Transfer Blog over to Kigh-K Media

Hey all,

There's a hand few of you follow along here, but I wanted to make you aware of the new website that also contains a full feature blog as well as podcasting site. Visit highkmedia.tv and follow along there from here on out.

In a couple of weeks I will be transferring all of these previous postings to that site and you can find additional and up-to-date posts related to media technology at Hillcrest at High-K Media.

Thanks for your service!

Sandy

Hillcrest Sermon's Online

Hello all,

It's been about a month since my last post again, and we have been very busy at Hillcrest. This last weekend alone we had three service to record and capture.

So, the new technology has worked out well providing an overflow space led live via video in the Fellowship Hall during the memorial service for Bryan Barrow, and a live event captured for AmeriKids. DVD's can be obtained fairly soon.

In addition, I'm testing a social networking service called mDialog. An embedded video of Mark's first sermon for the Blue Valley site is contained here. Let me know what you think.



Have a great week!

Sandy

New Tech Teams in Rotation

Well it's been a little over a month since my last post. Sorry for the delay. However, a lot of work has been done since then, and I'm happy with the progress.

We are now well into the launch of our satellite church, Hillcrest Covenant Church Blue Valley. Our initial teams volunteering to help with set-up, tear-down, video and audio have really provided us a great resource to meet all of our technical needs. We appreciate your commitment!

Now it's time at the Prairie Village site to rotate our new teams into that experience as well. Team C, D and E will need to take advantage of the 6:30pm Thursday night Praise Band rehearsal to practice and get a feel for their teams. I will be available to offer training and assistance each Thursday from 6:30 to 8pm.

At the end of March, each team should be at the same experience level. At that time we will begin to try new things, one of which is projecting the worship band during the service and keying lower third song lyrics over the praise band. This adds a level of difficulty and coordination, but is awfully fun to produce for both our teams and the congregation in worship.

Also, starting in April, since we will have 5 teams will be up and running, I am going to ask each team to only commit to one week a month. However, your commitment level will require the work for all three services. Owen and his team provide this commitment, and I think we can provide this as well. This also gives Mark the opportunity to record each service and choose the sermon he feels best for distributing on the web, CD and DVD venues.

In the near future, I plan to bring the teams together to review and critique their work. I will provide lunch or dinner at the occasion and hopefully keep the time short and relaxing. But this will give each of you a chance to see where we make mistakes both technically and stylistically and hope to eliminate those in the future. More details on that later.

Thanks again for everyone's participation! Without your help, none of this could happen!

Upcoming Team Schedule

We had a good turn out for the first weekend of Sunday worship service training with Teams A, B, and E. I was pleased to see the other team members stop in to visit and shadow at their leisure. Please continue to support your fellow team members and learn from them during the practice schedule at 9:30am and 11am services. Those times are your opportunities to get in the control and shadow your positions.

The system is nearly completely installed. We have the edit system connected and able to record and playback into the sanctuary as well. We provided a test run for the council meeting on Tuesday night, and they were excited to see the new Panasonic HD projector exceed their expectations. A good comparison is to view the confidence projection behind the audio booth to see the difference in the two displays. Night and Day!

Well let's get down to business. We are shifting team training this Sunday. Team A and B will cover the 8am sermon for the next 2 months, or at least through the month of February. Team A starts this Sunday at the 8am and continues every other week through February. Team B will record the 8am service starting next week and continue every other week. For the 9:30 service, Team E will continue training through February every Sunday. Team C & D will be able to shadow the 9:30 and 11am  service into February. This gives us 2 solid Teams to work with at the start of the launch and a month later I can begin to rotate Team E into the 8am schedule. I expect to rotate Teams C & D into the mix starting in April.

