Last weekend I did my first wedding shoot with only 2 weeks
preparation (it's a long story). Having been a member of this group
for the last two years, I began listing every potential problem and
caution I could remember being mentioned by other group members.
It's good I paid attention, because everything that could go
wrong......
Although this is somewhat off-topic, I think it's beneficial. Here's
what happened...
1. I tested both of my cameras a week before the wedding. My newest
camera decided to stop ejecting and taking in tapes. This is a small
town with only one electronics shop and they don't touch digital
camcorders. I begged them just to look and they finally agreed after
I plunked down $50. They found a small object lodged in the tray,
removed it and the camera "sort of" worked.
2. Getting the camera back two days later, I went to the church to
take some preliminary shots and to test the lighting. Camera 2
decided to stop recording. I finally found an acquaintance who
RELUCTANTLY agreed to lend me his camera as long as I agreed to pay
for any and all damage to the camera. Fair enough.
3. I talked with everyone ahead of time - the wedding party, the
photographer, the minister, and the church committee in charge of
their video equipment. This church has cameras installed and NO ONE
touches ANYTHING. However, the bride's father is very influential
and consequently I was granted an exception.
4. I got all the preliminary shots and got the layout of the church.
The installed cameras were limited in range, so I got permission to
set up my two cameras, including one in the front of the church
behind some ferns.
5. I practiced with the installed cameras the day before the
wedding. Good thing, too! Both cameras had six "presets" and were
moved by simply pushing a button. The presets could not be changed
under any circumstances. That's when I realized that the presets
wouldn't work - they were set to focus on the minister during a
church service, but not for a wedding where the bride and groom were
a step or two below the minister. Every shot would have to be
adjusted by hand and manually focused. Fine - I mapped which camera
and which preset would be used for every one of the wedding
activities and put it on a clipboard for reference.
6. We got to the wedding ahead of time and found that someone had
rearranged the alter and blocked our shots. I still had time to talk
to the minister and get things changed. Great...
7. Thanks to the group, I thought to bring extension cords, duct
tape, extra batteries, a knife, tons of extra DV tapes, water,
something to eat, and so on. I needed ALL of these items, most of
them before the wedding got started.
8. The wedding went fairly well and I managed to keep my composure
in the "video room" until the very end (my wife ran our other
cameras). I was trying to focus on a singer when I heard the
minister say, "let me introduce Mr. and Mrs. So and So." That's when
I panicked and couldn't find the camera and the preset I needed.
Luckily, I had two other cameras running and still had a shot of one
of the most dramatic moments in the wedding. Whew....
9. I got to the reception and took a few shots here and there. With
minutes to spare, the family asked me to tape the many toasts that
would take place. The room was unbelievably dark and I had nothing
but a small light installed on my camera, so I had to get up close.
I quickly slapped on my wide angle lens and shot what I could. Once
finished, I went to take off the lens, and......it's stuck. And I
mean stuck. Every massive farm kid in that room took a shot at
unscrewing that lens and I finally stopped them before they broke my
chassis. No sweat. I run out to the car and got the camera I
borrowed.
10. I have now been shooting for almost 12 hours. I found a very
polite way of asking the bride and groom to please do the garter and
flower toss which I promised to film. Now I can go home.
11. The next morning, I put in the tape of the wedding. NOTHING!!
All I see is snow and ghost images. This is, quite literally, the
wedding of the year in this community. The bride's father is a
physician who widely known and highly respected. My new career has
begun and ended in one day. I consider either suicide or leaving
town. My wife suggests I try the other VCR. BINGO!! Everything is
there...it was the VCR, not the tape.
Believe me, there were a number of other issues, but I managed to
anticipate and solve most problems because of what I learned in this
group. Thanks everyone, for all the advice over the years. Your
check is in the mail.
RR
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