to spend about 40-60 hours editing the full-length wedding film, depending on if you provide a 40 minute or 60 minute finished video.  Expect to spend one hour per edited minute of video.

If you want to earn $40 per hour, then you need to charge $1,600 minimum for any wedding video.

Sample expenses and profit breakdown for wedding videography:

$2,000 earned for wedding video
- 400 (second videographer)
- 40 (rent an extra wireless mic)
- 50 (rent a 70-200mm zoom lens)
- 30 (purchase of a professional DVD case with cover art)
---------------------
$1,480 tentative profit

Also consider:
- Travel costs
- Housing/meal costs if the wedding is more than one hour away
- Batteries (shotgun mics often use 9V batteries, portable audio recorders usually use AA's)
- renting professional zoom lenses for the other videographer(s), depending on what equipment they have.

Get Better DSLR Footage for a Wedding Video

Editing your own footage will help you learn where you made mistakes and how to make your next shoot better.  If you don't edit your own footage, ask your editor to tag some clips that worked creatively, but could not be edited because of technical problems.

My first wedding shoot in Montana had some beautiful imagery, but shooting with a DSLR is not without it's challenges, and several shots had to be cut or trimmed because of soft focus or camera shake.

How to Make Your Next Wedding Video Better:

Get sharp focus

• Use a larger monitor to quickly determine if your shot is in sharp focus. Several nice shots on my first wedding were cut because of focus problems.  If you've used a DSLR for more than 10 minutes of video, you'll know that it's hard to judge focus on a puny 3-inch monitor.  Expect to spend $400 or more for a good monitor that has 800 pixels high in resolution.

• Have a focus pulling device to take your hand off the lens.  It's easy to ruin shots because you're shaking the camera when adjusting focus directly on the lens.

Today I ordered a simple focus control knob that will help to make focus adjustments faster and take my hand off the lens barrel.  It's only $16 and made from aluminum.  I'm curious to see how much easier (when combined with my new monitor) it makes to get sharp focus quickly.

Follow Focus handle by PS Productions.  $16 on Amazon.

After watching this review from learningDSLRvideo.com and checking prices on several 7-inch monitors, I ordered the Ikan VK7i 7" HDMI Monitor with the Canon E6 battery plate.  I also chose this monitor because I can buy extra camera batteries for my Canon 6D and they double as monitor batteries.

ikan VK7i 7" HD Monitor, about $450 including a battery and sunshade, from B&H.

Get more coverage with extra cameras (or shooters)
Shooting the ceremony with at least two cameras will allow you, as the main videographer to get some extra shots during the ceremony (ie: flowers, bridesmaids, groomsmen).  Extra shots during the ceremony will help you cut away during your wedding film and your wedding trailer.

Always be shooting
Capture the couple while they are doing their session with the photographer or ask for a few walks around the wedding location.

Camera movement

• Rent or buy a slider to use at your next wedding.  My local camera store rents a slider for only $15 per day.  Trying a slider first will also help you to know what you want to buy.
• Rent a GlideCam or Merlin to capture smooth, cinematic walking shots.

Record more audio

• Get before or after audio from the bride and groom to use for voice over in your edited film and wedding trailer.
• Get fun shots and spontaneous audio from the groomsmen

First Wedding Videography Shoot with a DSLR

On Saturday, June 21st I filmed my first wedding with a DSLR.  Though I've filmed several other projects with my Canon 6D camera, there are many challenges of shooting run-and-gun with a DSLR during a wedding.

Creativity

• Use your foreground.  Some of my favorite shots of the day utilized foreground elements.
• Keep moving.  Move around and get different angles.  If people are doing a continuous or repetitive action,  move yourself to get extra angles for editing.
• Keep extra shots to 10-15 seconds.  The ceremony is about the only "shot" that should be continuous.  Challenge yourself to film each shot for only 10-15 seconds.  Imagine editing the movie in your head; what do you see?
• Find the Happiness.  Look for smiles, laughs, and fun.  Those moments will look great when cutting your wedding film.  They can be used as great visual material for toast speeches, interviews, and voice over.
• Get variety.  Keep looking for something unique.  What special touches have been added to the wedding that you may have missed?
• Film a few things in slow-motion.  The groomsmen being guys, the bouquet toss, the bride and groom walking together.
• Move the camera.  Unless your shot must be static, move the camera to bring life to your shots.
• Rack focus.  Switching your objects in focus can be great for both the bride and the groom and for shots of still objects.
• Capture ambient sound.  Many professional wedding films capture ambient sounds of birds, pets, children, and people talking. These can be great segways between shots and help to breathe more life (and production value) into your finished piece.

What I learned:

• A Monopod is a must.  Unless you have two cameras rolling, you probably will not need a regular tripod.  A tripod is too bulky to safely and easily move around weddings guests.  Using a $15 rented monopod made great shots easier and allowed me to be versatile.
• An on-camera monitor may get in your way.  I rented a 7" monitor but opted not to use it because my setup did not support a shotgun mic and monitor together.  It rained during the last two hours of coverage and the rain could have fried the monitor.
• Use a second camera. Borrow, beg, or rent.  Capture the opposite angle of the ceremony with your second camera.  If you're actively filming the bride with the main camera, setup the second camera on a tripod to film the groom, or vice versa.  If you can borrow a camera, you'll save a significant amount of money renting.  In Montana a Canon 7D rents for $70 per day and a 5D Mark III is $149/day.  Ask a friend to borrow their camera or offer them $50 to use their camera for a day and I bet they will not turn you down!
• Prepare for bad weather (rain).  No matter your DSLR setup, rain could quickly halt your ability to capture good footage.
• Bring your charger and three batteries.  My first battery was not fully charged and only lasted for a few hours. If I had forgotten to bring my charger, it's likely I would have run out of battery power before the action was over.
• Plug an audio recorder into the DJ's soundboard.  If you're not able to mic-up the groom with a hidden lavalier mic, connecting to the soundboard is a must.  You'll probably get good audio and at least have a backup if your on-camera shotgun mic is not picking up what you need.

Here's the gear that I used:

Canon 6D
Canon 24-105 lens
Rode VideoMic Pro
Zoom H4n (plugged into the DJ's sound board)
Sirui monopod P-324x with Benro S4 head (rented)
Two camera batteries
Battery charger
Umbrella
7" LCD monitor (rented and not used)