The 10 year plan

Posted on May 8, 2012 by

I have been doing a little bit of Consulting and design for a few churches and the theme in my mind has been simple, “This has to last a minimum of 10 years.”  It seams simple enough but in reality it has been very difficult.  Setting up for 10 years is a challenge; there is a lot to consider especially when I am supposed to recommend how a church spends their money.

You may also recall a post I did a few months back about cost vs. reward.  Finding the line between cost vs. reward and adding the task of making sure whatever I recommend will last 10 years has been difficult.

Think back 10 years, the iPod was on it’s first generation, now we have had More iPod generations than I have been able to keep track of, 5 different iPhones, and 3 iPads.  HD TV was still new and only a few people had Big screens.  Most TV stations were still doing tape to tape linear editing.

Technology has changed FAST!   But it is important to realize that the professional market doesn’t change as fast as the consumer market, although it has picked up a lot of speed and new consumer demands are driving the industry, the core elements have not changed, they have only updated.

Studio systems are still fundamentally the same.  You have a switcher, cameras, Video playback, CG, terminal gear, routing, and record.  Then to make everything work together, you still need to sync everything up using a reference source.  These are the same components used to do production 30+ years ago, only things have gotten more compact, better quality, easier to use, and have more options.

When I look 10 years out, I still see us doing production with the same basic components.  People have talked about 3D, 2K, 4K ect.  But realize that HD is still new.  There are TV stations still converting from SD to HD.  A few years back 3G (1080p) was the big buzz word, but that is still a ways out from being mainstream.  3D, as cool as it may be, in my opinion is a novelty.  I think it will be around but I don’t think it will ever be the standard.  And 3D in the live production/ (IMAG) field isn’t realistic, at least not in it’s current state.

So again,  Buying gear right now for the next 10 years is doable, but what to choose, how to choose?  Obviously the best thing first is to choose gear that will last.  Quality broadcast gear should last, consumer and prosumer may last for awhile, but won’t make the distance and I have countless stories to back that up.  Be careful when picking gear, Demo, play, and touch.  Talk to other people using the products and seek advice from others in the industry and possibly even in different markets.

The other big thing to keep in mind is what are you currently doing at your facility, what do you want to do in you facility, and what is the vision of your facility.  There is nothing worse than having to buy all new gear 2 years later because things changed.  Add enough flexibility to increase what you are doing and prepare for the future but not too much where you over spend.  The idea here is that if you buy gear now, and 2 years later you need to re-work your system, you should only be adding gear, not replacing gear.  Switchers, cameras, Terminal gear, Routers should last the distance.

So what should you budget for, what won’t last?  You never know for sure, however, if technology has taught us anything, anything that is ran from a computer has a shelf life of around 5 years.  Hard drives, may need to be replaced, and monitors when used a lot tend to go out.  Small converters can also easily go out and I would keep a few extra on hand just in case.

No matter what you choose, take care of it.  Blow it out with air often, keep computers clean and limited to a specific purpose (only update software if it is needed) and try to keep them to a single purpose.  Use power conditioners, and redundant power supplies.  Keep your control rooms at a controlled temperature (This is a gear killer!) and know how each piece of gear allows for air flow to stay cool and place in racks accordingly.

I have been to enough facilities lately to see dated gear still working great.  Smart Engineers and professionals alike have found ways to keep the gear they invested in up and running for 10 – 20 years.  This needs to be our Goal!  People have been doing this in the past and we can continue to do this in the future.  Invest well and plan for long term.

 

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NAB Recap

Posted on April 24, 2012 by

I made my way out to NAB this year and I thought I would mention a few highlights I had while I was out there, although I won’t be able to get to them all.

Ross Carbonite

Since it’s release last year the Carbonite has created some Buzz.  Over the last 5+ months I have had a chance to really get familiar with the “Carb”, and I have really liked the product!  All the fundamentals are there to pull off a great production, plus some added features to put your production over the edge and not break the bank.  It’s not their flagship but once your on it, it doesn’t matter.  It does just about everything you need it to.

This year with the new software updates there is even more to be thankful of for all the current and future Carbonite owners out there. Here is a quick list of the improvements, although I know I will forget 1 or 2.

-More multi-view layouts now with Aux monitoring and up to 32 windows

-Added a Custom Control Shotbox- (Sideshot)

-Remote Aux panel Support

-Audio playback on the Media stores

-Increased integration with Xpression

-Dashboard Live Assist

-New Studio packages with Blackstorm and Xpression

There was also a closed door viewing room showing some other features on Carbonite.  For me this is a highlight not for what they were showing but for the fact that Carbonite is here to stay and Ross is going to continue to write code and improve the Carbonite line.  If you know anything about Ross, this is not surprising.  But for a company this big to release an Economical product with all the features it has and continues to pour resources into it when they have many other products where they are probably making a lot more money on is crazy, and they still give the updates out for free!  That makes me want to buy their products all day long.

Carbonite wasn’t the only thing Ross had that was new and updated.  Blackstorm, their 2 channel play-out server was shown, they had updates to their line of NK Routers, The recent acquisition of the Cambots and of course new Open Gear and gear lite products as well.

