Hey guys I need a bit of help again! I just met this client who told me they want thier vows recorded, and I am unsure how to do this.

I was thinking of few ways I can do this..

There WILL be a mic set up there with the audio guy, I would ask him if I could hook up a computer OR my 2nd camera to his system so I can get the live feed into that

i can get my OWN mic up there wirelessly and have it hooked up to reciever and then hooked up to my computer OR 2nd camera recording the audio

I can get my own lavlier set up but isnt it hard to do that for a bride?

use my camera's shotgun mic (do NOT want to use this option..too risky)

what would you guys suggest?

From the various threads I've read... I would suggest your own setup so that you are sure you have the audio. You mic the groom and the priest (curious if all priests don't mind this or not). I would also tap in to the audio system with your 2nd camera like you suggest.. better to have two audio tracks than one. Take the better one of the two. However.. if his setup is wireless.. you may need to check for interference with yours. I am curious if the small lav mics will pick up any audio from the mic/speaker system the DJ is going to use or not tho.

IRiver or other small digital recording device in the grooms pocket with a decent lav mic hidden in the hanky or flowers on the lapel... most reliable method I've used... (with a second on the priest if they don't mind - wiring the bride might work if they are used to being mic'd, but otherwise is not probably going to work, as you don't want to break the vibe of the dress)

House audio is subject to poor handheld mic technique, bad levels, no levels... but you can always record it anyway, on the offhand chance it will be usable. Wireless is subject to interference, but may work if the venue is not using conflicting channels.

By having a lav in the hot zone, digitally recording, you stand the best chance - the bride will still probably be soft, but with careful level tweaking in post, you should be able to get a good track.

I have been using a Olympus voice recorder with a wire lav mic hooked up to he groom. It's not a wireless device so there is no range or interference issue to worry about. Then at post, there will be an additional audio track to mix with.

I always have good sound recorded that way except if that's a catholic wedding. Otherwise, this setup works very well for me.

I put a wireless mic on the groom (Sennheiser G2)
and put a digital recorder on the officaint (Marantz 620 PMD-620)

I love the combo, I mix in post. Both mic's pick up the bride well, but usually the wireless on the groom has the stonger signal.


Ben

Im STILL really confused about the set up guys. can someone clearly explain to me how I should do it?

There is the one option of putting a wireless lav mic on the priest and groom, but what if that causes interference with other from the mic/speaker system...

Some of you guys said to have a digital recorder in the groom's pocket, I'm not quite sure what the purpose of this is...I'm guessing the lav mic is connected directly to the digital recorder, and therefore there would be no interference from any external mics.. am I correct?

Please help guys!, Thanks!

That's correct.

With that you have a separate clean audio file that you need to sync with the footage from the camera. It's easy just by matching the wave form.

You need to clip the wired lav mic to the groom. The mic connects to the voice recorder. There is no interference nor range problem to deal with compared with using a wireless lav mic setup.

First and foremost, FORGET the on camera mic for vows. Ain't gonna happen.
I always mic the groom and lectern for the readings. I stopped micing the officiant years ago as most didn't want to.
I have mic'd only 2 brides in my lifetime, there are too many logisitical challenges to that and frankly IMO it's not worth it. The grooms mic will pickup the groom, the bride and the officiant during the vows UNLESS the officiant is standing 15 feet away and most don't. At least none that I've come across. If you use 2 wireless, set the freqs far enough apart or do a freq scan so you can set them without interference. I've had no problem with interference in the last 10 years or so.
If you want to use a backup then use a digital recorder on the groom and simply double mic him and put the recorder in his pocket. Although I prefer NOT to use one (if I can't monitor the sound I don't trust it- but that's just me).
Relax, it's really not that hard to get quality audio. You simply have to use decent gear and some good old common sense.
Oh yeah, if you use wireless, use headphones. Anyone that doesn't deserves all the bad audio they get. If you can't hear it you can't fix it. Most audio problems start right there at the source. Transmitter, receiver or levels at the camera all of which can be sorted out BEFORE the event simply by doing a quick sound check.

Hi Guys

Ditto for me too!!
One very important fact!! Don't be too lazy to go to the rehearsal if they have one!! That way you will know exactly where everyone will be standing and you can plan your audio setup exactly. Sometimes the officiant is more than happy to change their position so you can get better audio.

