Colour-grading Fiona!

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Colour-grading, levels-tweaking, gamma-correcting - most of you won’t know or even care about these terms…and why should you?

Almost all major films you see nowadays have had the above, from ‘Transformers’ to ‘Avatar’ to ‘Sex and the City’!
Some have been subtly ‘graded’ to give a warm look (e.g. ‘The Beach’), and some are quite bleached and gritty (e.g. ‘Terminator Salvation’). But however subtle or deliberate, it’s important to get it right in order to connect the viewer to the story, and to aid impact and emotion.

I spend a lot of time working through wedding edits, ensuring I tweak the levels and colours to suit the scene and feel.
(Funny fact: When I was about 10 years old, I used to put a yellow sweet wrapper over a videocamera lens, to make it look like there was a yellow sunset!!! n.b. I won’t do this at your wedding!)

Without getting too technical (i save that for the 1-to-1 training sessions!), here are some filmic colour-graded examples of Fiona about to get out of her wedding car, from a current wedding edit I’m working on.
*Click on the image to see a full-screen comparison*

Krista and Robin - Wedding Highlights

Highlights/Trailers 25 Comments »

Krista and Robin:
HMS Warrior, Portsmouth, Hampshire

This was our 2nd wedding onboard the old warship, the HMS Warrior. And it was every bit as impressive as the last time!
As this was a ‘Simplicity’ booking, we had the pleasure of working with our partner photography team, Lime Leaf Weddings. We can’t wait to do many, many more joint efforts in 2010!

A few of their photos from the day:

As this is the last clip of 2009, I decided to go with a rather epic sending out.

Enjoy, and have a very merry Xmas :)

Richard

Click here to see the highlights in full-screen HD.

To purchase a copy of this wedding DVD, you can use paypal (which accepts debit/credit cards), but before sending it out we will double-check with the bride and groom that they know you.

The most spontaneous wedding Same Day Edit EVER??

Highlights/Trailers 1 Comment »

Rhinefield House, New Forest, Hampshire

My girlfriend and I were taking time out at Rhinefield House, New Forest, and walked into a room only to discover a wedding was minutes away from happening.

I had a Canon 7D on me, and literally had only used it for the very first time that morning. But what better practice than to be thrown in at the deep end and film (in an unprepared fashion) the wedding from the balcony! (Hence a few shaky shots, as no tripod to hand)

A few moments later I edited it on my laptop during afternoon tea and scones, and uploaded it to the net whilst in the starlit spa! If only every wedding edit followed that routine :)

And now, I’m just about to go tell the Bride and Groom…I hope they approve!!

(UPDATE: They very much approved!)

Richard

Click here to see the highlights in full-screen HD.

Vicky and Tom - Wedding Highlights

Highlights/Trailers 12 Comments »

Vicky and Tom:
Audleys Wood Hotel, Basingstoke, Hampshire

Yet another fun wedding in the build up to Xmas - this time at Audleys Wood Hotel in Basingstoke.  Vicky is an old school friend of mine, so it was great to see and film her on her big day, and to see some other familiar faces!

And how could I NOT open up this clip with the special message involving a toilet roll of all things?! Classic!

Richard

Click here to see the highlights in full-screen HD.

To purchase a copy of this wedding DVD, you can use paypal (which accepts debit/credit cards), but before sending it out we will double-check with the bride and groom that they know you.

Feedback from 1-to-1 Training

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As a reminder to fellow wedding videographers (either new to the industry, or with some experience), don’t forget that I am personally running 1-to-1 training sessions, in half-day or full-day blocks, to help turn you into professional wedding cinematographers.  Click here for more details.

This service has been an instant success, and has superceded my own personal expectations. I’ve now taught some first-class people, who have turned into close friends, from as near as London, and as far as Scotland and Northern Ireland.

It is a bespoke service, touching on filming and editing aspects that will most benefit the individual student, or company team.  In other words, I concentrate on exact elements students wish to learn or improve on, whether it’s filming techniques, storytelling editing, colour-grading, or advanced editing techniques.

