- Odds of Lauren saying yes today.
74, 75% I'd say.
(upbeat music)
Okay, how do you feel about getting down here in the reeds?
Kinda like baby Moses?
(exhausted exhale) (exhausted exhale) (exhausted exhale)
(grunting)
Have I filled up my rings yet?
- It has like, diamonds on the bottom.
- See how it looks with the beard around it.
Good afternoon and welcome to the proposal
of Lauren and Braden.
Little different from a wedding today.
We have a proposal.
My sister is getting proposed to, and of course,
if she's getting proposed to, you know
I'm going to be filming it.
And I figured, I should make a behind the scenes
for you to watch.
BTS in here!
Braden has planned the whole day for Lauren.
She started this morning with a trip to
the Dallas Arboretum, where she got to spend time with
some of her friends.
She thought it was going to be a picnic,
surprise, no, you're getting proposed to today.
(upbeat music)
Braden has been giving her letters throughout the day.
He's been warming her up for this moment.
So a little different from a more traditional proposal
where the bride has no idea, and
suddenly the guy's on one knee.
Instead, she knows it's coming.
- [Woman off camera] You're getting engaged!
- But there's still going to be
a bit of surprise because she doesn't know that
he's right here, waiting for her.
The struggle with proposal videos is that, often times,
it's just a guy getting down on one knee,
so how do you make that exciting?
So Rachael had this great idea, how about we have
the people that Lauren is with throughout the day,
as she's getting ready, as she's hanging out with her
close friends, how about we have those people film
their moments with her hanging out with them.
Just on their phones, really simple,
really hand-held, very home video.
But then we have all these really really awesome
moments of her realizing she's getting proposed to today,
of her giddy and excited with her friends
that she's close to.
And that's gonna help flesh out this whole story,
building up to him getting down on one knee.
(upbeat music)
- This is Braden; he's doing the proposing today.
- Trying to figure out where that's happening.
- So, apparently, Braden was planning on proposing
right over here, by some benches that we were
going to look at, but.
- There's a wedding happening, in this building that's
not even maybe two or 300 feet from where I was planning
on doing it, and the, reception is actually happening at
five which is when I was planning on proposing.
- So, welcome to weddings slash proposals,
nothing ever goes according to plan,
and we just make things up on the fly.
Okay, well let's go see, I wanna see
where you were planning on proposing.
So you guys spent a lot of time here, at this place, right?
- [Braden] It's where we first told each other
that we loved each other.
- Awe, so we're looking at right now it is,
2:40 and the sun's up there, but by 5pm,
sun is literally like right there over the city.
Yeah, like this is going to look real pretty, at 5pm.
- [Braden] Yeah.
- I like the framing here, like it's not bad.
She can come down the path like these people and cut over.
- [Braden] Right.
- Potentially.
Not ideal, but, not bad.
I mean, it's definitely not hideous or anything like that.
We have picked a proposal location.
Not the one that Braden was initially planning on,
but it is a location, it looks good.
I think once the sun gets a little bit lower
it's going to look real pretty.
And we're going to run with that.
(upbeat music)
Gear-wise, for today, unlike a wedding,
we've packed significantly lighter.
Which makes my life so much easier, my goodness.
We have one case, that isn't even fully full,
lens choices, etc.
We've got a 50mm, we have a 70 to 200,
we have a 135mm, Rachael probably on the 135 or
the 70 to 200, I'll probably be on
the 50mm or the 24mm.
Pretty basic, pretty standard.
Didn't have to bring any tipods, I- okay,
I brought a tripod just in case, but,
didn't have to bring any tripods, there's no ceremony,
I don't need tripods for that.
Brought my Zhiyun Crane 2 gimbal.
Brought a monopod for Rachael.
It's a proposal, what else do you need? What?
- [Rachael] The audio.
- As far as audio goes for this setup,
I have a Tascam Dr-10L that I'm going to put on Braden.
I also have a backup Sony UX560 that will also go on Braden,
because as you can tell it's quite windy out here.
