The Royal Wedding at DVinfo.net

Warren Kawamoto · April 29th, 2011, 04:52 AM

I was amazed with the audio of the Royal wedding! Everything was clear and crisp. I wondered how they got a mic on the bride? Was it hidden in her hair? Or in her dress? It was absolutely invisible! I also noticed there were no photographers/videographers running around anywhere... truly professionally done.

Colin McDonald · April 29th, 2011, 05:06 AM

And I'm not seeing any so called "cinematic" techniques :-)
Just honest to goodness tv coverage executed to the highest standards. Live as well!
Everyone doing weddings should watch it.
Not exactly short of manpower or gear admittedly but it's a reminder of what we might be expected to try to achieve.

Chris Harding · April 29th, 2011, 05:19 AM

I saw just one young female photog jump into the front seat of the car as the bride got in and after that absolutely not a photog or video camera in sight!!

The BBC did a pretty good job of keeping their multiple cameras out of sight too...I expected to see a camera setup in the wide shots but didn't see any.

Yep, documentary style as it happens is still the most faithful recreation of events.

Even during the exit from the Abbey you never even saw a single flash!!! I would have thought that a great deal of audio thought must have gone into the mic and mixing setup for the ceremony too...what was amazing was there was little or no echo so what the guests heard was different to what the cameras were recording. No reason a tiny lav wouldn't be concealed somewhere on the couple .I don't think the BBC are short on technology and gear!!!

Chris

Brian Drysdale · April 29th, 2011, 06:04 AM

However, highly unlikely they'd radio mic a royal couple.

Gary Nattrass · April 29th, 2011, 06:30 AM

I saw a few canon stills camera's but they would be for stills, a good friend of mine was on one camera for the BBC in the abbey but sadly my own booking to give additional coverage for foreign media was cancelled at the start of the week.

No radio mic's on the couple and their vows were probably just picked up on the ministers two radio mic's.

Michael Wisniewski · April 29th, 2011, 06:59 AM

A few articles on the sound system in Westminster Abbey

Liam Hall · April 29th, 2011, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Drysdale

However, highly unlikely they'd radio mic a royal couple.

I have, more than once... Not on their wedding day though:)

Warren Kawamoto · April 29th, 2011, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Drysdale

However, highly unlikely they'd radio mic a royal couple.

Then I wonder how did they do it? I've been putting separate radio mics on both minister and groom for many years now. During my vows, even when my couple is standing close together, I can tell that my bride doesn't have a mic. When comparing my bride's vows to the groom's, the bride always sounds a tad more distant, as expected. My bride's audio is good, but not great like how Kate's was. It definitely sounded like her mic was near her throat or neck.

Ryan Czaplinski · April 29th, 2011, 01:17 PM

I think that whole event is underrated. That would be one long end video to edit! AHAHA!

Jeff Harper · April 29th, 2011, 01:23 PM

I saw a mic attached to a piece of black wrought iron on the bride's side, even saw the wire running down the side. It was clear it wasn't meant to be seen, I'm sure they had the best small mics hidden in several places.

How can anyone who shoots wedding video for a living not find the whole affair interesting? Oh well, I did. The bride took what, 4 minutes to walk down the aisle? I'm coaching my brides from now on to slow down. Working class girls practically run down the aisle, which is not good.

Gary Nattrass · April 29th, 2011, 01:37 PM

On the highlights you could hear the sound guy pushing the radio mic channels up for each of the replies, the minister had one on each lapel and it sounded like those that were being faded up more for each reply.

There may have mic's elsewhere but I didn't see them or the may have been a mic suspended above and that was being faded in as required.

Brian Drysdale · April 29th, 2011, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Warren Kawamoto

Then I wonder how did they do it? I've been putting separate radio mics on both minister and groom for many years now.

Protocol wouldn't allow it. Also. the rest room audio would down extremely well, a sound recordist I know still gets reminded by audio guys about the tape he did of a UK cabinet minster relieving himself.

You can hear the acoustic quality change between the minster and their quickly faded up replies.

