Merry Christmas!!!

I know I skipped a week in posting, but it's the end of the year, and we all have things that are tearing us away from our usual business, so I know you all understand.

I wanted to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I will be taking a break from blogging from now until February, when I will resume my weekly posts. Until then, enjoy the time you share with loved ones and remember to tell them you love them-we can never hear it enough!

Communication

How often do we make our decisions and view our lives from a perspective that assumes other people know what we want? Just driving around, I've found that I get a little peeved when someone gets in front of me or does something that inconveniences me. Honestly, in the grand scheme of things, does a few extra seconds really matter?

In my time going around to different churches and listening to either the pastoral leadership and/or the technical leadership talk about their experience, one common element has surfaced nearly every time-a severe lack of open communication between parties.

One of the easiest things to do is to get everyone involved in the program (or at least the leaders of the different areas-coordinating, pastor/speaker, audio, video, lighting, graphics, etc.) to have a meeting before the program/service to go over everything that will happen...in sequence. There are different names for this, but I prefer "cue-to-cue." It's a chance to get everyone on the same page prior to the program and can replace a full-scale rehearsal, which a lot of teams don't have time for. It also allows the team to have a moment to pray together and really get unified.

What I often hear instead, are experiences of pastors being increasingly frustrated with performance of tech, specifically audio operators. Mics not being turned on in time, mics being left on (sometimes while people go to the restroom), and other issues. I also hear from tech teams people on stage publicly "calling out" their tech operators. For example, a worship leader asking for more guitar in the house, or a pastor commenting on a mic not working, etc. If there is a cardinal sin in being up front, it is to NEVER, EVER, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES call out your tech. How would you feel if your audio operator got their own microphone and told you, a lead singer, that you were flat over the sound system so everyone could hear it? Yeah, it wouldn't be fun and creates a VERY difficult environment for a synergy of the team to exist.

So, open communication is a good thing, and I think that any comments and/or feedback relating to tech needs to be handled by a post-program debrief session. Yes, this will require more time, but if you are having problems similar to the ones I outlined above, this is a must. Remember, the point is to have a service that allows people to enter into worship holistically, and if any member of the team falls short on their end, it will detract from that experience. Of course, if there's feedback in the sound system, chances are the operator is aware of it and is actively working on fixing it-no need to comment on it from the front.

I'm eager to hear thoughts on this post as I'm sure there are many out there that have had or are currently experiencing these kinds of issues.

If you're looking for more ideas of how to combat these kinds of situations and issues, the latest issue of "Technologies for Worship" magazine has a fantastic article called "How to Get a New Pastor" which outlines several steps of how to make sure your leadership and tech teams are working together towards a common goal.

Leadership

When's the last time we thought about our leadership style?

If you're like me, you find yourself sometimes regretting how you handle certain situations with your crew and wishing there were ways of preventing that kind of response.

This will not be a post that sees me telling you how to be a good leader-this is more a journey of discovery that I hope you will participate in towards what makes a good leader-so please jump in with comments!

In my experience, a good leader has patience in spades. I know that my patience has grown in the last few years, but that I still need growth in this area. Patience to handle not just the weekly stresses of leading a ministry, but also with deal with the vagaries of a volunteer crew. People don't show up when they are scheduled, don't remember (or seem to care) about the smooth camera moves and all the training they've been given. The list goes on. I think it's important to remember, however, that we are all brothers and sisters in the family of God and that we are instructed to love one another. That is a continual help to me, though it's hard to keep that in mind when you're in the heat of a situation.

A good leader should also have a good measure of when to use both strength and gentleness. Taking a stand for what is needed against forces that would disrupt the ministry would be a good example of a time when strength is needed. Listening to a crew member talk out a rough patch of their life would be a time for gentleness. To me, it's extremely important to create a family atmosphere in my ministry. This helps to blunt a good portion of the stress that exists inside the ministry while allowing your crew to grow together as a unit, providing cohesiveness. Now I'm not saying that our ministry has reached this ideal, but it's a good goal to shoot for.

Courage is important-courage to take a stand, courage to make decisions in the face of not always having all the information. Courage to admit you're wrong and own up to your mistakes, courage to challenge the traditional paradigms...ok, that last one may not be necessary, but the point still stands. A good leader should also be a strong leader-for me, it's hard to look up and respect someone that lets people walk over them and is seemingly incapable of taking a stand for what they believe in.

Those are some things I look for in a leader-how about you?

Passion and Ministry

I am very serious about media ministry-it's exactly that, a ministry. And if you don't have a passion for doing it, then why ARE you doing it? Do you feel obligated? Were you guilted into serving and this is where you found yourself?

You see, for me, media is an area where there is need for HUGE improvement in churches, yet people act like it's not important. Yet, can you imagine if the sound system didn't work at all? How many people would be blessed? What about lighting? Who would be able to see and connect with the speaker, the musicians, etc.? Video expands the reach of the church, and with the accessibility of the Internet, the potential audience that is open to the church is worldwide!

This is why it's so important that we strive to be the best at what we choose to do in the church. Maybe that's asking a lot, but when it comes to spreading the Gospel, is it too much to ask for our best?

Now I'm not saying we need to go and spend $500,000 on new audio/video/lighting systems-but what I am saying is that we need to take our A/V/L seriously and learn how to use it to the best of our ability. Maybe you don't have the best sound system-what are some ways you could improve it without spending an arm and a leg? Don't know? Seek out the answers-don't just sit on your hands and accept that what you have is the best you can afford-that's putting God in a box, my friend!

We need to get past this idea that we, as churches, have ceilings we cannot grow past. It might take a little longer to raise the funds, but there are plenty of vendors who are willing to come in and demo equipment, and plenty of opportunities around to learn how to creatively fundraise. The point is that we as media ministers need to make sure we are providing the absolute best service that we can in our respective areas because a message can't reach the heart if no one can hear, see, or experience that message.

This brings me to another point: media ministry is evangelism and should be funded as such. I would dare say that a dollar given towards a video ministry that utilizes the Internet effectively will be more efficiently spent than on traditional methods of evangelism. Maybe that's putting my neck out there a bit, and yes, I know I'm biased, but let's break this down.

