International Wedding Video with scarlet, Advice NEEDED

[JJ Rok]

Hi All,

I will be shooting my cousins wedding video in a few weeks. I have filmed many weddings before, so I know the drill as to what shots i need, etc. Normally I shoot with a DSLR and EX-1, however, I am filming this one with my scarlet. Does anyone have any good advice for going about this??

The reason I am using RED is because they don't have a photographer, so I will be playing both roles. I figure shooting 4k will allow me to pull any frame as a photo for them. I usually have a second camera op with me, but wont for this, as its a destination wedding in Brazil. So here are my biggest questions/concerns.....

- I haven't updated my firmware with the new fan settings yet, but how should i get around the fan noise during the ceremony?

- I want to run a second angle during the ceremony, I am bringing my 60D. How should I go about setting it up when record time is only 12min max? Remote?

- How should I handle media/power? What compression do you recommend? I have 3 - 64GB REDmags, and 2 RED Bricks. I'm thinking about renting an extra battery or two to bring along.

- This is my first international trip with the scarlet, any travel advice?


Thanks for any advice. I know the scarlet isnt the perfect camera for a wedding video, but for this project it seems like a good choice because they want video and stills. I know people have talked about using to shoot weddings and extract stills from so if anyone has experience with that specifically, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks

 

[Marcos Montenegro]

JJ-

A few tips traveling abroad with your RED-

1) Make sure you read the fine print on your airline. South American travel guidelines specifically, have changed with various airlines, like AA, limiting your checked baggage. You don't want any surprises at check-in.

2) Never check your camera or your lenses. I have a pelican 1510 for the camera/accessories and a backpack to carry lenses and batteries.

3) The FAA only allows 100 watt hours (wh) per battery on flights, so I have 4 x 95wh batteries when I travel abroad, just in case.

4) Speaking of batteries, always carry enough to cover the event and then some.

5) Memory- 3 64GB won't be enough, unless you really economize footage.

6) No mention of audio so I'm assuming there won't be any?

7) If you are going to be the official video/photo guy, are you also responsible for the formal pictures? If so, again, 3 64GBs SSDs won't be close to enough.

8) It would be advisable to get in touch with someone locally that may help you out, and may provide local rentals like a slider/jib, etc.

Food for thought and good luck.

 

[Chris Elkerton]

Sounds like a good plan, I think you will get some nice photographs from your footage.

As far as your 60D goes, have you looked into Magic Lantern? You can get round the 12 min cut off with it, along with other cool toys. Remote could also be cool. Can you get someone to help you? In my experience the last thing you want is to be worrying about a B camera.

3 x 64 GB isn't a huge amount of memory so either be selective with what you shoot or get more media. You can shoot at the higher compression rate to make better use of it, but that's always a balance. It all depends on compression as resolution but don't expect to get much more than an hour, to an hour and a half.

I would definitely get more batteries, be be aware of flight restrictions also. I think you can take 95wh with no issue, anything above that and some airlines wont let you take them. So look into that. That's probably the main thing to get sorted.


Haha, I need to be quicker, the above answer is probably better.

 

[JJ Rok]

Thanks for the advice guys. I have a pelican 1510 case to travel with and a camera backpack for lenses and accessories. I will definitely look into the airlines rules on batteries too. As for media I know its going to be tight, but the wedding and reception are at the same location so I'm hoping I can set up my laptop somewhere so I can dump cards to a hd. I do have magic lantern but haven't updated in awhile and have never needed extended record time, so I will check out that feature. been meaning to check out the new RAW ability too. Setting up the 60D as a wide angle would be great to have for cutaways. For audio I use a zoom h4n. I am planning on renting a wireless lav to put on the groom and run it to the zoom, which will also record stereo.

I'm sure i'll have some more questions soon, but thanks for the help so far!