Evolving a Working Wedding Videography System — insights after Video Wedding #1 this year.
On Saturday I had my first video wedding shoot (technically it was shooting for the venue but still worked it much like I would if I was shooting for the couple with some exceptions).
And, after the event, I gained quite a few insights that I want to share.
Ultimately, the goal is to find a working system of tools and methods for covering a wedding as a videographer/filmmaker. I want to make my wedding videography coverage as instinctive and as seamless as it is to do wedding photography (something I have done for a long time).
I’m trying to find what is the right fit for me and perhaps you will be able to use something from this post.
What worked:
The Sony a7sIII with the 28-70f2 was an absolute dream.
The little Amaran 25C Ace is a champ. I will add a second and will then have a very small lighting package going forward. I will add the grid and pouch on this next one ordered as well as purchase the grid for the one that I already have.
Using tripods throughout the day worked really well. I much prefer this to working with a monopod as I always feel like the monopod is going to get toppled and I never feel like I can get it truly locked off and totally motionless.
My old small Manfrotto 6 1/2 feet collapsible light stands — will throw one more in the kit.
The Zhiyun small quick release for an extension arm (a selfie stick … er, more on THAT later) as well as mounting small lights.
Using the Sony a1 as “the gimbal camera” and kept it on the Ronin RS4 Mini all day. When I needed a gimbal, it was always ready and quickly accessible. When I had a long take such as speeches, ceremony, I could either leave it on the floor using the small tripod feet (which I did since I didn’t have a third tripod) or leave it on a tripod attached with the Falcam F38. BTW if you hate gimbals, the Ronin RS4 Mini will absolutely change your mind.
Using the Falcam F38 shoulder strap clip to hold the Ronin worked superbly and means I don’t have to bring the dedicated Small Rig Strap (just another thing) to carry the gimbal.
Having two Peak Design straps (one Slide Lite and one Leash) worn bandalero style across my body are rather subdued, and a quick way to hold cameras, lenses, and even a camera on a gimbal. Plus they are very quick to change when you want to reconfigure for eye level viewing or shooting with the rear monitor. I have tried numerous straps including the Holdfast Moneymaker (very good but I felt like I couldn’t change off of the strap quickly enough) or the Spyder belt (felt like I was always going to drop a camera from my hand when using these). I needed a system that allows me to go from camera strap, to tripod, to monopod, to gimbal with a literal snap. The F38 Falcam system does just that.
What did not work :
The two small Sirui travel tripods were just a little too small. I didn’t want to leave any gear on them without being in sight for fear that they might get bumped and topple. With the a7sIII and the 28-70 f2 it puts a bit more weight on them but the fx30 and Tamron 17-70 is pretty light, though I wish it had a tripod collar as the lens makes it a bit front heavy. I am going to try a new tripod and I will see if it’s going to be “the one” going forward. Also, the video head on the tripods (a Sirui VA5 is very good but heavy and the Neewer leveling plate is also heavy making the unit bigger still and even MORE top-heavy. The new tripods coming in this week *should* eliminate this problem. We shall see. The key thing is that they have to be shorter than 20”, and less “faffing” around with adjustments as was the case using the leveling plate and the pan/tilt head.
The older Versa-flex sling bag got heavy on my walk from the venue back to the car. Even though it had a relatively light payload. I thought maybe a smaller type of sling bag to carry would be the answer, but after the walk back I know that is NOT the answer. What is the answer? Having things fit into a small Pelican roller case so it means things have to be less than 20” long to make it work. That way it will be one backpack with cameras, lenses and gear and one Pelican roller to get all the gear to the event. I don’t want a cart, I don’t want three huge “video” tripods and I don’t want to be using the aputure 60x this year.
My 24 bit audio recorder (Tascam 40x). I mean it worked, but it is a PITA to use. I have had it for years and I NEVER liked it. I find the menus still very confusing — I need to get either the new Tascam 32 bit float recorder (DR-AV2), or a Zoom F3 which is Gero proof.
