Three Camera Ceremony Shoot

Typically people tend to go for two video camera ceremony coverage. I usually push that package a little harder because it enables me to create a more realistic ceremony as it actually happened, Recently I shot a wedding in Burlingame just down the hill from the Kohl Mansion. This was in an extremely gorgeous Catholic church with pillars lining the sides of the hall and a balcony miles above the seating below. They had, in fact, gone for the two camera package, but with that balcony up there I just could not resist. I set up my backup camera, a Sony PDX-10. Now, if you've ever seen this camera you'd never guess how much power was under the hood because, frankly, it looks like any old camcorder. But honestly, other than it's low light capabilities and its WAY OUT OF CONSUMER PRICERANGE (no, I'm not bitter), it is definitely a match (optically) for the PD150's (ok, enough techie junk). So now I had one camera on the altar (yes, they let me up there with no problems), another videocamera on the right aisle, and a third in the balcony getting a nice wide shot. And just today I finished editing that piece. It is awesome! Having two cameras to choose from during a live event is crucial -- having three just made the ceremony so rich and alive it is hard to believe... so perfect it almsot looks choregraphed. Eileen and Vrad are gonna be sooo happy when they get their video next week :-)