Even if the Church PA sounds brilliant when they test it, more than likely the person doing a reading has no idea about where to stand or talks in a whisper so your own mic is essential!! I have a quite nice MiniDisk recorder that I usually put under the reading lectern and then clip a lav mic on the gooseneck of the Church mic. Even if you don't use it, it's comforting to have the backup there!!

Chris

Okay Suppose I want to Put one Wired setup on the Priest and Wireless on the Groom...how would I record the audio coming into the Wireless Receiver? I don't want to hook it to my camera because I want to be able to move mobile with my camera.

also can you only have ONE wireless Lav per receiver? If you needed a 2nd Lav wireless mic would you need a 2nd receiver and another separate channel? The reason I ask is because i noticed most of the wireless mic/receiver sets only come with 1 mic..eg

http://www.long-mcquade.com/?page=products&ProductsID=997

Okay Suppose I want to Put one Wired setup on the Priest and Wireless on the Groom...how would I record the audio coming into the Wireless Receiver? I don't want to hook it to my camera because I want to be able to move mobile with my camera.

also can you only have ONE wireless Lav per receiver? If you needed a 2nd Lav wireless mic would you need a 2nd receiver and another separate channel? The reason I ask is because i noticed most of the wireless mic/receiver sets only come with 1 mic..eg

Long & McQuade - Products - Sennheiser Evolution Bodypack Transmitter With ME2 Omni Lavalier (http://www.long-mcquade.com/?page=products&ProductsID=997)


I'm not sure I get the question. Are you using a rack mount or desktop type receiver? Get a receiver that's battery operated,either attach it to the camera or use a long cable and hook it to your belt or hook it to your tripod or multirig or steadicam and go mobil.
As for the number of units-you CAN have 1 transmitter go to multiple receivers (as long as the receivers are on the same freq) but you can only run 1 transmitter run to 1 receiver. IOW, you can't run multiple transmitters to a single receiver. Yes each SET of transmitters and receivers need to be on seperate freqs. The reason set of wireless come with only 1 mic is because they are not multi-channel receivers. There are a few out there. I run Audio-Technica 1821 receiver which is a 2 channel receiver. I can and do run 2 mics on almost every job on 2 different freqs. Works great for me.
I can hear and control both units and wouldn't have it any other way.

OK, I just looked a the link you had and you're looking at the wrong unit.This unit is great for stationary work, AV for seminars etc. Get the G100, 200 or 500 or whatever the numbers are. You need ENG type wireless.

Hi Rishi

Most radio mics have multi-channel but that doesn't mean that you can use more than one transmitter!! If the receiver has one channel you can only use one transmitter. As Don says if you want two transmitters then you need a dual channel receiver, essentially two receivers (each on a diffrent frequency) in one case. Each transmitter is set to the same frequency as it's partner receiver. ie: TX1 - 744.9mhz RX1 - 744.9mhz and TX2 - 788.4mhz RX2 - 788.4mhz.

If you are running, as you have mentioned, a hardwired mic from the priest and a radio mic on the groom then you need a little passive mixer (Azden make one that goes onto your camera) and feed the receiver output to one mixer channel and the wired mic to another and then the mixer output goes to your camera's mic in!!

Personally I get away with just a mic on the groom....if you want a backup, why not buy a MiniDisk recorder on eBay for a couple of dollars and have that near the couple as a backup???

Chris

I always use an Olympus WS-311M with an inexpensive audio-technica lapel mic on the groom. This gives me great audio quality (the bride and priest tend to be a little soft but can be upped in post).

plus I always try and secrete my Zoom H2 as close to the proceedings as possible. I also have a shotgun on my main camera (Sony Z1) in case of absolute emergency

Never had much luck relying on the in-house PA unfortunately

Pete

If your just starting out or it's a one off gig you're not sure you'll be doing much again:

Amazon.com: AZDEN WMS-PRO Lavaliere System with Hand-Held Microphone: Camera & Photo (http://www.amazon.com/WMS-PRO-Lavaliere-System-Hand-Held-Microphone/dp/B00006JPD8/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top)

Put it on the groom. Keep it simple.

I second the idea of going to the rehearsal.

You can pick up a nice digital recorder for around 100$. I bought a sony one at best buy a few days ago to replace the H2 I had stolen.

Mic the groom up an hour before the ceremony and start recording then. That way you can test everything out before it gets to stressful.

I always do this... I get good clean audio from the groom, bride, and the officiant...

Synch it up in post and then your done.

Steve

The WMS-PRO isn't the best, especially when there it fluorescent lighting around. Spend a few bucks more and get an Audio-Technica, Senheiser or Shure.

