FAQ Video

Wedding Ceremony at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Galveston, Texas

2009-08-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

Beautiful wedding, good 2 camera coverage by ArtSmartTv.

0:00 Good opening shot of the church exterior.

0:09 Disiastrous overexposure on a guest approaching shot.

0:14 Good detail shot of a register with the flower on the top.

1:09 Good "aerial" camera position assures clear shot.

2:30 Beautiful wide shot from behind of the bride walking down the aisle. Unfortunately missing is the close up shot of the groom meeting the bride.

3:27 Great camera position for exchange of vows, fantastic stereo audio!

4:20 Very nicely done sequence of the kiss and a leaving shot crossfaded between 2 cameras.

Erik and Valery's Wedding

2009-03-10T17:57:00.000-07:00

Erik and Valery's Wedding by synchronicity777.

Good video overall.

Few good things to note:

The opening title superimposes on the flowers, not across the bride's face;
All the key ceremony shots are in place: bride getting ready, groomsmen and bridesmaids, father walking the bride to the ceremony, a hug and leaving - quick and easy to watch;
Wide shot/pan of the reception without showing people eating;
Clear shot of the cake - always get it in case the cake is destroyed before it gets cut;
Nice closing shot is as important as good opening.

Laura and James Yon Wedding 1

2009-01-04T11:45:00.000-08:00

Erratic video by mattcarlson10 of the otherwise beautifully planned wedding ceremony. It's too late to start searching for the camera spot after the ceremony had started.

The audio pick up on the seaside must be a challenge. Unfortunately it does show.

At least the camera person entertains us by zooming in and out during the sermon.

Kris & Linda's Wedding, part 1

2008-11-23T17:22:00.000-08:00

The Wedding Video posted in parts by danwinvideos.

Part 1 - Arrival and Beginning of the Ceremony

Two camera shooting covers all the basics: arrival of the bridesmaids and the groomsmen, the bride and the father, and the work of the minister. Good position of the camera 1 behind the minister provides clear view of the bride and the groom.

Positioning the 2nd camera behind the other minister's shoulder would be justified for the exchange between the bride and the groom. Otherwise constant changing of the angle is very confusing. For the entire exchange between the minister and the marrying couple both cameras should be located in the same wing of the hall.

David and Sally's Wedding Ceremony

2008-09-05T06:40:00.000-07:00

David and Sally's Wedding Ceremony

First I wanted to put down few words about expectations. Brides planning to save money on videotaping their wedding and delegating that responsibility to one of their friends or relatives should not hold their breath for the great results unless the friend or a family member are professional camera persons.

The video in this posting is typical example of that situation. I have seen worse, but this one is bad enough. The only thing I wanted to praise the camera person for is right angle. If you are unable to capture both bride's and groom's faces during the ceremony, show us the bride, she is more important in the circumstances.

Wedding Ceremony in League City, Texas

2008-08-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

050625 Wedding Ceremony in League City, Texas

The shot at 4:49 blew me away. Honestly, I have never seen such a creativity before. I was not sure whether it belongs to the 'Good Stuff' or 'Could Be Better', please decide yourself.

Good stuff:

good start with the exterior of the church;
at 0:19 - quality pass over bride's dress;
0:47 - candle lighting is indeed very important;

Could be better:

What is the point of placing two cameras next to each other? Seems redundant to me.
0:34 - can't justify camera location for the walk in shots; camera should be at the front to capture faces, not the backs;
1:10 - since the candles where blocked during lighting, let the guests leave the shot and keep the candles for a short while, don't cut too early;
2:33 - not again! I want to see the faces of flower girls! And it comes again when the bride walks in. I want to cry!

Wedding Ceremony - Short Form

2008-08-17T17:22:00.000-07:00

Wedding Ceremony - Short Form

While I was looking at the wedding videos on Metacafe.com, I bumped into nicely done Wedding Ceremony - Short Form video by Creative Video Editing from New Jersey. Although editing is not what I criticize here, I could not go by this very classy creation. It looks and sounds very fresh and great!