All in all, I thought Ross had the Best booth at NAB! If you have red my stuff at all you know I’m partial to Ross and my opinion can be very bias in their favor, but it was always Crazy there and I think that can speak for itself.

Hitachi Z-HD5000

Hitachi released the Z-HD5000 last year at NAB and they didn’t really have any updates to it, so why am I highlighting it this year when it was released last year?  Because, Hitachi needs some highlighting.

A few years ago I started to notice the Hitachi line of cameras when I saw a shootout between a variety of cameras.  The Hitachi’s stood out as one of the better looking cameras, if not the best looking camera in the line up.  The image quality is clean, rich, and has a great color range.  The image is smooth and all in all looks like cameras well above it’s price range.  With the release of the HD5000 Hitachi gives you that great Hitachi look at a much cheaper price, and with an upgrade path. (you can swap out the head to the 1000 in the future if you would like)

If you have read my blog at all you know I say 2/3” chips are the only way to go, and quality is not always about resolution.  This camera only proves my theories.

Based on a Fiber backbone, upgradable to Triax if you would like with many options, lots of controls and it even has a little brother, the DK-Z50 brick with the same chip set.  Together they make a perfect camera package for the church market.  Full 2/3” chips,  Easy to use Fiber, Full studio camera capabilities (None of this camcorders trying to be a studio cam), and cost efficient HD.  If you need a field camera for shooting during the week, you can swap out the back and put a deck on it.  A true industrial camera!

I think I am becoming as much of a fan of Hitachi as I am Ross. ;)

Panasonic AW-HE120

Now I am not normally a Fan of the small PTZ systems, but I had a chance to play with the new Panasonic AW-HE120 camera attached to AW-RP655 controller and I was extremely impressed at the smooth operation in both the pan and tilt unit as well as the lens. With a built in 20x optical lens, the choice of Black or White and the ease of setup and use it is a win all around.

So if you must go with a small 1/3” chip HD camera, and you must go with a PTZ, (Both are things I try and stay away from) Panasonic has the best camera out there.  This just might be the first time Panasonic has made a camera I actually like.

 

Fast Forward Video Sidekick Studio

Fast Forward Video released their Sidekick studio, a studio version of their on camera version.  Fast forward has been giving us DDR’s for a long time.  The Omega Deck is still a popular single channel replay device but the new sidekick studio is a big update for FFV.

Priced similar to the Ki-pro it puts it in direct competition with the popular AJA box.  It comes in a perfect half rack size with a big Color display on the front.  It records in ProRes 4:2:2, ProRes 4:2:2HQ and DNxHD  and uses 2.5” removable Sata Drives for storage.  It has all the standards for decks these days.  RS 422, LTC in, 8Ch embedded audio, HD-SDI and HDMI in & out, Cross-converted Video i/o’s and best of all Gigabit Ethernet File downloads, so you never have to pull out the drives if you don’t want to.

This is a true studio deck, even complete with Odetics protocol for advanced machine control for creating playlists and jumping from clip to clip.  I’m really excited to get my hands on this deck and I have a feeling FFV will only be adding to the Sidekick family.

AJA Ki-Pro Rack

I know I just talked about a major competitor, FFV, But this has been a long time coming!  The ki-pro has found itself in studios since it was first released.  Now it is in a single RU complete with AES audio in’s and outs, Redundant power, Dual drives, Dual SDI in’s and out’s, and best of all operates at cooler temperatures.  AJA  Finally re-released the Ki-pro in the direction we have all been waiting for.

AJA released a lot of cool things at their booth including a Thunderbot to SDI mini converter, and new I/O boxes for editing.  AJA had some big releases at NAB this year, but I was by far the most excited about the Ki-pro rack!

Matrox Micro Quad

Matrox released their Micro Quad at NAB this year.  It is a full HD quad with HDMI out.  Prior to this you couldn’t get an HD-SDI quad split for under 3K.  But Matrox is now doing it for just under $1000!  On the box you can pull up full screens of all the 4 inputs or view them in the split.  The price point and the fact that it is HD makes this a Hit.

I hope to see a follow up version of this device with Tally inputs the ability to customize the naming label and HD-SDI out to add with the HDMI output.  I think there is some improvement that could be done on it but either way I’m pretty excited about this little box.

Telairity H.264 Encoders

Last year at NAB I accidentally found the Telairity Booth and it left a lasting impression.  Their encoders are top notch! They look good, are reliable, cost efficient, as low as 150ms of delay, and my favorite, Instant on! That is right no boot time, once you plug it in, it starts encoding immediately.

This year they updated some of their encoders for more H.264 encoding as well as they have release some newer IRD’s in both 4:2:2 and 4:20 compete with a Genlock input!

I have used other encoders and decoders and Telairity continues to impress me.  They have a resume` a mile long with Top tier clients.  The company has been in constant growth.  If you are doing live multi-site or even live streaming and haven’t checked out Telairity yet, you need to!  I have not even scratched the surface on their product line and all they have to offer.