Traditional evangelism methods include canvassing a neighborhood (door-to-door, handing out tracts, offering Bible studies, etc.). This method, while it does see results, is out-dated and doesn't see a great deal of results. Or maybe you're mailing postcards to advertise an upcoming event. This is a very expensive proposition and unless you do it consistently, people will just throw it away (or recycle, if you're here in the Northwest).

Now, take a video ministry that puts the message out onto the Internet every week. They post the video onto their own website, alongside archived messages, on Vimeo, TruthCasting and other popular video hosting sites (YouTube limits your videos to 10 minutes) where people will randomly come across their content, create an updated RSS feed for iTunes, send out Tweets using Twitter, maybe email the membership that the message is online, who in turn email their friends and families. This might take a little extra time, and it will take some time and effort for the online community to notice, but this is why consistency is so important. The local church congregation must get involved in sharing this content within their spheres of influence. This will help spread the message. And what that media ministry has effectively done is put the message out in the open where anyone can find it. And they have done it in a non-invasive, non-threatening way.

You see, traditional evangelism and advertising methodologies rely on interrupting people's lives and forcing them to make a decision and deal with your message on YOUR time, not THEIR time. And when this happens, people have a natural tendency to resist, because it interrupts their natural schedule. Even email and banner ad campaigns force this decision to a point. Whereas when they stumble onto your video, podcast, MP3, or website, they are usually in search and/or need of that particular message and this allows an open door for the Holy Spirit to work. Remember, it's not we who save, but we who point the way to the One who does.

Thoughts, questions, comments?

Audio Mixing

One of the hardest things to teach a new sound operator is how to mix. It requires the development of an "ear" for what to change, when to change it, and what levels are appropriate. The best advice I usually give is to listen to the radio, CDs, and anywhere professional level mixing is done. This will go a long way in understanding what goes into a mix, but that will only do so much.

There are so many small nuances when it comes to sound, it's hard to cover them all. Developing an ear is more than just listening for certain instruments and voices, but delving deeper into the actual frequencies. For instance, I do some mixing at a small church in Vancouver, and one of the speakers has a vocal frequency range that just wreaks havoc on us mixers. For whatever reason, his voice introduces frequences (or freq's) into the system that cause feedback at much lower levels than anyone else. For months we tried our best to change EQ (equalization) settings to dial out those freqs, but to no avail. We finally discovered that all the changes we were making on our master system EQ were to the wrong side (Left instead of Right). Once we began to change the freqs in the Right side of the system EQ, we were able to finally master his voice and crank the volume to where it needed to be.

But we never would have been able to do that if we didn't have an ear for which frequencies should be addressed first. You see, a lot of church sound operators never took the time (or had the training) to dig into what they are doing. They know the basics of how to turn the system on, how to put the faders up and down, and how to mute. A bit more advanced operators will understand how to use EQ and how to route channels to the Auxiliary outputs (or Auxes). But a lot will stop there; and for good reason-what's the point of learning more than what you will need to use?

But what if something goes wrong? Do you know how to fix it? If you don't understand the ins and outs of your system (and are afraid to learn), then how will you react to a hum or squeal being introduced into the system one day? People will look to you to fix it and if you don't know how, then what? Know what you don't know, and don't be afraid to ask for help!

2 Corinthians 12:10b - "When I am weak, then I am strong." We are strongest when we admit our weakness, so don't be afraid to ask for help-pride is a major obstacle to that and I'm reminded of what Jesus said in Matthew 18:3-4 - "I assure you, unless you turn from your sins and become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven."

Thoughts?

Directing-An Overview

Ok, Nick, this one's for you!

A lot of people don't know what to do when they sit down at a video switcher their first time. It can be a bit overwhelming, especially with more than two cameras. Admittedly, there is a LOT to keep in mind. So, I've decided to break it up a little bit and give you guys a very broad overview of what I expect of the directors and TD's I train. Please note that it's been a while since I've directed anything (live event or film, so bear with me).

Ok, so let's start off with the things that I advise and train my directors to keep in mind at all times:

1.) FOCUS-You can have the best shot in the world, but if it's out of focus, it might as well be the worst-nothing screams amateur like an out of focus shot. Keep it sharp!

2.) Composition-Know the rule of thirds...in BOTH axes! If you don't know that term, Google it! Others have explained it far better than I do in words...and they even have cool diagrams! A good starting place: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds

3.) Context-what is the speaker saying? If he/she talking about something negative? You can imagine how ill-timed it would be to show a white male with blond hair and blue eyes in the audience when the speaker is talking about Nazi Germany, right? So, listen to what is being said and try and follow that as much as possible. Is the speaker reading a Bible verse? Find someone in the audience reading a Bible. A side note here: if you lack adequate lighting for your audience, I would cut them out as much as you can-a shot that is nearly completely dark will disorient any viewers as to what's going on and will not help in communicating the speaker's message. If you MUST do an audience shot, do a wide angle pan with your aperture opened all the way to let as much light in as possible (f-numbers work in reverse; the smaller the number, the larger the opening in the lens to let light in).

4.) Camera Moves-if you're doing a zoom, what is your justification for it? If you call for a camera move just to have a camera move, don't do it. A zoom in helps to focus the viewer's attention, and a push in will allow a wide angle for the viewer to see the space, while focusing them again on the speaker. It gives a sense of space and proves that the program is not taking place in a studio. Conversely, a pull out is meant to reveal something; keep in mind that a pull out will sometimes have the effect of disengaging the viewer from the speaker, so use very sparingly. During musical selections of a large instrument like an organ, it's fine, but for intimate music like vocals or small instruments, I would stay away from pull outs and stick with push ins. Remember, pan is a side-to-side move, tilt is an up-and-down move.

5.) Aperture/Iris/F-Stop: In the digital world, these terms have become synonymous, though their origins were different. Basically, keep an eye on your overall brightness-if you lose details in your whites, you're probably too bright. If you lose detail in your blacks, you're too dark. However, ALWAYS expose for the face.

6.) Transitions-Cut or dissolve? This is more of a personal preference, but I generally prefer dissolves for music and cuts for everything else., specifically speaking. Cuts allow for much faster transitions and when you have a speaker who likes to move around the stage, this is a blessing. Dissolves tend to just muddy up the mix with speakers and get in the way-so I advise sticking with cuts, but again, it's a pretty subjective choice, just make sure whatever you do, it's intentional.

