We all have things that we can offer to others, ways to help. I feel like what I do is special because I am helping people with a very important day. Occasionally I find a couple and like to do something special for them. Bradford and Lisa are great friends of my brother, and he was actually going to be the officiant for their wedding ceremony. I had already been hired to photograph everything, but I wanted to do more, so we gifted them a film as well. I was so happy to help them with a Fayetteville wedding ceremony film.

Bradford and Lisa’s Fayetteville Wedding Ceremony Film

This wedding ceremony was so awesome! Bradford and Lisa are amazing people on their own, but they had some other really cool things. One, the ceremony was in their friends house/courtyard. Bradford is an architect and this house was really cool. The courtyard wasn’t gigantic and there was a pool, so we setting up cameras was a bit tough. We managed to get a few good side angles and one from up top. Two, this was the first time my brother officiated a ceremony. He’s a real funny guy and he made the ceremony special for the couple. I’m so glad I got to record all the things he said.

We only shot video for the ceremony, but I’m so glad we still did that much. A wedding ceremony is a special thing, but I think for Bradford and Lisa, this Fayetteville wedding ceremony film is going to be something they go back and watch for years to come.

The majority of the people that hire us for film are looking for a cinematic film, one that summarizes the entire day. Occasionally people will just be interested in the wedding ceremony film. This was the case with Hannah and Phillip.

Hannah and Phillip’s Wedding Ceremony Film

Normally when I’m hired to do photography, I bring a videographer to capture and set up everything. For Hannah and Phillip’s wedding, I had to travel, so bringing along a person to video just the ceremony didn’t make a lot of sense. Instead, I ended up setting up everything myself beforehand.

There were a few things that concerned me with this. All I could do was aim the cameras and hope for the best. Because I was doing photography, I couldn’t really focus on the video. To make sure we got as much as we could, I ended up setting up four cameras: two on the side, one in the back, and one that caught them coming down the aisle. I did a little adjusting once the ceremony started, but really that was it. I was extremely happy with how everything turned out.

This was a wonderful wedding to be part of. Hannah’s mom worked with me back at Oakdale, so I loved being able to have that connection. This was also Phillip’s dad’s church, so the whole thing was special. He even officiated the whole thing and got pretty emotional at times. That’s such a cool way to do a ceremony.

I’m so glad I was able to help out with Hannah and Philip’s ceremony. The rest of the day was awesome as well, and I wish we could have captured more of it on video. We have all of the photos of course, but there’s still something special about having things on video. Either way, these guys rocked, and they created some real special memories for themselves and for me.

Like most people, we tend to get into a pattern and do the same thing over and over again. Well, occasionally we’ll be asked to do something brand new. It can be a bit scary, but it’s also an exciting challenge. That’s exactly what happened with Celeste and Joshua’s St. Catherine’s wedding ceremony video.

St. Catherine’s Wedding Ceremony Video

St. Catherine’s is a beautiful venue, but it does have some limitations when it comes to size. The stone chapel is really awesome, but it fits maybe 30-40 people. Well, Celeste really wanted to have the ceremony inside, but she had a ton of guests. To fix the problem, her closest people were inside, and everyone else, sat outside the chapel.

This fixed the space issue, but then a new problem came up. The people outside couldn’t really experience the ceremony. That’s where we came in. We were tasked with streaming a live video feed outside to a TV, so everyone could see.

Getting the live feed took some experimenting and thought. Not all cameras worked, so we had to find one that did. We ended up going with a camcorder instead of a DSLR. We then put a wireless mic on the pastor and connected it to the camera. Then, we just ran a cord from the camcorder all the way down and out to a TV.

Everything worked smoothly, so the people outside were able to watch Celeste and Joshua’s St. Catherine’s Wedding Ceremony Video. Also, we were able to record it while it was streaming, so they could have a copy of it as well. The whole process was a bit tricky, but I’m glad we figured it out.

Learning something new can be scary. When you are already comfortable with something, you usually don’t want to switch to something completely new. Well, that’s what I’m doing right now; I’m switching from Adobe Premiere to DaVinci Resolve. It’s only been a month or so, but I’m loving it so far.

Switching from Adobe Premiere to DaVinci Resolve

For the past 4 years or so I have been using Adobe Premiere to edit all of our videos. Initially, I started using it because I was already an Adobe guy. I’ve been using Adobe Photoshop for like 12 years, and when I started video, I already had Adobe Premiere from a package I had bought.

I still like Adobe Premiere. It has worked well over the years, and I could continue using it if I wanted to. The main reason I’m switching is because I’ve found that DaVinci Resolve just works better for what I do.