As of shooting - great example of professional use of 2 cameras. Brides, beware when you are being offered 2 or 3 camera coverage. Often times you just pay extra for lack of professionalism. Not in this case.

Use of both cameras is absolutely justified and proved being effective. Congratulations!

Part 1 of Darcy and Kat's Wedding Ceremony

2008-04-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

The video provided on YouTube by dbaxter81.

Typical example of the wedding ceremony shot by the guest. The guest was sitting in the fifth raw, entire video was shot hand held, almost non-stop. Considering all above, it was not too bad.

The audio is faint, another example of the production without use of a dedicated microphone.

Wedding Ceremony - Short Form

2008-04-12T06:51:00.000-07:00

Wedding Ceremony - Short Form, by CreativeVideoEditing.

The video, just a bit over 10 minutes long is a good example of Wedding Ceremony video coverage.

Good stuff:

Slow rotation on the opening shot of the card is definitely more entertaining then a static shot of the same print; the opening sequence followed by the arrival of the bride - beautiful and makes the point - it's all about the bride; the natural preacher's audio used for the sequence - great!
03:35 - great audio during vows;
Good closing sequence - outside of the church and walking over the bridge edited together.

Could be better:

00:40 - too many arrivals shot from the same angle and same framing, even dissolve does not help to make it look good;
02:03 - the lady walking in front of the camera should have been edited out.

More on filming the bridal party after the Wedding Ceremony.

A Greek Wedding by photocastoria

2008-03-29T15:37:00.000-07:00

Well shot and edited wedding video.

Good stuff:

Very touching shots of the groom meeting with the bride's family, unfortunatelly partially covered by the floral ornament over the perimeter.

Could be better:

Some shots are too shaky, for example wide shot of the house at 00:35;
Editing is a bit sloppy (i. e. bad dissolve at 00:41).

More on Christian Orthodox Wedding Video.

Greek Orthodox Wedding Ceremony

2008-03-29T15:26:00.000-07:00

Beautifully shot with 2 cameras and edited the ceremony video.

Good stuff:
Pretty much the whole thing is great.

Could be better:
01:15 - transition "aerial" shot from the second camera of the bride and the father walking in the church for some reason turned black-and-white, probably colour balance problem.

Read more on how to videotape Christian Orthodox Ceremony.

the slackmistress & betheboy wedding video

2007-11-24T05:46:00.000-08:00

The video starts with 2 camera surveillance style and slowly turns into 3 camera "nothing-to-be-missed" coverage of the ceremony. The most elaborate video of the wedding vows and exchange of the rings I have seen so far.

Good stuff:

the video has an opening sequence; although Mandalay Bay building could have appeared just once, that would be enough, and - who was that bride?;
01:10 - smooth pan across the room, gives good idea about the room and the guests;
02:20 - tilt up from the flowers to the 2 shot, good entertaining break up between ceremonial static shots;
03:24 - timely appearance of the third camera;
03:53 - nice close up of the rings; even if it was shot separately, it was properly edited in;
very clear audio during the ceremony.

Could be better:

00:39 - awkward shot of the groom walking in, really has a surveillance camera look; it has also been kept for too long, should have been cut right after the groom had left the frame;
01:22 - strange cut as the bride was walking into the room, should have stayed on the same shot; generally 2 cameras used to cover arrival shots were crossing the axis, which went along the aisle; if there was need to use 2 camera coverage of arrivals, then the 3rd camera should have been set on the same side with the 1st one and the 2nd camera should have been omitted from the arrival sequence altogether;
02:06 - the lens was not wide enough to include all the participants, in this situation the camera person has few options: to zoom out/use wider lens or to step back to include all the participants into the shot, or to pan left and right to follow the dialog.

Wedding Video Demo VHVIDEO.COM - Getting Married?

