Best video you've made so far Jaired 😂. I reverse recorded a groom's and officiant's Tascams, and forgot to press record on the recorder plugged into the DJ's board. The bride's mic saved the ceremony and and film.
Awesome Video! A little tip that I started doing is using two stickies overlapped side-by-side to get a little more sticky surface touching the dress and I use white wind covers to match the color of the dress. Cheers!
I've gone back and forth on this, but with the new Adobe enhance speech feature you can apply the effect to the groom's lav and really make it sound like the bride is wearing a lav too during the ceremony. I do like the idea of capturing those candid snippets of conversation, though.
Theres no secret A.I. definitely has helped in the world of audio processing. I love having as many practical sources from the day and you nailed it, the biggest takeaway from micing the bride is the candid, unscripted moments that can be incredibly powerful in their story. But I still believe everyone has a process and as long as you are serving the couples needs, goals, and comfort level with the filmmaking process you will always be doing whats best.
I’ve been guilty of not micing a bride, this past weekend was my first time using a dj speaker to pull sound from and I actually liked it but you have the issue of interference so it’s always better to actually mic the bride. Like always, great video 👏🏻
Great advice man! I just shot an elopment up in the highlands in a storm and wished i mic'd the dress as the wind was insane! Luckily they were super chill and we re did the vows somewhere else with no storm haha but its all a learning curve! Thank you for this advice, im super nervous to even touch the dress on a wedding day 🙈
Thanks so much! Ah man I totally get that - I still get nervous handling the dress haha. I think it's just a respect and care thing and we dont want to be the cause of anything malfunctioning. But so so so worth it from a story telling perspective.
Have you made a video on all your mics and how you use them throughout the day? Audio is my weakest part of filming a wedding day. So that would be amazing to see. Especially the little stick mic and how you attach it to the handheld mic for the speeches. I don't see that one on your gear list. I had a wedding recently where the DJ's audio board got all the music - but completely failed to get any speeches audio and I'm kicking myself for not having come up with a backup solution for the speeches.
Such a great video idea! I can definitely put something like that together. The stick mic is a fairly new purchase but has been super useful. I also mic every single person that has a speech so that I can have at-least 2-3 sources for every scenario
I've been mic ing the bride from day one. However, the most hesitant part about wearing a mic that I get from most of my brides is if it will record ALL her "private" conversations as well. When I can, I try ONLY to turn it on during the ceremony and special moments, but I assure her that I only use the audio that I have video for and the rest I delete. Any experience with brides having similar concerns? What do you do/tell them? Great videos!!
Yes, some brides have voiced concern about that and really what I tell them is we are there to fully preserve this day for, the conversations with family, bridal party, husband and having quality audio is the only way to truly preserve the day. Don’t worry all we care about is the important moments, we don’t want you to feel unable to have conversations as you normally would, we always have your best intentions at heart and want you to have the best film possible.
the audio always worries me. and this tip will help me have some peace. Your videos are guiding me to the next level. I'm from Brazil, and although weddings here are different, the challenge of telling good stories is the same. thank you very much
Awesome! when the mother or friend puts the microphone on the bride, do you turn it on and record the whole day? When do you take it off and stop it? Thank you !
I like to tell the bride we can take it off after the ceremony but sometimes I may leave it on until after portraits to try and capture some genuine conversation between the bride and groom. And then before reception I take it off. However, there are some many moments on the day that we miss when they aren’t mic’d and even special moments and conversations during the first dance, eating dinner together, etc. But usually the bride gets tired of wearing it after awhile so I let her decide her comfort level with it
Some of the brides I’ve had this year even with discussions and prep beforehand just didn’t want to go through with getting mic’Ed up so I’ve held back from doing it again. If Sony could make a clip that looks like a broche for their tx660 recorder it would be a game changer and more brides would be willing since it would be an easy process
I totally get that - it definitely depends on the brides comfort level. Most people by nature would be hesitant unless they saw the value and importance of it. Showing them a video where the bride is mic’d during a emotional moment on the day could sway them over just explaining. But I agree the bride getting mic’d is currently more tedious than the groom or officiant
love this, Jaired! I have been wanting to mic the bride (because sometimes the groom's mic does quite get their soft voices sometimes) but I haven't yet (just b/c I don't want to bother them lol)... quick question, at what point do you take it off? do you leave it on even during Portraits/Dancing/etc? thanks bro!
Thanks so much man! Great question, generally I tell the bride she can take it off after portraits but I do know some filmmakers that keep it on all day! I leave it open to the brides comfort level and if it starts bugging her then we can take it off whenever
So do you ever encounter after micing that during them putting on the dress the mic gets in the way or they somehow the mic comes off during that process? How do you handle it?
Thankfully I’ve never encountered this issue and it comes down to placement. The truth is you can mic all wedding dresses so it really depends on the style/ design of dress. The rycote stickies are incredibly resilient on the dress and the strap as long as it’s secured tightly but comfortably you will be fine. But you’ve now unlocked a new fear lol so thank you for that 😂
I see the point when putting a mic on the bride during personal vows, but for standard regular vows I don’t see the benefit. I’ll just use Adobe AI and I can make it sound like bride was wearing a mic.
True the vows you can cheat and use the grooms mic 99% of the time. But if the grooms mic somehow failed, the officiants source isn’t always sufficient and then without a mic on the bride during the little moments of the day (bridesmaids reveal, convos with mom or grandma, friends, family, during the first dance) all of those moments we never know what magic could happen and it could be the difference between making our film 10x better.
lol, excellent song. In less outgoing cultures, we can barely persuade the groom to wear a mic, much less the bride. They're terrified of the things. The audio pickup from his mic should be more than adequate (if push comes to shove and something goes wrong, you've always got a redundant backup on the celebrant), and couples really don't notice the difference. Respectfully, its a massive waste of time and energy and I'd advise videographers - especially solo videographers - to spend their precious time elsewhere on an already chaotic morning.
Totally understand that! And I have definitely made due for years with just mic'ing the groom but my eyes have been opened to so many new and amazing possibilities from a storytelling perspective that it has definitely become such a crucial part of my process. But I always will preach that if your couples doesn't want it or feel comfortable with it, always follow their lead.
there is supposed to be easier way to get that audio .... too complicated and not comfortable for the bride . And if she has more casual dress that doesnt work . Still in waiting for a small lavalier microphone with a battery inside to appear so not to use wires and a transmitter
I totally feel that! While this process has made me feel a lot less nervous - I agree it’s still a lot to think about and manage on the day and not all brides are receptive even with proper communication.
