Speaker 1: I'm going to be honest with you, when it comes to the filmmaking process, especially for weddings, there's one part of that creative process that I'm not entirely fond of. It is definitely my least favorite to worry about, and I'm sure a lot of people can attest to this as well. And that is, of course, worrying about audio. Worrying about audio can be a pretty stressful endeavor. I know when I first started out, that was the last thing that I wanted to worry about. All I wanted to do was just focus on the visuals and just creating a really cool film. But then I quickly learned that having really good audio and having that good sound in your films going to set you apart and make the difference between a good film and a great one. And of course, I am still always in a constant state of worry when it comes to audio capture. Worrying about if I turned the recorder on, did I push record? Did I even format the cards before the wedding day? Are you sure that you pressed record? All of these things go through my mind on a constant basis at weddings. And only until I get the recorder back and I see that was rolling and I check the audio later and notice that it is really good. Do I feel a little bit better about myself? However, the good thing is we do live in a world where technology has made our lives insanely convenient as creators. And there are tools out there to help you eliminate the stressful nature of audio capture so that you can focus more on the important moments at a wedding. So with that said, today's video is going to be all about my favorite recorders and what I use at every single wedding. And first up is the Tascam DR-10L. This little recorder has honestly quickly become a global favorite in the world of wedding filmmaking. And if you ask most filmmakers what they are using, nine out of ten of them are probably using the Tascam DR-10Ls. And the reasoning is that Tascam has really created an intuitive workhorse in such a small, compact size. Some of the biggest selling points for me with this recorder is, of course, the battery life and its ease of use. I also picked up a white Tascam for miking up the bride, which I have been doing more so recently. And honestly, I am so glad that I've started to do this because just having that clean sound for the bride as well as the groom is just so important. And there's just so many moments that you could miss if you don't have a mic on your bride. So, yeah, 10 out of 10 would recommend miking your bride, especially for the last wedding that I did when I miked the bride. And this thing was running for at least eight hours and it was still good to go. These recorders are essentially a plug and play solution for me. I have everything set to auto on these recorders. So if I turn this one on, I can kind of run through my settings with the Tascam DR-10Ls and most of my settings are all set to auto. So initially, if I go to menu here, my mic gain, I don't really have to worry about that because, again, I have the levels set to auto. So for the low cut filters, I have that on. For the limiter, I have that on. Auto level on. And then I also have dual recording set on this recorder as well so that I can record one track at a lower decibel. And that way, this is my safety track. If anything were to happen to the main, I have this backup to pull from, which that redundancy for wedding filmmaking especially is just really, really important. Another reason this recorder is super handy for wedding filmmaking is its auto save feature. A few weddings back, we had Mike the bride and the day was kind of running a bit longer than usual. And so we were at the nine hour marker. And when I went to get the microphone from the bride, the recorder was completely off and I kind of went into a panic mode. But then I realized that the TASCAMs do have an auto save feature. So if for any reason, if the battery does die mid day or on the day itself, you are still covered knowing, hey, it recorded everything up until it died. So that is a pretty cool feature. And it honestly just gave me that peace of mind knowing that I was OK. And with the TASCAM and the default lavalier mic that comes with it, you have a locking pin with your mic. I just pull this out real quick and show you. So right here, it has a locking pin so that when you plug it in, you can tighten that to make sure that the mic's not going anywhere. It's not going to accidentally come off. And you can make sure that all of your files are going to be recorded. For me, it's just all about the peace of mind and having that extra bit of security. You can find these on B&H and Amazon for about $199, but they do sometimes go on sale around the holidays for about $150. So if you are looking for some of these recorders to add to your kit, I do highly recommend picking a few of them up. And if you're curious, here's an example of what the audio sounds like with the TASCAM DR-10L's.

Speaker 2: You guys look amazing. All right, you guys ready? Wait, what are we doing? Um, yeah, jump around. All right. One, two, three, jump around. All right, taking a break from audio to talk about a product that I've been super excited about, and that is the Flexi-Spot Standing Desk.

Speaker 1: I am a huge advocate for anybody that is in the video editing space or you work from home and you sit at your desk for long periods of time, like eight, nine, even 10 hours a day, and you want to make sure that you're getting the most out of it. So I'm going to show you how to get the most out of it. Eight, nine, even 10 hours a day. I'm a huge advocate for finding a standing solution because it is so beneficial to your overall health. I personally love being able to stand while I'm working, being able to switch between sitting and standing, because as a creative, sometimes I just I get a little bored, just uninspired. And sometimes I just need that change in that that switch to kind of give me some energy and keep me motivated for long periods of time and even more creative for my workflow. So Flexi-Spot was very kind to send me the new 55 inch bamboo top with the white frame legs, but they also have other color options available. And if you are interested, you can find that in the description below. Full disclosure, Flexi-Spot is not paying me for this review. Everything that I'm talking about is my honest opinion. For me, what I'm looking for in a product is that it is well constructed, well made, it's durable, it's going to last me a long time. And of course, it's budget friendly. And this desk certainly fits that criteria. You can also easily set your height with the customizable buttons, which is a really nice feature, making the standing and sitting process much easier to navigate between. So if you are looking for a solid standing desk for your office or your video editing studio, the Flexi-Spot standing desk is one that I do highly recommend. So if you are interested in this one in particular, you can find the link in the description below. All right. Next up is the Zoom F2 Bluetooth field recorders. These are fairly new to the market. I think they released a couple of years ago. I did do a video on them, my first impression. So if you want to check that video out, you can check that in this corner over here. But the Zoom F2 is, of course, a direct competitor to the Tascam DR-10Ls. In essence, this is a true plug in play solution. The Bluetooth version allows you to monitor sound, start and stop recording, adjust your output volume and a lot more all from your iPhone, which is a really nice feature. So it is a lot different in that regard compared to the Tascam DR-10L since there is no front view monitoring where you can see or quickly see the levels coming in or out. You have to pull up your phone to check those levels. But, you know, just an extra step. If you don't prefer that, then go with the Tascams. But there are some added benefits that the F2 has that, of course, the Tascam does not. And one of the more prominent features is, of course, the 32 bit float recording. And the runtime, as far as battery life, is 14 hours compared to 10 hours with the Tascams. So you do get a little bit longer runtime with the F2s. So really, when it comes to deciding which one is better, it really just depends on your preference. File transfer is very similar to the Tascams. It uses a USB connection. This one is a USB-C and the Tascams are a micro USB. So a little bit updated in terms of connections, because I know, you know, we're mostly into the USB-C territory. So if you have a bunch of USB-C cables and want to stay in that universe, then, yeah, I would recommend the Zoom F2s. And to compare, here is an example of what the audio sounds with the Zoom F2s.