2007-11-18T18:57:00.000-08:00

Great demo by VHVIDEO. If you are planning to shoot your sister's wedding, look here for inspiration. There are some great shots in this video:

00:15 - groom's reflection in the frame of supposedly bride's photo;
aerial shot of the bride right after;
00:24 - the shot disproves a notion of so called "unobtrusive coverage" - the lights ought to be used;
00:35 - the groom stomps on the shot glass - from my personal observation more than 50% Jewish weddings videos are missing that shot;
thinking camera persons are able of making revealing shots, like a door opening at the start revealing the bride, or rose petals at 00:46, so - think first! than shoot.

Wedding in Hawaii

2007-11-04T19:04:00.000-08:00

Beautiful production by LiveInternetWeddings.com, building great impression by simple but powerful shooting and editing.

Good stuff:

the Groom getting ready successfully covered by 2 shots;
the Bride getting ready: dress shot - classic; very nicely done shot from outside the room at 01:37;
vows demonstrate significance of good audio.

Could be better:

2nd camera crosses the axis during vows, should have been put on groom's left hand side.

Wedding Video Highlights: Memories video

2007-09-13T19:11:00.000-07:00

Great demo!

Good stuff:

quality opening sequence gives good kick start and sets the standard to the following video;
00:30 and 00:54 - pan up over dressed up groom or bride is a good way to show the person;
01:15 - pan over the line up of the bridesmaids or the groomsmen - classic;
02:08 - well used natural back light;
fearless and sharp zoom in's.

Could be better:

00:18 - what about the frog? is it going to turn into princess?
02:17 - is the bride in focus while walking in the church?
starting from 02:36 there is 3 incomplete moves edited back to back - complete moves look better.

David and Sally's Wedding Ceremony

2007-09-08T14:20:00.001-07:00

Usually I never mention editing, since the camerawork is my main focus. This time I could not simply go by the opening of the video. First two and a half minutes we are seeing people sitting in the room. That's it! Nothing is happening, just people sitting. Cut it out!

Good stuff:
Good effort on 2 camera shoot.

Could be better:
02:59 and 03:36 - too much room behind the groomsman walking through the room, it should be the other way around to look natural; it's done better for 03:17 walk.

Mazel Tov!
jewish wedding

Berry & Tina's Wedding Video Highlights

2007-09-05T17:20:00.000-07:00

Good stuff:

very emotional shots in opening highlight segment;
Berry's reaction to Valentina's coming in - classic;
all participating parties in the ceremony have been covered: bridesmaids, groomsmen, parents;
bride-and-groom dance with the light show on the background - very impressing.

Could be better:

vows, exchange of rings, mazel tov are missing part of the ceremony.

Shoot-It-Yourself Wedding Video Guide
wedding videographer

Albanian Wedding

2007-07-06T10:30:00.000-07:00

Good stuff:

Nice shots of the bride and groom getting ready;
Few cinematographic shots with some details on the foreground moving across;
Bride leaving her place - nice zoom on the ring at 06:20.

Could be better:

The bride is out of focus starting at 01:24, probably intentionally;
May be too much of the off leveled shooting at the groom's house - he looks unstable;
For the scene at the bride's place where she poses for stills with various family members dissolve would really work;
With such a spectacular start the ending should be as good, but it is not.

albanian wedding
FAQ Video

Low Expositioned Wedding Video

2007-07-02T08:33:00.000-07:00

Typical example of amateur wedding video. No lighting, auto exposure, shaky camerawork.

On the bright side: all the major events are covered: bride walks in, bride and groom at the altar, first time kiss as a married couple, reaction from clapping guests - good stuff.

Very touchy is a sound track. The song sang by the friends, probably by the bridal party, is worth millions.

Shoot-It-Yourself Wedding Video

Toronto Weddings Videos By VideoBabylon.ca

2007-04-22T17:24:00.000-07:00

This particular video segment covers bridal party introduction and the first dance.

Good stuff:

entire bridal party covered non-stop;
good work with iris upon constantly changing lighting conditions;
nice zoom and pan up at 6:32 into video.

Could be better:

zooming should not be erratic, but an extension of cameraman's mind, i.e. think first, then shoot;
same problem with the second couple arrival (next after parents), camera kept panning right while the second couple was being announced;
good idea to start moving at 6:40, helped to avoid that magical smoke machine, should have moved earlier.