7.) Don't panic! When you get into a 4 or 6 camera shoot, it can be overwhelming! You have to keep track of all six of your cameras, any internal sources (DVD playback, computer graphics, etc), and your program and preview monitors. Just a quick review-source monitors are for the director to see the images from the cameras and/or sources (DVDs, VHS, computers, etc.), preview is for the director to "preview" a source before taking it to air-most calls for focus checks and fine composition changes occur based off this monitor, and program is what is going out "on-air," or to recordings. It is the final stop and cannot be altered once it's on program...so USE your preview!!!! Ok, back to the point-a lot of new directors tend to play it safe and stay on a single source for a long time, because they don't want to get their head (or can't get their head) around the options they have. I say just jump right in, and I will sometimes jump in as producer and make calls for changing shots to help get my directors out of this rut-it's boring for the director (and frightening) but it's also boring for the viewer-keep those cuts moving! Change at least once every 20 seconds when you're new, and at least once every 10 seconds on average as you get into it. This sounds like really fast cutting, but I assure you, it's still a bit long. :)

8.) Know your equipment-there will be times when you're working with novice camerapeople-so it's important that you know the camera better then they do and know what is and what is not possible. It's also important, in the same vein, to know the capabilities of your video switcher. Know how to bring in lower thirds with a key and fill (if your switcher has this functionality), and how to bring in and take out the Downstream Key (DSK) with both a cut and a fade (again, based on functionality). Know how to change your transition styles, learn what effects can be achieved, and then find time to practice these with your crew (if possible). And at all times...SMOOTH CAMERA MOVES!!!! They can be fast, but they NEED to be smooth.

9.) Be consistent-learn common terminology and stick with it. Don't invent your own language, and definitely don't allow different terminology within the same ministry team. It's very confusing for the camera people. When I say a wide shot, I mean a wide shot. Some of my other directors term it a "broad shot." Well, a smart-alec camera operator might go find a shot of a woman...you might be laughing at that, but in a live environment, the director needs to be able to effectively direct his or her crew to get exactly the shots they need, and quickly. There's no room or time for mis-communication, so learn proper terminology and stick with it.


10.) Finally, be willing to take suggestions. I tend to run a pretty tight ship, but I'm open to creative shots and ideas. I, as the director, am not at the camera locations myself, so I must rely on my operators to find different shots for me that I might not see myself. As a director, allow your operators to show you shots they find, and then decide whether or not to use it. Remind them that if you don't like or use their shot, it's not a reflection on them at all and it's not personal, it just didn't fit with the program at that point-it might be better served some other time, so remember those shots. Also don't be surprised if you ask an operator to find you a different shot during a particularly boring program and they give you a shot of the exit sign...it just shows their human, too. :)

Any more questions, shoot me an email! tim@timatofilms.com

Secretos de la Vida/Jaime Jorge Concert

Below you will find images from my recent lighting event-"Secretos de la Vida," or for you non-Spanish speakers, "The Secrets of Life." This was a 9-night series broadcast live via satellite on Esperanza, a Seventh-day Adventist that reaches the Spanish-speaking community across the United States.

You will also find, towards the middle, images from a concert that Jaime Jorge performed on Saturday morning of this past weekend (Oct. 31). Since we were not broadcasting his performance, and since the head of A/V for the church wanted me to, and Jaime was ok with it, I flexed my creativity and programmed somewhere near 40 unique lighting cues (or "looks") that I then played back during his mini-concert. Keep in mind that I had absolutely no idea what songs Jaime would be playing, what style, how fast, what order, etc.

See for yourself and let me know what you think!

My lighting load-out was as follows:

1 - Martin Mac500 moving light
2 - Elation PowerSpot 575 moving light
6 - Elation Opti 30 LED
3 - Elation Tri-Opti 30 LED
24 - ETC Source 4 Jr. lamped at 575watts
3 - Selecon Acclaim fresnel lamped at 575watts
2 - Irradiant Hazers (not used for broadcast)
4 - C&M 1/4 ton electric chain hoists (all I gotta say is I WANT SOME!!!)
12 - 12"x12" Global Truss Box Truss-6.5' sections (we only used 9 of these)
1 - Jands Vista M1 console
1 - Jands Vista App running on a 17" Macbook Pro

That's it! Not a very large system at all, but see what can be done when your system is very flexible...and you have a kickin' stage to light! Thanks, Veruschka!

Jaime Jorge Mini-Concert:

I feel it's important to interject here that the above image was a patriotic medley Jaime played and I had to change my look on the fly to red, white, and blue (and yes, I know it's red, blue, and white, but work with me here...)

Always learn...

I worked on a gig right now where I setup and run the lighting-no problem, I've done that before. Only, it was a professional crew that was carrying the event live to satellite every night for a week...and they like their lighting a little differently. Of course, I didn't find this out until two days before the event begins.

Now, in all fairness, I didn't ask what kind of lighting they wanted, so the blame partially falls on me.

Anyway, imagine you've invested nearly 50 hours thus far into a lighting project (I'm counting consulting on set design, load-in and setup) and you're just putting the finishing touches on focusing the front light truss span when the producer comes in and makes it known that she wants a flat wash...I was a bit frustrated, to say the least.  I utilize a zone lighting approach to help control the audience focus and attention.

It took me a couple days to get over my negative feelings, but part of what helped me to do that was how I decided to treat this experience. It's extremely simple to take on the "I'm right, they are wrong and they don't know what they're doing" attitude, but this never benefits anyone.

I decided to learn from this experience and not to assume what kind of lighting they will need-it's always best and usually easiest to ask questions. This is one more kind of lighting setup that I can add to my toolbox and while it was a bit frustrating, if I learn from it and apply that knowledge in the future, then it will have been a useful experience. If I choose to be negative and hold a grudge...well, that really only weighs me down and doesn't benefit anyone.

So, you've got some equipment-now what?

Alright, you've got some equipment purchased for a video system-congrats! Now what?!???

Ok, first off, you'll need to figure out your signal flow. Let's assume that you've got a couple video cameras, some kind of recorder (hard drive-based, flash- or solid-state-based, or DVD), and a switcher. These are the basics of any video ministry system.

