Just finished editing a wedding which I did last week, I was quite satisfied with the result so decided to make a demo which will be used on my "business" site (With the couples approval ofcourse)

Now for a demo the footage I choose is very carefully picked, I allways try to leave out the familie or friends as they have not signed an approval for that, if they are in the picure it's from a distance and the compression usually blurs out the details of their faces if they are far enough from the camera.

I also stay below 2 minutes and try to give a very short impression of the wedding day, the images also have to "fit" very well with the music, it's not the original music that I used on the dvd but due to the authorrights (Think you call it like that?) I use Sony cinescore for that purpose for display on the internet.

You might notice that I make some small horizontal moves with the camera when I zoom in, that's because I really like the look of it when the background moves a bit compared with the object in front. Those shots are very difficult to achieve since I am not working with a glide cam, that's the reason these shots are a bit shaky but I feel it's within limits.

In regard to effects I try use them with care, slomo's f.i. I only use when they add something extra to the picture, like the part with the bubbles which was done with twixtor. First it looks like a photo, then like some moving bubbles have been added to the foreground and then the picture comes alive.

Also a cool effect was with the appearing guests on the table, that effect was very simple to achieve, I justed panned the camera when the festivityhall was empty and did the same when it was full on a tripod which stayed in exact the same position, afterwards it's just a matter of putting the two clips on top of eachother, and finding the same position using a very simple crossfade.


Demo 1 - made about a week ago
Demo 2 - about a year old

The second demo below is now a year old, most of the comments above apply to this clip as well. Does anyone see a difference in camera-/editing compared to above one? I"m just curious.

You probably also noticed that I don't use the actual recorded sound in my demo's, for the Belgian wedding market I don't see any use in that for a demo, when I visit a client, then they get to see a complete dvd with all the aspects of a wedding, including the boring parts like the town hall ceremonie which is all speech and no music. Just for a demo I don't find it usefull as I only want to show the people how the "mood" was during that day. (I hope I express myself right, it's not always easy finding the right words in another language)

Do you think that in the UK you would get away with demo's like this or do you have another tradition in this? And do you think there is room for improvement?

That's a difficult one Noa.

Technical it's very good, some lovely shots and effects, and the demo is nicely edited. The rest is down to taste and taste is pure opinion.

On "the continent" (ie Europe, excluding the UK) the trend seems to be for photos and videos of the couple in a romantic setting. The actual service in the church or registry office isn't seen as important in a video.
In my opinion this wouldn't go down well in the UK. Here the couple like to see some part of the ceremony and lots of shots of the guests and family are a must, even in a "best of".
I'm not a lover of "copyright free" music, and I know the chap I (occasionally) work for pays for a licence and uses music suggested by the couple.

You've certainly got a high quality product though.

You've certainly got the 'eye' for great shots. I really liked both and don't really see a whole heap of difference between the two vids. Both quite similar and pretty good. Kind of agree with The Guru on the music score, but having said that, it's not too bad. I think I'll give Cinescore a try myself.

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The demo's I showed are actually not really a "best of" but just a part of what I am allowed to show on the internet with the couples approval, It's that I don't want complaints from relatives who see their face on the net without giving their approval for that.
On the actual dvd the relatives and so on are more then frequent visible, also the actual sound is an important part on some occasions, for instance when the couple sees eachother the first time in the morning, that footage is without background music or at the registry office sound is the most important part of the day, for the rest I use a mixture of music and live sound, depending what is most appropriate.

The music on the actual dvd can be anything and is usually the couples choice, it is allowed in Belgium for me to use whatever music I want on the wedding dvd as long as it's intended for use by the couple only. The only thing that is expected is that all the music that I use has been bought legally but there is no real inspections on that part by the goverment. In most case the couple lend me their favorite music for editing and afterwards I just return it to them, so acc to Belgian "music law" that is OK.

Actually I also don't like cinescore type of music eventhough it sounds quite OK, it's just that I don't want to pay extra just for music that I use in a demo while cinescore can do a good enough job.

The fact that I have an "eye" for special shots has been said before to me, I'm very visual oriented in everything that I film but it's also the only thing which I am better in then average. Don't ask me to make a short movie with a story because I can't make it or do very special things with sound.

I always have some kind of image in my head or pick up idea's from movies and just improvise from there, for weddings that's perfect and that experimental part gives me these special shots but for short movies f.i. what I "try" to do in my free time, I really suck, they "look" quite good and are edited OK but don't tell anything, it's only a visual experience with not much meaning. (From my point of view it has meaning but nobody understands it )
But that doesn't mean I'm not learning, I notice a improvement in my work especially in the weaker parts which I don't master that well but it's a slow process.

The problem with me is that I am very impatient, maybe that is the reason why I like shooting weddings because everything is often a split second decission, don't think but act and making a complete 50 minute wedding dvd every week is also a challenge.

Anyways, thanks for your comments, they are greatly appreciated.

Hi Noa - some very tasty shots in there, especially the pull focus and reflections. Nice to see a moggy (Morris Minor) making a cameo appearance too. The music fitted nicely. The mood and your style came across great in both pieces. Great work.
There's a few examples of UK wedding video producers here Video Channel: The Wedding Channel | Veoh Video Network all using copyright free music, which as we all know usually doesn't do the shots many favours. Hopefully Steve at the APV will succeed in swinging a blanket licence, which will add some zing to the members online clips.
Keep up the good work, I can see you've got a passion for it.
Ian

That's great, a "wedding channel", never heared of anything like that. I saw that they also give out awards. It's allways nice to have positive feedback about your work but it's even better if an organisation with several judges comments on your work, that's the best advertisement you can get.

In Belgium unfortunately no such organisation exists, there are some "paying" sites which are specialised in giving all info in regard to weddings were you can submit a link to your site, but then you become one of the many. The only thing you have to attract your customers is the demo's you use.