Very cheap alternative to audio
 

Hi

Like many here I've agreed to do the video for a friends wedding and I would like to do the best job possible without spending too much.

I have read through heaps of the posts so will try not to repeat any of the standard questions but I have just one.

Since I cannot afford to buy a wireless mike would it be a good idea to just take a line out from the PA into an MP3 recorder? I imagine this will capture all the audio from vows, music, readings etc.

I do not see this discussed all that much so is there some reason why it is not used as the main way to capture audio?

Thanks
Mark

Mark: I've moved your post to our audio forum, it really does not
belong in the wedding forum.

Not familiar with a wedding rig, but personally I'd get a condensor mic for ambience, and rig the PA thru a multitrack so you can sort out individual levels afterwards (just make sure it doesn't peak too high during recording).

I don't know how many lines there are used in a wedding mind, but even if its two (one mic at the front, and one thats yours) you'd still want to take individual lines just to be sure.

You can use the Minidisk, that will record everything, but as pointed out, you'll have no balancing control later on.
The BEST solution for a wedding guy, is to have 4 mics, 2 per camera, and run either wireless or wired mics into the 4 channels that the 2 cameras provide. You could wire 2 lines from the mixer into one camera in a fixed position, and run wireless to the second camera, again running two mics, or you could use 4 mics into the 4 inputs on the two cameras. This gives you lots of audio to work with, but it's not an easy/fast/trouble free set up. You'll have to weigh the options and the needs.
I don't shoot weddings either, but I spend a lot of time at them, and also in a wedding forum on a couple other sites. If you only record what's on the PA, you'll not be very happy.

Thanks for your advice guys

I'll see what I can do to get multiple lines.
Maybe I can source some wireless mikes from the church

This is how I went audio on the cheap...

$100: You can get an Audio Technica 201 single wireless lav setup. It's VHF, so you might run into a channel conflict sooner or later, but it works for lots of other things.

$200: You can get a Gemini dual-UHF wireless setup. 16 channels. You can run both lavs through the receiver and it will mix up fine when run through the 1/8" input jack on the camera. The good thing about running two lavs is that you can clip the preacher and the groom. If you have a catastrophic failure in one lav, the other one will pick up the audio for you.

The biggest problems you'll have is that the system has to be plugged in, limiting your mobility. The audio isn't the absolute best, but I haven't noticed much difference between a $200 UHF system and some of the more expensive lav setups. The BEST thing about these setups is that either will cost the same amount or LESS than a voice/mp3 recorder.

I do weddings full time. I'd agree with Douglas. Four mics is the best approach. Attaching a line out from a house PA to a recording device will present you with some limitations. On occasion, when officiates refuse to wear my microphones, I will take a line out from the House PA. It is never my only source of audio.

I currently use four NADY wireless systems, all single channel. Two are VHS, Two are UHF. Each system has lav and handheld mics, allowing me the flexibility to choose the appropriate mic for the situation. These mics are connected to a four channel audio mixer, then fed to the camera (s). Pan controls on each audio mixer channel allow me to predetermine the left/right mix. Mute buttons on each channel allow me to quickly choose which mics to feed into the mix. Most of the time I do not use a stand alone recording device. It is, however, a handy backup.
As indicated in a previous post, one loses mobility with this method. Not a problem for me as my policy is to always shoot ceremonies from fixed camera positions. My clients appreciate this and some houses of worship restrict camera movement.

Before making my purchases I carefully researched commonly used radio transmission frequencies in my local area. Had the radio traffic been more extensive than it was I would have chosen to purchase multiple frequency wireless systems. If necessary I can run up to eight audio channels.

With the audio mixer, cables, and a few other accessories, my total audio expense was around $600.00.

<<<-- Originally posted by Rob Lohman : Mark: I've moved your post to our audio forum, it really does not
belong in the wedding forum. -->>>

Curious Rob...why you moved this as it does belong in the wedding forum where other wedding videographers can comment based on their similiar experience....
Mark