It was once said that audio is half of the entertainment in any film, a wedding film is no different. Music is a language and always has something to say - it can make us dance, cry, laugh and feel the romance. We take a look into wedding videography soundtracks, my recent investment into my brand new wedding videography mixing and editing studio in Suffolk and how I can capture great audio for things like the ceremony vows and speeches on your wedding day to make sure your wedding videography sounds as good as it looks…

Wedding Videography Audio

Now wedding films of yesteryear would have had poor audio from an ageing VHS camcorder with a low-quality mic strapped on the top… if you were lucky! Now things are a lot different. With advances in filmmaking tech and audio available to wedding videographers today we can capture all the best audio from your wedding day. Talking about wedding films of old… take a read of our definitive history of the wedding video blog. Now…wedding videography audio actually has a couple of different aspects to it; you have to record the audio on the day, so the first thing that will spring to mind is the vows at the ceremony, you also have things like the speeches (cue the bad ‘Dad jokes’ from the father of the bride and ominous cryptic stag due anecdotes). You also have the soundtrack and music itself which sets the tone - but we will come onto that later.

Recording the vows in the wedding ceremony

Now filming the ceremony we use a small lavalier microphone and place it into the groom’s suit jacket. This will pick up both the groom and bride as the groom will be right next to the bride anyway. With the obvious issue of not being able to attach a microphone on a bride’s lovely dress - this works well, so problem solved. I usually strap this lavalier mic to the groom 5 minutes or so before the ceremony actually begins so there isn’t a mad dash as the bride is coming down the aisle! This is a good time to point out for the groom to not talk too in-depth about what happened at the stag do in Thailand as it’s being recorded - this may give the wedding videographer a laugh when editing the wedding film later on! The great thing about a lavalier microphone is that is incredibly small and not noticeable. This will please the wedding photographer as there is no large mic obscuring the shot. There is a small pack that is attached to the mic via a small lead - but grooms will be pleased to know it doesn’t take up much space (roughly half the size of a mobile phone). This can be attached to a belt or put in a suit jacket pocket or a trouser pocket.

Also present at the wedding ceremony we have a couple of other microphones up our sleeves (well not literally). We always have a ‘Condenser’ style microphone linked directly to the main camera - this is picking up high-quality audio of the ceremony in general. This microphone has a super-cardioid polar audio pattern - which means it’s directional so picks up audio in relation to where it is pointing and has less sensitivity behind (meaning it’s pointed toward the ceremony and isn’t necessarily picking up the vicar moving around at the back of the church or a wedding photographer and videographer moving around to get their next shot)

When editing the wedding videographer will mix in the two audio sources of the room and the lavalier mic when the bride or groom is speaking. I generally mute the lavalier mic when no one is talking on my video editing software - this loses any heavy breathing and unwanted sound/ audio.

Above is a great example of a wedding video where I have overlayed some of the wedding ceremony vows in the wedding film highlight trailer. This also works really well when you take some audio from the speeches at the wedding breakfast as it makes the wedding film a bit personal. Having the audio of a groom’s speech talking about when he first met his now-wife, hearing stories of their first date, first kiss, talking about what he loves about her coupled with some great visuals of the couple together - bam… you have a little cinematic masterpiece and a film of love to match any Hollywood blockbuster.

Testing 1,2,3,4 - back up audio for your wedding video

Now I hear you say - but what if something goes wrong when filming our wedding day? Because sometimes things don’t go as we planned and sometimes technology fails right? Well you are right! Any wedding videographer worth their salt would also have a backup audio recording device. At Race Wedding Videography - to ‘save our bacon’ we also have a third audio device. This records high quality/ stereo audio. We place this near the ceremony - hidden away so you wouldn’t know it was there but is rolling. Luckily we haven’t had to use it in any wedding films but its great peace of mind to know the audio is captured. This face saving device is also used when the speeches happen. Phew - panic over…

Wedding videoGRAPHY soundtrack - what music can we have?

This question comes up a lot when couples are thinking of booking a wedding videographer - “who chooses the wedding film music?’’ and it’s a really good question too! F

The short answer is. I do, but I always involve couples and find out what their vibe is with music. For example some couples say they are into a particular band or song or genre etc. The more I find out about you the more I can tailor the music to be what you are both about.

However in general I am more contemporary in my music choices and styles and not all about dreary sloshy music!

For copyright, legal and moral reasons, unfortunately, you can’t have your favourite Ed Sheeran song or pop song as an example as the backdrop to your wedding video. So is it all doom and gloom? No - fear not!