First, your signal flow follows a logical path regardless of the equipment that you have. Your cameras are your sources, your switcher switches between these sources, and your signal terminates at your recorder. It's entirely up to you whether or not you bring the audio from the cameras into your recorder, but I would highly recommend you get a signal sent to your recorder from the audio mixer to have the highest quality.

These systems get a little more complex when you have 4 cameras, a dedicated audio mixer to control your own mix, a number of displays throughout the church that you feed your video and audio mix to, a live signal for the Internet, capturing live into a computer for post-production later, and to DVD as a backup. Remember, the more points of connection you have in any system, the more potential points of failure you will have to deal with eventually.

Modern media systems require a multitude of connections and there's no way of getting around that.  But how you choose to route your signals, what cables you use and which equipment you choose to install has a big impact on how reliable and easy to use your system ends up being...and how long it lasts.

Hopefully, if you did your homework ahead of time you won't need to ask "now what?" because you know what the equipment is for and how to use it.

What to do when...

Whenever you deal with technology, it's inevitable that something will go wrong, stop working, or fail. This is critical to understand as it's not a matter of if, but when.

The important thing to remember is not to panic; understanding your equipment goes a LONG way in accomplishing that. You see, in a church setting, if you're sitting behind the mixer, you are the authority at that moment; if something goes wrong (feedback, a missed cue, etc.), it's you the people look at, correct?

And sometimes, even if you're NOT the person responsible for something that goes wrong, people still turn around and look at you because the only visible target! It's an unjust world, isn't it?

Anyway, so, let's say that you're at the sound board, running the service, having performed sound checks with everyone and verified that every mic is working and things are going along well. The Associate Pastor gets up with his handheld to do a Child Dedication or whatever, you unmute his channel and/or bring the fader up...and there's no sound. Meanwhile, he's talking into the mic, realizes that there's no sound, and does what every person in the world does when a mic doesn't work...taps it with his hand. Then he looks right at you for some kind of assistance, which of course only draws the entire attention of the audience to YOU. Meanwhile, you're making sure the Mute button isn't depressed, that his channel is assigned to the Master fader, that you have signal on his mic, etc.

This is a perfect time to panic, it would seem...if you don't know your equipment. More often than not, people will either purposely turn off a wireless microphone in order to rest at ease that their every word isn't being broadcast into the Sanctuary, or they will inadvertently mute the microphone. Either way, it's not your fault, right?

Wrong! As the sound person who is responsible for the sound duties that weekend, I believe it's your responsibility to help train the participants in how to hold a mic, why they need to hold it in that manner (pickup patterns), how a wireless microphone works, where the Mute and Power buttons are, and assure them that they need to leave the microphone on and that you will control when it's amplified through the house system, etc. This will go a great distance in alleviating any potential problems. Another part of your responsibilities is to make sure your wireless mics are using fresh batteries-I can't tell you how many times I've seen sound guys try and save money by re-using old batteries or using rechargeables...bad juju, guys! If you don't have the budget to use new batteries every week, then it's time to have a sit down with the leadership and explain things to them.

So, let's assume that the mic was left on by the pastor, the channel us unmuted, and all the settings are correct, but there's still no sound. Well, perhaps the battery went out...perhaps you're getting blasted with some major RF interference...all that's important in the moment is that your wireless isn't working properly. It would probably behoove you to have a wired backup mic somewhere on the platform that can be grabbed for situations like this. Maybe that's overkill, but that's your choice. I prefer to have my bases covered as I really don't trust wireless anymore than I have to. The best choice is still a wired mic, if it's logical and feasible to have one.

What you do NOT want to start doing is trying to troubleshoot the problem during the service unless you have the knowledge, experience, and personnel to do so. Your primary job is to mix sound for the service, but if you have someone that can take that over, or go searching for a problem, than you're ok. And definitely don't start ripping cables out! Save your frustration for when you're alone and can vent without disrupting the worship service. And really try to channel your frustration into finding the problem-I usually try and adopt the attitude of viewing it as a challenge to my knowledge and experience and an opportunity to learn something new. This puts a positive spin on it and when I eventually find the problem, the satisfaction is much more appealing than looking at it negatively (e.g. "I should have known this would go out on me. I'm so stupid."). The spin would be more like this; "Wow, I didn' t know that would happen...I better file that one away so I can be anticipating this next time."

You see how that will affect your mental attitude? And you see why it's important to have people who understand the system besides you? While you don't want other people tearing apart your system looking for problems, I'm sure you also don't want to get phone calls or emails week in and week out requesting that you come and look at another problem in the system, right? At the very least, make sure that if you do have to go and investigate a problem, you make sure someone else from your crew is present so that it can be turned into a learning opportunity. :)

I hope that helps!

Multi-Channel Audio-Last Second

Sorry all, I just realized I hadn't put a post up for this week!

So, one of the ideas that Nick Knecht wrote in to me about was how we captured multi-channel audio for our Momentum evangelistic series in January, 2008. Let me first explain our normal way of doing things.

Twice a year, the North Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists...or NPUC, for short, produces an 8-part evangelistic series for airing on the Hope Channel (an Adventist-owned satellite channel that reaches most of the countries of the world) in an effort to help Adventist churches and institutions in the NW evangelize their local communities. In January of 2008, our crew was in Anchorage. Yes, it was cold. :)

Our mobile system is comprised of a lot of equipment, which I will list:

A Ross Synergy 100 production switcher (16 in, 16 out), a Yamaha 0196V2 digital audio mixer, four Canon XLH1 HDV cameras, two Canon XH G1 cameras (all supported with Sachtler tripods), a collection of Marshall LCD monitors for monitoring, Clear-Com intercom system, an entire lighting system, and various computers and peripherals.

Due to the expense of shipping our entire equipment list to Anchorage, and not wanting to risk driving the equipment up there, we opted to only take the essentials. This included our cameras, tripods, personal laptops, and some LED lighting. No switcher, no LCD monitors (except on the cameras), no audio mixer, no intercom...you get the idea. So we had six cameras with no way to communicate other than hand motions.

Now that I've set the stage, let me get to answering Nick's question. I had purchased a PreSonus Firepod (now called the FireStudio, I believe). It consists of a 1 rack-unit frame with 8 mic/line inputs that outputs through a Firewire connection into your computer, where you can capture all 8 channels (if your hardware is fast enough) into the audio production software of your choice. We originally were going to use Soundtrack Pro, part of the Final Cut Studio suite. However, we could not get it to work. Unfortunately, this had been the plan since before we headed up there, so we had no backup. After doing some research during setup week, I discovered that GarageBand would multi-track, but only with the latest version. I had to go buy the iLife bundle to get the new GarageBand to work and once it was configured, I was multi-tracking in no time.

