Bridal Prep - Do you ever ask for music to be turned off?

[Clive McLaughlin]

Basically as the title says. Applies mainly to those of us who soundtrack our edits but still want some ambient noise to come through.

I personally have never asked as I feel it might make the atmosphere more nervouse for them or something - but it does annoy me when I come to editing!

[Noa Put]

Actually, I had this issue some time ago where the bride and groom saw eachother the first time, he reacted very emotionally and I absolutely wanted to have his verbal reaction in the edit, only there was music playing in the background which I didn't notice at first but it got me in trouble when I wanted to include my own music in the background.

I remember a few years back at a wedding the bride called me because she was contacted by our national tv because they where doing a program about newly weds and they wanted to follow her the first part of the day, she wanted to know if I was ok about that. Eventually it was a team of 3 that showed up, one doing the interviews, one camera- and one soundman with a boom. In the morning when they were shooting inside the house the soundman suddenly says: "I can hear a radio in the background, can you pls turn it off?", back then I found that a bit rude as people do put on the radio because it breaks the silence and maybe the bride just likes to listen to music.

Only now I would listen for it and ask to turn the radio off when they first meet, where I live that first meet is often inside the living room of their own house but other then that I feel it's not appropriate to ask to turn the music off when they do the bride prep.

[Peter Rush]

I wouldn't ask for the music to be turned of as it's part of their buzz, plus I'm usually there a couple of hours so would be unfair - I do ask for it off however if the bride is going to give out prezzies or read out a letter from hubby to be.

As Noa says it's a pain when it comes to the edit however, especially if you want to keep some ambient audio while you are also using a music track. This is true though for other parts of the day such as organist playing over a photoshoot in a church (happened at last wedding as it was pouring down) and sax player performing at the drinks reception etc etc

Pete

[Adrian Tan]

Hey Clive, I do ask for it to be turned off at particular times. Eg: if she's getting dressed. You're guaranteed to get people poking their head into the room saying how good she looks.

Or if I'm doing an interview or recording her reading a letter or whatever, obviously it would go off.

I've regretted not asking for it to be turned off at other times. Maybe it's something that ought to be discussed with the bride in advance.

[Robert Benda]

I'm the same way as you guys, it seems. Big moments require good preparation and a quiet space can be important.

Otherwise, during the general getting ready portion, when there can be a bunch of people in the room, like hair and makeup, I *usually* don't. However, I often ask if there are any videos (styles) they like. I have an example that uses a lot of bridal party chatter. If that's the case, I might ask for it off the whole time.

[Roger Gunkel]

I never ask for it to be turned off, as I like to capture the ambient sound as part of the atmosphere. If I asked them to turn it off, I would feel that I am altering their day for the benefit of the camera and that is not the way that I work.

I can understand that if you are adding music and organising a particular shot, that the ambient music could be a nuisance. I also find in the UK that it is becoming increasingly common to have background music playing continuously throughout the reception apart from the speeches. The only time I find it inconvenient for my own filming is on the odd occasion that I put together a highlights video, when I would usually substitute it with a soundtrack. I have even added a general background chatter from another wedding.

Roger

[Noa Put]

I once had a pianist playing a tune when the couple did their vows, he only forgot that the mike from the groom and his piano was connected to the same mixer and that his levels where higher then the voice, he did not notice and I ended up with vows that where over powered by his stupid piano. :)

[Vince Pachiano]

Originally Posted by Noa Put

In the morning when they were shooting inside the house the soundman suddenly says: "I can hear a radio in the background, can you pls turn it off?", back then I found that a bit rude as people do put on the radio because it breaks the silence and maybe the bride just likes to listen to music.

Perhaps we was worried about getting clearance for any background music that might be picked up, especially if it were for broadcast TV

[Oren Arieli]

Short answer:it depends. If there are lot's of ladies around, and they are talking, then music is just another background noise (would you ask everyone to leave the room so you can have complete silence?). If the music is overwhelming, annoying, or you're trying to get some sound bytes, then by all means...ask for them to temporarily turn it off (or down). Your style will dictate your actions. If you're not using any of the natural sound, then there is no need to change anything (especially if they're all having fun).

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Vince Pachiano

Perhaps we was worried about getting clearance for any background music that might be picked up, especially if it were for broadcast TV

They where also planning to do a interview around that time so probably he also wanted to eliminate any interference.

[J. David Pope]

Originally Posted by Vince Pachiano

Perhaps we was worried about getting clearance for any background music that might be picked up, especially if it were for broadcast TV

Yes, that is standard for TV Sound Ops and it's beaten into them by Field Producers. When shooting for tv shows we have to do such things because of copyright. We often ask a homeowner to take down a painting that is copyrighted and we have to hide any product labels.

Sound Ops for tv take every step possible to reduce background noise- ask for the air-conditioner to be turned off, ask for music to be turned off, ask for desktop computers to be shut down so you don' hear any fan noise. We sometimes even ask homeowners if we can turn off their refrigerator. ( a trick in that regard is we will place the keys to our crew vehicle in the fridge so that we don't forget to turn the fridge back on when wrapping out of the location. You don't want the subject's food to spoil because you forgot to turn their fridge back on! ).

Maybe a compromise for certain situations would be to ask for the volume of the music to be lowered. That way you are not a killjoy but the background music doesn't overpower people's voices and is less noticeable in the final product.

I will add that I shot extensively for the TLC show "Four Weddings" and they did not ask for music to be turned off. But that show primarily uses voice over and the people speaking while there was music playing were all wearing high quality lavalier mics the levels of which were being ridden by a field Sound op / mixer. ( Sanken lavs hidden in clothing using foam adhesive mounts, transmitters on the women hidden under their dresses on a garter style strap, the Sound Op riding everything and each lav being recorded on it's own track. )

[Noel Lising]

I bought the Ray Roman wedding course and this came out as a topic.As much as possible he turns off the TV/music with the bride's permission. His reason being is he wanted to capture ambient sounds during the bride prep, mother saying how beautiful the bride is, etc, etc. Lot of emotions basically

Having said that though, you would also have to take into consideration if someone is watching a show on Tv, etc.

[Andy Wason]

I've recently started giving my couples 'advice' ahead of time. Eg. No music or video games while I'm shooting, keep the room tidy, nobody chew gum.
No complaints so far!

[Adrian Tan]

Hey Andy, good ideas. I'm going to start a new thread; I'm curious what other tips people give.