Are you about to film your first wedding? Are you feeling excited 🤩? If you've been shooting wedding videos for a while, have you got any top tips you would like to share with others? Please post all of your wedding videography questions, tips and tricks down here in the comments section so we can all learn and improve together!
Fantastic, Ben - I know I'm biased, being your Mum, but I know how dedicated you are in everything you do. You are very professional, whilst being genuine about helping others to learn new skills, but without being arrogant. Well done! 🤗😘 xxx
That is a lovely thing to say. It made me smile as I thought of my mum doing that for me. Of course mums an dads will be bias towards their child. But when you actully beilive in their work & that you ae genuinly are so proud is lovely to see. (or read lol) I have started to make wedding films again myself, after a long hiatus from it. So I'm brushing up on my skills watching videos, so glad I was able to come across this channel.
I love watching wedding film BTS, and this one is probably the most relaxing one I've seen. You have a very calming presence which must be a very good quality when clients are experiencing the nervous energy of a wedding day.
Wow, thank you for your kind words! Yeah, I try and be relaxed at a wedding to balance out all of the madness that is often going on around me, haha! I think the couple often appreciate anything that helps them to stay calm and enjoy their day too. I must admit though, occasionally I am feeling like a duck with my feet flapping frantically beneath the surface ;)
I'd state that its best, to hold your shot for a little longer than you intend, so when you feel "Yeap, got it" hold it for a few more seconds, as thats when you miss it. I've heard also of a "10x3-3" rule (as I like to call it now), but to explain it, spend 10 seconds on each detail shot, and take it from 3 different angles, and 3 attempts at each.
Great video and thanks for giving away your ‘trade secrets’. I made wedding films 2006-9 before the advent of Panasonic GH5 etc. In those days it was a Sony EX1 with VERY expensive memory cards. Was quite surprised at how much you moved around behind the registrar. I shot in a lot of churches where you would be in serious trouble from the officiant if you tried that! 😄
Thanks Kilroy Films :). I have done in the past but now prefer to shoot in natural light. You can often find a nice angle that works well. Saying that, I would still consider using my Aputure lights if the levels were ridiculously low though!
Awesome video. I saw the light stand with the ball head and questioned it but then you said “it’s taller than any tripod” and my mind exploded lol. That’s an awesome hack 😭🔥
Thanks Justin 🤣! Yeah, the light stand is a trick I originally picked up from Ben Bruton Cox, who used to host the Our Week in Video podcast. It's such a fantastic way of shooting over people's heads. Only struggles in marques where the floors are wobbly and they can tend to sway! Love you channel by the way...just subbed. I plan to post more consistently again once the wedding season has quietened down!
Thanks for this video. Very helpful! Also, this is one of the first times I've seen a videographer dress better than the photographer. Usually it's the other way around! Great idea for using a tall light stand for the high camera angle. I'm going to start doing this. For the extra wide screen look, is this happening in camera, or do you crop to this ratio in the edit?
Thanks for doing this. I love watching behind the scenes wedding videography. Like you, I also use the S1/S5. Absolutely loving these cameras after using the GH5 cameras for a while before these.
Absolutely Great, Thanks Sir, to demonstrate the practicle way of setup and Filming tips & tricks. In normal circumtance, its difficult focus on the assignment as well as behind the scene. Thanks
Great video! So interesting to see the differences in how a ceremony can be filmed. I absolutely love the idea of using a light stand for a safe angle. Not sure why I never thought of it, but thank you!!
You're very welcome! It's a tip I picked up from Ben Bruton-Cox many years ago. Even with this stand, I try and set it as high as possible as sods law always results in a tall chap standing in front of it, haha!
Pure gold mate, thank you!! Question: can you do all this with LUMIX ? I hv a G9 and a Gh5m2, thinking of adding a S5, would that be good enough hardware?