Jeff Harper · April 29th, 2011, 02:24 PM

If you can find a larger version of this shot, it is behind William that I saw the mic and cord, not behind Kate, I was mistaken. I was watching it on 1080p tv when I noticed it, even then it was hard to make out.

Edgar Vasiluk · April 30th, 2011, 03:04 AM

Hi all,
I had a chance to be there at 6am, and I was amazed at how many people already was there! The whole atmosphere was amazing! Unfortunatly I had to go to work which is just 3 minutes from Abbey where they held ceremony....but I managed to take some photos of that morning....

It's here: Royal Wedding. 6am. How it was... - a set on Flickr

Wedding Videos London | Wedding Videos Essex | Wedding Videos Surrey from YouMyWorld Productions

John Nantz · April 30th, 2011, 09:45 AM

I'm a hobbyest so my view of THE wedding may be from a different angle from the professionals.

Well, maybe last night wasn't "the" wedding because everybody compared it to Princess Diana's, but it was certainly "THE" wedding for the past few decades. We were up sometime around 2am (Pacific Coast Time) to start watching it. My wife was looking at hats, dresses, etc., and I was looking at the video. There were lots of camera angles but, like what was mentioned previously, I never once saw a cameraman or camera. There must have been a lot of remote-controlled cameras.

For live coverage it was extremely well done. Everything from zooms to no zooms, the transitions some of which were fades and some not, audio doing a good job of blocking the overhead helicopter noise, color balance, you name it. We were watching NBC and I don't know how much of this was a data feed from, say, a video contractor, or how much was NBC, but it was very well put together.

When I think about the time I take to edit my videos, selecting the clips and where to cut them for the transitions, etc., and then compare my effort to this live broadcast, all I can say is WoW! Those guys did a fantastic job.

Obviously someone had a storyboard done well in advance. Among the highlights were THE Dress and THE Kiss, or rather kisses. Frankly, my opinion, THE Kiss was not very good from an acting standpoint and I could have done much better myself, and I don't mean the video part either! My wife tells me that royals don't kiss in public so that probably has something to do with it.

April 29th, 2011, 04:52 AM	#1
Warren Kawamoto Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 1,435	The Royal Wedding I was amazed with the audio of the Royal wedding! Everything was clear and crisp. I wondered how they got a mic on the bride? Was it hidden in her hair? Or in her dress? It was absolutely invisible! I also noticed there were no photographers/videographers running around anywhere... truly professionally done.

April 29th, 2011, 05:06 AM	#2
Colin McDonald Trustee Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Posts: 1,546	Re: The Royal Wedding And I'm not seeing any so called "cinematic" techniques :-) Just honest to goodness tv coverage executed to the highest standards. Live as well! Everyone doing weddings should watch it. Not exactly short of manpower or gear admittedly but it's a reminder of what we might be expected to try to achieve.

April 29th, 2011, 05:19 AM	#3
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: The Royal Wedding I saw just one young female photog jump into the front seat of the car as the bride got in and after that absolutely not a photog or video camera in sight!! The BBC did a pretty good job of keeping their multiple cameras out of sight too...I expected to see a camera setup in the wide shots but didn't see any. Yep, documentary style as it happens is still the most faithful recreation of events. Even during the exit from the Abbey you never even saw a single flash!!! I would have thought that a great deal of audio thought must have gone into the mic and mixing setup for the ceremony too...what was amazing was there was little or no echo so what the guests heard was different to what the cameras were recording. No reason a tiny lav wouldn't be concealed somewhere on the couple .I don't think the BBC are short on technology and gear!!! Chris

April 29th, 2011, 06:04 AM	#4
Brian Drysdale Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Belfast, UK Posts: 6,143	Re: The Royal Wedding However, highly unlikely they'd radio mic a royal couple.

