I am going to try and do a wedding video. It will be a gift to my friend and his wife. I have another guy willing to help me out as well. He has a 5d mk3 and I have a d800. We both have a bunch of good glass, slider, tripods, merlin steadycams, and a jib. We dont know the first thing about audio! I picked up a sennheiser ew100 eng g3 set today and he will be picking up one tomorrow as well. I also picked up a zoom h4n this past weekend. As you can see, I am looking at all the products people mention on this site, and just buying what I "think" I need. Can anyone PLEASE help me do it right the first time????? this will be an outdoor wedding, and a hotel ballroom reception. DJ will be available at reception, but we are on our own for the ceremony. I currently have final cut pro X that i use to edit my work. All of my previous work had music over the footage with NO voice included; mainly engagement videos and such. Please please please help us!!!
New to everything. Did the search but need more input.....
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Shooter
Veteran
How good a friend is this guy?
Do you want to stay friends?
Do you know the bride well?
Suggestion: Do some real tests. Lots of tests so you are totally familiar with ALL the Gear and how it works in tricky situations. ( and it will get tricky).
Audio is about as tricky as it gets.
You just cant get this kind of help from the web or a forum.
Do you want to stay friends?
Do you know the bride well?
Suggestion: Do some real tests. Lots of tests so you are totally familiar with ALL the Gear and how it works in tricky situations. ( and it will get tricky).
Audio is about as tricky as it gets.
You just cant get this kind of help from the web or a forum.
we are very good friends, and I want to keep it that way. We are doing this as a favor for the bride and groom. Its not a paid gig or anything, just want some practice. They were not going to do a video in the first place, just photography so I look at it as a good learning experience. Its very hard to find someone that knows a lot about audio that is just willing to help.
Jim Ritscher
Well-known member
On your first wedding, as others have said, you don't want to have to put much of your attention on audio. Perhaps there is a place where you can put the Zoom recorder, start it in advance, and just let it run during the entire ceremony. If you're going to use the wireless mikes, you have to think about where you're going to put them (Perhaps one each on the bride and the groom). There are summary videos on the G3 on the web. Whatever you do, practice a lot with the audio in advance. Try to set up as realistic a situation as possible, and shoot that (including audio). You will definitely be in overload on the day of the wedding. Remember there are the events leading up to the wedding, the ceremony itself, and the reception. Remember that when people get excited (e.g., reception), they often speak louder than they do otherwise. If they have hired a still photographer, he or she will probably set up all kinds of staged shots. Good luck.
I have to agree with BRM re getting someone who knows about audio along to look after it. So they can be monitoring the audio. If you don't have a dedicated person, you want levels of redundancy - in case one thing doesn't work the way you'd hoped - which it often can if it is left set and forget.
Weddings are a challenge at the best of times. An outdoor ceremony means you are likely to have the additional challenges of wind and significant ambient noise. So deadcats on everything and being very careful with mic/recorder placement.
Presuming you are using the G3s with the cameras.... One approach is to put the first lav on the celebrant. If by chance the celebrant is using a mic on a stand that's running thru a PA so the guest can hear what is said, then clipping the second lav to that mic can work. Otherwise on the bride - assuming the bride may speak more quietly than the groom. Then position the Zoom as close to the wedding party as you can. A key question will be whether any other people are speaking at the ceremony.
Assuming one of you may end up travelling to the ceremony with the bridal party, make sure the other is there early to really test everything properly. (Even better, test your setup in the location before the big day.)
A shotgun on camera is good for all the general out and about shots. If there is a lectern with mic for the formalities at the reception, then clipping a lav to that can work for speeches (but remember about having a level of redundancy).
Fresh batteries before the ceremony. Fresh batteries before the reception.
The day will go in a blink!
Weddings are a challenge at the best of times. An outdoor ceremony means you are likely to have the additional challenges of wind and significant ambient noise. So deadcats on everything and being very careful with mic/recorder placement.
Presuming you are using the G3s with the cameras.... One approach is to put the first lav on the celebrant. If by chance the celebrant is using a mic on a stand that's running thru a PA so the guest can hear what is said, then clipping the second lav to that mic can work. Otherwise on the bride - assuming the bride may speak more quietly than the groom. Then position the Zoom as close to the wedding party as you can. A key question will be whether any other people are speaking at the ceremony.
Assuming one of you may end up travelling to the ceremony with the bridal party, make sure the other is there early to really test everything properly. (Even better, test your setup in the location before the big day.)
A shotgun on camera is good for all the general out and about shots. If there is a lectern with mic for the formalities at the reception, then clipping a lav to that can work for speeches (but remember about having a level of redundancy).
Fresh batteries before the ceremony. Fresh batteries before the reception.
The day will go in a blink!