Thanks :). Yes, absolutely! I've owned the Lumix G9 and GH5 before and shot lots of weddings with them. Adding an S5 and using it as your main camera to capture shots for the highlights video would be a fantastic idea, as it captures the best visuals and copes well in low light. Hope that helps, Ben :)
Great BTS.i just would like to ask about the final video delivered to the couple.how long was it ?do you think 4 minutes highlights 🤔 can be enough knowing that there was a lot of amazing video? footage
Thanks Luke! The couple always get full-length videos of the ceremony, speeches and first dance too. This typically results in around 1 hour of additional footage. If I was giving the 4-minutes highlights alone, I don't feel like this would be enough. I do also have packages with 7-minute and 20-minute highlights videos. There are definitely weddings where these longer videos would be a better choice, to avoid footage being missed out! Ben :)
Thanks so much - so helpful. I have a wedding coming up as a second shooter. I haven't shot a wedding in like 15years and I'm so nervous. Last time I shot one we were constantly checking if the miniDV tapes were still rolling lol
Hope it goes well! Stay cool, calm and collected and just enjoy it. Your experience from all those years ago is invaluable as you already know the flow of a wedding day. You did it then so you’ll be fine doing it again 😀👍🏻! Just practice with your new camera as much as you can beforehand and make sure you can access all the key features you need quickly and easily. Hope it goes well buddy!
Really appreciated the video guys, lots of work done here from A to Z, I am a new wedding videographer for a side hustle that I want to be full time, my only concern is that I have one camera - a sony a7iv and I cannot afford another for a while, should I be advertising wedding video's with only one camera? I have filmed 7 weddings with just one camera and always managed to produce a good video, editing can get tricky sometimes, however I always shoot in 50/60p 4K or 1080 to allow more editing time if I need it. Many Thanks!
Hey Benjamin. Thanks for your very kind comments and sorry for the really late reply! I think getting a second camera should be a top priority, if only to have a backup in case something went wrong with your main camera. I don't think the second camera needs to be anything too fancy or expensive, but just fit for purpose. For somebody starting out, I'd look at getting an older model second hand, even if it's just with a basic kit lens. I think it's completely possible to produce a nice highlights video with one camera but having a second one will make life so much easier and improve your ceremony and speech videos immensely. Best wishes, Ben
Great video Ben as someone whos getting into weddings just now, have you ever had a bride or anyone complain that from the safety cam view they can see you or the other cameras in frame? Is this an issue or maybe just overthinking? Ps do you ever use autofocus?
Thanks Ross! I've never had any complaints yet in seven years of filming weddings. I only really use the safety camera angle occasionally in the edits too. The only way around it would be to shoot the bride walking down the aisle and then move to the back of the room and shoot with a long lens. That way you wouldn't be in shot. I have done this sometimes. I normally just pick the best angle in terms of lighting and composition and that's where I shoot from. I never use autofocus. It would be nice to have decent autofocus but at least by doing manual focus I keep full control of what I capture. Even a camera with amazing AF could go wrong from time to time. Obviously with weddings, there are parts of the day that can't be repeated, so I'd rather not take the chance on those. Hope that helps! Ben
Thanks AC Tech! I'm using Natural with sharpness, contrast and (I think) saturation knocked down to -2. I apply a very basic grade in post, increasing contrast, saturation and correcting colours very slightly when necessary. It's a simple approach but seems to get nice results :). I'm planning make a video on all of my camera settings very soon.
Great vid. Still learning from you. I'm fairly new to the business. The few weddings I've done seemed a bit more hectic and faster paced than this one. My worry working alone is always that I've got to leave the kit to capture the moments and when I come back it may be gone. Have you moved over completely from M43? Maybe you mentioned this in another video. S5 looks awesome.
Hey Bing Bong. Thanks for your kind words and I'm pleased you found the video helpful 😄! Yes, this was a more straightforward wedding and it helped that everything took place in one location. With regards to leaving kit while you rush to capture something elsewhere...that's something I still worry about too. With time, I've managed to reduce the amount of gear I use and, with the exception of the tripod and light stand, I normally have everything in my backback and bumbag, so I can keep it with my at all times. (I didn't wear the bumbag in this video but I normally do 🤣!) I try and leave setting up for ceremony and speeches until a point where I can stay at that particular location. Yes, I've completely moved over from M43 now. It's still great gear for capturing weddings but I love the cinematic look and low light performance on the S5. Also, I like the fact that the camera body weighs roughly the same as the GH5 and the lenses are only a bit bigger and heavier if you choose the right ones, like the Lumix S primes.