I should mention the signal flow for those of you wondering what it looked like. Our mic situation wasn't that complicated. We had two mics (one handheld and one headset), but we also had a stereo CD signal that had to get split into discrete channels. We did remember to take our XLR splitters with us (passive) and we split off the channels prior to the FOH (front of house) audio mixer. This way we would get a clean feed; the CD player was run to us from an Insert, I believe (that or a Tape Out). Because we were tight on budget for this particular series (travel to Alaska is NOT cheap!), I was performing the duties for three people during production. I was multi-tracking the sound (recording multiple channels of audio), running the lights (from the same laptop!), and running one of the cameras. Fortunately, the camera did not require much attention as it was decided that it would be a lock-off shot (unless Win ran that one...I don't remember-Win, do you?).

Anyway, once the audio was recorded, it was saved, by GarageBand in a deceptive "single file." In other words, I didn't have a list of my recorded tracks. I was freaking out until I discovered that GarageBand creates this file as a reference, but if you right+click on the file, you have an option to "Reveal Package Contents," and once that is selected, your files appear like magic. :)

I created a folder with those files inside for each presentation and once we were finished, the tapes were collected from the cameras and once we got home, the huge job of editing began. Imagine...six cameras x 8 programs=48 tapes total. This was also the only program we recorded in SD (standard definition). It seemed counter-intuitive to create MORE work for ourselves by recording to HDV and then having to go through the hassle of dealing with HDV on capture. Even in SD, we were dealing with somewhere around 630GB of data needed in order to store all the raw video! Feel free to browse back to the blog post in April to see images from this event in Anchorage!

The point of this story is that there are always more ways than you might think of getting something done and just because you either can't afford to do it the right way or don't know how, it can get done. A further note, though-when you're thinking of "McGuyver-ing" something-make sure safety won't be a factor. When you're hanging things over people's heads (like lighting or other potentially fatal equipment), there is NO WORK-AROUND for the right way. You can either spend the money to have it done properly, or spend potentially millions of dollars in lawsuits for shoddy and inadequate installation work that was done to save a couple thousand dollars. You do the math.

Eugene Momentum

Who's Paying Attention?

Ok, it's YOUR turn to come up with a topic! I want to know what my audience is looking for, so hit me with your questions, topic ideas, suggestions, comments, concerns, critiques, etc.

Maybe I'm too lazy to think up a topic this week, but I'd also like to know who is actually reading my blog, so if you're reading this, please be kind enough to leave a comment-even if it's just your name. That will help me get a feel for my audience and what you guys (and gals) are looking for.

Thank ya' kindly!

Tim

Planning Ahead

There comes a time in any ministry where you have to upgrade the equipment, or implement a training rotation, or make some kind of change that will require planning.

All I can say is that it is extremely beneficial to start the habit of planning ahead. Preparing for an upgrade to an A/V/L system is no trip to the beach. You have to plan, literally, for every wire, every cable, every input and output-it can be quite daunting.

I've been wanting to post this image for a while, but haven't had the opportunity to yet. Above is an example of a system diagram I created (in Photoshop, for those who are curious) for my church's high definition video system (it doesn't exist yet, but we're getting there).

While I haven't accounted for EVERY wire, it's a good roadmap showing me all the important pieces that will need to be connected. Yeah, it took me a few hours to put this together, but it will be worth it when we get to the install phase of the upgrade. I can reference this over and over again. The alternative would be trying to figure it out on the fly, and I would ultimately waste time in the install, thus keeping our ministry "off-air" for longer because I failed to remember a few wires, or I didn't connect things in a certain way.

So, anyway, feel free to download the image, or I have PDF and JPEG versions of it, as well, if you'd like a higher quality version-just email me.

Mac or PC?

I know what you're thinking already-he's just opened a can of worms. I admit, that yes, I have, but I encourage you, no matter which side of the debate you fall on, to be open-minded.

It has long been known that if you want to work in graphics- and video-related industries, you would probably be working on a Mac. Everything else was run just fine on Windows. And I've heard, and participated, in the endless discussions of which operating system is best and why.

"Mac OS addresses the system hardware more efficiently."
"PC components are more readily available."
"Mac OS is more stable."
"Windows is more widely supported. "

Around and around it goes.

The truth is this: every piece of equipment you choose to use is part of a toolbox. Some tools are better fit for certain jobs than others. If you find that you work best on a PC running Premiere CS4, far be it from me to try and "win" you over to using Final Cut Pro on a Mac! When I setup and run lights, I use both platforms...depending on what laptop is available. Yes, I prefer the Mac OS and hardware, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to use a Windows machine.

I have found that it's beneficial to understand BOTH sides so that I can remain as flexible as possible. Limiting myself to either Mac or PC is about a logical as limiting yourself to learning addition in mathematics, but not progressing any further-it just doesn't make sense.

So I encourage you PC users to go down to your local Best Buy or Mac-friendly retailer and play around. Find someone you know who is in the industry that uses a Mac and Final Cut Pro and sit down and play around with the system.

And Mac users, do the same with PCs. Sit down and play around with Premiere, Sony Vegas, SpeedEdit...and, if you must, Avid. I draw the line with Avid, but that's a personal preference of mine, so feel free to explore it for yourselves.

Let's focus on working together instead of focusing on which system is better, etc. After all, nothing man creates is perfect as it was built by a fallen race. So get over it. Besides...everyone knows that Mac is better anyway. Hahaha! Sorry, I had to say it just once!

Connections

Last week, we talked about workflow-this week, let's talk about connections. As in, how you hook all that equipment together.

You may have been to larger churches, and noticed they had a pretty clean installation, a few cables were visible, but nothing too messy, right?

If you're like me and go back to your church and look at your installation, you probably have a spaghetti mess of cabling, right? Don't be discouraged! This is normal! In fact, those churches you visited also have a mess of cabling...the difference is they hid it all!

