Dream On

Check out the musical talent that we have the privledge to work with! Way to go Mackenzie & John! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxyFFAGqpiM

Static Stage Shot

That's right, not one but two blog posts in the same week! I just wanted to share another change that we made in video this week. We now have a static shot from the rear stage floor pocket. Our first shot was over the drummer’s shoulder looking down stage. Below is a short clip of what this looks like from the DVD.

It is completely up to the video director where you position this camera. Feel free to move it from week to week to see what you may like or dislike. One other shot that I'd like us to try is aimed straight down the keyboard.

The camera does not produce the best quality as it is a simple Sony HandiCam and the lighting is not always ideal from up stage. However, I think the dimmer lighting actually enhances the affect and if you can time your use of this shot with a feature of the instrument you are aimed at, you just might find that the lighting is more than sufficient.

If you (as director) choose to move the camera, keep a couple things in mind.

1. You have 50 foot of cable so you can reach just about any place on the stage
2. Keep your cable run safe, tape it down if you cross walkways
3. Keep your positioning inconspicuous to the audience
4. Setup in a safe place where a band member will not knock it over
5. The feed is composite not S-Video (again, this speaks to the quality of the image)
6. You can come off of the front pocket instead, however you'll need to re-patch from the distribution panel to the switcher.
7. The Camera 4 input to the V440 allows both composite and S-Video. However, S-Video overrides composite. Currently the S-Video is unplugged so that we can pick-up the composite feed.

One other thing...or two, or three, this shot should be used for short periods of time. Try to time it to the music and keep it to 5 to 7 seconds. I'm not sure how this shot will look on the house display as I did not try it this past week. If you find yourself wanting to use it fro a special, just make sure you try it in rehersal first to make sure it looks alright.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, there is another post that you probably have not read yet...and honestly that one is more important than this one, so please read on...and leave any comments that you might have. I'm looking for feedback.

Lower Thirds

We have now ventured into the next layer of quality in live video at Mainstreet. Thanks to Marv we are now displaying sermon notes as lower third rather than full screen. This is a good step forward in quality in that the view never loses visual connection to the subject. This works well both in the house and to the remote viewer.


There are some operational considerations that we need to continue to iron out. The slide transitions are now a little more involved now. You will notice in the clip below that we chose to go with two different camera shots. Shot A will be our regular Sermon close-up. Shot B will be roughly knees up so that Marty's chin does not appear as though it is attached to the slide notes. Alright, perhaps that is an exaggeration... Compare Shot A with a lower third and shot B with a lower third. It is my opinion that Shot B with lower third makes a much less awkward presentation. I welcome your thoughts.

Shot A

Shot B

I can almost hear the question rattling around in your head right now..."Why not keep shot B throughout the whole sermon?" That's a good question and is the approach that we attempted at first. However, we found that while Marty was seated, that shot B was ... less than flattering. Add to that the fact that the IMAG Marty is now much smaller in shot B, and the visual decision was made.

Please take a look at this clip as well as reviewing larger chunks of the sermon at Vimeo (http://bit.ly/DkQN6). I'd like feedback on our use of lower thirds. Is the camera transition distracting? What other thoughts do you have?

More on Did You Know...

...that John will sometimes post single songs or special packages on his youtube site: http://www.youtube.com/user/jauthen. Mainstreet sure is blessed with some great musicians!

Mainstreet Sermon Videos Now Online

Did you know that our handy work is now available online as well as by purchasing a DVD? You can watch past sermons by heading over to www.mainstreetlife.org. You can also catch a quick view of all past sermons at http://www.vimeo.com/album/115951 (I like this view because I will be able to tell how often Marty wears the same shirt). However, if you'd like to view future sermons, you'll need to study that new show "Flash Forward". I suppose you could also stalk the office but that'll start to turn weird really quick.

Do Me A Favor

Mike Feather sent this encouragement along. It really helped me to keep this weekend in perspective. We are rolling into one of the most important weekends of the year for ministry. As volunteers, I think we all understand that. We are getting ready with the details and are each doing our part for the "production" of Easter. But are we ready? Really? Are you ready for the reality of Easter? Is your HEART ready to serve Christ in a way that is honoring? Are you ready? Please... read this: http://withoutwax.tv/2009/04/10/do-me-a-favor/.

