Wedding Story

vimeo.com/78055943

Sweet share, Waternyc. Anyone who haunts this forum knows of my penchant for good wedding videos, & since our friend Andreas has been occupied on other projects, you've provided a welcomed fix.

Love One Republic, so the song resonated perfectly for me. Lots of lovely imagery, though some here have gone decidedly anti-lightleak, I mostly enjoyed it all. The lightleaks seem slightly subdued during the church scene, this subtlety prepares us as we pass over a bottle on a table, the lightleaks absence is replaced by the shimmer of light on bottle's surface like water, perhaps you slowed it bit. Very beautiful.

Just before that, however, we have a slight issue with the camera flashes of spectators. These rarely work in video. Perhaps someone more technical can give the specifics as to precisely why. It may also be the transcode over to Vimeo, but either way they came out looking like JJ Abrams style laser blue lens flares across the middle of the frame. Decidedly nasty & definitely mood disrupting.

Newblue makes a flash remover that is said to work in FCPX, though I've never tried it, nor spoken to anyone who has. Personally, I think 99 bucks is a tad steep for a plugin with such limited capabilities, though you might find it exactly what you need. Especially if you're going to be shooting a lot of events where pesky photogs are flashing.

Conversely, I'm not entirely opposed to the flash idea for adding some level of excitement & memorability to a scene. Perhaps we could fake it in post. In an earlier comment section here I went into this concept. Basically we will freeze-frame a few frames before the annoying flash, search for the best still. Then freeze the still, with a white flash that leaves us with a perfect B&W print, which we hold on for a couple seconds (perhaps a slight rotation as we KenBurns into the still), then an extended crossfade to pick up on the action, cutting out the original camera flashes entirely. I've seen this done effectively in films before, maybe one by Woody Allen. The effect is particularly effective when combined with the old-timey flashbulb sizzle sound.

There's one other shot in the closing sequence on the little rock pier. Since it mirrors the opening still, there's a difference which is more pronounced, that of the camera movement, which at this point is more of a jitter shake. Since we had lots of handheld camera movement throughout the piece, now would be a good time to lock it down. Then we'd get a nice metaphor in the solid rock foundation of the pier they're sitting on as a picture of the stability of their marriage, even when all around is liquid movement. I like the final walk off frame.

Many other nice touches, glad you included the plate smashing, what would a Greek wedding be without it? A little close on the bride's makeup at times for me, there are beauty filters which can smooth that out gently, relieving us of unflattering MacroPoreVision. (Always remember the core value of your client, in this case the bride. She wants to immortalize her romantic ideal. It's our duty to make her look even better than she actually does.) The interesting Orthodox priest with his curious samurai top knot, was engaging. Him leading them in the speed ramped procession added a slight air of playfulness which we visited again leading to the epilogue. Of course the children are always delightful, but for me the most beautiful moment was the perfect kiss after emerging from the church back into the world, the gentle speed ramping on the cascade of rice, at the emotionally ideal moment in the song, absolutely gorgeous.

You've got a sensitivity to emotional content which is ideal for this type of film, an attribute which translates into many other kinds of filmmaking.

Thanks again for sharing. Looking forward to your next piece.






J. Matthew
Global•Watch•Media•Consulting
www.GWM2.com

@GlobalWatchM3

One thing is for sure, your in depth critiques are always welcome. Thanks for another review.

In no way do I ever excuse myself, I just want to point out the fact that this couple is, as you can see by the Converse shoes, a very free minded, easy going, and earthy couple. Hence most of the "allowed" tweaks. Although, the bride is always right! Hahaha

Thanks again.