The simple truth is that it takes a LOT of cables to transport all the audio and video signals from their sources to all of their destinations. For example, at my church, we installed a video system in 2000 that ran on S-Video cabling. We have an 8x8 S-Video router with stereo audio. So, I can have 8 separate inputs that I can "route" to 8 separate outputs, with stereo audio. Assuming I have all inputs and outputs connected, I would be looking at a minimum of 32 separate cables. How?

Well, I have 8 S-Video cables going into the inputs, I have another 8 S-Video cables connected to the outputs. I have 8 stereo audio RCA cables connected to inputs, and another 8 stereo audio RCA cables connected to the outputs. 8x4=32...and that's for ONE piece of equipment!

When you add everything up, you'll probably come into the neighborhood of 100-200 separate cables, which is fine, but you need to know how to run them so you're not having bundles and bundles of exposed cables. If you have questions about that, I can give you ideas, but we're already off-topic.

Ok, so connections. First, video connections:

Analog:

Composite: This is by far the most common type of video connection I've seen around-usually identified by the color yellow on an RCA cable. Two plug types can be used for composite cables: RCA/Phono (a single male plug, usually round, extending from a round sleeve), or the BNC (a twist-lock connector with a very small single pin extending from a locking sleeve...the female end has a long hollow sleeve with two small posts that the male connector slides over, twists, and locks to). Composite is also known as "video soup," due to the color and brightness information being carried over the same conductor/wire.

S-Video: Also called Y/C, this cable has a four-pin connector and connects one way. A small plastic block extends inside the sleeve with the four small pins and carries luminance (brightness) and chrominance (color) information on two separate conductors/wires.

Component: Also known as YPbPr or RGB, this cable looks deceptively like an RCA cable with audio, though you need to pay attention to the color coding. In truth, an RCA cable and Component cable are interchangeable, but you must remember to match the colors on both ends of the cable and know what kind of signal you're plugging into. Component is the highest quality analog connection I know of. The reason is that it separates Red, Green, and Blue onto separate conductors/wires. Brightness is carried on the Green conductor since the human eye is most sensitive to the color green.

Digital:

SDI: Short for Serial Digital Interface, this comes in two flavors, SD (Standard Definition) and HD (High Definition). A digital signal is simply an analog signal that has been converted into a stream of zeros and ones (hence the term 'digital'). A digital signal is also inherently resistant to interference, etc. The reason why this is goes over my head, but I'm sure you can find a broadcast engineer to explain it. :)

Fiber: This is similar to SDI, only that it runs digital signals over fiber-optic cable, instead of copper. A very high capacity connection, fiber is able to use light division multiplexing technology...essentially, equipment that is able to "slice" light into different wavelengths so more information can be carried on it...in short, an extremely efficient transmission medium. The reason we are seeing such high bandwidth Internet services becoming available is due to the installation of fiber-optic cables throughout the country...sometimes even to our doorstep. So, if you're planning to install for the future, I would highly recommend at least researching fiber equipment...it might be cheaper to install it now than to have either re-run cabling in conduit, or worse, rip up flooring and walls in order to get to your cabling.

Ok, now for audio:

Analog:

XLR: I'm honestly not sure what the acronym stands for (stereo left/right, maybe?), but this connection is the standard, the workhorse of the industry. Microphones and virtually every instrument and/or piece of audio equipment must use this connection at some point to connect to an audio system. It utilizes three wires (hot, neutral, ground-I think) and is a locking connection, so no accidental "unplugs." It's a fairly robust connection, though the wiring can get damaged fairly easily. It's a balanced input, meaning it can carry stereo signal (left and right).

1/4": Ok, I'm a bit lost when it comes to the venerable 1/4" connector. There are many different flavors, and I don't pretend to know them all. I know there is a TRS (Tip, Ring, Sleeve) designation on some 1/4" connectors, but I'm still not sure what purpose they serve (can someone fill me in?). But I DO know you can get them in mono or stereo configurations, and that will determine how you can use those cables and what you can plug them into. This is the connection that instruments use to connect to a sound system, and it's by and large an unbalanced connection, unless it's stereo (or TRS???). Seriously, I've no idea. hahaha

1/8": A little brother to the 1/4" connector, this would be your computer speakers/iPod connector, which has turned into quite a flexible connector of late. Capable of running three separate signals over this little connector (even video!), it's much more than just an audio connection...but you'll need to understand how this connector fits into your system.

Digital:

Cat5: Ok, let's get the easiest out of the way first-you can convert your analog audio signals into digital signals to run over Cat5/6 cables (this is the stuff you use to connect a computer network together) for long distances. The advantages of this over using traditional mic snakes are a many, though I will only outline two of the biggest: form factor-a single cable can carry multiple channels (up to 96, I believe, depending on the audio spec). This saves you a lot of weight since the mic snakes of the past rely on three-conductor copper for every mic channel x how many feet of distance you have (let's estimate a 100 ft. snake with 24 channels...that's close to if not over 100 lbs!). So, a HUGE savings in setup time, weight, space, etc. Ok, factor number 2: Interference: Cat5/6 is naturally resistant to interference (RF-radio frequency and power being the main culprits), which means that if you have a hum in your system or if you're picking up radio stations, replacing some of your copper with some Cat5/6 will at least begin eliminating where the interference is entering your system.

Toslink/Optical: This is similar to fiber, but transmits a red light that carries high-quality audio and is capable of some pretty impressive sound. :)

SPDIF and all others: Ok, this is where I start to lose it on the audio side, I'll admit, but a lot of these connections simply provide you with high-quality transport options so you get the highest quality sound you can.

Ok, next week-what does a system map look like?

Workflow

Great! You've gotten your new video system with your 4 HD cameras, your $20,000 HD switcher, your production audio board, and all the other components and you capture it into your computer...now what????

Assuming you have big plans to distribute your content widely (like the big boys do), you're going to be looking at the following needs...each and every week:
1 - 100Kb streaming video
1 - 300Kb streaming video
1 - 1Mb streaming video
1 - HD Master
1 - SD Master (properly formatted for 16:9 letterbox
1 - Audio MP3
1 - Master DVD (meaning additional time to compress to the .m2v and .ac3 codecs)
1 - Broadcast Master edited to the 58:30 broadcast hour or the 28:30 broadcast half-hour

That's a LOT of encoding! It's important to figure out how you are going to manage to do all of this in one week! Especially if you are an all-volunteer crew. This is where the importance of workflow comes in.