There's a set time for Lauren to be
getting ready for the proposal, getting dressed,
and I left a Tascam Dr-10L at her apartment for
her to put on as well as a video I recorded instructing her
how to do that, and how to turn it on,
hopefully that will work out.
Hopefully.
For proposals, unlike weddings, often times you only
have the option of mic-ing the groom,
because it's so windy, because I know Lauren,
because she knows it's coming, I feel okay with
mic-ing her as well.
If you do not have the option of mic-ing the bride,
Tascam Dr-10L has a pretty good omni-directional microphone
that's going to work well to pick up both
the proposer and the proposee.
I like those words.
Proposer, proposee.
You are the proposee.
I am the proposer.
We now have our camera gear, all set up.
Rachael is going to film some establishing shots,
get some basic stuff done.
And I'm going to go find Braden so we can do
an interview for him.
(upbeat music)
This is Braden Lauren proposal, Braden's interview.
There we go.
We're about to be related so I don't feel weird.
- No.
- I'm gonna put two mics on you, just cause
it's really windy.
- Okay.
- We're now going to interview Braden to have him
talk about the proposal.
I think this is super important if you're
filming a proposal.
If you have the opportunity to interview the person
that's proposing, gonna help flesh out the story
so much more than just to have it be a generic
on one knee, here we go.
We're going to be asking him about these letters
that he's been writing to Lauren.
I think the home video style videos of Lauren and her
friends mixed with Braden talking about
the letters he's written,
gonna be really really good.
We're going to ask him about why this spot.
He said this is the spot where they told each other
they love each other, so that should be really really good.
Gonna ask him what he's most looking forward to,
what he's going to be thinking about when she
walks up to him, and how he's feeling.
Whoo! Lots of stuff, oh its gonna be so good!
So if you do that, then I'm just gonna clip this,
under mic onto your jacket instead.
- Okay.
- This is the tough part here.
You've got to get dressed, while I'm messing with you.
So lets just do that,
Cause we're only going to be head and shoulders anyways, so.
- Yeah.
- Take a seat.
Real simple interview style, one camera, like this.
For these situations.
- No, I have not proposed before.
- Never proposed before, huh buddy, well,
first time for everything.
- [Rachael] Hopefully the only time.
So talk to me about the plan for Lauren,
like in the earlier in the day.
- Yeah so, Lauren started her day we were suppose to
meet up with some friends and go to the Arboretum.
She actually surprisingly had no idea that it was going
to happen today, which I am really happy about.
- Interview was a great success.
Because it's so windy out here,
I chose to double mic Braden.
So I put this mic down underneath his shirt,
and then I had another one on the outside.
I'm hoping that whenever the wind picked up
the one under the shirt will save me,
and I can use the outer one.
Absolute worst case scenario,
I'm about to be related to the guy,
so I can always interview him later on,
have him talk a little bit,
just dub it in.
But if you were filming a proposal,
you probably wanna try to get the audio as good as you can,
having backups are gonna help you do that.
(upbeat music)
Braden has chosen a different location than
what we just scouted.
So, we went down there, had this nice tree
that we were looking at,
ends up that he wants a different location,
which is perfectly fine.
His proposal, his time, whatever he wants.
I was just thinking, well this kinda works but,
you could tell he wasn't fully set on it,
and I want him to be fully 100% about it.
So, he went down by the water, he found another spot,
it's a little more public,
so there's more people walking by.
I don't think that'll be a huge issue.
My only concern for video of course is the wind.
I gotta go down there and check it out,
We'll see how it turns out.
Braden's picking this spot, it's not bad,
it's just very windy.
So, from a looking standpoint it looks great,
from a wind standpoint not so good.
So we're going to go walk down here really quick,
see if we can find another spot,
maybe a little less windy.
- I think this is better.
- I think, yeah.
- I think this is way better.
- I agree.
- I love this tree.
- Definitely a good tree.
- It's a good, this might be it!
- I think this is it.
- I think this is the tree.
I think we've chosen it.
We'll see Braden's making his final decision but,
significantly less wind over here,
nice sun back drop,
little hill that Lauren can walk down to him.
