Wedding Video Editing Tips – Framing Your Shot

In video editing, framing is all about the composition. It depends on how you frame when you’re composing a shot for one particular scene. It allows you to emphasise your thoughts, shows your emotions and how you convey other people’s feelings in the film  – especially for a wedding video. It’s something that adds weight to a shot and feels to a viewer, which is consequential to all filmmakers.

Additionally, framing helps to draw attention to the subject from your viewer’s eyes by halting the other parts of the scene with something subjective. It gives context to your shots, gives a sense of depth and layers, and leads the eyes to the primary object. It is indeed an essential artistic tool. So to identify your output from other videographers, it is vital that you know these wedding video editing tips that help in framing your shot and make sure you’re able to express yourself as authentic as you possibly can.

Composition

When talking about composition, it is what your camera sees and what impact it brings to your audience’ minds, and arranges your objects in a frame. Whether you’re making an indie film or a wedding video, your end product needs to tell a story. So you have to arrange all the objects and people in a frame that will tell their tale by emphasising themselves.

Each and every element of the video such as the subject and the background should be artistically arranged in the frame. So I recommend you to plan your shot in your head before you start shooting.

1. Rule of Thirds

It’s the most important thing for you while you’re framing your shot. Now, this is how you do it: divide your shot into three parts (left, centre and right) with nine equal sectors by two horizontal lines and two vertical lines. And then, position your primary subject on the two of the four points meet. The viewer’s eye will automatically approach the anchor points where you already put the subject. Through this, you can draw the attention of your viewer towards the video.

2. Symmetry

Symmetry is one of the most productive styles to shoot your video to make it look professional and well composed. It brings balance to a scene and allows the viewers to be involved in what they are watching. It feels terrific to look at and attracts your viewer’s attention. When you highlight something in your shot, you should create symmetry. However, keep in mind that whenever you put someone or something in the centre of your shot, it means you really want your audience to focus on that. That’s why symmetry is used when a character is encountering a pivotal moment.

3. Leading Lines

Leading lines are used for better composition. They start from the bottom of the frame and goes through the inwards and upwards, from the front to the background. These help to create weightiness and dimensionality in your footage. It’s a technique that draws the attention of your viewer through a line to the main subject.

4. Pick a Theme

Just like how couples choose their wedding theme, a particular theme is also essential for filmmaking. It’s a guideline for yourself when you’re shooting on a project. You should choose a theme for your project very carefully, research about it and dig deeper. Start brainstorming to come up with different kinds of ideas; thinking thoroughly would help to develop these concepts.

5. Capture Multiple Takes

Even great videographers make mistakes, and it’s pretty reasonable while you’re taking your shots, so I recommend you shoot several takes. It provides safety when you make any mistake. No matter how well the first shot goes, you must take another one or more, just in case.

6. Simplicity

Each and every shot of your video should tell a story. Every element in the frame should be related to your main object. Move the elements from the foreground or background if they distract your theme. Simplify your shots by selecting the related items in your footage and by eliminating the unwanted ones.

Cameras, lenses, lightings play a significant role in filmmaking but without having knowledge about framing your shot adds up to your skills. Here are the things you need to keep in mind while making your video:

• Keep the horizon straight.
• Don’t leave too much headroom.
• Always use the rule of thirds. Don’t overuse the negative space.
• Match the frame and the angle of any coverage you capture.

180° Rule

The 180° rule is one of the oldest and useful rules in film production. It means to an imaginary vertical line (line of action) you draw between two persons in a shot. This rule is used when two persons are having a conversation in front of the camera.

Primarily, you have to keep all the camera setups on a particular side of that straight line. Otherwise, you’ve crossed the line. But sometimes, to add confusion or disorientation, the directors break the rule of 180° to make the audiences confused and disorientated. Unless you want to break it intentionally, it’s better not to go against it.

Along with framing your shot, your video needs some editing to make it look professional. It isn’t easy to become a great video editor, but with practice and these tips, I think you’d make a great editor.

1. Major Terms: These terms are very important while you edit your video:
2. J Cut
3. L Cut
4. Montage
5. Jump Cuts
6. Cutting on Action
7. Cutaways

2. Use a Fast Computer: Computer should be fast enough with faster storage drive (SDD) and high-quality configuration.

3. Keyboard Shortcuts: Keyboard shortcuts are vital, and you should utilize them in the software’s mentioned above. Purchase an editing keyboard if possible.

4. Color Correction: Color is a major fact in your video editing. Correcting the color makes your video look much more professional.

5. Perfect Matching Music: A perfect matching music is as important as the other visual works in your editing. Choose the right music to add with your video because it’s something that gives emotional appeal to your craft.

Filming and editing videos are great creative outlets, and I’m glad that you are interested in embarking this path. Hopefully, you feel more inspired to start doing it with these tips. Don’t be afraid to experiment with new things because that’s how you learn! So, take your camera now and start shooting.

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