Consolidating your effort into a few simple steps can save you a world of hurt. Batch encoders like Compressor on the Mac (part of Final Cut Studio) allow you to batch encode, or to encode multiple files to multiple output formats/codecs. While the encoding process is still somewhat long and arduous, it's become a lot more efficient and if you have a multi-core Mac system, you can take advantage of every core using Apple's QMaster program located in System Preferences to speed up that encoding process.

Once you have your versions encoded, it's a matter of getting them into their final forms for delivery. For online, that means uploading (another time-inefficient step) so make sure you have plenty of upload bandwidth from your Internet provider. For DVDs, authoring the DVDs and so on and so forth. Storage for HD and SD masters (which SHOULD be full resolution masters) will be another item to consider. I would strongly recommend investing in a fairly spacious RAID storage solution for the immediate future until Blu-Ray discs, burners, and authoring software become more reasonably priced (probably sometime next year).

So, the lesson is to make sure you understand your workflow and be willing to compromise a bit in order to make it work.

Attitude-Part II

I know I've written on this before, but without feedback, it's difficult to come up with original topics.

I was just working on a project that required a crack crew to work together to produce a very high-quality end product. Attitude from everyone was key on this project. If we had one person who wasn't willing to pitch in to help, it would bring the entire thing screeching to a halt.

One of the things I've learned is that your ego is only as big as you allow it to be. If you think you're too good for something, than you've automatically judged yourself to be better than the people who actually do that activity. If it's moving a table, cleaning a room after shooting is wrapped...whatever.

In this day in age, we have to be willing to help where it's needed. Be observant, volunteer yourself, offer your help when you think it might be needed, think ahead. I was able to see that my services were not needed after the lighting was done for the shoot today, and I knew that the location would be wrapped today, so I told the director I would go downstairs and begin to pack up and organize the cases and other equipment in order to speed tear-down and load out. We were let go early, but I would imagine this greatly aided the remaining crew in getting their equipment loaded out for transport.

If someone offers some advice, at least listen to it. If you close yourself off to suggestions, comments, and/or advice, you've effectively put yourself in a box and refused to even find the edges of that box...forget stepping out of it to see from someone else's perspective.

Anyway, be willing to listen, bring up your objections and/or thoughts of why not to do things their way and see what they say. You just might learn something. :)

Technology

I thought it would be good to talk about the importance of at least attempting to stay up-to-date with new and emerging products and trends.

For church leaders, it's important to follow the pulse of the society that our churches exist in so that we can continue to be relevant to the people we are trying to reach. Blogging, Facebook, sermon mp3s and the like are yesterday's trends, yet so many churches are struggling to catch up to these fairly simple trends. What does the future hold? And how can we strive to make our worship services more experiential?

I'll be the first one to admit that it's nigh impossible to stay on top of everything-I've nearly gone crazy just trying to keep up with the changes in cameras in the last year! But I do subscribe to industry magazines and e-newsletters in order to keep as current as I can. My subscriptions (all free) include "Technologies for Worship," "DV," "Sound & Video Contractor," "Millimeter," and "Church Production" magazines, along with their corresponding e-newsletters. These allow a very quick glimpse at emerging technologies in manageable chunks.

Currently, I don't have time to read other people's blogs or to even research other blogs, but I know there are some good ones out there. To find some, you might write to the editor's of the magazines I mentioned above to see if they have any recommendations, or you can do your own research. If you find one you like, please drop me a line and let me know about it so I can subscribe and maybe in a spare minute or two can do some reading: tim@timatofilms.com

Gladstone Campmeeting 2009-Lighting

A Job Well Done

For those of you in production, you know how much work goes into the process. Planning, planning, planning, setup, change of plans causes the original setup to change, then production, strike, load-out, and on to the next project.

Something I've noticed inside of me is a tendency to get bitter that no one appreciates the amount of work that has to happen behind the scenes, and this attitude is SO contagious! So you've gotta be careful about what attitude you have and who you have it around.

But something else I've noticed is that when you pour your heart and soul into a project and sit back during production and watch it come off exactly or pretty close to how you planned is so rewarding and it makes it all worth it. And then the next project comes along and the grumbling and complaining begins again...but we all know we love what we do otherwise we wouldn't do it, right?

So, take satisfaction in a job well done, then move on! :)

Attitude

So, I'm working on a fairly large lighting gig right now, just finishing the setup for a week and half run. However, to date, this has been the most complicated, stressful, and confusing environments that I've worked in. Forget Plan B, Plan C, etc. We've got to be on Plan TT by now!

Without going into the details, I wanted to make a quick point about attitude. If you don't have the ability to adapt to an ever-changing situation, I would suggest trying to learn that skill. It's much better for everyone in the end when people can be flexible (within reason). This doesn't mean that you race to go get the bucket truck at 3pm to change two lights for a program that starts at 4pm. There just isn't enough time. But if someone has a suggestion for changing how you focused your lights, or what lights you're using where, be willing to at least dialogue with them about why you did it that way and what advantages might be gained by doing it their way.

Remember, you're ALWAYS a student, so look for opportunities to grow and learn! It can save you from falling on your face because of your pride.

Stories from the Field: Temperament

Oh, the stories I could tell about this word! How do I choose just one?

Let me paint you a picture of the kind of environments you could potentially find yourself in; especially those of you in church media ministries that send out mission teams.

Imagine, you're in Kenya, in the bush in the southern part of the country. Electricity is 60 klicks (slang for kilometers) away, and with it all your support personnel and equipment.

Ok, so that's the environment, the space you're working in. Now, let's throw some complications into the mix:

You need to shoot inside a vehicle while it's moving, but we all know that your footage will likely make the viewer seasick and there's nothing you can do about it, right? Well...if you have your camera neckstrap, don't be worried! Attach your camera strap to your camera, take up about 6 inches of slack and "paste" one hand to the ceiling of the vehicle, allowing the camera to dangle by the strap in front of you. Make sure the camera is level front to back! What you have is a modified stabilization platform. You have eliminated the up and down motion of the camera! Now use your other hand to stabilize the lateral (left to right) movement of the camera and while it won't look like the aerial "Planet Earth" gyro-stabilized helicopter shots, it WILL look a lot better than trying to shoot using the normal handheld method which has you compensating for every bump in all 3 dimensions!