(upbeat music)
Now Braden's going to start setting up for the recep-
Reception, what am I saying? (wheeze)
I'm so used to weddings!
Now Braden's going to start setting up for the proposal.
So he has the chalkboard sign,
he has a lot of other little details,
blanket he wants to lay down etc.
We already have him interviewed talking about the
importance of all these items,
and I think being able to show with b-roll
those items as well should work really well for the video.
Little FYI for you here, if you're filming a proposal.
It's best if you happen to be related
to one of the two people involved,
you may be literally roped into helping decorate the,
I wanna say crime scene.
The proposal area.
Just, doing what I need to do!
I'm now climbed up in the tree.
I don't really know what I'm gonna do now.
But, I'm making great progress.
Actually, I need you to hand me the string lights.
BTS shooter, slash assistant.
These have to look ascetically pleasing!
Alright, we are 15 minutes till showtime!
This little space has been set up.
We've got some pictures hung up,
got a little easel, got some heavy wind.
- [Woman off camera] It's very pretty!
- Two mics for Braden, gonna slip these on him now.
This is back up mic, gonna go under his shirt,
cause it's super windy!
Do you know her full name?
- [Braden] Lauren Elizabeth
- Lauren Elizabeth Bartholomew
- (luaghs)
- [Braden] Yeah, Bartholomew.
- Make, just throw in a few other names and be like
yeah Matt told me that was your real middle name,
she'll be like, what?
There's also some guys fishing over here.
These things happen, we don't have
full control over this location.
I do have control over the angles that I film though.
So, they're in like one little spot.
That's fine, I got a lot of angle I can shoot this
thing with to keep them out of it.
And if they're in the shot a little bit, whatever.
Not bothering me.
Another argument for why you should shoot 4k,
punch in, get the fishermen out of the shot.
There we go, you're looking clean, looking sassy.
Beautiful, ready to be married young man.
Love you.
Lauren, going to arrive up here, come down this hill.
I'm going to probably follow with the Crane 2,
get some nice wide shots of her walking down the hill,
should look really good.
Lauren already knows it's coming, so we don't really
have to like surprise her, we just don't want to
interrupt the moment.
I don't want to insert myself into them like,
what's up, hey let me get some angles, like.
Let them have this moment.
Then after a while, then we can come in,
maybe do some poses, things like that.
If the person getting proposed to
does not know that it's happening,
I would be far more desecrate.
We're talking, 70 to 200, probably on a monopod,
a long ways away, just kinda creeping filming.
That way they don't see me, they're not interrupted.
I'm mostly going to be on the 24 for the gimbal,
and then I'll switch over to the 50.
Rachael has a 135, a 50, and a 70 to 200.
Little bit of variety there.
She'll probably be on the 70 to 200 just for the versatility
cause Lauren's gonna be so far away as she walks down.
And then she'll probably switch over to the 135,
if I was to guess.
So we're going to have a nice little half light,
get a little half light on both their faces.
So Rachael you'll probably end up being
further down there to get her face.
(romantic music)
I'm feeling good about this.
My sister's going to get married, it's weird.
This is also, it feels a little surreal.
But, there's always chaos, especially with proposals
because there's no wedding coordinator or
anything like that, it's just kind of,
people figuring things out,
with some mild arguing.
Thankfully, everything's been really really good.
Now, plan is, we're going to go up here,
we're going to see Lauren, I'm going to get a wide shot
of her walking down a bit, and then,
we're going to go down here, film this proposal.
It's gonna be fun.
Let's go see if Lauren's here.
There she is.
Here she is.
- [Lauren] Oh my gosh, what are you doing here?
- Hello everybody.
- Hi!
- Hello!
- Nice jacket.
- Thank you, so proud of you.
So, instructions for you.
- Oh, I have instructions?
- Yeah, I have a little bit of instructions here for you.
There is, this little path starts right here,
starts walking down here, you see this big green tree.
- Yeah.
- The left green tree.
- Yeah.
- He's underneath that tree.
