Video sound quality & external microphones

[terry dennis]

I read somewhere on the forum about the benefit of using remote microphones instead of just the camcorder in-built variety.

Accepting that there will be a benefit , I have a Panasonic NV-GS150 camcorder and will be doing a video of my friend's daughter's wedding in the near future. Is there anyone who can give me some general guidance on the type of external microphone to consider buying , whether to consider zoom-type microphones??? , a transmitting microphone with a special receiver on the camcorder ??? .............. I am just thinking out loud here as I have no experience of any of this stuff !!
Are there any articles or evaluations been done that anyone is aware of and are there any companies or suppliers that are expert in this sort of thing?

All and any advice would be welcome

Terry D.

[Black Lab]

A recent issue of Videomaker magazine contained an article about shooting weddings, including audio issues: http://www.videomaker.com/article/13909/

[DVDDoug]

I didn't read the article, yet. I'm sure it has more/better advice than I can provide.

The main thing is to get the mic close to the speaker / desired sound. This maximizes your "signal" for a good "signal-to-noise ratio". Also, microphones are "better" than our ears at generating wind noise. So, if you are outdoors, you often need a wind-sock over the microphone.

Sometimes a wireless mic is the best way to get the mic close to the speaker. But, they are more complex... The mic/transmitter needs a battery, and there is some chance of RF interference. There is just "more to go wrong."

On the other hand, microphone cables often get abused (or knocked loose) so they are not 100% reliable either. They can limit the mobility of the subject as well as the mobility of the videographer. And, they can be a trip-hazard.

Whatever set-up you choose, practice with it before the wedding!!!!

It's a good idea to monitor the sound with a pair of headphones (at least intermittently). If anything does "go wrong", you can switch to the camera's built-in mic.

And, speaking of things "going wrong", if possible try to get a 2nd camera, and use them both, even if the 2nd camera is unattended on a tripod. Unlike the still-photographer, you don't get a 2nd take!

It there's a PA system, you may be able to tap-into it. But, you'd need some preparation and coordination (and practice) with the "sound guy"... It might require some special adapters... Besides the fact that you'll probably have mismatched connectors, most mixers don't have a mic-level output, and the camera may not have a line-level input... so you might need a line-level to mic-level adapter.

No matter what you do, the audio probably won't be perfect. A wedding is a tough environment. Keep in mind that most movie dialog is re-recorded in a recording studio. It's just too difficult to get good sound "on location". Most TV news anchors use lapel mics (in a soundproof studio). (You'll often see that there are two... one is a backup.) And when a reporter is on location, he speaks directly into the microphone. Still, you can usually hear background noise, especially if he/she is outdoors and the mic is picking-up wind noise.


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It's fairly easy to ignore acoustic-ambient noise because our directional ability allows us to "focus" on sound from one direction. We are usually not aware of the noise all around us (until we've done some recording, and we start thinking about it). But, when the same recorded sound comes from a pair of speakers, those same noises can get distracting and annoying.

[alanball]

Also on the Videomaker web site they have Tips & tricks look at http://www.videomaker.com/vidcast/119/

[terry dennis]

Thank you all very much for your responses. I havn't had a look at the two links to the VideoMaker website yet but that will be one of the tasks for the day.