 

A side note:

Now this year’s NAB was not all full of highlights.  There was a particular booth that I left shaking my head in disappointment, that booth to most of your surprises is Blackmagic Designs.  Now like most of you I have appreciated the economical products that BMD has put out the past few years, especially their small routers, Mini and Open gear converters.  But as I look at some of the newer products I can’t help but think that a lot of them are only half done.  I’m not going to go into too much detail but there are a few products that BMD have made that left me wondering.  It also made me realize that just because a company you trusts puts out a product, it doesn’t mean you should trust that every product they put out will be great.

So my challenge to all of you is to really look before you buy, not just BMD products but everything.  There is a fine line between economical gear and cheap gear.  Buy wisely and know that your purchases are an investment, it is ok to Spend a little more to get a better product, even when working in a church.

I had a conversation with someone at the CTL dinner on Monday night and they made another good point that there is some gear out there that by the time you purchase all the extra stuff you need to make some of this cheaper stuff work, it comes out to be the same amount if not more than the higher end gear.

So buy responsibly, and be smart.  My apologies to BMD for calling them out; BMD still makes some good economical gear and I hope they continue to improve on their line.

A note about what I didn’t see:

One of the things I looked long and hard for was an instant replay device (Simultaneous record/ Play or time slip device) for under 10K.  In the SD world we had the magnificent Sony DSR-1000a.  A solid all around deck!  There has been nothing since going HD that meets all the standards of the 1000a in a reasonable price range.  The closest thing is the FFV Omega Deck at 17K.  If you saw something I didn’t please let me know, however, I am confident that when a manufacture achieves this milestone, it will pay off greatly.  I spent a lot of time looking at servers that will do exactly what I want but not at the price or with the simplicity, not that these servers were very difficult to use.  I guess I am just looking for a typical Broadcast deck with front controls like the DSR-1000a.

Another thing that is missing, and I’m not convinced will ever happen is an economical long lens.  Something that will get the range of focal length to the 400mm’s in the 20K range.  Even something that starts at a higher mm, such as 15-30mm and multiplier of around 20 would help.  Most churches place their primary camera(s) anywhere from 60-80 feet away from stage and it is hard to get in tight without using a doublers which are never ideal due to the light loss (And I never recommend using anyway). We don’t need to go out wide to do IMAG, we just need to get close, and right now that is extremely expensive to do.

 

So that was a few of my highlights and thoughts coming out of NAB.  All in all I thought it was a good show this year and I learned a lot.  Please feel free to post some of your highlights below.

Posted in Gear, Misc | 1 Comment

Painting a picture

Posted on February 29, 2012 by

I’m sitting here in my office working from home, which is pretty typical, and outside is the beautiful site of snow falling from the sky.  I’m thankful that God made snow white because as it falls from the sky and begins to stick to the trees it makes everything absolutely beautiful.  In fact it kind of annoys me when people post pictures and the snow is anything but white.  It is this thought that has made me think about white balancing cameras and how important it is for the end viewer.

The purpose of white balancing is to make the image look appealing to the eye and to look seamless between cameras.  But properly white balancing is an art, it takes time to learn, and even more to master.

When I was in school we had an old studio equipped with 3 cameras.  One day my professor lined up all 3 cameras, aimed them at a chip chart, turned on the scopes and began to explain this process.  All 3 cameras were identical, same brand, model, purchased at the same time, and each one was only 1 serial number apart from the last.  They were the exact same cameras and even though they were older,  Still worked great!

How to white Balance

Now there are 3 ways to white balance a camera.  The first is to use the camera preset.  This is just a manufactured white balance that is supposed to be associated with 32K lighting.  My professor flipped all 3 cameras into preset mode and each camera looked significantly different.  In our studio it did look white, but not perfectly white.  At the end of the day there was no way this would pass when switching between them or even for customer satisfaction.   This was obviously his point in this part of the exercise.

The second way to white balance is to do an Auto White.  Point the camera at something white and flip a switch for the camera to auto – calibrate itself to white and then flip the switch another way to auto – calibrate itself to black (Most cameras have a preferred sequence of executing the white/black balance, consult owners manual). We executed the proper sequence for these cameras and took a look.  The colors were much better!  But, you could still tell that each camera was a little bit different from each other.  This might pass inspection but the bottom line is they were still different.

The third way is to manually paint the cameras to match, by adjusting red and blue on both the white and black values. Using a chip chart my professor carefully painted each camera using a waveform/vector scope and got the cameras to match perfectly.

Understanding White Balancing

In order to fully understand white balancing you first need to understand color temperatures.  Cameras for the most part operate in 32K or 56K color temperatures.  (some new cameras have more options such as 48K).  The cameras should be set in whatever mode your front lighting is set to.  This is done by changing the filter on the camera to the correct mode.  Most conventional lighting operates in a 32K color temperature unless you are using CTB (Color temperature blue) filters, which would change the color temperature to 56K.

Some people believe that cameras look better when the front lighting is set to CTB.  This can be believed for many reasons, which I won’t get into.  I personally think conventional lighting looks great on it’s own.  It gives the stage a nice warm presence.  CTB can tend to make the stage look stale and cold.  Since I believe it is all about the audience’s experience I personally stick with a 32K color structure because it offers up a warmer look that I like better.

