Audio Tips For Wedding Videographers

Presented at the Greater Philadelphia Videographers Association, November 18, 2008.

Ceremony Audio

• You should have a microphone on the groom and the officiant. Don't assume that the officiant will be picked up by the groom's mic. Remember that in some denominations (i.e. Catholic) the officiant will often be at a distance from the groom during a large part of the ceremony.
• Find out where the readings will take place a mic the podium.
• String quartets, piano, vocal soloists, any source of music should have its own microphones. Use stereo if possible. Handheld digital music recorders (Edirol, Zoom, H4, Marantz etc) often have very good stereo mics built in. Just set the recorder up on a stand in front of the musicians.
• The organ can be a problem. It is often difficult to get a mic close enough to the pipes or organ speakers. If you can get close, by all means do so. But if not find a quiet part of the church away from the guests (to minimize crowd noise). Fortunately the organ fills the church with sound. If you can't use a dedicated microphone, one of the other mics will most likely get usable audio. Don't count on getting good organ sound from a mic being used for musicians if they will be performing along with the organ. A closely mic'd singer or trumpet player will overwhelm even a loud organ.
• Using the church audio. Many people hook into the church PA system. This way they have both the officiant and podiums taken care of. While this often works very well, there are drawbacks. The PA system may or may not be accessible, there may not be anyone around who knows how it works, and it is hard to test before the ceremony starts. For these reasons it is often better to mic everything separately. The exception is if there is a dedicated audio person at the church. Some churches are very media savvy and not only have good equipment, but people who know how to use it. Take advantage of this if available.
• Before the ceremony test levels on everything. You will not be able to make adjustments once it starts. It is better to set levels a little too low than too high and have clipping. Make sure that your recorders are on and recording. Lock them so the groom, officiant, reader, musician etc. cannot accidentally turn them off. Use the audio level meters if you have them to confirm recording levels. This is one reason not to use an iRiver, no audio level indicators. This is also where multiple wireless microphones are useful. You can set the levels remotely at the camera. Make sure you have fresh batteries. You can't change them in the middle of the ceremony.
• Make sure that your wireless microphones do not interfere with the church PA. While this doesn't happen as much as it used to, it can still occur.

Reception audio

• Microphone in front of speakers vs direct connection to the DJ
  1. An ideal reception audio setup should use both.
• Advantages of a direct connection.
  1. Clean direct audio, not through speakers.
  2. CD quality Stereo output (sometimes).
• Disadvantages of a direct connection
  1. Possible clipping if the DJ turns the levels up too high (particularly if not monitoring).
  2. No guarantee that music and the mic audio levels will be appropriate or that you will even have both.
  3. DJ might not know how his board works or where the connections are, or he may not permit a connection.
  4. Things can get unplugged or a critical channel can be turned off.
• Advantages of speaker audio
  1. You always get the full sound as heard in the room.
  2. No danger of losing all or part of the feed due to the DJ turning off a channel or unplugging something.
  3. No problem (most of the time) if the DJ won't or can't get you hooked up.
  4. You will be able to pick up crowd noise (applause etc)
• Disadvantages of Speaker audio
  1. It never sounds as good as a direct connection.
  2. You always pick up crowd noise (people talking near the mics).

• Use a direct connection to capture the music, DJ dialog and toasts. Use one or two mics positioned near the speakers for CYA, AND if possible another mic pointed towards the guests for applause etc (an on camera mic can be used here in a pinch)

Equipment

• For DJ hookup
  1. Mixer - Useful for connecting various cables, wireless transmitter, recorder, and headphones in one box.
  2. Cables. Make sure that you have cables that terminate on one end with phono plugs (2 for stereo) and ¼ inch plugs. Adaptors are good for this. Also XLRs (although most boards will have photo or 1/4 inch).
  3. Direct Box - Very useful for:
     • Isolating the DJ board to your equipment. Provides ground lift and attenuators.
     • You can plug a plugin type wireless transmitter into the XLR output. Since the transmitter expects a mic level input, use the attenuator on the Direct Box to convert line level to mic level.
  4. Wireless transmitter to camera. Use a plugin type with a Direct Box, and a standard (wearable) transmitter with antenna without. You have to convert the line level output from the board to mic level. Use a Direct Box, an in-line attenuator, or a mixer.
  5. Recorder. Allows recording of stereo feed from the board (if available). Better quality audio than a wireless mic. The recorder should have level indicators to prevent clipping (avoid iRivers if possible) unless connected through a mixer with level indicators. If you have a 4 track recorder, you can use two tracks for the DJ board output and 2 from microphones.
  6. Headphones. Don't trust meters. Listen for yourself. Use sound isolating phones.
  7. Power strip and extension cord - If you have anything that plugs in bring these. The DJ may be using all the plugs and you might have to run an extension from somewhere else.
• Microphone setup
  1. Can be connected to a wireless mic or to a recorder.
  2. Use a dynamic mic. Condenser mics are often overloaded by the high SPLs found at a typical reception. Even better purchase a drum mic. These are designed to be placed in front of a drum where there are very high sound levels.
  3. Use a cardioid mic. This microphone is somewhat directional but not as much as a shotgun. It will minimize crowd noise . Typical vocalist mics are cardioid.
  4. Place the mics on stands close to the speakers and facing them. Not too close as you might end up getting mostly the lows from the woofers or the highs from the tweeters.
  5. Optionally a third mic can be placed facing the guests to pick up crowd noise.

Tips

• When working with the DJ:
  1. If possible examine the outputs on the board. The Master Out jacks are usually your best bet. It is important that whatever output you use that the audio contains a mix of all channels (vocal and music). If you can't find an output that does have both, but you have a mixer, you may be able to mix vocal and music tracks in the mixer.
  2. Test Everything! Have the DJ play music and test his microphone. Make sure that he also tests any other mics that will be in use (i.e. for the toasts). Have him turn the volume up to the loudest level that he anticipates using. Set your levels so there is no clipping going into your wireless or recorder. In fact set it a bit lower. DJs have a tendency to really crank it up. Make sure that you listen with headphones. Just because the levels are OK, doesn't mean that the audio isn't distorted or noisy.
  3. Periodically check your setup. Check the levels and listen with your headphones. DJs have been known to accidently (or on purpose) turn off the output to your equipment or unplug cables. Also monitor camera audio if you have sound going to that. Use headphones as well as the audio level meters in the camera.
  4. Put fresh batteries into anything that needs them.
  5. If using a digital recorder, be aware of how much space is left to record. Change flash memory cards before you run out.
  6. CYA. Always have a backup source of audio. If you are getting your audio from the DJ board but have a microphone in front of the speakers, you are covered. Camera audio can be used, but the quality depends on where you are in the room and which direction you are facing.
• When Working with a live band
  1. Most bands have someone running a mixer. Use the mixer like the DJ board. Get a Master out if possible. Remember however that the mix is optimized for the speakers, not for recording. Typically it is not optimal for our use. Therefore you should also set up mics if possible. It may not be practical to do anything more than place a couple of microphones on stands near the speakers, but you should have a second source of audio. Since most bands are using electrified instruments, the speakers are the best place to pick up audio. An exception would be if the musicians are using non-amplified acoustic instruments. In a complex situation multi track recording may be necessary for optimal sound. For example you may want a couple of mics on the instruments, a feed from the board for the vocalists and any electric instruments, and another mic on the drums. This is often not practical without a dedicated audio person so keep it simple if you don't have the resources.