You know you want a wedding video. Obviously you do. What an incredible way to relive your day for years to come! But – have you considered what makes a great wedding video? It’s visual, sure, but when it comes to evoking all the feels, audio is queen. We’re sharing how to make sure your wedding video audio is the best it can be.
You’ve spent thousands on your wedding or elopement photographer & videographer. While a professional team can certainly make beautiful images & video from nearly anything, there are a few things you can do for your wedding videographer to make sure there are minimal hiccups.
Think about the things you notice when you’re watching a great wedding film.
You see the pretty video itself, but you also hear the carefully chosen music. The ambient sounds. You can clearly understand officiant. You can separate the vows from the running water and rustling trees behind them. Wedding films are pieced together from hundreds of different visual and audio clips, creating a beautiful story of your day.
Here are the most important things to think about to ensure we can make magic with your wedding video audio.
1. The pace of your vows.
Raise your hand if you’re traumatized by popcorn reading in elementary school! Okay, I actually loved it, but definitely know I’m in the minority. The point being, during popcorn reading I remember everyone reading as quickly as they possibly could just to get it over with. Let’s not do that with your vows or letters. Take your time. Pause at the end of each sentence. I know you’re nervous, but this helps – we promise!
Here’s an example of good pacing!
2. The location’s background noise.
Whenever we’re able to provide input for ceremony or letter reading locations, one of the first things we think about is this: will it be noisy? Background noise can come from a lot of places – a windy mountaintop, a nearly waterfall, a crowded trail or room. If possible, we recommend always choosing a location that will provide optimal silence for these parts of your day. Your videographer can provide ideas! Examples: say your vows in the sheltered trees and save the mountain top for portraits after; read your letters behind a closed door and ask your friends & fam to keep it down during.
PRETTY, BUT VERY NOISY vs. BEAUTIFUL + GREAT FOR VOWS
3. How loud (or soft) is your voice?
You may feel like you’ll need to project your voice during letter readings and vows, but that’s not usually the case. In an ideal environment like we talked about earlier, our lav mic recorders will pick up your normal voice with ease. These moments are very intimate, and we can also understand if you’re nervous about us listening to what you’re saying, which can sometimes cause people to lower their voice. Try to just speak normally! Rest assured – we’re not listening to a word until later in the editing process. We’re focused on grabbing the shots we need and quickly & quietly moving around for various angles. It’s like we’re not even there!
4. Sniffles.
You can assume you’ll get emotional during your vows and letter readings. That’s so normal! It can be difficult to remember things during these moments, but when possible, we encourage you to consider taking a pause. If you’re really sniffling (emotional runny noses are definitely a real thing!) and can’t seem to catch your composure, just take a quick breath. Blow your nose if you need to. Anything to prevent sniffling your entire way through your vows is the goal here.
5. Vow books!
That they look good aside, using vow books is a good idea for some audio related reasons, too! If you write your vows on a loose piece of paper, it’ll rustle in the wind, causing unnecessary noise. If you write your vows on your phone, you run the risk of an alert or notification popping in. Even if you have your phone on silent, the distraction of seeing the notification can potentially throw ya off. PLUS, phones just aren’t pretty. Consider using a vow book! They look beautiful in your video and photos, and are a fun keepsake. These are some of our favorites.
It’s as easy as that! Taking each of these into consideration will help ensure your wedding video audio is as great as it can be. Any questions?! Leave us a comment or send an email at hello@basecampvisual.co.
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Crafting really beautiful films + photos for the wild at heart, Basecamp Visual is a Breckenridge, Colorado based videography and photography husband and wife duo, Dave & Shanna. Are you on the hunt for a creative storytelling team for your upcoming Breckenridge, Colorado intimate wedding or elopement? Interested in a session just because? Let’s talk about it! Contact us today to learn more.
