Rob and Melissa's Wedding Video

My best friend Kate came to me in the summer of 2023 to ask if I would do videography for her aunt's wedding. I had just gotten out of the cast from a broken ankle, was packing to head to Toront

o for school, and was coming back for a week-long vacation, but I couldn't say no to an opportunity to get out with a camera. The wedding was held at the beautiful Westcott Vineyards in Jordan Station on a gorgeous August day. This was the first time I was back behind the camera in months after my injury, so I was nervous that I would do my best work for such a special day. The ceremony was beautiful, and Rob and Melissa were surrounded by their family and friends.

Since this was my first outside of school project, I knew I had to do some research before the day to make sure I got the shots I needed. I watched plenty of wedding videos, from amateur to professional, and got an idea of what needed to be captured. When I got to the shoot, I scouted out the venue, looking for shaded areas, various standing areas away from the photographer, and where the best shots would be captured. With the setup of the venue, which was outside on covered patios, there were plenty of angles that would work great. The shooting went great, and I collected a lot of shots that I was happy with. My SD card was full by the end of the night, and I knew I would be chock full of group shots, B-roll, anintimateat moments of the new bride and groom.

When I went back and started editing the video, I was shocked to see that while I had a lot of great shots, many needed corrections, such as stabilizing, cropping, and general retouching. I work tirelessly on making the best video I could, and would send multiple working files to Melissa and Rob to look over and get their input. After back and forth working and checking, the video was finished after around a month of editing. The process was delayed as I was editing, and I was moving and starting school, which the family was aware of.

If I could go back and do this video again with fresh eyes, I would have invested in better equipment and taken my time editing with more advanced tools. I beat myself up about the quality of the video now, but I had not started my undergrad at that point, and did not know the amount of tools and techniques I do now. I was using a Canon T7i and one fluffy microphone, no tripod or stabilizer, but it was the best I could do at the time. I also had no idea the ability of the tools using Adobe, such as After Effects and Premiere Pro plugins, which definitely limited me in the result. I look back on this video as a learning moment for two things: trust your abilities and use any resources available to you. Ignoring all of the stabilizer effect shakes and slightly out-of-focus shots, the core video is really cute and well done, and I was really harsh on myself on the final project. I also know now that plugins and programs are free and accessible to me through YouTube, Reddit, and various blogs. Using these small extra extensions would have made a world of difference back then, and could have upped the value of the video by even 1%.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4oElMu8uhU