There are 3 kinds of looks to go for when white balancing.  The first is a “True” look.  This is where white looks white and black looks black.  It is very technical in nature, you should use a chip chart and a scope and be able to dial them in exactly.  The second look is a “cool” look.  With a cool look everything tends to be more of a blue, dull look.  The third is a “warmer” look.  A warmer look tends to be richer in color, a bit yellower in nature.  Turn on the TV during the local news and flip between the channels and see which stations have a true, cool and warm look. This is a good way to find your preference.

Overall I personally shoot to make all the cameras look warmer.  This is because, a) it is my personal preference and b) with a warmer looking stage wash, I want my end product on the projectors to match as close as possible.

A quick aside to get up on my soapbox…

Cameras can be colored perfectly to one another and still look horrible if they look drastically different from the stage.  This is one of my biggest pet peeves!!  If you don’t look similar you look WRONG, and BAD.  You pull people from their experience!  Do what you can to try and make the image on the screen as close as possible to the image on the stage. This takes lots of time and will require adjustments on both the Projectors and Cameras.  Nothing says Amateur like non-white balanced or poorly white balanced Cameras!

            –Thanks

Strategy

I understand that not everyone has cameras with full CCU control.  Doing an auto white/ black balance may be all that is available to your camera.  One strategy I have used in the past to get a warmer feel is to find different things on the stage to white balance to.  A white T-shirt, Drumhead, piece of paper, or whatever else you can find white will all absorb light differently.  Try it out and see how it looks, if you don’t like it, try something else.  Sometimes I find shades of blue to get a while balance I like (a blueish tint helps to get a warmer white balance).  Try different things and do some extreme things. Like change the iris level, add in some blue from a color wash, change stage location.  Most cameras have 2 white balance settings, use both and trade back and forth until you find one that look good/ or matches your other cameras.

Believe it or not most cameras have some sort of paint menu.  It may be buried so consult your owners manual but even if you don’t have a remote control you can still make fine adjustments.  Even if you do have a remote, still do an auto white/ black balance. This will kind of zero out the camera to make painting easier.

Aside about black balancing…

Black Balancing is very important, I will explain why in a bit.  But it is easy to not black balance, or at least not Auto black balance.  After some use cameras tend loose pixels.  If your camera has lost a pixel or two, be sure to give it an auto Black balance a few times in a row.  Most of the time this will fix your pixel issue (not all the time, in those cases you have to send in your cameras to get pixel blended).

            –Thanks

When manually painting a camera it is always helpful to have some type of chip chart.  They can be very expensive and do have expiration dates on them as they fade over time.  You can add a level of CTB over the chip chart to help paint them warmer.

If you can always get the cameras shooting from the same angle.  Angles can turn different results due to how the light reflects from that angle.

I have been in many situations where I don’t have a chip chart to color cameras off of.  In those cases I will use a piece of paper, or human flesh tones also work great (not for autos)

Step by step:

Note: Before painting your cameras be sure your Waveform/ Vector scope has been properly aligned.  Also, this is not a tutorial on how to read a waveform/ vector scope.

After you do a Base white and black balance I always iris the cameras all the way down to black.  I pull up the waveform and make sure all my black levels are uniform.  Some like them crushed others like them high, I personally like them crushed just a bit.  Next go to the vector scope and align the dot so it is exactly in the center.

Then Iris all cameras to the proper levels and make sure all cameras are at identical levels, use your waveform to assure exact levels are achieved.

Starting with your main camera begin to adjust red and blue while looking at your vector scope to achieve the look your are going for.  It is at this point I run back and forth from the control room to the auditorium to see the stage to screen comparison.  This is the artistic side of coloring.

A former co-worker of mine used to work as a Colorist in the film industry.  He is by far one of the best camera engineers I have worked with and makes all the cameras look absolutely identical!  His philosophy is that it is all in the blacks.  The blacks really set the tone/ look of the camera image and can really show how off your colors are from one camera to the next.  Spend time warming up the blacks as well as the whites in order to get the image to look as good as possible.

Once you get your primary camera looking good adjust each camera one at a time to match.  Remember, it is all in the Blacks.  Once you get the whites/ flesh tones looking good spend some time in the blacks, that is where you really notice it from camera to camera.

Some strategies I use when I don’t have a vector scope (of even if I do) are: using a half wipe comparing 2 cameras, use different monitors flip through cameras (sometimes really cheap or worn out monitors pull out color differences good monitors don’t see), lastly, leave the room for awhile and then come back so your eyes don’t play tricks on you.

 

Painting Cameras and having a good white balance is one of the most import pieces in providing your audience with a good experience.  It is a very difficult skill to learn and even more difficult to master.  I still have a lot to learn on the subject especially since there can be so many parameters beyond red and blue when adjusting cameras.  Before each production you should be checking the colors of your cameras to be sure they look good and match one another.  Don’t settle in this area, it is so important.