Never said it was the best. But I've found it to be clear, and usable without making a several hundred dollar investment.

Hey Guys, on this subject,what settings should the Zoom be at to record the ceremony if I double mic the groom? I'm using a Sennheiser Evolution G2 mated to a Beachtek adapter with my FX-1 for the ceremony. I own the Zoom H2 but have problems in the past with batteries running out or audio settings. I thought about putting a second mic on the groom and running that to the H2 or putting the Zoom on a mic stand in the area of the wedding party to pick up the ceremony. Any suggestions and suggestions about audio settings?
Cheers!

Tony

Hey Guys, on this subject,what settings should the Zoom be at to record the ceremony if I double mic the groom? I'm using a Sennheiser Evolution G2 mated to a Beachtek adapter with my FX-1 for the ceremony. I own the Zoom H2 but have problems in the past with batteries running out or audio settings. I thought about putting a second mic on the groom and running that to the H2 or putting the Zoom on a mic stand in the area of the wedding party to pick up the ceremony. Any suggestions and suggestions about audio settings?
Cheers!

Tony

I used to use my zoom mainly hooking into the DJ's booth at the reception. I was also putting it on a small >17in tripod somewhere near the bridal party as a back up to the grooms lapel mic.
I would put new batteries in about an hour before everything started and hit record then.
Then I would replace the batteries once the reception started, regardless if they had time left on them.
As far as audio settings. I really didn't have much time to get to deep into the settings.
I usually went with my mic setting around medium and the strength at about 110...
Usually yielded good results.

Steve

What about the podium how do you get good audio out of speeches? (sorry if I'm still not 100% getting it)

there are 2 scenarios for a podium. One at the ceremony for the readers in which case I place a wireless lav back to my receiver-very clean audio. If you mean at the reception you could do the same OR place a small pocket recorder with a lav on the podium OR set a mic with a plugin transmitter back to the DJs speaker going back to your wireless receiver to your camera but that only works if the microphone the speakers are using is going to the DJs board. If they are using the house system (I hate them as generally they have a bunch of small speakers in the ceiling and the sound is awful) thenperhaps place a mic on a stand and raise it up pointing to a speaker with a plugin transmitter going to the receiver on your camera.
Keep in mind that while I have done that I generally use a mic in front of the DJs speaker since in most cases around here they use his/her mic, I also use a hpyercaroid on the camera which works far better than a shotgun indoors. I also am not afraid to get close to the subject not only for audio purposes but for video purposes as well. I try not to be more than 8 feet away.

This is where a flock of iRivers (or other small recorders) comes in handy... you can stick one almost anywhere, the internal mic would probably suffice in a pinch on a podium, or use a lav. Just don't forget to collect them.

I've not EVER had what I'd consider GOOD luck with "house audio" - lots of the OTHER kind of "luck"... people don't use mics, forget to turn mics on, feedback, etc... while I'll usually try to include it as ONE possible sound source...

I'd rather have several dedicated "point source" recorders if possible, OR several wireless, but that gets expensive and problematic if you're in a high RF environment (many modern venues have a pretty complete spectrum of wireless gear on site, finding empty air space to squeeze into may not work very well).

I still didnt get all the 100 options out there, so I went to a local store and decided to talk to them in person.

I liked the idea of recording on actual recorders, and not dealing with wireless things right now


I saw a few ones at a local store, and I was pretty impressed with the zoom H4n. However NOT impressed with the size. It seems pretty big and no groom or priest would want to put that in their pockets. The other smaller recorders didnt have the right XLR inputs I needed.

So I was wondering if you guys could recommend me any smaller sized recorders (you guys may use) that will allow me to hook up devices via XLR

So I was wondering if you guys could recommend me any smaller sized recorders (you guys may use) that will allow me to hook up devices via XLR

Have a look at this one: Olympus DS-30

Stelios

Rishi -
XLR and "pocket" aren't compatible... if you want something that's a nice pocketable size, you're going to be looking for something with miniplug - 1/8" inputs. Specific iRiver models work, as do other small recorders like the Olympus that is fairly popular with other regulars here. I'm sure there are quite a few brands of micro-recorders designed primarily to take dictation that would "work", it's just a matter of the audio quality they are capable of recording.

Then it's just a matter of finding a nice discreet Lav mic, and you're good to go. For the short cable run you're dealing with, you don't need a balanced (XLR) line.