Speaker 3: For those of you who don't know me, I'm Ryan's best man. Rumor has it I was in the running to be Emma's third maid of honor. But it's all right. I can live with it. So I've had the pleasure of knowing Ryan for just about my whole entire life. And we did the classic things that most teenagers do.

Speaker 1: And number three is the Zoom F4n. This is my DJ soundboard solution. I have used this for about 10 years at this point, and it has been pretty great. It hasn't really failed me. Mostly the DJ soundboards are the only thing that really sometimes fails me. This recorder is great, and it's an awesome solution if you're looking for a quick, you know, portable recorder that is very versatile. I've used this for music recordings. I've used this for live sound and of course, for wedding receptions and rehearsals. I really don't have much to say about it, as it's just a simple solution. I plug an XLR or a quarter inch into this recorder and then into the DJ speaker or directly into the soundboard. And it's pretty much plug and play. I will say that I do find myself using this recorder less and less because of number four, and that is the Tascam DR-10X. Being that I have, you know, the DR-10Ls and I'm a big fan of Tascam in general, I wanted to test out this recorder and see if it could be a good option to eventually replace the H4n or just as a backup solution. And I really can say that it has quickly become one of my new favorites when it comes to attaching to a DJ soundboard and especially for rehearsal dinners. I used this solution at my last rehearsal dinner, and it was absolutely just life saving. And I mean that in every sense of the word, because there was like 28 toes and this thing powered through every single one of those. So this is something that I would highly recommend if you are looking for a quick plug and play solution that is in the same ecosystem as the Tascam DR-10Ls. You can also pair this solution since it is an XLR with a handheld mic so that you can use it at rehearsal dinners as well. And even during the receptions, if you want to walk around and get some interviews with guests and have any kind of special words for them to say to the couple, these are great for that. Here's an example of what this sounds like and how I used it at my last wedding.

Speaker 4: Good afternoon. Welcome to Emma and Ryan's weekend wedding celebration. We cannot thank you enough for being here to help us celebrate this wonderful occasion. There's so much I can say. But luckily for you all, I won't.

Speaker 1: All right. And last but not least is probably my favorite recorder of all time and a purchase that I recently made this year. And that is the Instamic. You may have heard of it. You may have not heard of it, but we're going to talk about it. This little tiny recorder, you can barely see it. It is just so small and amazing in every sense of the word. It has 32 bit float technology, Bluetooth monitoring, so you can also control this via an application on your phone. And of course, my favorite feature of this recorder, and that is the mounting options. It comes with three different mounting options, one being the magnetic option, which is very strong and really the only one that I use. But you can also use Velcro and tape. It comes with three of these options in the box. Now, I'm mostly using this mic at rehearsal dinners for a backup solution and for a third backup solution at wedding receptions. And the way that I do use this microphone is very simple. So basically what I will do at rehearsals, if I have my handheld microphone set up with the TASCAM DR-10X, I will simply take the Instamic and with the magnet, I can just set it on the microphone itself with the speaker facing up and push record and walk away. And this gives me, you know, another peace of mind knowing that I'm covered in the case that my TASCAMs fail, my Zoom H4n fails, every audio solution that I have fails. I have this as a, you know, third, fourth backup, and I can be covered in that way. You do get about three and a half hours of battery life with this recorder, which is really all you need, especially for rehearsals and receptions. Generally, the toasts last at most maybe 15 minutes. So you don't really need a lot of time with this recorder. And I don't really have much else to say about it other than it's just it's pretty awesome. It's it's so small and it's just like compact. It's easy to set up. It's easy to turn on. And it's just really versatile and intuitive and is a perfect backup solution for wedding filmmakers. And of course, here's an example of what the Instamic sounds like.

Speaker 5: Years, I thought about our childhood. I thought about the countless hours of manhunt, kick the can, basketball, wall ball and transforming our driveway into Scooter Town. We thought we were so cool with those razor scooters.

Speaker 1: All right, guys, well, that is the end of this week's video. Thank you so much for sticking around. I hope you found this video helpful or valuable in some way. If you did, it would mean so much if you consider liking, subscribing and leave me a comment. Let me know what is your favorite recorder for weddings. What are you currently using? What are you hoping to get this season? Either way, I'd love to hear from you guys. And so until next time, keep creating and telling beautiful stories. Peace.