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Creating a “Com Culture”

Posted on February 18, 2012 by

When you are directing you are essentially leading everyone on a journey.  If you have read any of my previous posts you know that I believe the production starts and stops with the director.  We don’t get to blame bad camera operators when stuff goes wrong.  We have a certain level of production that we need to get to no matter what, and it is our job to work with what we have.

When I was working at Eagle Brook there would be many times I would have 1 or 2 brand new camera ops on a weekend.   Sometimes you would get luck and they catch on quick, other times it is a struggle.  Out of necessity to fill positions, this seamed to happen quiet a bit.  Or I would get ops from another campus that I never, or rarely work with.  Every weekend became a constant struggle to get the show where it needed to be, but I knew it was always up to me to work in their strengths and skill level.  I quickly learned that I had to create a culture every time I’m on com by setting standards, being consistency, giving encouragement and setting the mood/ pace.

No two directors direct the same way.  They may be similar but they never do it the same.  That is why I believe the first 5-10 minutes of a production will set the mood for the rest.  In that first 5-10 minutes you have to learn your operators and they have to learn you.  Ideally this will be done in a rehearsal rather than live.  If you don’t have rehearsals I strongly recommend building them in.  It may be painful at first to organize but the payoff is huge.

I believe that with every operator you have to direct a little differently.  There are some camera operators that once I say “ready” I have to give an extra pause to let them adjust before I say, “Take.”  Some operators need more direction than others; some are good at finding the action while others are just good at finding shots.  Skill level comes in many forms but no matter who it is you need to adjust your directing for them.  Even when I work with professional operators I have to adjust to their skills, styles and figure out what they need from me.

Now this is a two way street.  Operators are learning you too, but for them this should be easy, and you should make it easy for them. This is where the culture really forms and becomes effective.  I believe that if you create a good culture, any operator, even first timers should be able to catch on quickly and you should be able to cut the show you need to.  There are always exceptions, some ops are just BAD, And therefore difficult to work with.  However, I would say more often than not creating a culture works.

Setting Standards

As a director, you need to have standards. Some examples of standards are: These are the shots I like, these are the ones I don’t; Always push and pull; No wider than a head to toe during IMAG; Only shoot 1 subject; Don’t shoot people that aren’t bringing energy; On tight guitar shots make sure you can see both hands; Find the action; and keep feeding me shots.  These are just a few standards that I have.  Now I don’t hop on com or have a meeting where I go over these standards and at the end quiz people on it.  I may remind them of a few standards before we start but I really do it all in the moment.

So once on Com we just start like starting any other show and when I see a standard not being held, I just adjust it.  I gently remind them to start a push, or only shoot one subject.  I’ll say things like “Remember to try and always be pushing or pulling,” “Remember I want to see both hands” “He isn’t bringing any energy, let’s not grab shots of him” “keep feeding me shots” “That is a little wide for IMAG” or “I’m not a fan of that shot because…” Now obviously try and be nice about it, don’t be frustrated treat it as a gentle reminder.  The beautiful thing about doing this is that all your ops are on Com and hear when you do this.  So by reminding 1 person you remind them all.

Again, the first 5-10 minutes you may do this a lot, all depending on the skills and experience of the ops but then you will greatly minimize these long drawn out commands and get back to directing.  Ops will begin to give you what you want, and avoid what you don’t want.  These expectations save a lot of time and a lot of bad shots and will result in bringing the production to level you want it.

Consistency

Directors need to be consistent, don’t change how you call, or your standards if you can help it.  The more consistent you are in how you call your show and in what you want, the quicker your ops will learn you and adapt to your style.  Along with being consistent is being short in your commands, which I talked about in a previous post.  Short, consistent, and to add one more is simple.

Unless you have professional ops they may not always understand what you want if you use complex terms.  Keep your terminology simple and whatever you choose be consistent so it is easy for them to follow you.  There are some terms I use that are in no way shape or form laymen’s terms.  So if I want someone to rack-out for instance, I may call for it and see what happens.  But if they don’t do what I asked and I know it is in their wheelhouse, the next time I call for it I will say, “Slowly go out of focus and rack out.”  This defines the term for them, it allows me to use my term from then on, stay consistent, and keep my calls short.

Encouragement

We are all like to know when we do things right and we all want to do them right.  So when a camera operator does something right, encourage it and it will repeat.  This can be the quickest way to bring a camera operator up to speed.  There have been times where I spend 10-15 seconds (an eternity when directing) with a new op trying to get them to frame a shot right, as soon as they get it, no matter how long it took I will say, “perfect!” take the shot to air and after I’m off their camera say “Nice job.” This simply builds habits.  The operator now knows a shot I like, the next time I want that shot they remember and get to it much quicker that it took the first time.

Every operator has a limited number of shots they are going to get or remember.  This can be due to skill, location, or style.  Regardless of the situation you need to make sure that the shots you want are in their limited number of shots.  By encouraging and praising the good shots you move the shots you want not only on the list but high on the list since they know that you like that shot.

When dealing with new or difficult ops this works like a charm! Sometimes it feels like you are lying through your teeth or putting on a face to get through your frustrations but, it works!  Habits are formed with praise and then they repeat.

