<body><script type="text/javascript"> function setAttributeOnload(object, attribute, val) { if(window.addEventListener) { window.addEventListener("load", function(){ object[attribute] = val; }, false); } else { window.attachEvent('onload', function(){ object[attribute] = val; }); } } </script> <iframe src="http://www.blogger.com/navbar.g?targetBlogID=24201073&amp;blogName=undistract&amp;publishMode=PUBLISH_MODE_HOSTED&amp;navbarType=BLACK&amp;layoutType=CLASSIC&amp;searchRoot=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.undistract.com%2Fsearch&amp;blogLocale=en_US&amp;homepageUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.undistract.com%2F" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" height="30px" width="100%" id="navbar-iframe" allowtransparency="true" title="Blogger Navigation and Search"></iframe> <div></div>
Clear the way for the gospel message.
  
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 by David Wilcox

8.15 Reverb

It's been way too long since my last Reverb post. I can't make any promises on future posts, but I thought I should take advantage of the few minutes I have today to reflect on this last weekend.

First, thanks to all of you who came out to the work day. Here are some work day changes that everyone should know about:
  • Events Center Drum Storage - Instead of piles of drums backstage in the events center, there is now a storage cabinet for the drums. All of the drums should fit in it except the kick drum. Please use it even if the drums are not in it when you get there. Break the cycle of the mess.
  • Edwards Room Equipment Covers - The mixer and iMac in the Edwards Room now have official covers to protect them and discourage small fingers from playing with them. Please make sure to use care when removing the covers and putting them back on, so that you don't damage any of the cabling.
  • Auditorium Compressors - The compressors and comp/gates in the auditorium main sound booth now have space for handwritten labels, and they have been standardized to our usual input list. We have enough compressors now to serve every mic in our standard band, if you so desire.
  • Wireless In-Ear Transmitter Wiring - I recently found some strange DC voltage issues with our wireless in-ear transmitters. We installed isolation transformers on the audio inputs in order to kill those DC anomalies. As a result, they are now all fully functional and buzz-free for the first time in a long time.
  • Video Control Room Lighting - We added adjustable pinspots to the top of the video control racks, so that operators can have light on the desk without washing out the monitors. Please note that these get very hot, so adjust them with care if they've been on for a while.
A few things came up during this weekend's services that I thought I'd mention.
  • Working During Band Rehearsal - During the production team prep time, the band is rehearsing on stage. While we want to do everything to accommodate them, we must not wait for them to finish rehearsal before we get started on "disruptive" work. By the time they are finished, we are disrupting the congregation, not just the band. Lighting operators should program blackouts and get the lift out to replace bulbs even if the band is on stage. The video team should not wait for the band to be done to pull out the white card and start balancing the cameras. Be courteous, but don't hesitate to do what you are supposed to do.
  • Camera 4 and Camera 5 - I'll be the first to admit that Cam 4 and Cam 5 do not look as good as Cam 1 and Cam 2. There are several reasons for that which we won't be able to overcome perfectly without investing tens of thousands of dollars replacing all of our cameras. However, I am confident that 4 and 5 can match 1 and 2 well if time is given to carefully set the white balance and then check the colors on the monitors upstairs. I am confident because I've seen it done by several of our video teams. I want to challenge all the video teams to push harder to match these cameras, to never assume that mismatched is OK because getting a good match isn't easy.
  • Camera 5 Has Other Uses - A couple times now, we've been caught by poor camera 5 shots because that camera has been used by others, and they returned it to us with their settings instead of ours. Please assume that Cam 5 will be borrowed for various things as it is now, in fact, for the youth retreat. The Cam 4/5 Operator, the Camera Director, and the Video Producer should each expect to spend a solid fifteen minutes with Cam 5 each time we have baptisms in order to get everything reset correctly.
That's all I have for this weekend. What did you see that could have been improved? Leave your comments here.

| | Leave your response here. »

Thursday, March 25, 2010 by David Wilcox

ProPresenter and Video Team Changes

We are only three Sundays away from what will be a watershed moment for our video team. On April 11, 2010, we are finally casting off SundayPlus and Keynote and making the switch to ProPresenter. ProPresenter is a single software package that will allow us to handle all of our video content needs other than live camera shots. With this software change, there will be a number of other changes for the video team.

Sidenote: those who are directly affected by these changes have been notified and are in the process of reassignment and retraining. This post is to update those of you on the video team indirectly affected by the changes.

Video Team Role Changes - We are using the change in software to also make some changes in the team roles and responsibilities. We used to have three positions, two people running lyrics and sermon notes (Lyrics) and one person playing back announcement slides and DVDs as well as handling all the recordings (Playback).

Those three people will now be arranged differently. There will be one Lyrics Operator, who is responsible only for song lyrics via ProPresenter. Alongside the Lyrics Operator will be one Graphics Operator, who is responsible for announcement slides and sermon notes. And we are adding a new person to the Sermon Media team: Sermon Video, who will be responsible for recording to the tapes, DVDs, and directly to computer.

