Newbie Videographer- advice on equipment

Danny O'Neill · June 27th, 2010, 08:45 AM

Tom, that is where America differs from the UK in a major way. Ive only ever seen one audio guy at a church here. All other times its either no audio at all or an old wireless lav mic to a system they can barely operate and in most cases is still on the same, out of the box frequency (makes things easy actually). No one records it apart from us.

I dont know how things are over there but here having a video is still seen by some as a bad thing. Many churches charge a 'facilitation' fee if the couple are having it videoed. This facilitation is for the church to tell us where to stand, they also have to buy a licence (which we buy). James, make sure you always have your MCPS. For years no one ever asked to see one and lately weve had 4 churches ask to see it before we can unpack the gear. Thankfully we always have one.

James Bishop · June 27th, 2010, 10:29 AM

cheers for all the advice! its very helpful. I can't really afford to improve on the kit that i have at the moment, but heres hoping ill be able to get a tram mic etc before too long, if the bookings keep coming in!

I know that the website isn't great at the moment. I've got 4 bookings in the next month, and I'm going to re-design the whole thing after these, and will hopefully host my own videos. I've more or less stopped advertising at the moment as i want to wait until i have completed these 4 weddings, and can hopefully increase my prices. I'll take that advice about the info on the packages/font style on board John, thanks!

couple of questions-
do you all try to visit the venue before the wedding day? to figure out where you're going to set up etc?
do you mic everyone up for the speeches? at one of these weddings in July there are going to be 5 speeches, and i only have 2 DVR's, so not sure what to do!

oh and Tom, what kind of mic do you use with your ds-40? I've got an ME-15 lav mic...

thanks! James

Dave Blackhurst · June 27th, 2010, 12:17 PM

IF there's a rehearsal, that's usually a pretty decent time to scope the venue, plus it's good to prep the participants about camera placement, not "blocking" cameras, etc. You also will usually have freedom to move around and see where to place your unmanned cameras for the best results.

On a technical note - those SR5's and the Z1 are all several years old, and technology has improved (not that the z1 is a slouch), in particular the comment about AVCHD cameras being poor in low light is not an issue with newer generation "R" CMOS Sonys.

ALL HD cameras suffered initially in low light conditions, nature of the beast, you have to learn to manipulate the cameras and add light when needed. Smaller cameras typically suffer the worst, but as the tech has improved, some of the latest small cameras can keep up quite well with the current "big" cameras, and will likely outperform that z1 in many respects.

Tom Dickerson · June 27th, 2010, 06:15 PM

James-

I actually have a wireless system and the DS-40. One lav is a $100 Audio Technica and the other a Radio Shack $30 model that works fantastic. James, I will admit that I usually sweeten the audio from both once I'm in post.

Danny - every church wedding I've done here in the U.S. was able to produce a CD for me upon my request - so I guess I'm lucky there. Also, no special fees from the churches for a videographer. Yes, some have rules to follow - like not going behind the officiant or interfering with the ceremony etc., but mostly common sense stuff.

Now, all weddings I've done outside of a church have required me to use both my wireless and my DS40. I put the wireless on the minister and the DS40 in the grooms pocket with the lav pinned on his lapel-nearest the bride.

June 27th, 2010, 08:45 AM	#16
Danny O'Neill Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Northampton, UK Posts: 915	Tom, that is where America differs from the UK in a major way. Ive only ever seen one audio guy at a church here. All other times its either no audio at all or an old wireless lav mic to a system they can barely operate and in most cases is still on the same, out of the box frequency (makes things easy actually). No one records it apart from us. I dont know how things are over there but here having a video is still seen by some as a bad thing. Many churches charge a 'facilitation' fee if the couple are having it videoed. This facilitation is for the church to tell us where to stand, they also have to buy a licence (which we buy). James, make sure you always have your MCPS. For years no one ever asked to see one and lately weve had 4 churches ask to see it before we can unpack the gear. Thankfully we always have one. __________________ mintyslippers.com

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June 27th, 2010, 10:29 AM	#17
James Bishop Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: London UK Posts: 88	cheers for all the advice! its very helpful. I can't really afford to improve on the kit that i have at the moment, but heres hoping ill be able to get a tram mic etc before too long, if the bookings keep coming in! I know that the website isn't great at the moment. I've got 4 bookings in the next month, and I'm going to re-design the whole thing after these, and will hopefully host my own videos. I've more or less stopped advertising at the moment as i want to wait until i have completed these 4 weddings, and can hopefully increase my prices. I'll take that advice about the info on the packages/font style on board John, thanks! couple of questions- do you all try to visit the venue before the wedding day? to figure out where you're going to set up etc? do you mic everyone up for the speeches? at one of these weddings in July there are going to be 5 speeches, and i only have 2 DVR's, so not sure what to do! oh and Tom, what kind of mic do you use with your ds-40? I've got an ME-15 lav mic... thanks! James

June 27th, 2010, 12:17 PM	#18
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	IF there's a rehearsal, that's usually a pretty decent time to scope the venue, plus it's good to prep the participants about camera placement, not "blocking" cameras, etc. You also will usually have freedom to move around and see where to place your unmanned cameras for the best results. On a technical note - those SR5's and the Z1 are all several years old, and technology has improved (not that the z1 is a slouch), in particular the comment about AVCHD cameras being poor in low light is not an issue with newer generation "R" CMOS Sonys. ALL HD cameras suffered initially in low light conditions, nature of the beast, you have to learn to manipulate the cameras and add light when needed. Smaller cameras typically suffer the worst, but as the tech has improved, some of the latest small cameras can keep up quite well with the current "big" cameras, and will likely outperform that z1 in many respects.

June 27th, 2010, 06:15 PM	#19
Tom Dickerson Regular Crew Join Date: May 2009 Location: Mesa, Arizona Posts: 86	James- I actually have a wireless system and the DS-40. One lav is a $100 Audio Technica and the other a Radio Shack $30 model that works fantastic. James, I will admit that I usually sweeten the audio from both once I'm in post. Danny - every church wedding I've done here in the U.S. was able to produce a CD for me upon my request - so I guess I'm lucky there. Also, no special fees from the churches for a videographer. Yes, some have rules to follow - like not going behind the officiant or interfering with the ceremony etc., but mostly common sense stuff. Now, all weddings I've done outside of a church have required me to use both my wireless and my DS40. I put the wireless on the minister and the DS40 in the grooms pocket with the lav pinned on his lapel-nearest the bride.