A selfie stick for an extension arm on the nightstands. The good side of the Manfrotto travel stands is they work well and are small to pack, but they’re short (6 1/2 feet). I tried using a self stick as an extension arm and while it works okay, I still feel the light attached is still pushing the weight limits. Those selfie sticks are really meant for iPhones, and GoPros. So what I did a couple days earlier (and what arrived after I got home) was order an extension arm that looks like a real tripod. It’s aluminum and gives another two feet. While the Manfrotto is still not meant for really heavy lights, I think I will even be able to hold a Godox ad200 and maybe a small umbrella (probably not a big heavy soft box, though). But it will still allow me to keep the gear requirements down. This is the one, that I got. Once I saw it, I immediately ordered a second I felt like it was the perfect arm for what I need:
I need to add some fluroescent gaffers tape. While working at a really dark venue such as the Orpheum I noticed how they were using this type of tape to help make things more clear. While I had yellow gaffers on my tripods and my light stand, I still don’t think they were bright enough. And, if I need to tape the legs of the lightstand to the floor, I want to make sure that the tape is seen.
Not having a full frame lens for the Sony a1 gimbal camera. I used a 11mm f1.8 Sony E mount lens and it is good, but it means I can only use it in aps-c mode on the a1 and really can’t use it on the fx3 or a7sIII because in video mode they don’t really do aps-c (they you could use Clear Image zoom on those, but then you lose eye AF in video). The answer is something in the wide angle range — a full frame 16 1.8 is probably the best and most cost effective strategy. It’s about $798 new and can be used on Full Frame and aps-c cameras (it will crop in to approximate a 24mm focal length on APS-C). While I have thought about a 16-35 f2.8 (I used to own the GM and sold it and GMII is great and light but more than I want to spend for a lens that I don’t use a lot. I also considered the 16-25 f2.8 G but I have heard some reports of barrel distortion. The size is good and the price is good. The fast 16mm prime, however, makes the most sense as it is a focal length that I rarely use unless it is to shoot interiors, a Timelapse or a reveal with a gimbal. Plus the aps-c cropped 24mm would be helpful and useful too on the FX30 or the aps-c mode of the a1.
As nice as it was to limit myself to primarily shooting with the 28-70 and 17-17 (on the fx30, the equivalent of a 25-105), I still found myself wishing for just a bit more reach. My 70-200 was left at home and the same with the 135 — they are both great, but they add a lot of weight and take up space in a bag when trying to keep things small. Still, I think the lens that would be a perfect compliment to that 28-70 would be the 50-150 f2. Having the zoom range would be helpful. I know there’s always give and take in the photo and video world about folks using prime (fixed focal length lenses) or zooms. As the zooms have gotten spectacularly good and fast aperture, the reasons for me wanting to use primes become negated. In fact, with the exception of the 135 1.8 GM, I have no GM primes anymore. And the 135 would be sold to make room for the 50-150. Yes, I believe it’s that good and losing the 1/3 of a stop is negligible given the compositional advantages in fast moving situations.
I have to figure out a lighter solution for audio cables — they take up far too much space and weight.
On camera audio needs to get standardized. I have a ECM-B10 Sony shot gun mike and it is good and small and works simply. I also have an XLR-K3M and while it works well, it is big and draws attention. On the other camera I used a small Rode Micro. The problem with the Rode is that you have to constantly be keeping an eye on the audio, unlike the Sony which I use in auto mode. On the gimbal a1, I had no audio just taking in scratch audio from the camera’s on board. Like the Rode Micro, you have to keep an eye on audio levels especially during a musical performance.
Plan going forward:
Get 16mm f1.8 G prime lens
Get 50-150 f2 GM zoom lens (sell 135 1.8, and 70-200 f2.8 GM)
Get another Amaran Ace 25C light
Get a 32 bit float recorder (preferably one that also does timecode for future use: leaning towards the Tascam DR-AV2 or even the Zoom H1 XLR (I know many reviewers do NOT like it, but it may work just fine and is priced well (about $150).
Add 3 tripods that are quick to deploy, sturdy and will fit within a 20” case (ORDERED and TBD)
Add another extension arm to use on the 6 1/2 travel stands. (DONE)
Add a tripod collar to the Tamron 17-70 (found one! It’s the same one that I used on the 135 1.8 GM so I already had it!)
Check out the Sony ECM-M1 and the ECM-G1. The M1 is about $300 while the G1 is half the price. The M1 is probably their best little shotgun, but I would rather test and see if the G1 will do the job. I could get two for the price of one and they could become the audio gathering standard for the cameras. The other option is to not use any microphones to keep a really low (non-videographer) form factor and use some furry wind screens over the camera mikes. That’s the one thing I noticed when outside and shooting video on the gimbal a1 is that I heard wind noise. My hunch is that the G1 will be the hot set up and then I would get one for each of the cameras.