Computer Arrangement Change - We will also be moving computers around to make the most of the switch to ProPresenter. Instead of having both computers in the sound booth show up as CPU1 in the video room, the two computers in the booth will show up seperately as CPU1 (run by Lyrics Operator) and CPU2 (run by Graphics Operator). CPU3 will remain in the video control room as a backup.

Stage Display on Confidence Monitors - ProPresenter 4 has a great feature called stage display, which allows a third output from the computers in the booth to be shown to the people on stage through the confidence monitors. This extra output includes a clock as well as both the current and the next slides, which will be a significant benefit to the singers.

To enable this feature, we will have to reconfigure the matrix switcher. We'll be removing CPU3 and DVD1 from the inputs and adding CPU1 Stage and CPU2 Stage. Each matrix switcher preset will be slightly different, though the number of presets required will likely be very similar to our current arrangement.

Please comment away if you have any questions on how this will affect you.

| | Leave your response here. »

Wednesday, March 24, 2010 by David Wilcox

3.21 Reverb

So, my return to Reverb posting is still happening in fits and starts, but I hope to return to weekly posts in the not-too-distant future. I have been encouraged by the team, in order to keep up the posting, to limit each post to the essentials, so here goes.

Great Job Video Team - The video team this weekend did a great job. The baptisms were seamless in both meetings, and both Cam 4 and Cam 5 looked great. Thanks for your attention to detail and excellence in execution.

Tall Guys at the Short Pulpit - If we end up with a situation like we did on Sunday, where a tall guy is behind the short pulpit, the video team should push in and remove the pulpit from the shot. I'm going to be more careful to get the right pulpit up there, but in case something odd like this happens in the future, you can just ignore the pulpit and get a medium shot, waist up.

Baptism DVDs - We recently purchased a new HD-DVD recorder, which will allow us to easily create a DVD of just baptisms. These DVDs are occasionally given to or ordered by the people who have been baptized. Sermon Media, Playback, and Video Producer checklists will be updated to adjust for this addition to the routine. Please look closely next time you serve.

Dress Code - It's March madness and Duke is still in the tourney (sorry Terps!), and the weather is getting warmer. Please remember our simple dress code: Dark clothing is preferred; please, no shorts, and; please, no shirts with large recognizable logos or words. We want to remain in the background.

Snacks in the Green Room - Yep, we still have snacks in the green room. No change there. But I realized just this weekend that the sermon media team may not been officially invited yet. If you are serving through both services, you are now officially invited. Please come out of your little recording closet after the first service editing is completed and enjoy coffee and snack bars in the green room backstage.

See you next weekend, friends, and feel free to leave your comments and thoughts here.

| | Leave your response here. »

Thursday, February 25, 2010 by David Wilcox

Sermon Audio Team Process Changes

Our sermon audio editing computer essentially died last week, so we installed a "new" computer to replace it. In doing so, we also are changing the way we are burning both Audio CDs and Archival DVDs. I put these three videos together to inform the team members of the changes.

To the team: please watch these and let me know if you have any questions at all.





| | Leave your response here. »

The Blog

This blog contains my reflections, as a simple church technical director, on how to use media to the glory of Jesus Christ.

In some cases, I will question current assumptions about and practices of media use in church, maybe even yours.

Please know that my desire is not to criticize or offend but rather to prompt intelligent discussions.

In a church media culture that regularly takes its cues from the secular world, I want to dig into God's word to learn how to use media fully, appropriately, creatively, and to the glory of God.

The Blogger

IMG_0479.JPG

Dave Wilcox is married to Cara, the most beautiful woman in the world, and is father to Meg, Matthew, and Esme, the cutest kids ever seen.

He has the honor of serving Covenant Life Church as Technical Director.

His primary responsibilities include leading and caring for the volunteers on the sound, lighting, video, scenic design, and sermon media ministry teams.

Email: dwilcox [at] covlife.org
AIM: dwilcox [at] covlife.org
Gtalk: wilcox.david.james [at] gmail.com

Etcetera...

Although I work for Covenant Life Church, a member church of Sovereign Grace Ministries, what is written here are my thoughts. This blog may not represent either ministry's views on the particular topics.

Please comment frequently and passionately. I welcome your thoughts and questions. However, I reserve the right to remove comments for any reason whatsoever.

All Scripture references, unless otherwise stated, are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

Anyone may use or republish my material without my permission. However, I ask that you include my name, Dave Wilcox, and a link to this address, http://www.undistract.com, with any quote you may include.

Tools

Search undistract:

 Subscribe Via RSS


Subscribe Via Email:
Enter Your Email


Powered by FeedBlitz

Add to Technorati Favorites

undistract is powered by Blogger. Design by David Wilcox, inspired by Blogger Templates and Fauxzen