How to Record The Best Audio Possible Every Wedding!
Updated January 12, 2021
First things first...
It seems like every wedding filmmaker goes through the same phases of development with audio. In the beginning stages, you focus on the visuals and starting to develop your editing style. In this infancy of your wedding videography business, you are probably putting together what is known as a "music video styled" wedding film, which is simply a montage of events from the day usually set to a song with lyrics but with no true audio captured from the day. And as a sidenote, if you are entering the world of wedding videography, you need to know that you can't just use any song you want in your edit. You need to take steps to legally license the songs you use.
But as you have noticed in wedding films, the most powerful and engaging ones are those that feature true audio captured from the day, whether in the form of couples reading letters, friends giving toasts, or the officiant giving a moving message. The reason for this is that audio plays such a strong role in visual storytelling. It is the sounds and words that are the backbone for the emotion in a wedding film, and the visuals are the cherry on top. I know that when I started to take steps to capture clean audio, I was met with roadblocks and problems. I would think that I had purchased the perfect piece of gear, or had the perfect setting only to be met with disappointment when I reviewed the audio in post. Simply because I didn't know what I didn't know. But now, after five years of filming weddings, I have developed my system that ensures I get the best audio possible. So take some notes, check out the gear I recommend, and dramatically boost the value of your films with good audio.
Here are the 5 things I do every wedding to ensure I capture the best audio possible throughout the day.
#1 USE A LAVALIER FOR LETTER READING
As I first started with wedding videography, I captured the audio from letter readings or interviews using the Rode Videomic Pro on-camera microphone. This would usually result in decent audio, but there would be occasional times where ambient noise would come in too strong, or the bridal party chatting in the next room over would start to creep in to the recording.
To remedy this, now I always use a Tascam DR-10L lavalier/recorder or Sony TX650. This gives me clean audio for such an important element of my highlight films. A good reminder for yourself for when to use a lav or a recorder like a TX650 is to ask yourself, “is this going to be essential audio in the film?” If the answer is yes, then you need to mic up the subject.
And on the subject of the Rode Videomic Pro, I have opted against using any on-camera shotgun mics as I now use subject mics for any essential audio. This frees up your rig a bit and also your budget for picking up an extra TX650 or two.
#2 USE 2 LAVALIERS/RECORDERS DURING THE CEREMONY
I place one Tascam DR-10L on the groom and set it to High Level Recording, and one Tascam DR-10L and set it to Medium Level Recording. What is so amazing about these recorders is they have locking mic inputs so you don't need to worry about it disconnecting and they also record a safety backup channel at a lower db level in the event of peaking. I have found that Medium Levels are great for the officiant who is typically used to projecting their voice and that High Levels are great for the groom as the vows typically end up on the quieter side. The High levels on the groom also allow for capturing the bride's vows as well.
You can also use TX650 recorders for this as well, with a few pros and cons. The TX650 is so fast and convenient to slip onto their clothing which makes it preferable on wedding days. It also captures ambient audio a little better than the more directional microphone on the Tascam DR-10L. The tradeoff is that you will pick up a little background noise, which sometimes is undesirable. But the advantage of that is it will pick up a bride’s vows stronger while mounted on the groom’s lapel than the DR-10L would.
#3 :PUT A MIC ON THE LECTERN*
In the event that I am able to connect to the soundboard I will do that, but in most situations there is not a dedicated sound tech during the ceremony to allow for that. So to help capture clean audio of any special readings/music pieces, I will place a third Tascam DR-10L or TX650 on the lectern microphone with the use of velcro straps.
#4 GO "XLR OUT" FROM A SPEAKER DURING THE RECEPTION
This is honestly the step that took the most trial and error to perfect. To simplify things, there are two levels of audio you'll run into: line level and mic level. Line Level is the most common for what you will record from a DJ's equipment. MOST RECORDERS CANNOT HANDLE LINE LEVEL AUDIO. This is so important to understand, you could have a perfectly good audio source from a DJ but if you connect a mic level recorder to a line level output, you will either get no audio or super distorted, awful audio, which in reality is like having no audio. Some videographers recommend just using an attenuator with your mic level recorder which drops the line level down to a level that your mic level recorder should handle. I tried that at a few weddings, but I prefer to have the proper equipment to natively handle what it needs to do without adding an extra component. Enter the Tascam-DR40x, this recorder handles both line level and mic level audio, has XLR and 1/4" inputs, and like the Tascam-DR10L it can record a backup safety track at lower db. This is THE RECORDER for wedding videographers.
My preference when recording from the DJ’s setup is to go XLR out from one of their speakers because when you record from a speaker, you know that whatever audio is coming out the speaker is also going into your recorder. You always want to test levels prior to toasts, as DJs can have pretty dramatic differences in the levels they are sending from their boards.
Here are my exact settings I use for my DR-40x.
MENU - REC SETTING:
Format : WAV 24bit
Sample: 48k
Track Inc: 10 min
MENU - OTHERS - FILENAME
Type: Word (for naming each device)
MENU - OTHERS - SYSTEM
Auto Power Save: 30 min
Battery Type: Ni-MH (for rechargeable batteries)
REC MODE
Rec Mode: Dual
Source: Ext In 1 (for one input going in the left channel)
OR
Ext In 1/2 (for inputs going in left and right channel)
Dual Level: -10db
Level Control: Off
#5 HAVE BACKUP AUDIO OF THE SPEECHES
After you are connected to the speaker, it is time to ensure you have a solid backup audio source for speeches in the event that something goes wrong with your recorder or the DJ's feed. To do this, simply slide the TX650 with this microphone sleeve on to the wireless microphone being used for the speeches.
If speeches are not being given without a microphone then I prefer to have extra TX650 recorders to simply slip on to each person that will be giving a speech. (You can see an example of speeches being given with this approach in the below video)
That's it, if you do these 5 things at your next wedding, you are going to walk away from the wedding feeling confident that you have good, clean audio for crafting your edit.
Check Out The Gear I Use Every Wedding
at kit.co/dbarrettstudios
Affiliate Links Included