Follow Chris on Twitter.

Framing Your Shots

Here are some general guidelines for framing various camera shots. These are specific to Mainstreet so if you are reading from elsewhere your situation may be different. But, maybe not, so listen up.

Sermon Shots:
Since our primary objective is to serve quality IMAG to the worship center we need to be mindful of how the image looks in the house. We also need to be aware of what the DVD viewer or the people in the lobby are seeing. It's a balance act.

When the speaker is sitting we generally want to have a full upper body shot so that he/she appears as large as possible (without frightening the children) on the side screens. This means that you want to frame your shot so that the pants are out of the bottom of the frame and allow a paper thin layer of black above the head. Paper thin to the operator looking through the tiny viewfinder.

Now, we need to be ready to show illustrative hand motions. For example, if Marty is showing with his hand how big the fish was or how tall the tale is. These we'd want to capture both for the DVD and the house. We used to take one live shot during the sermon and leave the other two at a safety shot. Were going to be trying something a little different now. We still need that safety shot, especially when Marty is excited about life. He likes to sit - stand - sit -stand. We need to dump to that safety shot when he does. It makes for a much better transition. Now, in order to be ready for hand illustrations (and hopefully not hand gestures) a second camera will be at a slightly wider zoom level. Half way between "head to toe" and "waste up". We'll cut to that shot if he begins such an illustration. We'll continue to rotate each camera to a saftey shot so that you can rest for a few minutes. It's just that you may need to rest a little faster.

Illustration, or talking with your hands?
There's a difference. We will not pick up every little hand motion. If he's talking with his hands, this is not necessarily illustrative. If he's doing it a lot, you may want to adjust to include it. Otherwise let him throw those arms around any old way he pleases. Sure, it would look better on the DVD if we show every hand motion. Once again, our primary function at this point in the service is to display him larger than life in the house. This is especially true for our size of room. Most people in the room will catch the motions from the "Live Marty" not the "Video Marty" anyhow. Either consciously or subconsciously. The DVD and the lobby feed come second.

That's it for now. Check back for more framing pointers in another post. Leave a comment if you have questions or think I'm a complete looser. If nothing else it'll make good reading material for everyone else.

Follow me at www.twitter.com/chrisumbaugh.

Come Prepared

Preparation takes on many different forms, especially when it comes to serving God. You may not expect the first post on a church tech blog to be about preparing to worship. But why not? After all, this is why we do what we do. There are many reasons to volunteer in tech ministry; technology, keep skills sharp, learn something new, not to mention...video work is just flippin fun!

How often have you considered the real reason for all the lights, cameras, & action? We are here to help others enter into an experience of worship to Jesus. This is not because of some great skill that we posses. The fact is, that God chose us to serve, he allows us to use the gifts that he gave us to begin with. That's were your skills come from, God. Why then would we ever consider taking that service lightly? Yet it happens every week, every Sunday. Some of us 'phone it in'. We show up, we play with the equipment, and say, 'hey, look at my camera shot, that's the sweetest thing since the invention of the s-video cable. I'm just a STUD!'

This happened to me last Sunday, and boy did I pay for it. For a number of reasons, I got to church in a bad mood. I had not prayed, I had not even given a thought about worship or about God. My mind was on the details. I was planning on trying some new things that day so that's what I'm thinking about. Guess what. I left church that afternoon in a much worse mood, having not spent one minute using my hands, eyes, and mind in an act of worship to God. In my mind, the service tanked. So imagine my surprise when everyone that I talked to thought it was powerful and felt like God was moving in some way. In fact, as I look back in review, I can't figure out what I thought was so bad. Yes, there were a few glitches, but that's normal. I was there and had a part in it, but I missed the whole thing. Sad.

Finally, I'm about to make a long overdue point. No matter where you serve, you are serving your Lord. Do not take that lightly. Consider it a privilege and do it with all of your heart and passion. Operate that camera in the name of Jesus. Mix that video for your King. What you do behind the scenes is greatly important! God just might be using your hands at that very moment to expand his Kingdom. So do yourself a favor and come prepared.