Thanks German Creatives. Yes, Natural with -2 on sharpness, contrast and "possibly" saturation. I'd need to check on saturation though as I'm not 100% sure from memory.
Hi there, loving your videos and watched quite a lot today... I have one question about shooting 4k 60 all the time. Can you advise what backup and working hard drives would be best? As I'm thinking normal external pc hard drives may be too slow to transfer and work off but then if using ssd's they would fill up really fast with lots of projects. thanks
Thanks so much Shane and sorry for my very late reply! So glad you're enjoying the videos! I actually use a combination of HDD and SSD. I edit "active" projects on a 2TB Sandisk SSD to keep the editing process fast, and then once the wedding is finished I copy it over to a 14TB Western Digital HDD for archival purposes. Additionally, I keep a backup copy of the SD cards from the wedding in a fireproof safe until the project has been delivered. After delivery, I format these cards and use them again for another wedding. I'm a bit OCD but that had to be the way with weddings! Hope that helps, Ben
Fantastic BTS! How much do you rely on Auto Focus? Or do you use manual focus to have total control over the shot? Or a mix of both? Would love to hear more about your preferences in camera settings!
Hey Matt. I am a control freak and use 100% manual focus at weddings! The camera can have a decent go at autofocus but I prefer to do it myself. I think that would be the case even if I was on Sony or Canon to be honest. I sometimes track manually with movement or on gimbal shots, I just set focus at a particular distance and maintain that distance at all times. Hope that helps :)
I already left comments on your wedding video. But now, I am blown away by your making-of-video. That is so fantastic and helpful and I am pretty sure, that this will be your most successful video. Well well done! Any reason, why you shoot in 50 fps and not 60 fps, as everybodyelse on YT?
Thank you so much for your kind comments on both videos 😃. It really means a lot as this video was a huge project to edit. I hope it will be helpful to a lot of people! I mainly shoot in 50fps because I edit on a 25 fps timeline so I can just apply a 50% speed in the editor (FCPX).
Hi! That's right! Yes, myself and Graeme have worked together for many years. If anyone want to check out his channel you'll find it here...ruclips.net/user/GraemeSimpsonPhotography
Are you about to film your first wedding? Are you feeling excited 🤩? If you've been shooting wedding videos for a while, have you got any top tips you would like to share with others? Please post all of your wedding videography questions, tips and tricks down here in the comments section so we can all learn and improve together!
Fantastic, Ben - I know I'm biased, being your Mum, but I know how dedicated you are in everything you do. You are very professional, whilst being genuine about helping others to learn new skills, but without being arrogant. Well done! 🤗😘 xxx
You raised him well :)
@@bingbong4848 Thank you ☺️ xxx
You can be proud of your amazing son!
That is a lovely thing to say. It made me smile as I thought of my mum doing that for me. Of course mums an dads will be bias towards their child. But when you actully beilive in their work & that you ae genuinly are so proud is lovely to see. (or read lol) I have started to make wedding films again myself, after a long hiatus from it. So I'm brushing up on my skills watching videos, so glad I was able to come across this channel.
I love watching wedding film BTS, and this one is probably the most relaxing one I've seen. You have a very calming presence which must be a very good quality when clients are experiencing the nervous energy of a wedding day.
Wow, thank you for your kind words! Yeah, I try and be relaxed at a wedding to balance out all of the madness that is often going on around me, haha! I think the couple often appreciate anything that helps them to stay calm and enjoy their day too. I must admit though, occasionally I am feeling like a duck with my feet flapping frantically beneath the surface ;)
I'd state that its best, to hold your shot for a little longer than you intend, so when you feel "Yeap, got it" hold it for a few more seconds, as thats when you miss it. I've heard also of a "10x3-3" rule (as I like to call it now), but to explain it, spend 10 seconds on each detail shot, and take it from 3 different angles, and 3 attempts at each.
Thanks Camera Dad! He did great!!!
"one man band" for the whole wedding day from morning to night! wow, very very impressive! Great video Mate!