I license musical scores/ songs for my wedding videos. This means all the music licenses are all taken care of. In simple terms, you won’t receive copyright claims if you upload your wedding videos online.

Now - just because you can’t have your favourite pop song in your wedding video doesn’t mean your wedding film isn’t tailored to you. A great example of this is… I had a lovely couple who were getting married in North Norfolk. They had both a mutual love for ‘Mumford & Sons - it reminded them of their romance, this soundtrack was present in their lives when they first met etc. As I couldn’t get any actual ‘Mumford & Sons’ music in their wedding film - I took a long listen to some of the couple’s favourite songs from this band/ artist and was able to source very similar sounding licensed music that had a kind of upbeat folk/pop vibe - and they loved it! This is a question I always ask when meeting couples before their wedding day ‘‘what kind of music are you guys into?’’. This way if there is anything specific music that they love - for example, if a couple really digged country music then I can find some country-style tracks for their wedding video. I always use different soundtracks for different wedding films so no two weddings are the same.

As no two tales of love are the same - neither should their wedding films! Whether you love chilled & romantic acoustic songs, hard rock, or hip-hop - we can help find something that suits you. Also on the other hand - most couples book their wedding videographer because they like their style (which includes the audio) - a lot of times couples just say ‘‘we love your stuff - you choose!’ which is cool too.

“…. Wedding Videographers so often get the soundtrack and music so wronG with slushy and dreary music! I want to create modern soundtracks, something UPBEAT, something fun! i want my wedding videography soundtracks to be more like a ‘tailored suit’ about the couple, so it reflects them - not an OFF-THE-SHELF suit”

benjamin - race wedding videography

WHAT makes a great audio soundtrack in WEDDING VIDEOGRAPHY?

Orchestrated style audio is a great way to open a full-length wedding video. Something calm, and orchestral that takes you on a journey always reminds me of what a wedding day is actually like and replicates that in some way. The sun rises, groom and bride prep slowly happens, excitement builds, maybe some nerves, and lots of emotions leading up to the actual wedding ceremony. If you just shut your eyes and listen to a great film soundtrack and take it all in - the music is telling its own story…. Modern wedding videography now lends ideas from cinema and Hollywood. If you watch your favourite film again and think about the soundtrack… it is so powerful. Music is a language and always has something to say - plus it can make us dance, cry, laugh and feel the romance.

Race Wedding Videography’s Investment in creating amazing audio for your Wedding Videography

This year I have invested in the region of £20,000 in a brand new wedding videography mixing and editing studio in Suffolk. Using the best industry video editing software is one thing, but it’s also important to have the best audio gear and of course skill sets in understanding audio. Aside from the world of weddings, I have also been heavily involved in the music industry for the past 25 years. This has created a host of transferable skills in the world of wedding videography audio.

RACE WEDDING VIDEOGRAPHY’S STUDIO HAS BEEN FEATURED BY PUREMIX!

Any Wedding Videographer can put a mic on their camera for a wedding ceremony, or pick a random piece of cheesy wedding video music for a soundtrack. My brand-new studio has the best analogue and digital audio equipment, including things like compressors, EQ’s which create the best-sounding audio of your wedding day! Aside from audio, my new editing studio is a great place to work, plus with a large main monitor, I can preview your wedding videos in great detail, so the editing of the visuals really ties hand in hand with the audio. Having an experienced wedding videographer who understands audio will create amazing mixes of the audio, by using surgical E.Q’s (removing any harsh or bad frequencies), Tonal E.Q’s (giving colour in terms of the audio tones), Gates (removing unwanted background noises!), Compression ( making the loud parts quieter and the quieter parts louder in the ceremony or speeches as an example!)

Race Wedding Videography certified in Mixing and Mastering Audio

Benjamin at Race Wedding Videography has also been certified for his successful participation in Award-winning music producer, and songwriter Aubrey Whitfield’s Complete Mixing Course. Aubrey has worked with the likes of Little Mix and Kelly Clarkson plus has been a successful writer for TV and film projects. Benjamin (Race Wedding Videography) also attended Bobby Owsinksi’s Mix Lab course looking in depth at audio mixing. Bobby is widely regarded as one of the best mixing teachers in the business. His books are found in college classrooms and at the workstations of world-renowned mixers. More recently Benjamin has completed the mixing accelerator course by Streaky, one of the UK’s best mixing engineers!