Rode NTG-2 for wedding Ceremony??

1. mitsy546
   Member

   

   I video weddings on the side and have done mainly smaller weddings.  Well I have a few big weddings to do this year for friends & family.  I was loooking into buying the Rode NTG2. I was hoping to use onyl that fro the churh ceremony as I am not a super professional at this yet and don't exactly have the bidget yet to do shotgun and wireless lavalier.  My question is, I have read that the Rode is VERY directional.  If I use this in a church, aside from catching what I am pointing the mic/camera at, will it at least get the sound of the music/organ??  Thanks in advance for your suggestions!!

   Posted 9 months ago # Login to Send PM

2. robgrauert
   Member

   

    I hope you didn't buy a shotgun mic yet. If you're doing a wedding and microphones are an issue, get 1 lavalier and put it on the groom. It is omni-directional and should be able to pick up the bride and priest as well. Many people think shotguns are a solution from shooting from a distance, but that is not what they are for. They are simply more directional. 

    If you have a decent camera, you should be able to record the lavalier on one channel and the organ on the other with the onboard mic. 

   Robert J. Grauert, Jr
   http://www.robgrauert.com

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3. mitsy546
   Member

   

   Yes I did think of that at one point but I have  Sony VX2100 and once I hook up the lavalier, the on-board mic switches off.  Any other suggestions??

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4. robgrauert
   Member

   

   that's a bummer. you might want to look into a little field recorder that connects to just a mic. you could set that next to the organ. but if i understand correctly, i think that goes against your initial question since you didn't want to buy a second mic. in this situation you'd still use the lavaliere on the groom and the one by the organ. 

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5. mitsy546
   Member

   

   So, correct my if I'm wrong....the lavalier won't be able to capture music at the church at all??

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6. robgrauert
   Member

   

    no, the lavalier will pick up music in the church. I just don't know off hand how good it will sound. I would guess that it wouldn't be that bad.

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7. mitsy546
   Member

   

   Thanks for the advice.  I'm kinda stuck cause a decent lavalier like the Sennhieser isn't a small purchase.  If only my on-board mic was able to stay on....this would be so much easier.

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8. theshastapodcaster
   Member

   

   I've had success in concealing a Zoom H-4 flash drive recorder somewhere near the couple (flowers work great for this)  Synching in post is not nearly as hard as it may seem. The one constant with a room full of people is that SOMEONE will cough every couple minutes.  Watch your audio tracks for the coughs and line them up.  To avoid problems with timing drift, break the ceremony up into segments of 5 minutes or so.  This also makes for a tighter finished product by editing out awkward pauses.  If this is a single camera shoot, simply do a quick fade to black between scenes to avoid jump cuts.   I've managed to synch up as many as four cameras plus an audio track with this technique.

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9. Johnboy
   Member

   

   the mic will pick up every sound you hear.  it's just the pick up pattern or focus is more directional.  also you will need to get a shock mount for any mic that you attach to the camera, otherswise you will pick up "motor hum" and other vibrations from the camera. the best thing for you to do is to use a wireless on the groom or officiant (if they will allow it) and use a second camera's audio or recording device for picking up the background.

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10. mitsy546
    Member

    

    great idea Johnboy, although i don't know how i would intergrate just the sound from my second, MUCH cheaper, camcorder into my timeline in Adobe premiere.�  any suggestions for that?

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11. Johnboy
    Member

    

    additional tracks

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12. mitsy546
    Member

    

    And acually I just thought of something else....is there a different mic, like a shotgun, that i could buy that may be omnidirectional...so i could still have a shotgun?  I just worry cause the sound of and on-board mic is nothing compared to one added on. (especially the sound of my much cheaper camcorder)

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13. Johnboy
    Member

    

    some shotguns have selectable ranges as far as directional or omni-directional.

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14. mitsy546
    Member

    

    any idea which ones??  i've searched online like crazy without much luck

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15. Johnboy
    Member

    

    no, I haven't needed to shop for mics in a while, I have some older mics that operate as I indicated.

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16. robgrauert
    Member

    

     I think a general rule of thumb is that the longer the shotgun, the more directional it is.

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17. birdcat
    Moderator

    

    For multiple mic inputs for the VX2100, check this out:

    http://www.beachtek.com/dxa4.html

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18. theshastapodcaster
    Member

    

    I have a MKE-300 Sennheiser that I REALLY like, and it's pretty good at ignoring the sound of my HDD JVC.  You could also put the Senn on a cheap photo tripod and extend the cord (no more than about 20' or you start picking up electrical noise).  I also found a chinese-made shotgun on eee-bray for about 50 bucks including shipping that really surprised me with its audio quality for the price.  It sports an XLR to 1/4" cable with a mini adapter and seems to be happy working balanced or unbalanced.  The only down side so far is no phantom power, but a kit bag full of AA batteries solves that problem.

     By the way that's the other thing I like about the Zoom H4 and H2 models, they use AA batteries.  I always have nightmares about a built-in Li-Ion pack going flat at the worst possible moment and no hope of recharging for at least an hour.

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19. southphilly
    Member

    

    So, correct my if I'm wrong....the lavalier won't be able to capture music at the church at all??

    YOU SOUND WILL BE HORRIBLE IF YOU TRY TO RECORD EVERYTHING THROUGH THE LAVALIER.

    IT IS DESIGNED TO PICK UP WHAT IS CLOSEST TO IT. ALL THE OTHER SOUNDS WILL BE MUFFLED AND DISTORTED ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE ALSO PASSING THROUGH LOUDSPEAKERS. A LOT OF ELECTRONIC DISTORTION WILL BE INTRODUCED.

    IF YOU ARE DOING A VIDEO PRODUCTION FOR SOMEONE THEY SHOULD EXPECT TO PAY FOR THE EQUIPMENT TO DO IT PROPERLY. OTHERWISE THE SHOULD BE THANKFUL FOR THE ON CAMERA MIC.

    iF YOU ARE NOT A PRO, THEY SHOULD NOT EXPECT PRO RESULTS. NOT TO SOUND TOO NEGATIVE TO YOU - THAT'S WHY THERE ARE VIDEO PROFESSIONALS TRYING TO EARN A LIVING AT THIS.

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20. mitsy546
    Member

    

     and not to sound too negtive to you southphilly, but there are MANY people out there who cannot afford "video professionals" and the outrageous prices they charge!!  There are very few videographers like myself who do very good work for 1/2 the price and unfortuantely, they're not recognized enough.  With that said, all I wqas looking for was a mic that would at least pick up the vows and the background sounds.  I've done many wedding with the Rode now and it works wonderful for those who have questions similar to mine.

    Posted 4 months ago # Login to Send PM

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