Setting the mood/ Pace

As directors it is all a 1-sided conversations.  For people like myself that are not too talkative, this is a challenge.  Lucky for me usually there isn’t time to tell stories or talk about the weather in these 1-sided conversations, it is usually all business, but understand that your demeanor gets reflected by your ops.  If you talk fast, they work fast, if you talk slow, then they work slow; if you are excited they pay more attention but if you are too relaxed they fall asleep; if you are stressed out, they are stressed out; you get the picture.  I find you have to mix these all together.  If it is a really exciting song and you want to do some fast switching, get excited and talk fast and you will get the same result from your cameras.   If you want slow and steady movements talk in a more relaxed manor.

The biggest mistake people make is they become inconsistent and then they just get stress out when they don’t get what they want or need.  This spirals and puts all the ops on edge.  There is a fine line between being excited and yelling at your ops.  I’ve met directors that don’t intend to yell, but that is how they come across.  Seek feedback to make sure you are creating a culture with your mood and pace that can translate well over Com. Remember, if you are having fun; your ops are having fun.  It really is that simple.  Just trying to smile more can help you create a better culture, even though they can’t see your smiling.

On my vimeo page I have 2 behind the scenes clips of me directing a concert.  Before the show I had decided I wanted to go for a different feel than what I’m used to, especially since this was hopefully going to be a DVD rather than just IMAG.  I wanted a pedal to the metal, lots of fast crazy cuts on both the on and off beats.  I had never directed this way before, but I did some studying (watched a few concerts) got the feel I wanted and by using my demeanor I was able to completely change how the ops ran their cameras.  Sure I communicated before hand that it would be different from the norm and tried to paint a quick picture of what I was looking for.  But the success really came by changing my demeanor to match the look and feel I was going for.

The first clip is of an up beat song and you will hear me and how I direct, it is fast, and I’m excited and I don’t skip a beat.  If you watch the second clip it was a slower song I wanted more artistic and slower shots.  Again I did this by changing my demeanor.  Now of course the songs change temp and feel too and I’m sure that has something to do with it but as I have said many times, it starts and stops with the director.

That show, I surprised myself and was extremely proud of my ops.  One op I had never worked with before but had volunteered for a while, two others I didn’t usually work with a lot,  1 was a consistent volunteer I had worked with quiet a bit and the last 2 were both directors, one in which I had never worked with before.  We did get a full Dress Rehearsal and if I had recorded it (which I should have) you would see that it all came together quickly.

 

Creating a good com culture can make all the difference in your productions by setting standards, creating consistency with both you and your ops, building habits through encouragement and getting a positive result with a positive attitude.  The first step in creating this culture is to take responsibility as the director to get the show you need and rather than creating high standards and getting frustrated when they aren’t met, take responsibility for the culture and attack it from many different angles and you will succeed.   Training ops is very important and you should always take time to do so, but who’s to say you can’t train people in the moment, especially since every production is a learning experience for everyone.

Posted in All, Directing | Leave a comment

Cost vs. Reward

Posted on January 27, 2012 by

A few years back our church had launched a new campaign to open a couple new campuses. In that campaign we had allotted some money to upgrade our tech infrastructure at our main campus to handle additional campuses. But soon a small upgrade turned a lot bigger and became a full overhaul with tons of new gear with big upgrades. Justification came on the fact that all old gear would be sent to a new campus since it all still worked great! The time came for the install of all the new gear and at the time I was so excited. It was Christmas for the nerds!

The weekend before the install I was talking to our facilities manager, that weekend he had counted a good handful of cars pull into the parking lot and the pull right out because there was no where to park. Every inch of the parking lot was used, sure if they were to try hard enough they could have found somewhere to park, we have parking people that will help with that. But the fact of the matter was we had a dirt parking lot that had turned into a mud lot from melting snow and was impossible to park in, but we didn’t have the funds required to pave it for additional parking.

So here we were about to install brand new gear hoping to reach more people for Christ but we couldn’t even get people in the building because they had no place to park. Now I hold a very high respect for the leadership of our church, honestly I think the tech team did a really good job selling the need for upgrades, not to mention it all came out of the campaign budget. But I felt very convicted. Would more people come to Christ because of our upgrades? The new projectors were necessary as the old ones needed replacing, so that was good, and our production level went up, but we were producing a great product before. We just made our wish list a priority and In turn we got what we wanted not what we needed. It was at this point that I started to reevaluate how we spent money. I realized that there is a balance between cost vs. reward. Some things are worth spending money on, and some things aren’t or should be scaled back. At the end of the day quality matters but where on the quality scale do we need to be in order to reach people effectively. If on a scale of 1-10 you need to achieve a 7, then shoot for a 7, the amount of people that will know the difference and care will be so small, and just think what the left over money could do for your church.

