Drifter

Your first mistake was using a Canon GL2.......so yesteryear

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Yeah, it is. *Hand Cut* was made with a pre-production GH5, with incomplete firmware. GH5 Firmware Version 2.2 is QUITE mature. Lots of features were added along the timeline to that 12/2017 release.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Correct, but it was all my employer could afford. The HD option was more than twice as expensive, and my managers had other priorities for training funds.

For what we were doing, HD tools would not have meant better communications. The picture would have been "prettier", but the message would not have been better. At that time, 2008, we were putting SD video on DVDs, and even SD would choke our company Intranet back then.

These days, I own a GH4 and three lenses, which cost about the same as the GL2 (less if I account for inflation). It plays a dual role as my stills camera system, so that eliminates another few grand... and cuts my effort in half, avoids excess baggage charges...

genocolo Loc: Vail and Gasparilla Island

So what setup would you recommend for an outdoor wedding? Can't be too complicated or go over the top price-wise or make it too interfering.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Absolutely, and the importance of audio in film is often forgotten by amateurs. As you say, closer is better, and unless you’re willing to run balanced, low impedance cable and the appropriate matching transformers, wireless is excellent for remote mics. Running high impedance cable for more than a few feet is an invitation to hum and noise pickup as 60Hz wiring is everywhere.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

See Curtis Judd's videos on YouTube.

There are many approaches. One is to use a Zoom or Tascam recorder and wired, omnidirectional mics on stands, but placing wired mics ON the "talent" (bride, groom, priest/minister/presiding official) is impractical, if not impossible. Mic stands are ugly, too.

My solution usually has been to place a single wireless omnidirectional mic on the groom, half way between his mouth and the bride's (height-wise). If possible, a wired or wireless omnidirectional mic, located between the official and the bride (perhaps clipped to a plant on a stand, or the back of a candle stick on a table) can be useful, too. Otherwise, you could mic the official with an omni wireless.

Outdoor weddings present the issue of flying planes, passing cars and trucks, animal noises, and worse, WIND. When using lapel mics, I like to wrap them in moleskin (the kind with adhesive on the back that you put on feet to avoid blisters), leaving a "lip" of moleskin above the mic's open ports. This helps avoid clothing rustle, as well as wind.

Beware of shotgun microphones. If you put one on a boom and aim it down, it's quietest, but if a plane flies overhead, you'll be amazed at how loud it is! Hypercardioid (shotgun) mics always pick up about 15-20% of their sound from the REAR of the mic.

Whatever mic you use on a stand or boom, it MUST have at least a foam windscreen, and preferably a "dead cat" windscreen on it. There's only so much you can do in post-production to filter out certain frequencies.

I like to use a limiter or AGC when recording dialog of any kind, but beware that AGC usually applies a lot of compression, and compression always pulls up the background noise. You CAN use a noise gate in post-production to reduce some noise, but it's usually obvious.

The closer your mic to the source, the lower the gain can be on the mic pre-amp in your camera or recorder. The lower that gain, the less circuit-induced noise, background noise, and electro-mechanical/radio frequency noise you'll hear. GET CLOSE. Remember, the less noise you record, the MORE effective your noise reduction strategies will be (i.e.; using noise gates, EQ, notch filters, low pass and high pass filters...).

That's easier said than done, since there are so many human issues to contend with at a wedding!

Maybe none of these schemes is inexpensive, but inexpensive is a relative term. Good wireless solutions are $250 per mic and up. Do consider used gear, and rentals, if available where you are.