Thanks a lot mate! It's a tiring job but a very satisfying one at the same time :D
Great vid, mate! 3 cameras is the way to go to cover everything when you're a solo shooter! Love the 2.39:1 Scope letterbox too!
TIP, the lumix app is actually very good for remote operation...Very good BTS
Great video and thanks for giving away your ‘trade secrets’. I made wedding films 2006-9 before the advent of Panasonic GH5 etc. In those days it was a Sony EX1 with VERY expensive memory cards. Was quite surprised at how much you moved around behind the registrar. I shot in a lot of churches where you would be in serious trouble from the officiant if you tried that! 😄
Just stumbled across your channel and I thought to myself, I know this guy. I think we may have gone to the same secondary school. Great video!
Superbe vidéo, beau travail, Merci du partage
✨🎥🎬
Really enjoyed this, you are so calm and made a wedding day seem so easy and relaxing :-).
Have you ever used your light to light speeches as well?
Thanks Kilroy Films :). I have done in the past but now prefer to shoot in natural light. You can often find a nice angle that works well. Saying that, I would still consider using my Aputure lights if the levels were ridiculously low though!
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Thanks for the movie, great inspiration.
Awesome video. I saw the light stand with the ball head and questioned it but then you said “it’s taller than any tripod” and my mind exploded lol. That’s an awesome hack 😭🔥
Thanks Justin 🤣! Yeah, the light stand is a trick I originally picked up from Ben Bruton Cox, who used to host the Our Week in Video podcast. It's such a fantastic way of shooting over people's heads. Only struggles in marques where the floors are wobbly and they can tend to sway! Love you channel by the way...just subbed. I plan to post more consistently again once the wedding season has quietened down!
Please make more Videos Your So Great and I love how you make things so easy
Another fantastic video! Your footage looks amazing! How do you do White Balance? Thank you for your videos, looking forward to more BTS films!
thank you for the video. I learnt so much from it. Really appreciated
Thanks again for the video - just wondering if you have a video talking about the lights you use? Cheers.
Great BTS! Super professional, calm and great quality!
Top class mate, shot my first wedding video two weeks ago and your Bts really helped on the day keep it up
Fantastic video! 😊
This is so well put together, fair play. Really enjoyed this!
Thanks Richard for your kind words. Glad you enjoyed it!
Good work .... thank you for your video TOP
Love it❤.awesome teacher.
awesome video!!! thank you so much!
Thanks for this video. Very helpful!
Also, this is one of the first times I've seen a videographer dress better than the photographer. Usually it's the other way around!
Great idea for using a tall light stand for the high camera angle. I'm going to start doing this.
For the extra wide screen look, is this happening in camera, or do you crop to this ratio in the edit?
Nice job! This really came in handy. I use the S5 as well. What picture profile and settings do you use? Thanks
very good work, well done. I want to ask, do you use the camera stabilizer for handheld shots???
Thanks for doing this. I love watching behind the scenes wedding videography. Like you, I also use the S1/S5. Absolutely loving these cameras after using the GH5 cameras for a while before these.
Brilliant documentary video!!!!
Thanks for capturing it all!
Excellent, informative film. You’re a lovely guy and very generous sharing your skill and knowledge.
Thank you.
Thanks David! That’s really nice of you to say and means a lot 😃!
Amazing bts !! Congrats, it’s very interesting !!
Thanks Eric. Glad you enjoyed it!
Can you share your white balance settings. Thanks
Hi Ben, great informative video. What kind of ND filters do you use? Did you move from M43 to FF?
What brand of light stand do you recommend?
Absolutely Great, Thanks Sir, to demonstrate the practicle way of setup and Filming tips & tricks. In normal circumtance, its difficult focus on the assignment as well as behind the scene. Thanks
Thank you so much 👍🏻! Yes, it was definitely a challenge to present this video whilst also capturing the wedding itself...a fun one though :D
Excellent BTS.
Thanks Gary! Glad you enjoyed it 😃!
Wow. This is wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing.
Hey Chaylish. So glad you enjoyed it! It was a really nice wedding to capture 🤩!
Are you using all manual focus?
Lovely mate 👍
Great video! So interesting to see the differences in how a ceremony can be filmed. I absolutely love the idea of using a light stand for a safe angle. Not sure why I never thought of it, but thank you!!