I have recently been working on a project with a church to upgrade their video system. I worked with the client to design a pretty modest systems upgrade, not the smallest we could have done but the right system for what they are trying to accomplish. This facility has been doing video for a long time but it is time for them to upgrade. Once the quote came back we went line by line describing why they need this or that and basically nickel and dime the bid. What it came down to was the guy in charge of the upgrade wanted to make sure the churches money was being utilized as wisely as possible. That no extra fluff was added to the bid. We talked about pros, cons, and alternatives on each line item because even though he was concerned with quality, it was all about cost vs.reward. We only cut one item, which I knew would probably happen but wanted to give him pricing on any way. The thing I appreciate most about the company I was working with is that they strive to be practical, choosing the best piece of gear for the job while being conservative with the budget, and not trying to make quotas or let their agendas play into it.

I guess I challenge you to have a cost vs reward mindset when choosing gear. I have been on the side of spending tons of money and I have seen other places turn just as good of a product with much, much less. Plenty of churches are exploding using systems that aren’t top end, but solid, accomplishing the same goal at half the budget. So when having the discussions of used vs new, HD vs SD, 6 cameras vs 4, switcher A or B, keep in mind your end goal and the cost vs reward that goes along with those decisions.

There is nothing wrong with spending a little more to make for a better product, but ask yourself the question will the audience notice, or will the benefits only be seen by a few. Will more people come to Christ if you spend more? It is important to always keep the big goal in mind in all your gear purchases. Evaluate line by line, find alternatives. Narrow in on the key principals to pulling off quality production, spend where you have to, not where you want to.

Posted in Upgrading | Leave a comment

The last Year…Bringing Perspective

Posted on December 23, 2011 by

It has been over a year since I created and wrote my first post on Worship Imag. It has been a crazy year for me filled with a lot of ups and downs. To give you a little history, I worked at Eagle Brook Church in Minnesota for 5 years, and a month ago that came to an end. But the road that lead me to that decision was long, in fact it took me over a year of learning and searching before the time came for me to move on.

One of the main reason I felt that it was time for me to move on was because I needed a new challenge. The repetition of the job was getting difficult, I was starting to get set in my ways, not accepting of new ideas, and thinking I always had the right answers. I was becoming down right arrogant at times, especially towards my co-workers. I was getting board, which was difficult for me. I loved the church I worked for, the people I worked with, and doing production has always been fun for me. But I started to realize that if I wasn’t in growing in what I knew, I was only growing in what I thought I knew. This ultimately lead me on a year journey.

The biggest thing I learned over the last year was humility. I have far from mastered it, but I began to understand more of what I knew, what I didn’t know, and how low on the totem pole of “professionals” I really am. I was applying for jobs and was getting rejection letter after rejection letter without even an interview! So much success in the church world was turning into defeat in the rest of the world.

A couple of good friends that knew I was looking for something new kept encouraging me and helped me keep my confidence going, which was important in the process for me. But all the rejection, and defeat in finding something new was what really gave me perspective. As a technical director I love pressing buttons and cutting a show. I knew my Ross Synergy 2 inside and out, but… there are still many people out there that know that switcher better than I do, or use it differently than I do. The productions that I use it on is just one of many different types of productions you can do. I realized that it is easy to master a production when you do it over and over again, it is more difficult to be good when walking into a new production. That is where I began to see the gap grow. The bottom line, I wasn’t as good as I thought I was, I was humbled. This happened time and time again.

This last year has taught me that I need to constantly be learning and challenging myself in every area of my life, especially professionally. As a director you have to find things to challenge and fuel your creativity. You have to push yourself to learn new things and be open to feedback. If this is your career, and this is the path you want to go down, get out of church once in awhile and do some outside productions.

So how did I finally find my “out?” It all came down to a good friend recommending me for a job and someone taking a chance, it was a huge break for me. This industry is all about who you know, about people trusting and recommending you. It has little to do with your resume`. It has everything to do with your drive. Your current productions and your future in this industry is only determined by your drive. I haven’t even began to express what I have learned and how humbled I have been in this journey. But it has been one of the greatest years of my life.

Merry Christmas!

Note: I just finished a book called “Humilitas” By John Dickson. I highly recommend it, it brought a lot of clarity to what I learned the last year.

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Sitting in the Director’s Seat

Posted on November 28, 2011 by

Now I’m in no way an expert at directing or have a fool proof formula for working with Volunteers but I have done ok in my time as a director.  I have discovered a few things that have helped me along the way; but ultimately I direct differently from the next guy.  It may not be drastically different but every director has their own style, their own way of working with camera operators, shaders, and tape ops.  Anyone that has done any directing knows that there is a specific Jargon that goes along with directing, but how do you work with volunteers, how can you use your Jargon in a way that they understand?  How can you direct in a way that easily communicates with your operators?  I’ll share what has worked for me.

The Jargon:

No matter who I’m directing, I try to keep all directing calm, short, and consistent.  When working with volunteers, you have to stay calm, if you get over aggressive it tends to affect their operation, they get more jerky, agitated, and overall make more errors.  Keep all direction short.  You get too wordy and they don’t understand what you want or it takes too long to respond.  And keep what you say consistent.  Don’t change up your command words or terminology. For example if you start by telling all of your cameras to Standby, then switch to ready it will only confuse them, stay consistent.  They tend to listen only for certain words.  And if you say it once, be ready to say it 1000 more times. Be ready to get annoyed by your own voice.  (Maybe I’m the only one on that one)

I try to keep all terminology basic.  Push, Pull, Tight, Wide, Focus, Frame Right/left, Pan, tilt, reset, hold, Ready, Live, ect.  The more you can minimize special terms the easier it will be on them.

