#WeddingVideography | Blog 082 | Filming a wedding video with a DJI Pocket 2
Jun 20, 2022 05:12 pm | (Darron Mark Photography | DMfotoNI)
 
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be attempting to film a wedding with a DJI Pocket 2 camera system! But last weekend I did just that.
Why did I even attempt such a thing?
Okay, the booking was initially meant to be a simple photoshoot, yet at the last minute (well, a few weeks' notice) the couple reached out to see if I'd be able to add a video service to the day too. I have a wedding coming up at the end of the month, and I've been considering upgrading my old DJI OSMO & DJI OSMO Plus systems to something more compact. The vlogging camera I use is the DJI Action camera along with the Røde MicroMic, and I love it. It's very versatile, and gives excellent video results, so, with the handy gimble being inbuilt, and the mini screen, the Pocket 2 was on my radar. I'd been holding off because the previous version didn't support remote control over WiFi that the OSMOs did, it wasn't until I caught a glimpse of a YouTube video talking about the 'Do It All' adaptor that comes with the combo pack that I realised, the Pocket 2 was back on my good favours.
Anyway, back to the story. The couple was getting married in The Guildhall in Derry's city centre. A notoriously hard place to park near, with their reception being held at the Thirsty Goat at the bottom of Shipquay Street, less than 5 minutes walk away, again, very restrictive when it comes to parking. Carting all the gear required to film this wedding was going to be an absolute nightmare for me, seeing as I'm basically a one-man band. I have a great little chest-type bag that I can store the basics in, as well as my Røde Go II microphones, so the Pocket 2 would sit nicely in there, and I could attach a mini-tripod to the bottom straps, as well as keep my hands free to photograph the day.
I simply couldn't afford to bring anything else with me, for fear of losing kit, or one of the many tourists visiting the Guildhall buggering off with some of my gear as I was darting about the place taking pictures. Everything and I mean everything, had to be strapped to me between scenes. I brought my DJI Action camera for a different angle on a Gorilla Pod, placing that at the front window ledge covering the action over the Registrar's shoulder. I then had the Pocket 2 on the tripod to the front side of the bride, so that should she move out of the scene, I could remotely control the camera using the Mimo App on my smartphone, all the while moving about behind the gathered guests taking pictures, essentially acting like a Ninja.
What are the results?
Well, it's too early to say, but the editing process has begun and I'm struck by just how well it worked in low light and adjusted to bright lights when moving outside. I got a little fancy with a virtual walkthrough of the Guildhall using the FPV gimbal setting, we'll see if that works its way into the final cut, probably not, but it was still fun to give that a whirl.
What I loved a lot about this little camera is that I was able to basically pull through the bridal flowers to reveal the bouquet like I was some sort of mini drone. Again, we'll see if that makes an appearance in the final video, it allowed me to be much more creative, and also a little less obtrusive than what a normal dSLR or my Canon Video Camera system would allow.
I filmed the whole day in 4k 60fps with a 256MB MicroSD. The battery did start to fail towards the end of the night, so I'll be bringing an extra powerpack in the backpack (already packed in there now) so that I can charge it during the reception dinner, granted, a rookie mistake. But, I did manage to capture everything I wanted to capture, so I'm not worried on that front. The MicroSD did a sterling job of capturing the footage, with no lags/buffers or warnings, so I definitely picked the right one there. I also had no chance of filling it to the max, so that's good.
I even managed to utilise the magnetic Wide Angle Lens that the camera came with, would I use the ND filters? I'm not sure I honestly need them for the type of video I'm making, plus, it would be one more thing to have to find a space for within my very limited-sized bag. I'm trying to keep things simple as I slowly transition out of the business over the next 4 months.
 
The camera will be used a lot more when we're out and about in the van travelling, as well as my long-anticipated DJI Mini 3 Pro, which I'm still waiting to arrive, having already sold my Mavic Pro. Could be a few more weeks, judging by the estimated date of delivery that Amazon is giving me. Not much I can do about that now. Patience maketh the man and all that.
I think I've just about watched every video out there on this little drone, all I need now is to get my hands on it!
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