You're very welcome! It's a tip I picked up from Ben Bruton-Cox many years ago. Even with this stand, I try and set it as high as possible as sods law always results in a tall chap standing in front of it, haha!
@@CameraGeeks so true! Haha
That footage looks lovely. can you share any of your colour settings in camera or your grading settings? Thanks! Great job
Could you please upload the finished video of this wedding? I think many of us would love to see it.
Hey Jimmy. Thanks for the comment. You can see the finished video here...ruclips.net/video/L95LeKuvm4s/видео.html
Pure gold mate, thank you!! Question: can you do all this with LUMIX ? I hv a G9 and a Gh5m2, thinking of adding a S5, would that be good enough hardware?
Thanks :). Yes, absolutely! I've owned the Lumix G9 and GH5 before and shot lots of weddings with them. Adding an S5 and using it as your main camera to capture shots for the highlights video would be a fantastic idea, as it captures the best visuals and copes well in low light. Hope that helps, Ben :)
Great BTS.i just would like to ask about the final video delivered to the couple.how long was it ?do you think 4 minutes highlights 🤔 can be enough knowing that there was a lot of amazing video? footage
Thanks Luke! The couple always get full-length videos of the ceremony, speeches and first dance too. This typically results in around 1 hour of additional footage. If I was giving the 4-minutes highlights alone, I don't feel like this would be enough. I do also have packages with 7-minute and 20-minute highlights videos. There are definitely weddings where these longer videos would be a better choice, to avoid footage being missed out! Ben :)
Great video ben love bts footage
Cheers! Been desperate to make a video like this for ages!
@@CameraGeeks great work love might add this type to my channel
Thanks so much - so helpful. I have a wedding coming up as a second shooter. I haven't shot a wedding in like 15years and I'm so nervous. Last time I shot one we were constantly checking if the miniDV tapes were still rolling lol
Hope it goes well! Stay cool, calm and collected and just enjoy it. Your experience from all those years ago is invaluable as you already know the flow of a wedding day. You did it then so you’ll be fine doing it again 😀👍🏻! Just practice with your new camera as much as you can beforehand and make sure you can access all the key features you need quickly and easily. Hope it goes well buddy!
@@CameraGeeks wow thanks so much that's so nice of you. Thanks again for the great content.
Really appreciated the video guys, lots of work done here from A to Z, I am a new wedding videographer for a side hustle that I want to be full time, my only concern is that I have one camera - a sony a7iv and I cannot afford another for a while, should I be advertising wedding video's with only one camera?
I have filmed 7 weddings with just one camera and always managed to produce a good video, editing can get tricky sometimes, however I always shoot in 50/60p 4K or 1080 to allow more editing time if I need it.
Many Thanks!
Hey Benjamin. Thanks for your very kind comments and sorry for the really late reply! I think getting a second camera should be a top priority, if only to have a backup in case something went wrong with your main camera. I don't think the second camera needs to be anything too fancy or expensive, but just fit for purpose. For somebody starting out, I'd look at getting an older model second hand, even if it's just with a basic kit lens.
I think it's completely possible to produce a nice highlights video with one camera but having a second one will make life so much easier and improve your ceremony and speech videos immensely. Best wishes, Ben
Great video Ben as someone whos getting into weddings just now, have you ever had a bride or anyone complain that from the safety cam view they can see you or the other cameras in frame? Is this an issue or maybe just overthinking? Ps do you ever use autofocus?
Thanks Ross! I've never had any complaints yet in seven years of filming weddings. I only really use the safety camera angle occasionally in the edits too. The only way around it would be to shoot the bride walking down the aisle and then move to the back of the room and shoot with a long lens. That way you wouldn't be in shot. I have done this sometimes. I normally just pick the best angle in terms of lighting and composition and that's where I shoot from. I never use autofocus. It would be nice to have decent autofocus but at least by doing manual focus I keep full control of what I capture. Even a camera with amazing AF could go wrong from time to time. Obviously with weddings, there are parts of the day that can't be repeated, so I'd rather not take the chance on those. Hope that helps! Ben
great video!!
Glad you liked it Ron!
