On Mon, 20 May 2002 20:18:42 -0700, "Mike Rehmus" wrote:

>I had to set up for a wedding on a very shallow depth stage that was 2 steps
>above where I could stand during the ceremony. The minister was going to
>stand under an arbor on the stage with the couple directly in front of him.
>No room for me to catch frames over-his-shoulder.
>
>So I mounted a camera support clamp on the arbor and mounted a PC-110 on it
>so it pointed in the general area of where the couple would stand. I
>flipped the LCD screen around so it pointed in the same direction as the
>lens.
>
>Then I told the bride that the short distances made framing she and the
>groom really iffy and that she should glance at the screen when they got up
>there and align herself and the groom. The minister agreed to give the
>camera a bit of room.
>
>She aligned herself and the groom and the camera produced the best wedding
>footage of the ceremony that I've seen. To be better, the minister would
>have had to wear a helmet-cam.
>
>Needless to say, the bride was thrilled when I showed her a bit of the
>footage after the ceremony.
>
>That little camera keeps saving my butt.

Funny, I use these little cameras in similar ways, and I'm
currently "worrying" over a similar-but-more-difficult
situation: a DARK chapel (level too low for the PC9 in
normal modes, which I was going to clamp upside down
inside the trellis, with a fisheye on it), with an arched
trellis (covered with ivy, alas...) holding not only the
Episcopal minister, but also the Rabbi, the bride, and
the groom (with the usual family members blocking the
sides, along with the trellis and ivy). Only other
viewpoints of value: maybe 6' or so behind, from a pole;
and from a platform in front of the organ console about
70' down the main aisle... Been too scared to check out
the trellis for width/height, but I must, soon......! ;-)
Looks like a TRV900, inverted, with fisheye will go inside
the trellis if there is enough room, the PC9 may take the
pole position in the rear, a VX2000 the organ position,
with maybe another VX2000 covering the general front area
from off to the side at an angle (it is a large chapel,
with lots of inky-dark areas to hide cameras...). Only
one camera will be controlled - the others will run
unattended. I would hesitate to hold the officiators and
couple responsible for good framing, though - most
couples hardly remember being there, let alone attending
to an image on the camera during the ceremony...