Using a 2 way radio for wedding videography

Originally published on July 23, 2007

We tried something new at the wedding we did on Saturday. My second shooter and I have never relied on anything other than hand signals to communicate during the ceremony. As a result we have sometimes been out of sync on our shots. There are dedicated wireless intercom systems that would allow us to to communicate, but they tend to be expensive and some say unreliable.

So last week I went to BestBuy and picked up a pair of GMRS/FRS 2-way radios for about $70. These little wonders are designed for communicating over a range of a mile or two, and are (at least on the FRS channels) low powered enough that they shouldn't interfere with the church PA, or the wireless mics. I also purchased a pair of cheap computer headsets.

First thing, a few words about GMRS/FRS. GMRS stands for General Mobile Radio Service. In the US you will require a license from the FCC to use it legally. The cost is $85 and all members of your family can use the radios under a single license. It is not supposed to be used for business communication (family businesses excepted). You can operate at up to 50 watts, although most low priced handhelds run in the 1 to 5 watt range. FRS stands for Family Radio Service. No license is required, and there is no limitation on business use. Power is restricted to 1/2 watt.Most of the radios that you get at a typical retail outlet at 22 channel combined GMRS/FRS units. Channels 1-7 and 15-22 are for GMRS and channels 8-14 are reserved for FRS (technically FRS can operate on channels 1-7, but only if the radio is approved for FRS use on those channels).

For our purpose, the FRS channels are best. If you want to get a license for GMRS, you can apply on the FCC's website (fcc.gov). I did that on Tuesday and got my license on Saturday. However for communicating inside of a church, the power levels available for GMRS are overkill, and you are more likely to cause interference. Plus do you really want to spend $85 for a license if you don't need it? I only got one because I want to use it for other purposes.

I bought a model that has standard microphone and headphone jack so I could use an inexpensive computer headset with it.So how did it work. Actually quite well. Before leaving for the wedding, I did some tests to make sure that it didn't interfere with my wireless mic, iRivers or Edirol recorders. The only problem that I found was if I was running high power and came within 6 inches of the PD-170, it could screw up the picture on the LCD. When we got to the church, I made sure that we were not interfering with the church PA. This is really important. Make sure that the PA is turned on, and that you are not being heard in it. There are some very badly maintained sound systems out there, and it doesn't take much to have your voice coming out of the church speakers. That goes for your wireless mic too.

The church was one of those with a center aisle and two side aisles radiating from the altar. We positioned one camera in each of the side aisles. The priest requested that the back camera be up in the balcony, so my plan was to follow the bride down the aisle with the Glidecam, then run up to the balcony where the camera would be on a tripod for the remainder of the ceremony. This was a good test for a communications system as most of the time we would be widely separated.

During the ceremony my assistant and I were able to keep in touch and coordinate easily. When we had to change tapes (it was a typical 1 hour+ Catholic service), we let each other know so nothing was missed. The only problem is that it is sometimes hard to be heard clearly when you are talking in a whisper. We had to repeat things at times.Later, driving to the reception in separate cars, the radios again proved their worth when we drove right by the reception site (despite my GPS telling me that we had arrived), and had to turn around.

To sum up, a GMRS/FRS radio is a good low cost alternative to an intercom system like an Eartec. It isn't full duplex, but do you really need that? You also have much more range available (particularly if your use GMRS) when you want to use it for other purposes.