Great video Ben!
How you getting so clean and beautiful colours? what picture profiles and Luts you using on S5 ? Thanks a lot !
Thanks AC Tech! I'm using Natural with sharpness, contrast and (I think) saturation knocked down to -2. I apply a very basic grade in post, increasing contrast, saturation and correcting colours very slightly when necessary. It's a simple approach but seems to get nice results :). I'm planning make a video on all of my camera settings very soon.
@@CameraGeeks Thanks Ben!!
And can't wait for video about your camera settings and profiles!!
Your videos are so so helpful!!
Great vid. Still learning from you. I'm fairly new to the business. The few weddings I've done seemed a bit more hectic and faster paced than this one. My worry working alone is always that I've got to leave the kit to capture the moments and when I come back it may be gone. Have you moved over completely from M43? Maybe you mentioned this in another video. S5 looks awesome.
Hey Bing Bong. Thanks for your kind words and I'm pleased you found the video helpful 😄! Yes, this was a more straightforward wedding and it helped that everything took place in one location. With regards to leaving kit while you rush to capture something elsewhere...that's something I still worry about too. With time, I've managed to reduce the amount of gear I use and, with the exception of the tripod and light stand, I normally have everything in my backback and bumbag, so I can keep it with my at all times. (I didn't wear the bumbag in this video but I normally do 🤣!) I try and leave setting up for ceremony and speeches until a point where I can stay at that particular location. Yes, I've completely moved over from M43 now. It's still great gear for capturing weddings but I love the cinematic look and low light performance on the S5. Also, I like the fact that the camera body weighs roughly the same as the GH5 and the lenses are only a bit bigger and heavier if you choose the right ones, like the Lumix S primes.
Beautiful! you shot in natural profile?
Thanks German Creatives. Yes, Natural with -2 on sharpness, contrast and "possibly" saturation. I'd need to check on saturation though as I'm not 100% sure from memory.
Hi there, loving your videos and watched quite a lot today... I have one question about shooting 4k 60 all the time. Can you advise what backup and working hard drives would be best? As I'm thinking normal external pc hard drives may be too slow to transfer and work off but then if using ssd's they would fill up really fast with lots of projects. thanks
Thanks so much Shane and sorry for my very late reply! So glad you're enjoying the videos! I actually use a combination of HDD and SSD. I edit "active" projects on a 2TB Sandisk SSD to keep the editing process fast, and then once the wedding is finished I copy it over to a 14TB Western Digital HDD for archival purposes. Additionally, I keep a backup copy of the SD cards from the wedding in a fireproof safe until the project has been delivered. After delivery, I format these cards and use them again for another wedding. I'm a bit OCD but that had to be the way with weddings! Hope that helps, Ben
Fantastic BTS! How much do you rely on Auto Focus? Or do you use manual focus to have total control over the shot? Or a mix of both? Would love to hear more about your preferences in camera settings!
Hey Matt. I am a control freak and use 100% manual focus at weddings! The camera can have a decent go at autofocus but I prefer to do it myself. I think that would be the case even if I was on Sony or Canon to be honest. I sometimes track manually with movement or on gimbal shots, I just set focus at a particular distance and maintain that distance at all times. Hope that helps :)
Nice Great job.
Thanks! It was a really fun day!
I already left comments on your wedding video. But now, I am blown away by your making-of-video. That is so fantastic and helpful and I am pretty sure, that this will be your most successful video. Well well done! Any reason, why you shoot in 50 fps and not 60 fps, as everybodyelse on YT?
Thank you so much for your kind comments on both videos 😃. It really means a lot as this video was a huge project to edit. I hope it will be helpful to a lot of people! I mainly shoot in 50fps because I edit on a 25 fps timeline so I can just apply a 50% speed in the editor (FCPX).
In UK standard frame rate is 25fps, so 50fps is a nice double for slow mo.
Graham Simpson? By any chance has a great channel
Hi! That's right! Yes, myself and Graeme have worked together for many years. If anyone want to check out his channel you'll find it here...ruclips.net/user/GraemeSimpsonPhotography
Writing BTS in a title will trigger a lot of k-pop fans when they realize its not about k-pop :DDD