What audio setup for weddings?

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Ben
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Hi

I'm slowly building up my camera gear to shoot weddings but I have no audio gear whatsoever apart from a rode video mic which won't really cut it!

What's the best options? Is it feasible to have 2x Zoom H1's with a lav mic to record the audio from groom etc or should I look into investing in a wireless setup?

Would rather not fork out so much money to start with? Have other things I want to get inc new lenses, a quadcopter and a glidecam!

Any help to do this cheaply would be appreciated!

Thanks.
 
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An H1 and a lavalier mic worn by the vicar / officiator is a good option if you want to keep costs down. An Audio Technica ATR-3350 is a good fit, although you will have to contend with the very long cable.
 
MarcM said:
An H1 and a lavalier mic worn by the vicar / officiator is a good option if you want to keep costs down. An Audio Technica ATR-3350 is a good fit, although you will have to contend with the very long cable.
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Awesome, I'm thinking something like this will be better than no sound at all! Will of course get wireless mics when funds come in.

My only question is how easy/hard will it be to sync it all up to numerous video feeds as it will be recording separately?
 
Actually, the sound will be pretty good!

In terms of sync, if you're on a Mac, Final Cut Pro X can do it automatically. Simply import your camera footage and then the H1 audio, select both, then 'Synchronise Clips' and you're done!

If you don't use FCP X, look at a utility called Pluraleyes. It does the same thing.
 
Quite a lot of wedding guys put one zoom h1 with a lav on each of the b+g, and maybe one on the vicar too.

Have a backup of a Recorder sat down on the floor by where they say vows
 
itsdavedotnet said:
Quite a lot of wedding guys put one zoom h1 with a lav on each of the b+g, and maybe one on the vicar too.
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And where do they stick the H1 on the bride......? :) [AFAIK Versace is still the only firm routinely putting pockets in wedding frocks]

H1 and lapel mic on groom plus a backup sitting on a heavy piece of stone works really well.

FWIW I wouldn't bother "upgrading" to radio. No reason they would be better quality and it's one more thing to go wrong - or monitor to make sure it doesn't go wrong.
 
And where do they stick the H1 on the bride......? [AFAIK Versace is still the only firm routinely putting pockets in wedding frocks]
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good question, haha! I know a couple of people who do it though. Definitely put a recorder, ideally with a shotgun, up the front on the floor though.
 
Awesome. Thanks for the help guys.

Actually quite nice knowing I don't need to spend £1000+ on two radio setups.

Would a Zoom H6 be overkill for wedding use? Not sure what I'd use it for - I just really like the look of them.
 
Only problem with the Zooms is, you can't monitor the audio on the day, which you can with radio mics.

That's trusting to luck a little too much for my liking but, providing there a no hiccups, the H1 produces nice audio.

Also, be careful if you go down the radio mic route, many of the ones you find on the bay and such are not on legal frequencies here any more and, the ones that are require a licence to operate.
 
Pete Allen said:
Only problem with the Zooms is, you can't monitor the audio on the day, which you can with radio mics.

That's trusting to luck a little too much for my liking but, providing there a no hiccups, the H1 produces nice audio.

Also, be careful if you go down the radio mic route, many of the ones you find on the bay and such are not on legal frequencies here any more and, the ones that are require a licence to operate.
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That's true Pete. But 2 zooms are less likely to fail ;)

The video guys I see at weddings tend to have too much to do to monitor audio. And if they did monitor it and find that there was a problem well, it's not like they can ask the vicar to stop while they fiddle with the groom's mic.

Re dodgy illegal frequencies.....I heard a hilarious story about 2 photographers using walkie talkies that were accidentally set to the same frequency as the vicar's PA. Some of their comments really weren't intended for public consumption :)
 
JonathanRyan said:
That's true Pete. But 2 zooms are less likely to fail ;)
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Or even 4 :D

JonathanRyan said:
The video guys I see at weddings tend to have too much to do to monitor audio. And if they did monitor it and find that there was a problem well, it's not like they can ask the vicar to stop while they fiddle with the groom's mic.
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Yea but, with radio mics, all the adjustments are at the receiver end so, can be controlled on the go.

JonathanRyan said:
Re dodgy illegal frequencies.....I heard a hilarious story about 2 photographers using walkie talkies that were accidentally set to the same frequency as the vicar's PA. Some of their comments really weren't intended for public consumption :)
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A similar thing happened to me a few years ago, had the groom mic'd up ready for the ceremony..... the groom, best man and ushers were doing some walking shots on the opposite side of the building to where the ceremony was taking place (outside in a gazebo), turns out my mic's were on the same frequency as the house system and, these guys weren't short of swear words, the looks on the faces of the string quartet when we arrived on the other side was a picture.:eek: (pun intended)
 
You could always employ a sound man, that's what they're good at.
 
Two h1, one on groom inside pocket with lav mic on the jacket but not near the flower. Other h1 as near to the action as possible on level 100. H1 on groom 85. Voice recorder good one on vicar but usually they won't so put on best man. Rode mic on camera as main to sync with. Voice recorder by the readers or if a guy on him. Readers are usually far away so you will need that. If you can move the other h1 fine. Speeches same one h1 on table, one on groom, voice recorders on any one else. Radio mics good but expensive and you will need good ones. Don't bother with quad chopper you will not have time to breath. Glidecam grand entrance and mingling when you will have time to follow them around. Slider needed if you want movement also. Steve
www.captureyourmomentsweddingvideo.com
 
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