Wind noise reduction during wedding ceremonies

[Michael Silverman]

For the past few years I've been working on reducing the amount of wind noise that our lavs pick up during wedding ceremonies. We shoot weddings in the mountains and sometimes near the beach so we can get a decent amount of wind. I typically place a lav under the shirt collar of the groom using a few triangles of gaff tape. If there's just a small amount of wind then this seems to prevent the lav from being affected. However, I've found that when the wind is moderate then the lav picks up a decent bit of wind noise and I'd like to reduce that.

I have some Rycote undercovers and overcovers but have not had much experience using them. Does anyone recommend a combination of tape, overcover/undercover, and anything else to use when miking the groom?

Also, the collar sometimes picks up a decent amount of rubbing when the groom moves. Is there another place that I could mount the mic that would be better?

[Richard Crowley]

For cutting wind noise outdoors (or indoors, for that matter) there is nothing better than a real furry cover. They are available in different colors to blend in with the costumes, etc. For example:

https://www.amazon.com/Movo-WS10n-Mi...01H2IJ26K?th=1

Available in "light gray" and "dark gray"

There are other vendors with different variations, etc.

[Michael Silverman]

How large are these? Can they fit under the groom's collar without it bulging? If not, where could I mount the lav?

[Richard Crowley]

If it isn't at least 1 inch in diameter, it won't be very effective against wind noise. Even larger if you are working in high wind. The smaller it is, the less effective. It is a tradeoff. If you want to work in windy areas and have good sound, then you must use effective protection. You can't change the laws of physics.

[Chris Harding]

Hi Michael

I use the tape triangles all the time ...it's important to fold the tape over "loosely" 3 times so you get a spongy triangle pad and use two of them either side of the mic. I gave up using windsocks ages ago as they have to be really big to be effective. I must admit I don't use the collar a lot as I prefer the mic slightly lower so I get an even distance between the bride and groom ..on the collar makes the groom very loud! Ties are useful areas to attach a mic and last week I had a groom with an open shirt and no jacket but managed to stick the lav on the seam between two buttons (only overlaps 1/2" but it still works well)

[Michael Silverman]

I actually have one of these that I bought a few years ago:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._Lavalier.html

I never actually used it because it seemed so big and bulky when I tried to place the mic on the outside of the groom's jacket. However, if I place the lav in this windjammer and then place it under the collar, I'm guessing that would do a pretty decent job of reducing wind noise. The question is, will that cause some serious rubbing on the fabric? Any thoughts?

[Richard Crowley]

I think you may have painted yourself into a corner. Trying to hide lav mics and eliminate clothing and wind noise in high-wind environments just seems like something even professionals with 4-person audio teams wouldn't expect to accomplish. You probably can't expect to get the wedding party (and especially the bride and groom) into an ADR studio to loop the dialog.

[Jay Massengill]

Are you using omni mic elements? They are less prone to wind noise.

At times when I only had a cardioid lav element available and it was windy, I wrapped a small strip of gaffers tape over the "cardioid" holes around the element. It did help with the wind and didn't seem to adversely effect the sound.

[Michael Silverman]

The lavs are Sennheiser ME2's, not the easiest to hide but they work well enough and pick up the bride quite well.