🎥Wedding Film & Chill Recap – 4/30

Alright y’all, here’s a quick breakdown of what went down during the latest film & chill session (yes, I was in bed the whole time—back on fire, but we move 🛌🔥)

🔑 KEY POINTS FROM THE 4/30 FILM & CHILL

🛌 Current State / Catch-Up

• Been laid up with the back—herniated disc got me down, but I’m still getting stuff done.

• Couldn’t sit in the chair, so I ran the whole session from bed.

• Behind on edits—photos are half-done, black & whites are out, color versions coming soon.

• Haven’t fully started on the video edits yet, just dropped clips off the SD cards and been playing with early color grades.

📸 Wedding Workflow & BTS

• Forgot to mic the actual best man—grabbed the wrong dude by accident 😅 but I got him speaking at the reception, so I can still finesse it.

• Been watching wedding videos to study pacing, looking to make this one real clean, smooth, and cinematic.

• Used 3-camera setup:

  • A-Cam (me, handheld shots),

  • B-Cam (static shots),

  • C-Cam (KD extra coverage like details and venue).

• KD got shots I couldn’t—he was huge help, especially during groom prep.

• Always get wide, medium, and tight shots. Then add creative stuff once the basics are covered.

🎥 Gear Talk

• Main Rig Setup:

  • A7SIII + Ninja V monitor

  • 24–70mm lens or 16–35mm

  • Matte box w/ variable ND

  • V-mount battery

  • Rode mic

• Also brought the drone (DJI Mini 4) — first time using follow mode and it tracked the car perfectly, even with a bunch of trees.

• Brought two strong lights (GVM SD300B and Zhiyun G300) — only needed one honestly, super powerful.

• That suitcase for lights? Ern been doing it. I had a wagon. Smart moves on travel setups.

🧠 Editing & Process

• Color Grading Workflow in Final Cut:

  • Start with base conversion LUT (S-Log3 to Rec. 709)

  • Add wide dynamic range LUT for filmic look

  • Use M Film LUTs for quick cinematic base + adjustments

  • Add letterboxes, grain, chromatic aberration, slight glow

  • Sharpening at 2.5 to make details pop

  • Play with hue/saturation curves for skin, greenery, etc.

• Not tryna do all that DaVinci node madness—I like keeping it simple and smooth in Final Cut.

• Prefer 24/30fps for cinematic feel. Only use 60/120 for slow mo when needed.

• Been using Final Cut’s speed ramping + optical flow for buttery transitions—looks fire.

🔊 Audio Game

• First time using the Zoom f3 recorder—straight into the DJ soundboard.

• Got crispy audio for speeches and ceremony, planning to layer voiceover in edits with reverb and fade effects.

• That opening line from the officiant? Definitely using that as part of the intro.

💡 Tips & Tricks Shared

• Always overshoot for video—more clips = more flexibility in post.

• Get audio of people actually talking—not just visuals and music.

• Capture stuff that makes your footage feel like you're in the moment (like that handheld, documentary-style vibe).

• Two cameras for photo shooters: one for black & white, one for color—Earn’s method saves time and makes the set clean AF.

• For beginners: go with Pixieset over Squarespace—Pixieset got everything you need off rip, and they’re always adding features.

🧢 Other Stuff

• New presets dropping soon—male/female, indoor/outdoor, lifestyle/studio

• Grad season officially over—full pivot into content

• May is content grind season. More value, more tutorials, more everything.

• Hats drop May 1st or this weekend 🧢🔥