Outdoor Wedding Help at DVinfo.net

Danny Santos · June 1st, 2005, 09:45 PM

I was asked by my daughter in-law to take a video of her brother's wedding. Apprarently, they are a little short in budget and can't afford to hire a professional videographer. So, here I am. Volunteered (by someone) again!

Anyway, I have a GL2 and a lavalier microphone. The wedding will be outside or what they call a garden wedding. I am fully aware that audio or sound will be a problem but I don't know how to take care, avoid or solve this dilemna.

How do you guys shoot on this condition? Any tips, suggestions, etc. on outdoor sound and outdoor shooting is truly appreciated.

Please help. The wedding is this coming Saturday afternoon.

Jack Smith · June 1st, 2005, 10:30 PM

Check out the venue ahead of time so you can choose camera location ,watching for harsh shadows in full sun.For audio windsock the mic(s) and put 1 on groom and 1 on officiant and 1 for crowd (close mic)(1 of them will have less wind noise based on wind direction)You could use wireless or iRiver or MD.Ideally capture some ambient sound , the bird chirps and wind can be mixed appropriately in post and adds alot of realism.

Wayne Starick · June 2nd, 2005, 08:49 PM

I always visit the venue ahead of time. Its nice if you can do it when the rehearsal is happening because you can then experiment with different camera locations. Watch out though if the rehearsal is being held at a time that is different to the ceremony because the lighting will be quite different.

I always stick some golf tees into the lawn to mark my tripod positions. Don't forget to remove them after the event otherwise they could turn into unguided mini-missiles next time the grass is cut!

Oh, and windsocks on your mics are a must. I have one for my camera-mounted shotgun and also for my wireless lav.

Peter Jefferson · June 4th, 2005, 09:53 AM

all good tips jsut missing out on details..

if ur gonna check out the venue, go AT THE SAME TIME as when the ceremony will actaully occur.. different times of the day will often have major changes to teh environemtn, from shadows, to whether to wind variables..

if your micing the celebrant, there will most likely be no need to mic the groom (if ur using an omni mic that is) if not, micing the groom isi usually sufficient. U mentioend u had a mic, mut u didnt mention whether u hat teh GL2 Balun??? If u have this, run a shotgun off the cam, AND use the wireless

After teh ceremony (or before) u can go and get ur environmental sounds using teh onboard stereo mic.. in post just loop and resequence them to make is sound as if those sounds are actually happening, and being in stereo, u will get the widened ambience.. very effective and it costs nothing...

umm what else.. the GL2 is notorious o smear and flare, so make sure u have an ND filter which u cna mount to the cam.. the onboard ND is ok, but its nto the same as one which can be manipulated.

umm..
what else.. i cnat think righ tnow, but i was jsut embellishing on what had already been said..

cheers and good luck

Mike Cook · June 5th, 2005, 10:34 AM

Exposure is going to be a compromise. If the couple is in full sun, you will have pretty ugly shadows (depending on time of day). You will also have to accept black hole blacks and blown out whites. Just expose for the face (70% IRE) and let the rest do what it will do. I lean towards underexposing a bit since it seems less harse and is easier to fix in post.

If the couple is in shade (such as from a tree) you are going to blow out the background. That can be OK particularly is you get your DOF to blur the background a bit. Try to work the camera angle so you eliminate as much sky as possible. If you can put greenery or a tree (hmmm, that's green too) in the background it will help greatly.

A pol filter can even out some outdoor bumps too.

June 1st, 2005, 09:45 PM	#1
Danny Santos Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Antioch, CA USA Posts: 49	Outdoor Wedding Help I was asked by my daughter in-law to take a video of her brother's wedding. Apprarently, they are a little short in budget and can't afford to hire a professional videographer. So, here I am. Volunteered (by someone) again! Anyway, I have a GL2 and a lavalier microphone. The wedding will be outside or what they call a garden wedding. I am fully aware that audio or sound will be a problem but I don't know how to take care, avoid or solve this dilemna. How do you guys shoot on this condition? Any tips, suggestions, etc. on outdoor sound and outdoor shooting is truly appreciated. Please help. The wedding is this coming Saturday afternoon.

June 2nd, 2005, 08:49 PM	#3
Wayne Starick Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Australia Posts: 66	I always visit the venue ahead of time. Its nice if you can do it when the rehearsal is happening because you can then experiment with different camera locations. Watch out though if the rehearsal is being held at a time that is different to the ceremony because the lighting will be quite different. I always stick some golf tees into the lawn to mark my tripod positions. Don't forget to remove them after the event otherwise they could turn into unguided mini-missiles next time the grass is cut! Oh, and windsocks on your mics are a must. I have one for my camera-mounted shotgun and also for my wireless lav. __________________ Wayne If there's no Internet in Heaven, I'm not going!

June 1st, 2005, 10:30 PM	#2
Jack Smith Major Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: ontario Posts: 445	Check out the venue ahead of time so you can choose camera location ,watching for harsh shadows in full sun.For audio windsock the mic(s) and put 1 on groom and 1 on officiant and 1 for crowd (close mic)(1 of them will have less wind noise based on wind direction)You could use wireless or iRiver or MD.Ideally capture some ambient sound , the bird chirps and wind can be mixed appropriately in post and adds alot of realism.

June 4th, 2005, 09:53 AM	#4
Peter Jefferson Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Aus Posts: 3,884	all good tips jsut missing out on details.. if ur gonna check out the venue, go AT THE SAME TIME as when the ceremony will actaully occur.. different times of the day will often have major changes to teh environemtn, from shadows, to whether to wind variables.. if your micing the celebrant, there will most likely be no need to mic the groom (if ur using an omni mic that is) if not, micing the groom isi usually sufficient. U mentioend u had a mic, mut u didnt mention whether u hat teh GL2 Balun??? If u have this, run a shotgun off the cam, AND use the wireless After teh ceremony (or before) u can go and get ur environmental sounds using teh onboard stereo mic.. in post just loop and resequence them to make is sound as if those sounds are actually happening, and being in stereo, u will get the widened ambience.. very effective and it costs nothing... umm what else.. the GL2 is notorious o smear and flare, so make sure u have an ND filter which u cna mount to the cam.. the onboard ND is ok, but its nto the same as one which can be manipulated. umm.. what else.. i cnat think righ tnow, but i was jsut embellishing on what had already been said.. cheers and good luck

June 5th, 2005, 10:34 AM	#5
Mike Cook Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Portland OR Posts: 190	Exposure is going to be a compromise. If the couple is in full sun, you will have pretty ugly shadows (depending on time of day). You will also have to accept black hole blacks and blown out whites. Just expose for the face (70% IRE) and let the rest do what it will do. I lean towards underexposing a bit since it seems less harse and is easier to fix in post. If the couple is in shade (such as from a tree) you are going to blow out the background. That can be OK particularly is you get your DOF to blur the background a bit. Try to work the camera angle so you eliminate as much sky as possible. If you can put greenery or a tree (hmmm, that's green too) in the background it will help greatly. A pol filter can even out some outdoor bumps too.