Wedding Audio

S

spotlightpro

Active member
I am going to be doing my first wedding for a friend this Sun. I have the Sennheisser Evolution 100 wireless lav system and a Sennheisser wireless handheld, along with the Panasonic shotgun mic. I was planning on using the wireless lav mic in channel 2 xlr, and the shotgun for ambient noise in channel 1 for the ceremony. For the reception, I was planning on using the shotgun again for ambient in channel 1, and a wireless mic in channel 2 for interviews etc. For those of you with some more experience and expertise:

1) Does anyone have any tips, things to look for, etc. When it comes to wedding audio
2) Does my setup seem reasonable.
3) If the groom is already being mic'd by the church (lav), what are my options. Can I mic him as well? Would I need to tap into the system? How is this accomplished (what equipment do I need).

Thanks for your help in this!
 
Re: Wedding Audio

Your setup is fine. If the church is micing the groom then I'd mic the officiate and vice versa. If the church is micing both then mic the groom, just remeber your going to get better audio on the groom (if hes the one miced) then the bride, and this day is all about her, so be ready to tweak her in post. When shes on her vows you may want to increase the gain. Also if the mic has to be inside the grooms jacket take a little gaffers tape and fold it like a paper football, put the mic inside the folded tape, this will keep the fabric from rubbing across the mic. Be sure you have headsets so you can monitor the wireless mic to elimnminate any interferance. Off mic things like some one reading a prayer or poem are the hardest. If your camera is near the audio booth and you can get a feed off thier board thats good. Don't worry about music, instead get a copy of the music and lay it back in at post.

Good Luck and Enjoy
Gopher
 
Re: Wedding Audio

Hey spotlightpro,

typically I use the same setup. Try and place the shotgun on a stand up near the front and run your xlr cable back to a camera location. I have used this setup many times with little or no problems. As for the reception, I use the shotgun on a stand and a handheld for interviews. As for the groom I often wire him up as well as the house system. Most of the time they don't mind. When I express to them that without the lav I can't promise on the quality, the bride will usually "convince" him to wear the lav.

You may be able to tap into the house system via xlr and an aux send out from their board. Only problem with this is that you have to test and test well to make sure the quality is ok. Most sound guys from churches are not willing to monitor your signal because they are working on the house sound.

good luck
 
Re: Wedding Audio

Thanks for your insight. For a 1 camera shoot, Where is usually the best place to position yourself?
 
Re: Wedding Audio

Typically I will place the camera about 1/2 back on the side of the Groom. This way your primary shots will show the Brides face... Be sure you get some shots of the bride entering and exiting from straight on. You will probably have to be "handheld" and then move on to the tripod quickly. There are tricks to use in order to give the effect of a multi camera shoot. Simple shoot upclose footage after the ceremony of the couple lighting the unity candle, placing the rings on their fingers, etc... and lay that in during post. Make sure they are in the same general area as during the ceremony for continuity though. This really adds dynamic to a single camera shoot.
 
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