Better Tools

I’m still trying to figure out a lot about DaVinci Resolve, but so far, I’m feeling like the tools make color correction and other editing chores easier. Adjusting the highlights, shadows, midtones, color, and contrast seems much more straight forward. All the options are right there for each clip. With Premiere, I’d have to either add a filter or click to find some options. I can do it in both, both DaVinci just seems easier.  I also like that DaVinci has built in LUTs. Since I’ve switched to shooting Sony, that has made editing much easier.

Faster Processing

Lately Adobe Premiere has been taking forever to process things. To watch my film smoothly, I have to render first, and that can take like 30-40 minutes. Then, when I actually export the film, it has been taking over an hour to do things. It use to be slow, but I feel like it’s gotten even slower.

When I created my first film with DaVinci Resolve, I was blown away with the processing speed. When I exported, it took maybe 10 minutes instead of the hour plus for Premiere. Also, I never had to render anything to view it before.

Price

I’ve been using Adobe Premiere CS6 for a long time because I didn’t want to switch to their monthly plan. The monthly plan is good for some people, but I felt the program I had was good enough. I really had no plans of getting a program until I saw the price of DaVinci Resolve….FREE! That’s right! Anyone can download the program for free, and it’s not a free trial or some really, really limited version. I’ve used it to edit three films so far. There are a few things left out of the free version, but it’s nothing you have to, have to, have.

I’m still figuring out things and learning new things, but I’ve made up my mind: I’m Switching from Adobe Premiere to DaVinci Resolve. I’m loving all the things I can do with it. I’m loving it so much that if I find I need to, I’d be willing to buy the full version. If you’re looking to edit some video, you might check out DaVinci Resolve. There is a learning curve, but it’s free and it’s an amazing program.

A few days ago I shared something a little different where we shot a wedding film, but I wasn’t actually there! Well, I’ve got another one today, but this one was different as well. We normally are at weddings 4-6 hours and we create films that summarize the entire day. With Blake and Candice’s wedding, we just focused on their wedding ceremony film.

Blake and Candice’s Wedding Ceremony Film

With these situations, you’d think it’s pretty easy, but actually, the ceremony is the most stressful part of our day. The ceremony is the part of the day that is really important, but we don’t have much control. We are limited by the venue as far as space goes, so sometimes we can barely fit, and in other times, we have plenty of space. Ceremonies involved a ton of equipment. We usually shoot with 4 cameras and two mics, so that’s a ton to set up. Then we have to worry about things happening like people standing in front of our cameras or batteries dying. Anyway, it’s a lot to deal with for 30 minutes.

Blake and Candice’s wedding ceremony was pretty easy. The ceremony was outside, so we had plenty of space. We were able to put our side cameras up without having to worry about being in someone’s space. The only thing we had to deal with at all was the changing light.

The ceremony only lasted about 14 minutes, and my crew was only there for maybe an hour, but we still had a good time. We got to meet some new people and see two people get married. That’s always a good thing. We only did Blake and Candice’s Wedding Ceremony Film but I still felt like we had an important part and I hope they loved the film.

The more we do photography and videography the more connections and friendships we make. I’ve known Amanda since 7th grade, and we photographed her little girl a ton over the past 5 years. I was really excited when her sister-in-law, Jordanne contacted us and told us she was engaged. We knew how awesome the families were, so we knew their Bella Vista Wedding Film would awesome as well!

Bella Vista Wedding Film: Jordanne and Tim

We started the day at the lovely Mildred B. Cooper Chapel in Bella Vista. It’s such a beautiful venue, and the surrounding area is great as well. Camera placement can be a little tough because the venue isn’t very wide, but we managed to get the cameras hidden behind them for a great angle.

After the ceremony we had some fun with the groups outside the venue. Jordanne was wearing some Converse shoes, so we had to show those off. Then, we had the guys put on their shades and act tough. The little ring bearer did as well, and he did amazing. Brooklyn, the flower girl, was leaning on him, and he just kept a straight face the whole time.

We then went to a brand new venue for me. It was the Riordan Hall in Bella Vista. It was basically a giant room with a stage, but it was perfect. There was enough room for everyone, plus room for a dance floor. They also had a giant spotlight that they used for the first dance, so that was pretty cool. There was a winter theme, so there were all types of snowflakes and frosted items. During the night, there were a few things that stuck out. One, during the mother/son dance, the flower girl and ring bearer came out and started dancing together. It was really cute. Then, throughout the night, two little boys were just dancing and going crazy.

Jordanne and Tim’s Bella Vista Wedding Film was a fun one to make. Everyone was wonderful, like I knew they would be. We also got to see a new venue and get plenty of laughs. It’s weddings like these that make me love my job.