Here are some recent testimonials, that some students have very kindly emailed across:

Read the rest of this entry »

FX’s Richard, interviewed by Simon Kemp at Hyde End Studios

News/Updates 1 Comment »

Here’s something a little different to our usual blog entries - an interview with myself, Richard from FX Films, as carried out by Simon Kemp, from Hyde End Studios.

Now, Simon is an experienced and expert wedding and portraits photographer, so to carry out all the filming and editing in this piece was pretty daunting and new for him.  And I have to say Simon, I think you did a brilliant job!  Hats off to you sir, and we all can’t wait to see your next set of interviews with other favourite wedding suppliers.

Oh, and watch out for the outtakes at the end!!…. yes, even grown men get the giggles ;)

Adele and Tony - Wedding Highlights

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Adele and Tony:
Loseley Park, Guildford, Surrey

For very unfortunate reasons, Adele’s father (in South Africa) couldn’t make it to the wedding.  So they booked a ‘Solo’ package from us at the last minute, so that the day could be cinematically captured forever… and of course, I was only too happy to help.

Loseley Park is such a stunning venue, inside and out, topped off with a big red bus delivering the bridal party to the front doors!

Oh, and thanks Adele and Tony for choosing a track I personally really like, featured in ‘500 Days of Summer’ - great, uplifting film.  Hope you think the same about this one :)

Richard

Click here to see the highlights in full-screen HD.

To purchase a copy of this wedding DVD, you can use paypal (which accepts debit/credit cards), but before sending it out we will double-check with the bride and groom that they know you.

FXFilms giving more seminars, SWPP Convention 2010

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Hot news!

Canon have invited me back to hold more seminars, this time at the SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photography) Convention 2010.

Dates: January 15th-17th
Location: Novotel London West, Hammersmith.

Amongst the 350 hours of masterclasses, and 40 hours of seminars, you’ll catch me doing 2 seminars a day entitled:

Making the Transition from Stills to Video (Trade Show Masterclass)

It’ll be aimed at those who are interested in filming weddings, namely with the new range of HD dSLRs out there (5DMk2, 7D, 1DMk4) and with Canon video cameras.

I’ll even be showing off some brand new toys which I’ve been lucky enough to get my hands on; a Canon 7D and Glidetrack Shooter!

Hopefully see some of you avid readers out there!

Richard

Follow FXFilms on Twitter

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Ok, so we thought we’d get with the times and try out a little bit of Twitter!

Please do come check us out for up-to-date news and updates.

Just seach for ‘FXFilms‘, or go to this page: http://twitter.com/FXFilms

update: Thanks to @GuideForBrides, via Twitter, for sharing some useful wedding stats from 2008: Read the rest of this entry »

Joanne and Ian - Wedding Highlights

Highlights/Trailers No Comments »

Joanne and Ian:
Gate Street Barn, Bramley, Nr Guildford, Surrey

We have met such lovely couples this year, and Joanne and Ian are certainly no exception. And neither showed any signs of being nervous on their big day. Or maybe they just hid the nerves well!

Thanks to a great instrumental track, and the emotional words of the speakers, this clip is really quite powerful and memorable. A joy to edit!

Congratulations to you both, Mr. and Mrs. Whittaker.

Click here to see the highlights in full-screen HD.

To purchase a copy of this wedding DVD, you can use paypal (which accepts debit/credit cards), but before sending it out we will double-check with the bride and groom that they know you.

Hayley and Will - Wedding Highlights

Highlights/Trailers 20 Comments »

Hayley and Will:
St Thomas a Becket Church, Northaw, Nr Potters Bar
The Elizabethan Barn, Ferny Hill Farm, Hadley Wood


Hayley and Will are such friendly, accommodating people, and it was clear that they have a very strong circle of friends and family.  Which made the wedding all the more pleasing to film.

Personal highlights include that beautiful Aston (great taste there Will!), Jade playing her flute during the ceremony, and the magician, who you will see in this clip performing quite a unique trick.  If that’s what you can call it! :)

Click here to see the highlights in full-screen HD.

To purchase a copy of this wedding DVD, you can use paypal (which accepts debit/credit cards), but before sending it out we will double-check with the bride and groom that you do infact know them.
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