April 29th, 2011, 06:30 AM	#5
Gary Nattrass Trustee Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Cornsay Durham UK Posts: 1,992	Re: The Royal Wedding I saw a few canon stills camera's but they would be for stills, a good friend of mine was on one camera for the BBC in the abbey but sadly my own booking to give additional coverage for foreign media was cancelled at the start of the week. No radio mic's on the couple and their vows were probably just picked up on the ministers two radio mic's. __________________ Over 15 minutes in Broadcast Film and TV production: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1044352/

April 29th, 2011, 06:59 AM	#6
Michael Wisniewski Wrangler Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Makati, Metro Manila Posts: 2,706 Images: 32	Re: The Royal Wedding A few articles on the sound system in Westminster Abbey FEATURE: Westminster Abbey's sound system Yamaha Gear On-Site for Royal Wedding Case Study Westminster Abbey __________________ "Ultimately, the most extraordinary thing, in a frame, is a human being." - Martin Scorsese

April 29th, 2011, 01:17 PM	#9
Ryan Czaplinski Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 46	Re: The Royal Wedding I think that whole event is underrated. That would be one long end video to edit! AHAHA!

April 29th, 2011, 01:23 PM	#10
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: The Royal Wedding I saw a mic attached to a piece of black wrought iron on the bride's side, even saw the wire running down the side. It was clear it wasn't meant to be seen, I'm sure they had the best small mics hidden in several places. How can anyone who shoots wedding video for a living not find the whole affair interesting? Oh well, I did. The bride took what, 4 minutes to walk down the aisle? I'm coaching my brides from now on to slow down. Working class girls practically run down the aisle, which is not good. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

April 29th, 2011, 01:37 PM	#11
Gary Nattrass Trustee Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Cornsay Durham UK Posts: 1,992	Re: The Royal Wedding On the highlights you could hear the sound guy pushing the radio mic channels up for each of the replies, the minister had one on each lapel and it sounded like those that were being faded up more for each reply. There may have mic's elsewhere but I didn't see them or the may have been a mic suspended above and that was being faded in as required. __________________ Over 15 minutes in Broadcast Film and TV production: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1044352/

April 29th, 2011, 02:24 PM	#13
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: The Royal Wedding If you can find a larger version of this shot, it is behind William that I saw the mic and cord, not behind Kate, I was mistaken. I was watching it on 1080p tv when I noticed it, even then it was hard to make out. Attached Images __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

April 30th, 2011, 03:04 AM	#14
Edgar Vasiluk Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: London Posts: 99	Re: The Royal Wedding Hi all, I had a chance to be there at 6am, and I was amazed at how many people already was there! The whole atmosphere was amazing! Unfortunatly I had to go to work which is just 3 minutes from Abbey where they held ceremony....but I managed to take some photos of that morning.... It's here: Royal Wedding. 6am. How it was... - a set on Flickr Wedding Videos London \| Wedding Videos Essex \| Wedding Videos Surrey from YouMyWorld Productions

April 30th, 2011, 09:45 AM	#15
John Nantz Trustee Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Seattle WA Posts: 1,252	Fantastic Wedding Video I'm a hobbyest so my view of THE wedding may be from a different angle from the professionals. Well, maybe last night wasn't "the" wedding because everybody compared it to Princess Diana's, but it was certainly "THE" wedding for the past few decades. We were up sometime around 2am (Pacific Coast Time) to start watching it. My wife was looking at hats, dresses, etc., and I was looking at the video. There were lots of camera angles but, like what was mentioned previously, I never once saw a cameraman or camera. There must have been a lot of remote-controlled cameras. For live coverage it was extremely well done. Everything from zooms to no zooms, the transitions some of which were fades and some not, audio doing a good job of blocking the overhead helicopter noise, color balance, you name it. We were watching NBC and I don't know how much of this was a data feed from, say, a video contractor, or how much was NBC, but it was very well put together. When I think about the time I take to edit my videos, selecting the clips and where to cut them for the transitions, etc., and then compare my effort to this live broadcast, all I can say is WoW! Those guys did a fantastic job. Obviously someone had a storyboard done well in advance. Among the highlights were THE Dress and THE Kiss, or rather kisses. Frankly, my opinion, THE Kiss was not very good from an acting standpoint and I could have done much better myself, and I don't mean the video part either! My wife tells me that royals don't kiss in public so that probably has something to do with it.