Last October I shot video of a wedding in San Geronimo , Calfornia using my Canon 5D Mark 2 and 3 zoom lenses. My primary lens was a Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS USM, mostly tripod mounted. I also shot with my Canon 100-400mm f4.0-5.6 IS USM zoom lens and my favorite lenses, a Canon 24-105mm f4.0 IS USM and a Canon 16-35mm f2.8. I also recorded sound directly into my 5D Mk2 using a Rode VideoMic. The audio files produced by the camera are of very high quality, even with the built in mics. However, any camera adjustment is very audibly and usually negatively recorded, too. Once I upgraded the firmware I was able to manually set recording levels and the Rode Mic does a very nice job in this situation.
My lens choices were based on my idea of mostly shallow depth of field throughout the video. It became evident pretty quickly that a long lens with shallow depth of field is great in a controlled or semi-controlled setting, but in an event setting, well, I’ll just say it was challenging. Even with a very nice Manfrotto video tripod, camera and lens image stabilization and my usually very steady hands, it was all I could do to keep the “shakycam” effect to a minimum. Not that I am opposed to the shaky camera effect, I just wasn’t interested in using it for this event video.
The added benefit of using long lenses in a wedding event situation is the ability to get great candid footage of the bride, groom, attendants and guests. I could also be outside of the action circle of the event and still bring the viewer in close; closer than many in attendance. The long lens helps to isolate the bride and groom from their guests or allow for framing which makes the event more intimate.
Since most of the event happened during the daylight hours, it was relatively easy to capture very clean high resolution video which could be further cropped, graded, toned, etc., with minimal image degradation. Since I was shooting with no additional lighting, that was a plus. The dusk to dark period of the wedding was of a slightly lower quality due to the rise in ISO. The final 2 minutes of the video are actually still jpeg images of the couple on the dance floor with flash and burn techniques used to simulate movement.
The opening montage was compiled of footage from my 5D MK2 using the 24-105mm lens edited with still images shot by Bill Zemanek on a Canon 5D. The sequence of the men singing and walking up the street was shot using the 100-400mm lens as was the footage of the women walking out of the yard into the street. Again, the stills were shot by Bill on a 5D using a 24-70mm f4 lens.
I shot 5d Mk2 video of the procession, ceremony and recession with the Canon 100-400 lens and the family portrait sequence with the 70-200mm. Most of the reception was shot with video on the Mk2 using the 24-105mm and a 16-35mm f2.8 lens. I used many of Bill’s family portrait stills and some of his ceremony stills edited into the video. The film opening black and white to color portrait as well as the closeup portraits of the bride and groom were still photos shot by Bill.
One of the mistakes I made in my video recording setup was to use a shutter speed of 1/400 during the street scenes which created a “streak of light over exposure effect” when an electronic flash went off within my frame. I was able to edit most of them out, but, if you look close you will see a few here and there. Always shoot video at an inverse of the frame rate: 1/48th for 24 fps or 1/60th for 30 fps, etc.
Shooting video with the Canon 5D Mk II adds a greater degree of difficulty to shooting any event situation. Lens choices, depth of field and camera movement also add more parameters to consider and possibilities of missed moments and manual shooting failure, but the rewards of seeing the rich, deep and robust nature of the raw footage in your editing suite is worth every instance of second guessing the wisdom using this approach to film making.
Fantastic, I am so impressed with Ken and his super photography
Kevin, thanks for the comment. Love ya, Man!