How to record audio during funeral services?

M

Mark-P

Well-known member
I was asked to film funeral services that will take place in a chapel. I am going to position my camera near the entrance of the chapel, and the person speaking will be straight ahead around 50-60 ft. The person will be standing at a podium and will be using a mic that will amplify him. I will be using an HVX-200.

1.) What is the best way for me to record the audio during the services? I thought about a wired lav, though I am just not sure how I could run XLR cable down the middle isle to the stage where he will be speaking. I guess I could tape it down. What is the best way to handle this?

Thanks.
 
Mark-P said:
I was asked to film funeral services that will take place in a chapel. I am going to position my camera near the entrance of the chapel, and the person speaking will be straight ahead around 50-60 ft. The person will be standing at a podium and will be using a mic that will amplify him. I will be using an HVX-200.

1.) What is the best way for me to record the audio during the services? I thought about a wired lav, though I am just not sure how I could run XLR cable down the middle isle to the stage where he will be speaking. I guess I could tape it down. What is the best way to handle this?

Thanks.
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How many people speaking? Will there be a number of different speakers who will each be making a presentation one after the other?

Since the speaker will be at a podium, why not add your mic along side the one already there, taking your cue from the multiple mics you see at a lecturn on TV news conferences? All things considered, if it's possible to do it that way, that seems to be optimum. A common technique is to tape your wired lav to the mic stand of the podium mic with gaffer's tape.

If you run cables anywhere down the floor you'd absolutely need to tape them for safety. The liability risk of leaving them loose is just too great, not only to the people attending but also to your gear as a good tug on the cable pulls your tripod over.
 
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Well, there will be the main person delivering the services, and then a few members of the family that will go to the podium to speak at different times. I could add my mic to the podium, though, my concern is really about running the XLR cable down the middle of the isle. Even with taping it down, which I would definitely do, I am still concerned that someone may trip over it. There will be around 50-60 people of different ages, coming in at different times, some who may be elderly with wheel chairs, walkers, etc. This is what I am concerned with.

If I do run the XLR cable, would I achieve better results from using a wired lav connected to the existing mic or by adding my own handheld mic to the podium next to the existing mic?

Thanks!!!!!



Steve House said:
How many people speaking? Will there be a number of different speakers who will each be making a presentation one after the other?

Since the speaker will be at a podium, why not add your mic along side the one already there, taking your cue from the multiple mics you see at a lecturn on TV news conferences? All things considered, if it's possible to do it that way, that seems to be optimum. A common technique is to tape your wired lav to the mic stand of the podium mic with gaffer's tape.

If you run cables anywhere down the floor you'd absolutely need to tape them for safety. The liability risk of leaving them loose is just too great, not only to the people attending but also to your gear as a good tug on the cable pulls your tripod over.
Click to expand...
 
as mentioned already tape your mic to the existing podium mic with gaffers tape. If no one minds and you have a mic stand position your stand next or in front of the podium and run your cable. another option would be to use a hand held mic with a power adaptor to giv it power, this of course bieng wireless. as far a elderly pple their and any concern of them tripping over your gaffers tape i highly doubt this happening especially if they are elderly and accompanied by a member of the family walking them to the podium.
 
im curious if your shooting for free? Is this a family member? Do you mind sharing your price for shooting a funeral? I have heard a lot of people asking for this kind of video and i can certainly understand why one would ask. If i was asked i would not know what to charge..
 
Mark-P said:
I was asked to film funeral services that will take place in a chapel. I am going to position my camera near the entrance of the chapel, and the person speaking will be straight ahead around 50-60 ft. The person will be standing at a podium and will be using a mic that will amplify him. I will be using an HVX-200.

1.) What is the best way for me to record the audio during the services? I thought about a wired lav, though I am just not sure how I could run XLR cable down the middle isle to the stage where he will be speaking. I guess I could tape it down. What is the best way to handle this?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Hi Mark,

If you haven't already done so, you may wish to checkout (or call) the funeral home for built-in audio gear. Ostensibly, if they have a podium, they probably have a mic, amplifiers, etc. Of course, you'll need to ensure the proprietors are comfortable with you taping into their gear.

