Have you been assigned to shoot your best friend’s wedding video? This might not be new, you would have shot many family videos like birthday parties, Thanks giving get together, kids special moments. How can you film this valuable moment for your friend that will be watched time and time again? Don’t worry, we have put together some tips you can implement to come with the best video ever. I am sure you will be exited at the end of the whole exercise and will be happy to flaunt this new skill that you have perfected. Here are some tips.
1. Preparation
Filming a wedding video needs preparation as it is not one of those videos which you can start recording spontaneously. It definitely requires quite a good planning. Visit a camera store and buy a tripod. You can buy one which comes at quite a cheap price. This is required to take shots that have to be steady. Just clip on the camera and start taking that best shots. One more important thing you should not forget is to keep extra batteries. Ensure that it is fully charged and within your reach. I am sure you don’t want to run out of power while capturing an interesting and important moment.
2. Just Start Shooting
One important question which arises is that when is the good time to start shooting. Simple, start shooting as early as you can, never miss an opportunity. This gives you good opportunity to test your equipment, the settings are set appropriately to the conditions of the venue. It’s a great idea to capture the special moments prior to the moment and behind the scene action. You can capture what’s going on in the bride’s mind, see how exited the family and friends want to say prior to the wedding about the whole thing. It will be a good value addition to the whole video. If your expectations are least, you can expect the best action to happen.
3. Take Shots from Different Angles and Locations
You would move around to see the action and not stand in one corner and watch anything you can see. Do the same with your camera. Standing in one place limits what you are filming. Get different views of the action happening in different angles and keep changing locations. This makes the video more interesting since the background keep changing and not the same. Avoid shooting directly in front of the bright sun or light source. This is done to avoid silhouettes. This is also done whole taking still photos.
4. Hold Shots for a While
It’s a good idea to keep the shot still for sometime. Make sure that you have captured enough detailed moments for your completed video. It works best if you have captured details by zooming in a bit. Don’t do it too much close to take up the whole shot. Just make it enough so anyone can see the action clearly. Zooming in and out has to be done cautiously, keep it slow and steady. Focus on the details of the wedding cake and the ring. It works handy during editing and giving that special effect.
5. Take a Break
Shooting a video for a wedding is very hectic work. You need to spend whole day on your feet capturing shots from different angles. This may cause fatigue which can result in poor shooting so take time to rest for a while and have some refreshment. It is always advisable not to drink on job but soft drink like coke and ice water can boost you up.
6. Use the Guests to Create a Story
You can capture different moments in which you try to ask same questions from couples in wedding that you asked from bride and groom. These shots will add a nice flavor to your wedding video as they will make a nice montage of the couple’s background from replies given by them. Although, not every single couple will agree to talk as some people feel shy in front of camera but you can ease this problem by handling some camcorders to couples so that they can capture some of their conversational moments.
7. Important Shots
There are always some commonalities to every wedding so you shouldn’t forget to capture some moments which every bride and groom would love to see in their wedding video. Here is a small list.
Bride & bridesmaids getting ready
Altar
Groom and Usher hanging out video
Cocktail Hour
Slow Dancing
Champagne toast
Last Dace
8. Edit Your Footage
Once you have finished filming the occasion, next comes the finishing touches and packaging. Give those finishing touches by editing the footage using a good video editing software. You can use the one available online or buy one at a software retail outlet. You might want to remove the clips which were accidentally filmed, out of focus, one with the lens cap on, reduce the noise. You can add appropriate song for that extra touch, add a slow motion effect, improve picture quality.
Free video editing software doesn’t provide the users many of the options which a professional quality software do. Try optimizing to HD video. Use the features and tools to add that special transitions and effect. Most of the software will burn the movie to DVD or Blu-ray discs, you can add interactive menus too and give that professional finishing look.
Conclusion
These tips work wonders and can be applied while filming any part of the day and situation. Apply these techniques for filming dress trials, bride-maids comments, flower girls dress trials, hair and makeup trials Bride and Groom’s feelings before they walk the aisle etc. You can even capture the bachelor’s party. This captures the moments which generally gets missed and is worth filming to make it easier for family and friends to see and hear to what actually happened and revive the wedding moments time and again!
