The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: alfsauve on February 11, 2012, 07:45:43 AM
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Totally self centered post follows:
I am the Technical Director for a large church. My main emphasis is on video, MATV and lighting. This weekend we're having an evangelistic youth event called, DNOW (Discipleship Now). My "show time" duties are running the graphics and the live internet streaming. So here I'm hard at work, along with our video director.
I'm running a graphics computer, a live streaming computer, and Anna and I share side screen switching duties on a switcher between us. She "calls" the show and the camera shots and runs the camera switcher. About where the photographer is standing is another computer (run by our your music director) which is responsible for the words to the songs and the side graphics. There are about 100 graphics (not including the "words") and 20 videos. I also provide the background music feed.
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/420023_340800492627357_112435925463816_1019729_1536454821_n.jpg)
Here's a picture in the dark from behind my position so you can see the switchers and the main screen. We're located in the corner of the track looking down on the stage and audience. There are about 12s screen in "video world" and another 4 in the lighting and sound positions down on the floor.
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/419908_2933112761524_1072191345_2877761_1933790662_n.jpg)
Compared to "big" shows this is small time, but still pretty big for us.
If you want to watch some of the show, I'm streaming live (nothing fancy, just camera shots) at
livestream.com/mtbethelumc (http://livestream.com/mtbethelumc) 10:30am - 11:30 today, 7:30pm - 10:00pm tonight and 11am - 12noon Sunday (ET)
It's cutting into range time this week, but it means time off next couple of weeks and I expect about 8 hours at the range coming up. (note to self: order more bullets)
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I really should learn how to do that
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Closet gun and techno geek,.... ;)
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Did Alf lose weight ?
The mafioso look seems to be missing. ;D
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I am the Technical Director for a large church.
No kidding, dude!!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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No kidding, dude!!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
You really need the Fedora when pushing all those buttons.... ;D
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I don't care how big or small.....I am impressed!
Richard
PS: Wouldn't know a techno if it kicked me in the a.........
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When did religion become a spectator sport?
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I thought you'd be bigger ;D
LOL!
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I thought you'd be bigger ;D
LOL!
To 10 year olds, I'm enormous! (Love Hook, the movie)
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Okay, only logged about 72 hours this week. We wrapped up DNow at noon today.
For those wondering: Responsibilities for a show are divided into 3 areas for technical things. Sound, Lighting and Video. Typically Sound and lighting are on the floor somewhere between the middle and the back of the room. Video can be anywhere, but space and cabling considerations usually dictate where. We're up on the running track of the gym, partially so we can see the action. We could be back stage or in another room.
I was responsible for Video in this event. 3 cameras, two graphics computers, 3 projectors and screens and a "live stream" to the internet.
Here's the camera switcher. Anna, is my director and calls the camera shots. She has three camera monitors and a "preview" monitor. When she "takes" a camera it then appears on one of the two screens on the left. That is a switch used to overlay words onto the screens and directs what goes to the projectors themselves. It really isn't all that complicated. Anna has just four buttons (cam 1, 2, 3 or black) to press and on button which causes the switching to happen. The screen switcher really only requires two buttons. Either "effects" or "dissolve". The trick isn't the technical part, it's the artistic part. Know when to switch what.
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5GfkMjEOdDw/Tzh00qPjPRI/AAAAAAAAnYg/FiBzlgxVVow/s720/IMG_6570.JPG)
On the left side (from left to right) is a computer used mainly to generate word overlays (for songs), then in the middle is a computer sending out a LiveStream of the whole show to the internet, and then my main graphics computer which sends out the majority of what's seen on the screens. I use a house musician to keep up with the words, so I can concentrate on the other tasks.
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ImV48X9Q4Jk/Tzh01zU4irI/AAAAAAAAnYo/6567j61mPss/s720/IMG_6571.JPG)
And here's the "front of house" position with sound on the right and lighting on the left. The guy in the middle is my regular sound engineer (Matt), but for this show he was stage/floor manager. (Sorry it's a little blurry) The lighting guy and sound guy are contractors which took a load off of us. They've both traveled with big time names and are super good at their jobs.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vwvYjSkr43c/Tzh03bbh4-I/AAAAAAAAnYw/qC5qH-kOIkc/s720/IMG_6575.JPG)
Matt, Anna, Alan (my boss) and I have worked many shows together including 100+ live TV shows. So rather than just one person "calling the show" (giving directions), we do a give and take. Gets kind of confusing to contractors who help us though. Took the lighting guy one night to adjust, but he said we do it so smoothly, rarely ever contradicting one-another.
Here's the feature band, "the Museum"
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Qsm-8TZcBYw/Tzh04rBzEpI/AAAAAAAAnY4/n8DzpdyjLvE/s720/IMG_6596.JPG)
OKAY: One last thing. My boss is a classical artist. The youth department wanted a Jesus "picture" that they were going to cut into little pieces and give to all the students. The students were to write what Jesus meant to them on the back and return them. The pieces would then be glued back together to form the picture. I had a better idea. Had my boss paint Jesus in UV paint which isn't visible under normal lighting. So the students had no idea what the mosaic would look like. Here it is right after it is hauled out on stage the last night. And that's all the students thought it was, just a splatter painting.
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ju4z8QsIoFU/Tzh06nDucgI/AAAAAAAAnZA/VkRCuMpdPAM/s720/IMG_6610.JPG)
And here it is with all the lights dimmed and the UV lights (top and bottom) turned on.
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-R9yA9sA8_IM/Tzh073XtMiI/AAAAAAAAnZI/SeoMyYYc1l8/s720/IMG_6618.JPG)
Thanks for letting me brag and show off. It's not as cool as what deepwater or TW do, working with/on boats, but I love being in that seat and running a show. I love the smell of grease paint and the roar of the crowd. (Yes, I grew up in Sarasota with a lot of circus folks.)
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Looks like a cool job in a BIG church.