Audio for weddings Question...

[Michael Liebergot]

Originally Posted by Kelsey Emuss

Thanks everyone!

Dumb question...If I have 2 cameras and 4 wireless mikes what am I plugging them into to capture the sound? Can you tell I'm new to this!? lol!

If your camera has the capability, you plug 2 wireless mics into your L/R channels in your camera via XLR or XLR adapter box.

AS a result you are using 2 wireless systems on both cameras for your L/R audio and no onboard audio, which is really a waste in most cases.

If you need an XLR adapter box (as your camera only has 1/8 input capability) wanted, you could use a unit from Juicedlink called the CX431. This will let you plug 4 inputs into your camera and record on 2 channels. You can mix onboard as needed. What's cool about this is that you will never want or need all 4 sources being recorded at once. SO what you do is have, groom on CH1 (panned left), Officiant on CH2 (panned right), Podium on CH3 (panned left), and musicians panned center. You can then mix accordingly in post using each left and right audio channels. If you want one of the channels muted, simply turn the audio pot completely down.

Here's the link for the box:
http://juicedlink.com/index_files/CX...xers_CX431.htm

[Don Bloom]

Kelsey,
I don't remember what cams you use but what I have done in the past to set 4 wireless to 2 cams is the following depending on what I need.
1) Either set 2 wirless to each camera each wireless going to a seperate channel and simply kill off the shotgun and or hypercaroid mic. There will be SOME ambient sound from the lavs depending on where they are placed.
2) If I know I NEED to have the shotgun/Hypercaroid running on my cameras I have used a 2 into 1 XLR cable into 1 channel with the on camera mic going to the other channel.

Today with the AT dual channel wireless receiver I use I use the 2 into 1 XLR feeding my primary camera channel 2 with the Hypercaroid going to channel 1. Since I have the grooms mic on the 2 side of the receiver I can have it off until the bride and groom get to the altar and are in front of the officiant and then switch it on at the receiver. The lav on the lectern and the hyper get all the music and ambient sound until then. Works for me.

Don

[Michael Liebergot]

Originally Posted by Don Bloom

Kelsey,
I don't remember what cams you use but what I have done in the past to set 4 wireless to 2 cams is the following depending on what I need.
1) Either set 2 wirless to each camera each wireless going to a seperate channel and simply kill off the shotgun and or hypercaroid mic. There will be SOME ambient sound from the lavs depending on where they are placed.
2) If I know I NEED to have the shotgun/Hypercaroid running on my cameras I have used a 2 into 1 XLR cable into 1 channel with the on camera mic going to the other channel.

Today with the AT dual channel wireless receiver I use I use the 2 into 1 XLR feeding my primary camera channel 2 with the Hypercaroid going to channel 1. Since I have the grooms mic on the 2 side of the receiver I can have it off until the bride and groom get to the altar and are in front of the officiant and then switch it on at the receiver. The lav on the lectern and the hyper get all the music and ambient sound until then. Works for me.

Don

Don, what camera are you using that will let you plug into your cameras XLR CH2 and still use onbaord audio. Does your camera have a built in mic or does it need an eternal shotgun or hypercard mic plugged into XLR CH1 anyway?

Also, what 2 to 1 XLR cable do you use to feed 2 channels into CH 2 on your camera?

Is it and XLR splitter?

[Don Bloom]

Oh yeah I forgot to mention. I use the 150/170 (used to use the 250 which was great-3 XLR inputs) with the 150/170 I can of course split the audio channels by the flip of a switch.
The cable is one I got from B&H a few years ago when I was using my JVC5000 which only had 2 XLR inputs. (dumb) Anyway, it's a splitter cable with 2 female into 1 male connection.
I know that both receivers (or both sides of the AT dual) are going to the same channel on the camera but at least this way I have some control over which mic I have on when.
Like I said earlier, I generally keep the grooms mic OFF (it's on the 2nd side of the dual) until they get up to the officiant, then I flip it on so I can get the officiant talking. Both the grooms mic and lectern mic are going to channel 2 on my camera with the hyper going to channel 1, but honestly I'm going to experiment a bit. Since I really never use the audio from channel one and get all the ambient sound and music from the 2nd camera I'm thinking I'm going to kill off the hyper and just send each side of the receiver to it's own channel on the camera. We'll see.

Don

[Nate Spencer]

I use a transcend 630 with an olympus omni directional mic.

Gets descent sound from the immediate area. Do mostly protestant weddings although doing a Catholic one in October. Seems to work pretty charges using USB. Will accept linein or mic. Creates 16-bit Compressed WAV. Works with my MAcbook on OS X or XP.

Sorry for any I have a 2 year old and 8 mo on my lap.

