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?