Wondering how I filmed my latest wedding trailer? This is Kaley and Doug’s film played back with the camera, lens, aperture, ISO, frame rate and stabilization for every single shot burned into the corner. No talking, no explanation, just the actual numbers as they happened.
Everything below is exactly what’s on screen, so you can scrub to any moment you like and see how it was made. If you want the wider story of the day, the full behind the scenes is here.
The Bodies
- Sony a7S II. This does nearly all of the work, and it is the reason a shot like the one above exists at all. That’s ISO 8,000 in the rain at night, wide open at f/1.4, and it is still perfectly usable.
- Sony FS100. The locked long angle at the ceremony.
- DJI Mavic 2 Pro. The aerials.
The Lenses
Six different lenses across five minutes, but the honest answer is that one of them does most of it.
- Sigma 24mm f/1.4. On the camera for the majority of the film, and the only lens I use across the entire reception.
- Zeiss 50mm and Canon 50mm for the close, intimate stuff.
- Sony 135mm for the tight portrait work.
- Sony 70-200mm on the FS100 and Canon 70-200mm on the a7S II, both locked on tripods during the ceremony.
Stabilization
Four options, and I move between them constantly.
- Zhiyun Crane 2 for anything moving, which is most of the ceremony and all of the reception.
- Manfrotto tripod for the locked ceremony angles.
- Manfrotto monopod for the long lens portrait work, because at 135mm handheld is not an option.
- Handheld, deliberately, for two of the most emotional shots in the film. Sometimes the tiny bit of movement is the point.
Every Shot, With Settings
| Time | Camera | Lens | Settings | Format | Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0:16 | Sony a7S II | Sigma 24mm | f/1.4, ISO 8,000 | 1080p 60fps | Handheld |
| 0:32 | DJI Mavic 2 Pro | — | f/4, ISO 100 | 4K 30fps | Full FOV mode |
| 0:55 | Sony a7S II | Sony 135mm | f/2.5, ISO 200 | 4K 30fps | Manfrotto monopod |
| 1:20 | Sony FS100 | Sony 70-200mm | f/5.6, ISO 500 | 1080p 24fps | Manfrotto tripod |
| 1:50 | Sony a7S II | Canon 70-200mm | f/2.8, ISO 200 | 4K 24fps | Manfrotto tripod |
| 2:20 | Sony a7S II | Sigma 24mm | f/1.8, ISO 1,250 | 1080p 60fps | Zhiyun Crane 2 |
| 2:58 | Sony a7S II | Sigma 24mm | f/2.8, ISO 400 | 1080p 60fps | Zhiyun Crane 2 |
| 3:10 | Sony a7S II | Zeiss 50mm | f/1.4, ISO 200 | 1080p 60fps | Handheld |
| 3:30 | Sony a7S II | Sigma 24mm | f/5.6, ISO 200 | 1080p 60fps | Zhiyun Crane 2 |
| 3:55 | Sony a7S II | Sigma 24mm | f/1.4, ISO 8,000 | 1080p 60fps | Zhiyun Crane 2 |
| 4:32 | Sony a7S II | Sigma 24mm | f/1.4, ISO 2,000 | 1080p 60fps | Zhiyun Crane 2 |
What Jumps Out
A few things worth noticing if you scan down that table.
Almost everything is 1080p at 60fps. Not 4K. I shoot 60 so I can slow it down, and for a wedding trailer that matters far more than resolution does. The 4K shots are the drone, the long lens portraits, and the locked ceremony angle, which are the three places where nothing needs slowing.
The ISO range is enormous. ISO 100 on the drone in daylight, ISO 8,000 handheld in the rain at night, on the same film. That’s the whole argument for the a7S II.
If you want to go deeper, I’ve also got Wedding Trailer Breakdown: Gear and Settings I Used To Film Allyson & Mark’s Wedding Trailer.
I stop down more than you’d think. Wide open at f/1.4 is a choice for low light and for isolating a moment, not a default. First dance is at f/5.6. Ceremony wide is at f/2.8. Whenever you have light and people who need to stay sharp, close it down.
Everything here was shot on my MattFlat picture profile and graded with my LUTs. All the gear used in this film is here.
If you film weddings and you want to book more of them, here’s a free guide with practical steps you can take right now. And if editing is where you get stuck, that’s what my wedding film editing course is for.