Sunday, April 1, 2012

How to shoot a wedding but not the Groom


How to shoot a Wedding but not the Groom


  1. Come at least an hour before the wedding.
  2. get wedding program sheet- you will need this for names and to know what to look for Rick to Play before wedding procession
  3. go upstairs- turn on TV lights
  4. check sound board: make sure the following levels are up:
    1. Channels 1-3 are at 0-5- these are the wireless mikes
    2. Lectern 0-5
    3. Left prayer same
    4. Choir 20


  1. Turn the following equipment (if necessary):
    1. Turn on all the camera monitors
    2. Turn on program and preview monitors
    3. Turn on the Panasonic HDD player
    4. Turn on Black HP computer
    5. Turn on the DV capture device
    6. Turn on LCD TV

  1. Check cameras: controls, zoom, pan tilt
  2. Check DV capture device (located on shelf behind Silver HP): make sure the analog light is on-push silver button until light moves from digital to analog

  1. Go to Black HP:
    1. Log in
    2. Double click on studio launcher icon
    3. Select pinnacle studio- wait for it to load
    4. Select capture tab
    5. If you get a message that no capture device is detected than exit program, check DV capture device-verify analog setting, start pinnacle again (if you don’t do this it will cause problems with capture). Repeat steps b-d.
    6. click start capture
    7. enter name of those being wedded
    8. click start capture

  1. Go to Panasonic HDD- get remote: at this point the LCD TV should auto tune to the Panasonic.
  2. verify that you see the church on LCD (if not then take remote and do following):
    1. point remote at Panasonic (not TV) you will look at TV but use remote towards Panasonic
    2. select Direct navigator button- which will bring up a menu
    3. select return button and you should see church on LCD TV
    4. press record on remote or record button on Panasonic HDD

  1.  Shoot wedding: Rick Sidey will start playing 20 minutes of... (before the wedding start time
  2. After the wedding has ended run cameras at least 15 minutes and get b-roll footage of activities following wedding- more on that later.
  3. stop recording on Panasonic HDD and PC
  4. turn of same equipment (if necessary)

Things to cover while shooting and things to know
·        sometime there will be a quintet, quarter playing by baptismal font, if so- move left prayer mike near them- bring up the level downstairs-not necessary up stairs, play camera time between Rick and other musicians
·        Often Rick will have a trumpet player with him- doesn’t worry about miking them –the choir mikes will pick them up. Repeat same process as above.
·         Make sure to get the procession of mothers before the wedding formally starts and people shots interspersed with the music
·        During the wedding do not forget the reading from the lectern
·        Make sure to get close-ups of the wedding couple
·        MAKE SURE YOU GET THE KISS
·        Following the wedding look to get the newlyweds and witnesses signing the documents- this is almost always down in the first row of the left choir at the back- usually can get a good shot unless the photographer is an idiot and gets in the way
·        I always shoot them taking pictures and looking for laughter and reaction shots
·        Take about 15 minutes and shut down- these are for B-roll which I will add to the edit.
·        Do not use the CG- I will add titles in the edit process
·        Have fun but not too much fun- remember this is for them- we want to impress the family of the newlyweds with our camera ability
·        Don’t freak if you mess up- I can usually fix even the worst mistakes as long as I have a recording.
·        Good luck and thanks

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