Jewish Wedding Ceremony

2007-04-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Jewish wedding, gives very good idea of such an event to someone new in wedding videography. For some reason one camera was set to 16:9 mode during ceremony, therefore edit looks strange. At 01:15 the video turns into black and white. Often the only explanation could be wrong camera colour balance.
Mazel Tov!

2007-04-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

Good bride showcase video.

Good stuff:

00:17 - wonderful shot of the bride crossing the bridge, perfect framing;
00:28 - tilt from reflection in the water up on the bride - very good, except the final frame with the light pole growing out of lady's head;
all the shots of the bride leaving the frame - classic, make edited video look good;
00:54 - close up pan through the dress features up on the face;
01:35 - very creative game with black and white and a colour and digital crop/zoom, and then dissolve into a different shot including roses - a pleasure.

Could be better:

opening locater shot - good for local TV station, probably irrelevant for the wedding video;
low angle close up at 00:12 into video is arguably not the best opening shot; the following shot would work much better combining architectural features and the bride crossing the bridge;
00:42 - pan from nowhere to the bride's dress - unjustifiable; always good to have good starting point for the movement;
01:16 - what about that water?;
01:25 - let the movement complete, don't kill it half way through; in this case why would you fade to black half way through zoom out?;
second last shot of the bride walking down the stairs - nice but incomplete, could have been a good closure for the video - disappearing bride puzzles.

FAQ Video

2007-04-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

Good stuff:
Good example of two camera shoot. Solid camera work.

Could be better:

Colours don't match: one camera shoots warmer than another.
Dissolve does not solve at 1:19 and 4:39 into video.
The shot of the top of the bride's head while she is walking in is redundant - perfect example of the camera being poorly positioned for the shot, not necessarily cameraman's fault.
When people talk, the audience wants to hear voices, where is audio?

Shoot-It-Yourself Wedding Video Guide

2007-04-01T18:16:00.000-07:00

Pretty dramatic editing of the vows, nicely shot with one camera.

Use of multi screen to show the reception coverage is arguable. Can we see the highlights of the reception full screen some time later?

2007-03-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

Well shot demo. Editing is rather choppy. Jumps between colour, B&W and sepia segments are hard to explain.

Good stuff:

good colour balance and exposure;
tilt up at 00:21 showing the groom dressed up for occasion.

Could be better:

right next after the tilt on the groom, the shot of the bride and her father's legs followed by the shot of them again waist up - hard to justify;
the shot of birds over the pond at 00:15 is a metaphore to the next one of the bridesmaids, but again, they live different lives because of such a difference in colour;
good idea to show groom's reaction in the church, this shot is known to be appreciated by the brides; but why does the picture turn to black and white in the next shot?

2007-03-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

Demo Highlight Video posted by WeddingVideoMan.com. Very nicely done. Unfortunately low res Flash does not allow to see all the beauty of HD.

Good stuff:

the author is very attentive to details and knows how to include them into the video: opening sign, bride's reflection in the mirror, sequence with gazebo and the flowers on the foreground, close up of the church window;
good use of available lighting.

Could be better:

generally lighting is a problem: underexposure at 00:30, 01:59 (was somebody playing violin there?), 02:05 (who was kissing whom?), and later at the cake cutting; "unobtrusive lighting" does not work - use lights;
overexposure at 00:56 and in the following shot - the camera was probably in auto iris mode.

2007-03-09T16:51:00.000-08:00

Good amateur video.

Good thing:

The colour is right. Shooting during sunset with automatic white balance is too risky - the picture tends to be bluish. So nice work with colour!
Good idea with the running water and empty chairs on BG 00:47 into video.
Very nice close up shot of bride's and groom's hands 00:50 into video.
Using captions instead of audio for vows - great idea if you have audio problem.

Could be better:

Opening title is too long.
The very next shot of the bride - out of focus.
Who is this kid in the video? Unless it's a premarital child of bride and groom, it's way too much of the boy. Kids and animals are easy pray for a cameraman. They always ''look cute'', but often are irrelevant.
Framing at 01:12 into video is not great. If there are two equally important objects in the shot, place them at 1/3 width at either side of the frame.

