Audio for wedding videography

Even though we work in a visual medium, sound is very important. So important that some high end wedding videographers actually employ people a professional sound man for each job. Most of us don't however. We do our own sound. More than anything this is what separates the professional from the casual person with a camera.

First, a microphone on the camera is next to useless for quality audio, unless the subject is only a couple of feet away (not the usual case). The most important thing in audio is closeness. If you can't get a microphone close, you are not going to get decent sound, period. So in most cases that means multiple mics. In a controlled recording session, these mics are usually routed to a mixing board where an audio engineer mixes each channel and sends the output to a multi-track recorder. In the event videography business we are usually not able to do that. We don't have a dedicated sound person, and we can't run microphone cables all over the place.

So what we do is to use multiple recorders, and/or wireless microphones. This way we can have microphones where we need them, but without the need for a mixer, and without long cables.

I will place a microphone near all significant sound sources. For the groom and officiant I will use a small clip on mic. This is connected to either a small digital recorder or a wireless transmitter. As most brides do not want a microphone on their gown, the bride is not mic'ed. Instead the groom's mic will pick up the bride's voice during the vows.

In addition I will place a microphone on the podium if there are going to be any readings. Music is another issue. If the ceremony music is only from the church's organ, a stereo mic near the rear is often all that I need. If there are instrumentalists I will put a pair of microphones in front of them. A singer will get her own mic.

The reception has it's own set of audio challenges. I always try to connect a stereo digital recorder into the DJ's board. This is often all that I need to pick up the music and the toasts (which are almost always through the DJ's microphone). I will also mix in some natural sound from an on camera mic for applause etc. If I can't hook into the DJ's board, I will place a mic near one of the speakers. This a far from optimal, and can be a problem due to the high sound levels. In this case I always use a dynamic mic instead of a condenser mic, as dynamic mics are usually somewhat more tolerant of high sound pressure levels.

Recording the audio is done in several ways. One is a wireless mic. This has the advantage of sending sound to a receiver that is hooked directly into the camera. The audio is placed directly on the tape, and doesn't have to be synced up when editing. Typically I will use the wireless for the groom or officiant. The other method is a digital recorder. There are a couple of types that I use. One is the iRiver 700 and 800 series mp3 player. These are no longer made, but have the advantage of a microphone input on the body. They are also very small. I will often use one on the officiant, as well as another on the podium. The other recorder is the Edirol R-09. This is a 48khz/24 bit 2 channel recorder that records to a flash memory card. I will use the R-09 for ceremony music, as well as at the reception, where it is used with live musicians. Recently I have been hooking the R-09 into the DJ's board instead of using a wireless. This allows me to get CD quality stereo sound of all the music played.