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Wedding Cinematography

John M. Antoniades

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Considering purchasing a scarlet for my business. Was wondering if some filmmakers in the wedding business could comment. I've considered a c300 as well but I'm not paying 15k for 1080p and no slomo. Most studios are still shooting these films with dslrs and I'm looking for a better image. Thanks!
 
Although I rather stab my eyes out then film weddings I have done a couple over the years.

I just don't see the need for a red or c300 for wedding purposes.

The lowlight the run and gun style. Having a camera like 5d is just so much more low key and easier.

Not trying to down play the purchase of a scarlet but I just dont know if it be the best option. Really with the fan noise and non low key look of a red
 
Scarlet is not ideal for weddings, for better image get C100, beats any DSLR hands down + you'll get decent sound,
but if you also planning to get into commercial and indie market - get Epic
 
I made the mistake of shooting the wedding of one of my nephew's daughter using my Epics. It turned out so good on MPEG2 DVD and Blu Ray that I now have been asked to shoot the wedding of one of my niece's daughter. My suggestion is shoot on DSLR and you won't have to shoot so many damn weddings!
 
Thanks for the feedback.... I'm well aware there is no perfect camera for all jobs. I'm looking for a camera to grow with my business, but wedding films bring in more $$$ than some of you guys think. My business is in the tri-state area and I'm shocked what clients are willing to pay for shit footage.
 
You can make it work with an epic/scarlet. Just not very convenient and ideal. The smallest rig will get you about 30mins per redvolt (standby or record)
 
I own a C300 & Scarlet and i'd have to say i was scared to use the Scarlet on events, but then i customised the side handle buttons with 3 preset (5k 15fps, 3k 48fps & 4k 25fps) and suddenly found it quiet usable and fast as the c300....but battery life and fan noise are definitely considerations! This event was a fashion show so fan noise not an issue. I have used C300 for a couple of weddings and love it. It is a faster more suitable camera for that purpose (and low light environments built in ND's etc are all such a help!!) and the slow motion in 720 is fine for what you will deliver for. C300 is far more suitable for half my type of work (events, corp etc) and then i use Scarlet (saving for Epic) for anything else where the fan & battery life wont annoy me! Two different cameras simple as that, both have plus & minuses.
 
I shoot many weddings and own DSLRs and Scarlet. As much as I love the Scarlet's image quality, I will probably not use the Scarlet for the actual event day. It's heavy, takes time to power up and drains lots of battery. It's just not mobile enough (compare with DSLRs). Also, it will take lots of time in post production to render anything. (well... I don't have a rocket to be fair). However, there are also plus sides. Color grading is so much easier and better! I actually brought my Scarlet to a couple of my weddings, but it just not fits too well for our style in cover weddings.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my Scarlet! I use it pretty much when I know I have time to setup and stuff. I also use it for pre-wedding stuffs which the camera helps me to earn a couple awards at IN[FOCUS] this year and WEVA last year. It's a great camera and the IQ is incredibly crazy good!!! Everyone does wedding differently... so my comment may not apply to everyone else.
 
If i were you, i'd go with a combo of FS700 and Nex6. great in lowlight, super slowmotion, S35mm look, adapts to all kinds of weird lenses on the cheap. great latitude and no issues with changing batteries. You can run for 4 hours on a large battery, without the need to turn the camera of all the time. AVCHD looks aweseome for the File-size, and it's very easy to grade.

https://vimeo.com/56109446 (not from me, but a great example of how clean the Sony NEX cameras look)
 
Hello John,
my self done lots of Canadian wedding & now in india was doing same thing for good two years . I would go for scarlet then any dslr camera because there ok for controlled Environment in weddings we do not have that luxury . And you can not do Muliti-cam shoots with dslr's . Scarlet is light weight easy to handle 3k image more then for to do weddings cost effected . Can not go wrong with scarlet ....
 
I'm also a C300 and Epic owner. There are some really beautiful wedding films being produced right now, I have met a few folks who work in that area and it can offer real creative opportunities.

I'll also say the C300/C100 would be better suited for you.
They're lighter.
Significantly less power consumption (well over 2hrs on a single little battery for C300)
Lower data rate (164min at 50Mb/s on a 64Gb CF card for C300). Less media/data wrangling/storage.
Canon LOG offers better latitude than DSLR, no where near as good as R3D but still looks good.
Really good in low light.
Easy to edit files. Lightweight files easy to work with on any NLE without any additional (expensive) hardware. Renders out lickity-split at the end.
Ergonomics of a DSLR so you don't need a ton of accessories to use it.

I did a little 'first look' video of the C300 with low light tests before the camera first came out (https://vimeo.com/33630265) some of the info could be better explained but it should give you a good feel for the camera.

Before you buy anything you should go shoot your own tests and see what works best for you. Good luck!
 
Some good discussion here. I've been shooting canon for 16 years and I don't think they're gonna change their marketing strategy. Canon is in the business of selling cameras, I've never seen them release a firmware that improves the camera, only to correct an error.

Of course I'm not implying the purchase of a scarlet and showing up with just that. We are usually filming with several dslr's. For a wedding configuration it would be stripped down, I don't see ten pounds being an issue. It's not like I'm shooting handheld all day. Of course the c300 produces a good image it's a 4k sensor, but for those who are looking for a firmware upgrade to give you slomo don't hold your breath.

The price drop on scarlet and epic is what attracted us to red in the first place. Power and data are the major issues but here in ny there are many rental houses, and just about everything can be rented if need be. I guess I'll either rent or take the plunge, time well tell.
 
i think overcranking the wedding kiss would be really neat. i'm gonna do that next wedding i shoot
 
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