Unless you are VERY close to the bride/groom (I do
not advise it - this, after all, is a ceremony...), it is
unlikely you will pick up the vows - ministers/priests/
rabbis tend to boom out, couples tend to mumble...;-)
If you can use a wireless system for the weekend, and
a short-shotgun, you can use both on one camera (if the
gains are not too different) by plugging them into a
dual-mono-to-stereo adapter (Radio Shack) on one camera,
and use the better on-camera mic for the ambience/music/etc.
pickup. If www.syntrillium.com still has their excellent
Cool Edit available in trial form, you can use it to
process the sound (the noise-reduction module is
excellent, and you can also use Coll Edit to patch up
mis-matched channels, EQ errors, clipped spots, too-low
levels, etc.). In the video editor you can mix the
tracks for best results for the various parts, and
manually "gain-ride" the vows with the audio-track
"rubber-bands" to make them audible.

On Thu, 02 Aug 2001 11:31:32 GMT, SIDER DEREK wrote:

>I am actually doing a wedding this weekend and my main concern is
>audio. I have a Mini DV camera and a Digital 8. Do you recommend just
>sticking with the on camera audio or should I buy a directrional
>microphone that you mount on the camera or something else. Any advice
>greatly appreciated.

>> Would just like some info regarding miking wedding ceremonies. I have used the
>> on camera mic with some success.. either a sony tr700 hi8 or a pana 456. I
>> have also had the occasion to tap into a sound board if there was one
>> available (and the church had a sound engineer).
>>
>> I have an azden WMS-pro wireless setup that comes with a lav and a handheld
>> unit, but actually had a disaster with that... the priest's wireless mic
>> basically destroyed my signal and I was not able to switch channels on the
>> transmitter. The audio from the mic was so bad that I had to unplug it and use
>> the camera mic. The bride and the groom's vows were barely audible.
>> I'm not trying to trash the azden unit... It's worked great for interviews,
>> and things that I had a little more control over.
>>
>> I'm hoping that some of you could share some experiences with me as to what
>> seems to work out the best for you.