Hi there, I am new to the forum and appreciate anyone who takes the time to read and respond to my post. I have filmed almost 50 weddings to date and in a couple of weeks time I may have the opportunity to film my first outdoor wedding ceremony. I hasten to add, I live in Scotland so it's very dependent on our weather! I film with a PMW Ex1R Sony camera and have a Sennheiser Wireless Lapel Microphone kit and a wireless handheld mic. The ceremony will take place in a wooden hut with open sides. It's fairly shaded, surrounded by trees and unfortunately the hotel is on a flight path to Galsgow Airport too! Has anyone experience of filming a ceremony outside and if so what did you use to record high quality audio which minimised wind effects, natural elements etc.... Thank you for your suggestions!
I'm really not a wedding guy but aside from audio, filming outdoors in that hut you're gonna have serious backlit issues - some sort of on-camera fill light will be helpful. Just be aware.
Bruce Paul 7Squared Productions http://www.7squared.com
lavaliers will work best to minimize background noise, I would def use one on the officiant or the groom, and also have a small recorder in the local area.(in the flowers,behind a book, I have even put in the grooms pocket with a lav mic)They can be synced later in post. good luck..
Give the Bride What She Wants!
Lorraine,
I agree with the guys above, on board camera light to help fill the faces, not to bright as to blind the couple and have them squinting all the way through the service, lapel mic the groom, the handheld on the table out of the shot to get the vicar and ambient audio, use the wind cap that waas supplied with the lapel kit as this will reduced the ambient noise andmake sure that all your kit is weather proof as you cant stop filming if it starts to rain.
With regards to the airplanes, the couple knows that they are under the flight path andunless they are goingto pay to stop the planes, there not much they oryou can do about that!
Just make sure that you have done all you can to get a good audio recording.
Hope it help
I would go with lav mics definitely. If you have only one - place it on the bride. If you are planning to use two - place one on the bride, another one on the groom. Both mics will pick up some audio from the officiant. But the main thing - you will most definitely need WIND SOCKS for your mics.
Shoot-It-Yourself Wedding Video Guide
I'm a big fan of covering all bases, when possible. I recommend using a lav/bluetooth mirophone (try to put it on the inside, but don't let it rub). I also recommend a boom microphone or shotgun microphone.
On the wedding introduction I've included, the wind was howling. I used two camcorders - one with a Sony ECM-CG1 and one with a Sony ECM-AW3 bluetooth microhone. I ended up using the audio from the bluetooth. Note: I did use the included sock and didn't get any rubbing noise. Your Sennheiser should do well but I'd definitely have either a boom or shotgun, just in case. Good luck!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXDLbNlrKCU
Do not Mic the Bride and Groom, Mic the Groom and the officiant. You want to do that, because some officiants like to wander as they perform the service. Use 2 Lavalier microphones, run your audio to Digital Audio Recorder, this frees up any camcorders to do what they do best. capture video. If there is a Musical accompaniment, use your Handheld there. Then mix it all in post on the timeline of your NLE.
Contact me if you want to know how to sync this all up.
Palladini
Ontario Canada