Zoom H1 at Outdoor Wedding

J

Jamie.

Member
I'm new to everything audio. I booked a wedding for this weekend that I will be filming with my t2i. I use a Rode Videomic but knew that wouldn't cut it so I ordered the Zoom H1. I mainly want to use it for capturing sound during the ceremony. I don't have a lav mic so how should I go about doing this? Should I set the mic up in front of the bride and groom or should I find a speaker to set it in front of? And could anyone give me some advice on how to set audio levels on the H1 for an outdoor wedding as well as the settings if I were to place the mic in front of a speaker? I tried experimenting but I can't seem to find the proper audio settings for the occasion.

Also, would recording in mp3 instead of wav to save room be a bad decision?

Thanks!
 
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Can't adress the settings issues but recording in MP3 format is an incredibly bad idea, for many reasons. Memory is cheaper than dirt and there's no reason to compromise the slightest bit on audio quality to save some of it. MP3 is a passable release format for casual use but it is NOT a mastering format and should never be used for original recordings. MP3 compression dinks around with the bit rate and frequency distribution and that can make it very difficult to sync it up the the video files or do any sweetening, noise reduction, compression, etc, in post.
 
I think you have too little gear.

You need to ask how long the wedding ceremony is. And with one DSLR, can that camera record long takes? Some DSLRs are limited to 12 minutes. You'll do what you can, but I personally put a wireless on the groom, and also get a line out of the PA (If there is one) going into the recorder. Those two together keep me covered during the ceremony. (But I also put one on the official too, and use a 4-track recorder) You should look into getting a 2nd camera in there too, even if it's just an unmanned camera getting a wider shot. If anything happens to your one camera, you have ruined their special video and will have to return money. Even if nothing happens to the camera, it's nice to have a 2nd to cut to for variety, and also because sometimes you'll go out of focus, or move in a jerky fashion. Also watch out for when everyone stands up. Many a wedding shot is blown when everyone stands when the bride comes in, and when the couple leaves. Go to the practice the day before.

If all you have is a VideoMic and an H1, I guess put it in front of them and hope nobody gets pissed for having it there. Otherwise get a line out of the PA, going into the H1.

Good luck.

What about the toasts? Get a line again from the PA into your zoom. And research attenuation cables to go from PA to H1. You may need one. (maybe not) but if you need one and don't use one all your audio will be distorted.
 
Thanks.

I will have a partner filming with a second camera. And I will do my best with the audio I guess.
 
I'm going to buy a cheap lav mic before the wedding. Any suggestions on which one to get? I need it to connect directly to my Zoom H1.
 
Giant Squid is inexpensive, yet people say it has good sound. You could set the recorder recording, use the "Hold" function to make sure it doesn't stop, then place it in the pocket of the officiant, or Groom and put it on them. The officiant is the one that does most of the talking, so maybe that person would be better. You could ask them to be sure to stay close to the bride/groom when they say their vows. Still I would look into getting a line from the PA board into a camera/recorder to be safe, and it would probably sound better because they usually take a moment to move the mic from the officiant to the groom/bride when they speak. You must call the person in charge and find out about the PA, then call the person running the PA to find out what type of line out they have. Often it's a RCA jack. I have a few RCA-to-XLR adapters, or you could go RCA-to-1/8" mini if that's what the camera needs. Also remember the DSLR input is mic level, and the RCA out is Line level, so you need an atenuating cable like this:
-50db
http://www.dvcreators.net/dvcreators-line-to-mic-cable/

Or maybe -20db if -50 is too much: http://www.core-sound.com/attenuator-cables.html

Someone else can say if -50 is appropriate. I think Guy used one in his video wth a DSLR and an H1.


Looks like they are having a sale on lavs at Giant Squid through Nov 7th. I remember the lavs were 25.00, but haven't checked in a while. http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/
 
If you're using the built-in mics on the Zoom H1 outdoors, you'd be better off using a Windtech MM-52 Muff:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/714075-REG/WindTech_MM_52_MM_52_Mic_Muff_for_Zoom.html

It makes your H1 look like Don King, but it's necessary for outdoor use.

As far as lav mics go, I would maybe try one of those omni-directional Squid mics that Chad posted. I've never heard them, but then again I've never plugged a lav mic into an H1, so I don't have a suggestion. I can just suggest getting one of the Squids with an omni-direction pick-up pattern.

As far as setting levels go, it isn't the sort of thing that you set up in advance. Setting your gain is like focusing a camera. You can't focus the shot before you arrive. Read up on gain structure, and practice before you get to the wedding.
 
Sam Mallery said:
If you're using the built-in mics on the Zoom H1 outdoors, you'd be better off using a Windtech MM-52 Muff:
It makes your H1 look like Don King, but it's necessary for outdoor use.
Click to expand...

LOL.

Thanks for the advice guys. I just picked up a $25 lav at Radioshack and it actually works great. I got lucky because I didn't have time to wait for anything to ship considering the wedding is Sunday. Chad, I will do my best to get a hookup to the PA. It seems a bit stressful trying to hook up to the PA system while also trying to get the shots I need, but I'll do my best. Thanks.
 
Jamie, once you are hooked up, or better yet, your 2nd camera guy is hooked up, you are good to go. I just try to get there at least an hour before the cerimony and talk to who is running the PA, and do a little testing. Believe me, I did that, and I laved up the Groom and officiant, and in the end I went with the PA sound because it sounded best. Then I went to the lav on the groom as they walked up the isle at the end so I could hear them giggling.

Another benefit to getting there even earlier is to follow the still photographers around as they get their shots of the groomsmen and bridesmaids and bride/groom. That stuff is golden fodder when you are editing later, especially if you can shoot in slow motion... Also ask for a CD of their favorite songs that they made from iTunes, same with the songs for first dances, garter toss, bouquet toss, etc. Everything. If the DJ is running the sound for the toasts, you can get in there and get a line out of his PA too, or at least put the VideoMic close to a PA speaker (not too close so it could distort) and get all the toasts. The toasts are so important buddy.

Here's a demo of a wedding I shot with 2 EX1 cameras, and lines out of the PA. I have in line attenuators to pad the line signal down to the mic level of my Sennheiser plug-on transmitter though. Feel in over your head yet?

I had some fun editing the time right after the ceremony to their favorite song "Fireflies".
 
well the wedding is over. my h1/lav setup was not working properly during the ceremony -_- but my videomic picked the audio up pretty well. If I ran the H11 through my videomic it would have been perfect.

Anyway, here's the finished product... http://vimeo.com/16645146
 
Forever more, I will call a muff like that a "Don King" Priceless.

Hey PA, go get me Don King outa the audio case......

Grant
 
Hey man good work!

Can you explain what went wrong with the H1/Lav? And what do you mean by "If I ran the H11 through my videomic "????

From what I saw, you probably could have done a couple things in post to make it a little better. Like the audio I heard had a lot of hiss that could have been reduced either with EQ (if you have no noise reduction plug-ins) or with noise a reduction plug-in. I think sound track pro has one. But my app of choice is the brand new iZotope RxII going for 250.00, and worth every penny. The second thing I would have done is get a white balance in post for the actual ceremony shots, as they looked way yellow. It's a simple process with a 3-way color corrector.

Otherwise the footage looked pretty good! The indislider shots were a nice touch and the shallow DOF gave everything a nice filmic look. And I bet you learned a lot to boot.

But please explain the problems, as someone else may learn from your mistakes.
 
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