Good luck, Michael
 
First of all... if you run cable, get some MORE cable and run it along the walls, not down the center aisle. Do whatever you have to do to keep it out of high-traffdic areas, and tape it down or cover it with carpet (the venue usually has some for this purpose) anywhere that people may be walking over it.

See in advance if there's a chance the podium has mic connectors that feed to somewhere in the back of the hall.

See if their podium mic feeds into a console that's more convenient to connect to than the mic itself.

Bring some extra cables and a good-quality mic splitter (like a Whirlwind IMP-2) so that you can tap into their mic feed if it becomes necessary.

If absolutely necessary, and there's a speaker near your camera location , you can mic the speaker - but you need to get the mic very close for a clean (not highly-reverberant) signal. This will likely require at least a tall mic stand.

You can drop a recorder under the podium and sync later.

Someone else can address wireless... I wouldn't trust it!
 
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I agree with Ullanta, absolutely do NOT run your cable down the center aisle - run it down the wall and back to the podium, and gaffer tape the whole thing down anyway.

And yes, find out if there is a feed to a board of some sort that you can tap into, otherwise, go wired or wireless to get your feed.

Don't forget headphones so you can monitor from the camera and make sure the audio is really getting there. And, since you're on an HVX, if you're recording to P2's you will automatically get the camera mic's audio as a backup. (A crappy backup, but a backup/scratch track anyway).

Phil
 
Mark-P said:
... my concern is really about running the XLR cable down the middle of the isle. Even with taping it down, which I would definitely do, I am still concerned that someone may trip over it. There will be around 50-60 people of different ages, coming in at different times, some who may be elderly with wheel chairs, walkers, etc. This is what I am concerned with.

...Thanks!!!!!
Click to expand...

When you say "taping it down" I'm assuming you mean covering it with a long strip of tape, preferrably channel tape, for the entire length of the aisle and not just taping it with cross-strips every few feet. Cross strips could be a problem but taping the entire length should be okay. And I also concur with Ullanta that along the side wall is far preferrable to down the aisle.
 
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definitely run xlr along the walls as others have mentioned.
a few options:
1. tap into house feed
2. put a mic in front of a house speaker
3. if you dont want another obvious mic on the podium, you can wrap a lav along the mic on the podium. its low profile. the issues are when people adjust the mic, you get handling noise. tape it on well so it wont pop off.
 
It's a funeral. I would be discrete as possible.

My first choice would be to use a Sure beta58 and run XLR on the baseboard of the walls. I would use tape that matched the color of the base board as near as possible.

My second choice would be to use a recorder on the podium.

As to which mics.

Depends on what you have.

Sure Beta58 is a good mic for events.
 
Since I use frequency agile diversity wireless systems, and haven't had any problems, I'd use a wireless. It's a lot less risk and trouble than running wires through the funeral home.

Be sure to check if the funeral home is running a wireless system and, if it is, then make sure you're on a clear frequency.

The lav mic itself is taped to the mic stand so that the capsule is standing just off to the side of the main mic. Sometimes people talking at the podium tend to hold papers up and, if the lav mic is placed too low on the stand, it ends up getting hit by the loose sheets of notes.

Whatever you do, go early to scout the location. Ask the funeral director about the program itself. Because you'll be at the back you might get blocked by people walking in the aisles or standing during various parts of the service. In which case you might want to be along the side and more toward the front.
 
If the funeral home is running a wireless system, would the OP be able to just set his receiver to the same frequency and use that for his audio?
 
chapelgrovefilms said:
If the funeral home is running a wireless system, would the OP be able to just set his receiver to the same frequency and use that for his audio?
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If they're both working with the same manufactuer's equipment it might work. Worth doing a test. However, wireless systems can be finicky to begin with. Mixing and matching gear is a step toward possible failure.
 
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