- Oh, okay.
- There's a group of men fishing next to it.
- (luaghs) Completely ignore them, they're a part of it.
- They're a part of this too okay, so
each one of them is going to give you a live fish.
- A fish! (laughs)
- Symbolic
- The ring is, the ring is in the-
- The ring's in the fishes mouth.
It's symbolic of your relationship.
There's a construction site at the bottom,
we don't want to film that,
weirdly, so, I'm gonna give you,
I'm gonna tell you like half way down,
like hey, we're just gonna cut through the field.
Good job on the mic, look at you.
- Thanks, I didn't know if it went inside or outside,
I assumed it was inside.
Okay, should I go?
- Yeah.
- I go, okay.
- (inaduible)
- Yeah, no you, guys are good too.
- We walk with her?
- So if you want to start cutting straight across the field,
cause it's a little cleaner, than, that background.
Actually, wait there like 20 seconds so I can walk down.
- [Lauren] Okay? (laughs) we have to do this for the video.
- You're good!
- Hi.
- Uh-huh (giggles) Hi (sighs)
You look so cute.
(mumbles) (laughs)
- (mumbles)
- I've know (mumbles) it's gotta be.
- [Braden] Yeah, how was it?
- [Lauren] It was, yeah it was really fun,
really good, really relaxing, oh!
- [Braden] Good for you.
- [Lauren] Thank you.
(laughs)
- [Braden] (inaudible)
- These are pretty.
- [Braden] So.
- I want, nothing more, with my life,
than to chase after Jesus, with you by my side.
- Oh my gosh (laughs)
- Lauren Elizabeth Johnson, will you marry me?
- Yes,
yes,
yes.
(kissing) (romantic music)
- I love you
- We're gonna get married. (laughs)
- We're gonna get married!
- Ah!
(laughing)
(romantic music)
(inaudible talking)
- Hey, that's my sister!
Stop it! It's weird!
- I ordered it, the
I don't know, I ordered it like end of December.
- [Lauren] I love it, it's so pretty!
- [Braden] And real.
- [Lauren] It's really perfect.
- [Braden] Yeah.
- Hey, this is going good.
She said yes!
I had my doubts.
And the Tascam that Lauren was wearing is still recording!
That's all I was hoping for, good sign.
(sigh of relief)
- No, I can handle it.
- I can't.
- I can for sure handle it.
- It's gross!
(inaudible)
- Turn around, close your eyes!
- [Matt] This upsets me.
- I've never been this close to Lauren before, never.
- I can't. (giggles)
- Can we go up on the hill?
Cause it's a pretty view and the sun and all that.
Nice thing about a proposal is that after
the proposal's complete, it's basically just
a couple's portrait shoot.
You guys, yeah, there you go.
You're just real cuddly there.
(inaudible talking)
- And that is the proposal,
thank you so much for coming along.
It's been so much fun.
It was a little weird because it was my sister.
But that's okay, it's been totally awesome.
I'm relly hoping this edit comes together
between the footage that we have of
Lauren hanging out with her friends in the morning
that they shot on their cell phones,
and the footage that we got of Braden setting up,
the interview, the proposal, the couple's shots after.
I think this video's going to be really good.
Hey! Matt from the future here.
The proposal film turned out great.
I'll make sure to link to it up in the corner and
down in the description if you want to check it out.
I also want to give a huge shout out and thank you to
my friends from Archaius Creative for
editing this video for me.
Because of them, I have time to make even more videos.
If you are drowning in a backlog of editing
like I once was, and you need literally any video edited,
whether its a wedding film, corporate or commercial video,
YouTube video, anything, Archaius would love to help you.
There's a link down in the description where you can get
10% off your first edit, regardless of how big it is.
With that, thank you so much for watching.
Also, if you're a videographer, I know that you probably
want to book more couples and film more weddings.
To help you out with this, I've created a PDF guide,
full of practical changes that you can make to your
business to immediately start getting more bookings.
It's a free gift to you, you can download it
at the link down in the video description.
Thanks so much for watching, and have a great day.