Audio Professionals, Please Help! I need guidance using Lavalier Microphones to

A

AlexB

New member
capture sound outdoors.? Hello! I have a question for all you audio professionals out there!

I am a professional videographer who's wanting to step-up in the level of quality when shooting people's special events. Any videographer could tell you that the bread and butter of our business are Weddings. Lately I've been shooting for a lot of outdoor weddings, and most of those at the beach!

Obviously this represents a bit of a challenge when it comes to capturing audio, especially if I'm moving around with my camera.

My idea is to buy 3 Lavalier Microphones to put on the wedding officiant, groom, and bride. I'm positive this would solve my problem. Now I have NO IDEA about what to buy, how to set it up, and how will it get recorded.

So here are my questions:

1-First of all, what should I buy (brand, type, model, etc.). I don't need "the best out there" but good enough to get comprehensive audio on an outdoor wedding.

2-How does it work? Does the sound get recorded into the camera directly? Or does it get recorded separately? And if it does get recorded separately, into what kind of media is it recorded on (Hard Drive, MiniDV Tape, etc.)? Please keep in mind that I will later have to import the audio (as an AIFF file) into an editing program (Final Cut Pro) in order to sync it with the video being edited.

3-How do I set it up? (What goes hooked to what?)

Thank you in advance for whomever reads and answers this blog!! I truly appreciate it!

-Alex, Miami, FL-
 
Alex - If you have a pro camera with audio inputs, it is really not too hard to do what you are trying to do. The tricky part will be getting this setup to be mobile. As you know wireless mics have a transmitter (beltpack) and a receiver. You will need 3 wireless systems. If you need the mics to run off battery power, that will raise the price on these systems. You will also need a "field mixer" with at least 3 inputs.

Azden makes the best value wireless systems for video:

http://www.markertek.com/SearchProduct.asp?item=WLX%2DPRO&off=1&sort=prod&skuonly=1&search=WLX%2DPRO&pagesize=20

Better:

http://www.markertek.com/SearchProduct.asp?item=AZ105LT&off=1&sort=prod&skuonly=1&search=az100lt&pagesize=20

Mixers:

http://www.markertek.com/SearchProduct.asp?item=CAM%2D3&off=0&sort=prod&skuonly=1&search=CAM%2D3&pagesize=20

http://www.markertek.com/SearchProduct.asp?item=MX54S&off=0&sort=prod&skuonly=1&search=MX54S&pagesize=20

http://www.markertek.com/SearchProduct.asp?item=MM%2D3100&off=1&sort=prod&skuonly=1&search=MM%2D3100&pagesize=20

Markertek is a great company and they have everything for the video pro.

If you want to record to a seperate recorder, you should consider one of the small digital recorders out there:

http://www.markertek.com/SearchProduct.asp?item=ZOOM%2DH4&off=0&sort=prod&skuonly=0&search=ZOOM%2DH4&pagesize=20

Hookup is straightforward:

mic outputs connect to mixer inputs

mixer outputs connect to camera or recorder

Shure has a great free book on audio for video:

http://www.shure.com/stellent/groups/public/@gms_gmi_web_ug/documents/web_resource/us_pro_audiovideoproduction_ea.pdf
 
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