2007-03-02T19:56:00.000-08:00

Another Jewish wedding video, this time from Forevervideo in Toronto. Solid work, good proof that the wedding video is not about what you have shot, but what you have not missed. All key shots are in place. Good use of live music, very touching.

Some unexpected appearance of the sailboat at 2:27 into video takes by surprise.

Shoot-It-Yourself Wedding Video Guide

2006-12-27T07:34:00.000-08:00

Good stuff: good example of economy 2 camera shoot - second unmanned camera is fixed up on the balcony in the dead center allowing an extra angle and a transition/back up tape.

Could be better:

some unbalanced coverage - both families should supposedly get equal attention in the final edited video; if one couple of parents was allowed a long walk for the candle lighting, the other should have not been cut short;
the shot of the bride walking down the aisle is missing probably because everybody stood up for the bride's entrance and blocked the camera view - pick better spot for the camera next time;
exchange of vows and exchange of the rings are more important than anything else in the wedding video - always make sure you have enough tapes and batteries to cover the most important events of the day.

Shoot-It-Yourself Wedding Video

2006-11-25T17:16:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Jewish wedding ceremony, elaborate shooting and editing, using 3 angles.

Good stuff:

even though audio sounds sometimes distorted it's done well considering the wind on the ocean shore;
lighting is good and color is pretty even from angle to angle;
main camera in the central aisle makes sharp, nicely focused picture.

Could be better:

positioning camera on the groom's side is always beneficial for it shows bride's face (in this case the sun was setting on the right side which might have been a problem);
it's good to know prior to the ceremony if the bride and the groom will be facing each other or the Rabbi, so you can position camera on either side in order to capture their faces, not the backs;
some erratic zooming by camera #2, shooting at the angle to the main camera, making edited video look a bit sloppy;
cut at 3 min 02 sec into the ceremony from main camera to camera #2 and back at 3 min 25 sec is unjustified: same framing, almost the same angle, does not look good;
audio is off sync during close up at 5 min 25 sec into video, use wide shots in such cases;
the groom seemed to never step on the glass, and the guests never cheered "Mazel Tov!", can't believe that.

Shoot-It-Yourself Wedding Video

2006-11-20T19:03:00.000-08:00

Good example of what's happening when the friend or the relative are doing camerawork during the wedding ceremony: dirty lense, picture is overburn, colors are off (probably auto iris and white balance), audio is not good.

On the bright side: the most important event of the wedding day has been covered from the beginning to the end (five stars!!!!! does not always happen even with professionals)

Read more about exchange of vows at FAQ Video.

2006-11-12T20:35:00.000-08:00

Video clip embedded into FAQ Video blog belongs to third party and is hosted by YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI26jBeUMig

Good stuff: very nice highlight wedding video.

Could be better: unfortunatelly no audio during exchange of vows.

FAQ Video

2006-11-12T11:41:00.000-08:00

Video clip embedded into FAQ Video blog belongs to third party and is hosted by YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N5vcbi7pC0

Good stuff: had enough batteries to cover bouquet and garter toss, got clear view of the hands during exchange of the rings.

Could be better: to cover exchange of the rings take opposite side if possible, so you can see bride's face; zoom on hands during exchange of the rings if in clear view.

Shoot-It-Yourself Wedding Video

2006-11-12T11:24:00.000-08:00

Video clip embedded into FAQ Video blog belongs to third party and hosted by YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lu5yzPUu3A

Good stuff: right color, good angle.

Could be better: shaky, muffled audio, bride's vows are missing, zoom in for vows.

FAQ Video

2005-07-19T07:48:00.000-07:00

After being for years in the wedding video business I am passing all my experience to you, young video enthusiasts!

Shoot-It-Yourself Wedding Video Guide will walk you through entire wedding day, showing tricks and techniques of a news-style wedding coverage.

Please enjoy and feel free to add comments or ask questions!

Andrei