When directing I say the camera number, followed by a command word (Push, pull, focus, frame, ect.) and once in awhile put in the subject.  For example, “1, Push” or “3, Guitar, Tight.”  By saying the camera number first gets there attention, then what you say needs to be quick as they have a task to do and their attention span is short.

Now there is a difference between directing and cutting (choosing) cameras.  Directing is telling them where to go/ what to do, cutting is actually sending them live.  I have found the more cameras I have the more I just cut, and the less cams I have the more I tend to direct (Skill of cameras also determines this).

When cutting cameras I will say, “Ready 3” or “1 is up” “Take 2” or “camera 3 is live.” But I will never take a camera live before giving them a ready, I even try to give it a breathe before taking them live so they will get set.  If I give them a lot of time I will say ready again just so they know it is coming up.  On slower songs with long dissolves I give 3 points of transition. Ready- Going to- Live. Example: Ready 4, going to 4 (this is where I dissolve), 4 is live (after dissolve is completed).  This way the current camera that is live knows when they are clear as well.

When directing a shader I will always lead with “Iris” or “Shade”, that way the camera operator knows they are off the hook and it grabs the attention of the Shader.

Again, the key is to keep it short, and consistent.  You will feel like a broken record, repeating yourself and saying the same things over and over.  This is ok.  It is part of directing.

Setting your standards:

When working with volunteers or crews of any kind, set your standards.  This will help limit what you have to say.

Examples of my standards:

  • Shooting IMAG, no shots should be wider than a Head to toe.
  • All shots should have some sort of movement.
  • Cameras that are set up at an angle should be framed either left or right to allow for proper lead room.
  • Music medium/mid shot= guitar to head
  • Speaker shot for IMAG= elbows to head
  • Long shot= all the way out
  • Tight guitar= tight but with both hands still in shot
  • Frame 1 subject in the shot (push towards or away from)

By putting down certain expectations will help you to do less directing.  And to be clear, I don’t give my volunteers a list of expectations.  When they are learning I direct them to do these things and will say stuff like. “Cam 1 give me a pull. Try to always give me movement.”  I capitalize on opportunities like rehearsals to teach them these things, and they begin to learn what I like, what I’m looking for.  When they get one of my standard shots I tell them “Great Shot,” or “that’s what I’m looking for.”  Let them learn you.

Most of these standards / expectations in place are in place by all our directors, sure we all have our own flavor, but we all expect movement in our shots, we all like an elbows to head speaker shot, during IMAG we don’t take shots wider than a head to toe.  Once a camera operator learns these things they can work with any of our directors and be successful.  They just have to learn a few of the personal things associated with each director.

I also empower my operators to find me shots (feed me shots).  So rather than being specific all the time I will say stuff like, “new shot” to get them to change up their subject or “Switch it up” for them to stay with the same subject but to change it from a wide to a tight or visa versa. Now when I need something specific, I direct a camera to get a particular shot.  And sometimes I need to do more directing than others, but this system has worked pretty well for me.

Because I have built in consistency into my directing it is very easy for new people to come in and to learn what I mean when I use these terms.  And because it isn’t my style to direct every move, I give my operators a lot of freedom to come up with their own shots, usually in which stay within my standards.  If I change a standard, I communicate it before starting a service.

Difficult operators:

Let’s face it, sometimes we get a difficult operator or two, sometimes our entire crew can be difficult.  These operators take a long time to get a shot, have difficulty focusing, and movement is shaky and inconsistent.  How do we deal with these types of operators?

If you have ever read any of my posts before you know that I believe it is on the director to have a good show.  We don’t get to blame the camera operators, we can only train them better or direct them differently.  So with operators like this, first of all I don’t put them on my most important camera (Important and favorite are different).  Then I find a way to teach them 2 -3 shots, usually tighter shots (mid to tight shots still add energy without adding movement).  Then when directing them, I give them plenty of time to set up on a shot and I take the shot 3-4 times before asking them to do a drastic change.  In turn the show ends up being a little less creative, maybe cut a little slower, but, it meets our standards and the end product is still quality.  Changing up your directing style is the only way to hang on to a quality show when dealing with difficult camera volunteers.

Directing is an art, knowing the music/ content is only half the battle.  You are essentially leading an entire team down a road, it is important to be confident, but humble in your directing.  Leaders only lead when they are worth following, as a director you need to be worth following, so give clear direction in a short, consistent manor.  And in your training set expectations so they automatically get what you want rather than you having to direct their every move. I find if I’m going too fast I will get a lot of bad on air movements or camera jumps.  If I’m not consistent my operators get confused and don’t get me the good shots I want.  But every week I have to direct a little different depending on the crew, skill, and content in which I’m directing.  The sooner you accept this responsibility the sooner you will see your productions improve.

Here is an example of me directing a concert,  We did a full rehearsal so for the most part I got to just cut cameras rather than direct them.

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