[Don Bloom]

Originally Posted by Nate Spencer

Sorry for any I have a 2 year old and 8 mo on my lap.

Can they edit yet? ;-)

Don

[Kelsey Emuss]

Wow! Thanks for all this great info! I love this board!

I guess I'll be shopping again this weekend!

Thanks again everyone!

[Craig Terott]

Originally Posted by Don Bloom

Kelsey,

Today with the AT dual channel wireless receiver I use I use the 2 into 1 XLR feeding my primary camera channel 2 with the Hypercaroid going to channel 1. Since I have the grooms mic on the 2 side of the receiver I can have it off until the bride and groom get to the altar and are in front of the officiant and then switch it on at the receiver. The lav on the lectern and the hyper get all the music and ambient sound until then. Works for me.

Don

I do the exact same thing with the AT dual. 2 into one, mic groom & lectern, switch between the two anytime or leave both on & never have to override on-camera audio.


What I don't get is why so many peeps don't think the groom's mic will pick up the bride audio??? She's stands right in front of him!!!

[Vito DeFilippo]

Originally Posted by Rick Steele

I guess you haven't been on ebay lately. Show my one for $25 and I'll buy it.

Tell me about it. I thought about picking up another one, but they are going for crazy prices now. Two or three times what I paid a year or two ago. It's nuts.

Must be a bunch of videographers ruining the party...

You're much better off now getting a brand new Olypus unit.

[Renton Maclachlan]

Originally Posted by Vito DeFilippo

Tell me about it. I thought about picking up another one, but they are going for crazy prices now. Two or three times what I paid a year or two ago. It's nuts.

Must be a bunch of videographers ruining the party...

You're much better off now getting a brand new Olypus unit.

I watched for about three or four months at the beginning of the year, and while I saw them go for as high as $us84, with patience I got one for $us30 in March, (and one in Dec for $us25). I must have bid on about 20 or more of them. I use PhantomBidder which means I don't push up the price.

I confess I haven't looked recently, but even at $50 (plus $25 for a GS) it's a pretty cheap way to get another mic system.

[Vito DeFilippo]

I see them regularly going for over $100 now, and a brand new Olympus with warranty isn't much more than that.

I like the iRivers, too, but I think their time is coming to a close.

Anway, we're veering off topic a bit.

[Nathan Nazeck]

We are completely obsessed with perfect audio so we run four Sennheiser G2's.
Minister, Groom, Podium, music or soundboard tap.
All four go into A1's and then are backed up to H2's after the cameras get them.
The G2's sound phenomenal pretty much all the time.

[Terry Esslinger]

[QUOTE=Vito DeFilippo;915050]
I like the iRivers, too, but I think their time is coming to a close.QUOTE]

Why??

[Michael Liebergot]

[QUOTE=Terry Esslinger;917068]

Originally Posted by Vito DeFilippo

I like the iRivers, too, but I think their time is coming to a close.QUOTE]

Why??

Simple...
For one they don't make the units anymore, and haven't in 3 years. The only ones that you might be able to find are refurbished units on ebay, and even they are hard to come by.

Next, they only record in an inferior compressed MP3 format (fine for personal use, but inferior for field and production use), you can only record to the flash drive (no removable media), no built in mics, everything is menu driven.

They are ok for the spoken word, but not suitable for field capturing.

There are much better ways to capture audio now (Zoom H2/H4, Edirol R09HR, Marantz PMD620, Tascam DR-1, Sony PCM-D50, Yamaha Pocketrack, Olympus LS10 and more), as there are a slew of affordable digital audio recorders on the market, that allow recording of uncompressed WAV audio as well as MP3 if you so desire, have removable media, built in mics that work anywhere form pretty well to excellent, as well as very good manual controls that are not menu driven.

These are only a few of the advantages of these new recorders.

The iRivers were a good low cost solution for video producers in their days and may have even paved the way for development of the new crop of field recorders. But as soon a high end audio producers such as Edirol, Tascam, Marantz and others saw the need to produce and enter the market, the iRiver ifp series was doomed.

Of course iRiver did this to themselves as well, by taking the ifp recorders off of the market and instead of enhancing them, replaced them with units that don't have a mic input.

Personally speaking, I used to use the iRivers until they started failing me miserably, and as such looked for more reliable and good for me, better alternatives.

[Jeff Kellam]

Originally Posted by Nathan Nazeck

We are completely obsessed with perfect audio so we run four Sennheiser G2's.
Minister, Groom, Podium, music or soundboard tap.
All four go into A1's and then are backed up to H2's after the cameras get them.
The G2's sound phenomenal pretty much all the time.

You aren't getting perfect audio from G2s. You are getting affordable, squelched and relatively quiet audio though.

There is a big difference with some higher end radios/mics, but probably not worth it for a wedding production.