Now, another problem: You have edited together an amazing video in your hotel room (still in Kenya, say you're hotel is in Nairobi), and all you're missing is some voice-over (VO). Another problem-you don't have any mics with you other than your on-camera mic, which we all know picks up EVERYTHING!!!! How can you get a quality VO and have a finished video before you even get home? Well....

There are two methods I would recommend:

1. Use if you have a sofa with cusions in your room or access to one inside a relatively quiet place.

Take the cushions off of the sofa, place the camera on the sofa, facing you. Take two of the cushions and place on either side of the camera, on their ends (not flat). Place the third cushion on top of the other two cushions; lay this one flat. What you have should look like a post-and-lintel type construction (two pillars and a flat piece on the top). Next, grab the blanket off your bed and drape it over the entire assembly.

Now just crawl inside, draping the blanket over your body, hit record, and record your VO! Hey, I know it's not perfect, but it's better than hearing everything else in your room! And it's a better quality solution than option #2, but we're talking about you being in a pinch, right?

Note: This solution might have a tendency of sounding bass-heavy or "boomy." Be prepared to compensate for that with EQ inside your editing program. Also realize the importance of the proximity effect in audio recording (Google it).

2. Use this if you do NOT have access to a sofa.

This is actually a little easier-take the blanket off of your bed, drape it over a chair that you've placed your camera on. Get on your knees and hit record and do your VO! Again, I know it's not ideal, and you won't have nearly the amount of isolation as option 1 above, but it really does work in a pinch! I know it works because I've had to do it! And once you get music in there, no one will know the difference anyway. Again, be mindful of the proximity effect.

The point of telling these stories is that your temperament will play a HUGE part in your ability to come up with creative solutions to problems that WILL arise as you continue in this industry. This is not just limited to video, either, as I'm sure you all know. Keep a cool head, and check your ego at the door-take advice and suggestions, and don't discount other people's thoughts and/or ideas just because it goes against what you know-it's so crazy, it just might work!

And just so you know, I'm not perfect and I suffer from a poor attitude a lot of times. As Christian men and women, it's important to admit when you're wrong, own what you've said and/or done, and apologize. The world is hard enough without letting divisions come between us!

That's it! Until next week!

Lighting Basics-Safety

Before we go any further, let's talk safety. Any time you are suspending, or "flying," equipment above people, you expose yourself to potential liability. A 5 lb. Par64 can might not seem to weigh that much, but when it falls from 20 ft., it has time to pick up quite a bit of momentum and can be lethal to anyone below.

For this reason, it's important to bring in a professional "rigger," or someone who is ETCP-certified. ETCP, or Entertainment Technician Certification Program, is the ONLY organization in the U.S. that certifies individuals in all aspects of permanent and temporary rigging. ETCP operates under the ESTA (Entertainment Services & Technology Assocation) organzation and provides "rigorous assessments for professional technicians. ETCP focuses on disciplines that directly affect the health and safety of crews, performers, and audiences." Near as I can tell, it is a prestigous certification to have, and you must qualify to even take the test. In order to qualify, you must have worked a certain amount of hours in the industry as a technician already (according to my math, it equates to around 3000 hours and/or some college degrees help count towards that requirement).

Imagine a touring concert, say Michael W. Smith. Let's say he's in the Staples Center in Los Angeles and he has a lighting rig that is also supporting LED screens, flying line arrays (suspended stacks of speakers), and a couple set elements that move around the set over the band during the show.

Now, suppose the rigger who set up that night was tired, lazy, or otherwise not doing his job properly and he forget to put in a shackle, or a span-set, or one of a hundred critical pieces of rigging hardware. The show is going great until an 800-lb. truss with four moving lights on it falls because of that missing piece. What do you think would happen? Nothing good, that's for sure.

You see how dangerous things get when you fly equipment? There is no room for error when rigging. I won't go into details of how to rig equipment, because I'm not a rigger. I'm interested in pursuing more knowledge and experience in this area, but it's not something I have in my head yet, so no advice. Besides, each application is different; what works for me in a certain situation may not work for you, which is why it's so important to know what you don't know, and find someone who does!

So, if there is ever a doubt in your mind about anything at all...DON'T!

Remember, if you have questions or topics you'd like discussed, please let me know!

Lighting Basics-Part 2

Ok, so we've covered basic terminology, now we'll move on to basic lighting principles.

There are two main schools of thought when lighting subjects. The first is from a more theatrical and event-based mentality and dictates that you must light from the center, usually with a truss span or other mounting solution. This is to provide an even wash of light.

The second school of thought comes from somewhere else, probably more film-based, and dictates that you use lighting creatively to express emotion, tone, and atmosphere in order to help your audience be immersed in what they are watching.

I tend to fall into the second school. I prefer to light about 45-degrees off-center left and right, and about 40-45-degrees from level in the vertical (see diagrams below).






This allows for some "sculpting" of the subject's face to occur, but without shadows covering half their face. If you light from the central position and your subject turns 90-degrees left or right, half of their face will disappear in the shadow created by the front light. Proponents will state that you simply add light on the sides to "fill in" the shadows. I say, if you're going to light from the sides, why not just put all of your front light on the sides and create a more visually interesting yet still acceptable image? The logic doesn't compute for me, so I just light from the sides and it works out pretty well.

Now, with any lighting system, it's a VERY good idea to think about back light, also called hair light. The purpose of this lighting is to separate your subject from the background. There are differences of opinion in this regard, as well. Some people like using white light, some people like using colored light. I will tell you this, though-if you are planning on using white light, you will need to use close to the same amount of light from the back as from the front, otherwise it will never show. However, with using colored lighting, you can get away with much less wattage and your back light will still show up because it's not having to fight through all that white light with white light. Color shows up much better against white than white does. :) Kudos to you if you followed all that logic! I'm kinda confused myself right now.

Accent lighting is another area that a lot of churches are beginning to utilize. The most popular lighting devices used for accents are LEDs and moving lights, or movers. If you want examples of what can be done with these devices, see my first post on this blog from March, 2009. You will see pictures that chronicle pretty clearly what is possible. I just love LEDs and movers-they are so much fun to experiment with, and you can create some pretty spectacular effects with them.

That will do it for this week...again, if you have questions or comments please post them!