Here's a timeline of the next several weeks to make things clearer:

Jan. 18th - 8am Service - Team A (Live recording becomes my first playback at Blue Valley)

  9:30 Service - Team E (Practice)

   11am Service - Team B (Practice)

Jan. 25th - 8am Service - Team B (Live recording becomes "Friends & Family" playback at Blue Valley)

9:30 Service - Team E (Practice)

  11am Service - Team A (Practice)

Feb. 1st  - 8am Service - Team A (Live recording becomes Launch playback at Blue Valley)

9:30 Service - Team E (Practice)

  11am Service - Team B (Practice)

Feb. 8th  - 8am Service - Team B (Live recording)

   9:30 Service - Team E (Practice)

   11am Service - Team A (Practice)

Feb. 15th - 8am Service - Team A (Live recording)

     9:30 Service - Team E (Practice)

     11am Service - Team B (Practice)

Feb. 22nd - 8am Service - Team B (Live recording)

     9:30 Service - Team E (Practice)

     11am Service - Team A (Practice)

Starting this weekend service as well is graphic support into the sanctuary. This week we will only provide support for the sermon, but next week we will provide graphic support for the entire worship service at all three services. That means that while our teams practice at the 9:30 and 11am service into the next few weeks, there will be an operator from Owen's team running graphics at all times for the worship service. We need to be conscience of his need to have interaction with Owen at the front of house on headset at all times. This operator will have a direct feed onto the Panasonic HD projection into the house, so Directors will not need to call shots for graphics. He is independent of the sermon recording. But, during the sermon times, we will have to call and record graphics from PowerPoint and Keynote for the Blue Valley edit. 

One more note, starting this weekend, I will not be available for the 9:30 and 11am service times as I will be at the Blue Valley site. Directors - it will be your responsibility to practice up with your teams after I leave the 8am service. Don't worry about turning everything off after the 11am service this Sunday. I will take care of that this week. Just shut the door and make sure the lock is enabled. Next week, I will work with you' all on shutting the room down.

I think that's it for now. If there are any questions, feel free to post your comments here or call me with any concerns. Once again, I appreciate everyone's support and willingness to take on a heavy load at first to get over the hump of the launch. This is our way to make an impact and reach out to the Blue Valley community. Let's make it good!

Sermon Review for Directors and Technical Directors

This post is meant to acclimate Directors and Technical Directors with the flow and pacing of Mark's sermon presentations and the use of graphics or PowerPoints within the sermon for the Blue Valley site. Each video was shot during the 8am service on December 14th. This is the Giving Tree sermon.

   

The first video was shot as we would normally view Mark in the sanctuary; we see him and PowerPoint on the screen at the same time. We can each watch and listen to Mark or we can watch PowerPoint. We choose. At the Blue Valley site, they can't choose. We need to choose for them. Video will have to tell the story without Mark being able to present his sermon live. Thus we need to show Mark and PowerPoint at the same time for the Blue Valley audience on one screen. How do we do this? 

The second video was shot at the same angle as the first, but as a medium shot. (There will be only one view of the angle since we didn't have our other three cameras installed at the time of this capture. Otherwise we would normally cut into the sermon 2 to 3 other viewing angles to give the audience at Blue Valley a better sense of viewing and pacing.) This second video also has PowerPoint cut into the sermon just as we would in the control room. Beginning in early January, we will be cutting PowerPoint into Mark's sermon live and using all three camera angles.

This is what I want the directors and TD's to think about and watch as we continue to move forward over the next few weeks. Watch how I cut the sermon graphics into Mark's presentation. Watch, listen and think about the way Mark presents. Get a feeling for when we need to be on a medium close up, camera angle of Mark when he is providing a strong point in his sermon. Watch for when he "calls" for graphics (PowerPoint). Listen to his pacing and tempo, and ask yourself, what camera should I be on for the best viewing angle for those sitting at the Blue Valley site and streaming on the web.

These are the questions and attention to detail Director's and their counter parts, TD's, need to be aware of when you go into the control room and direct our volunteer camera operators, graphics and switcher operators. These decisions are important to how each week's sermon is presented. Be mindful and patient in the control room. If a mistake is made, pass on the commentary, and keep your thoughts on your next move. Good directors may feel the heat under pressure, but they won't let you know it until after the live shot is done.

The third video is something for us to consider. It contains a split screen view of Mark and PowerPoint at the same time. This is a bit more ambitious and may be something we try at a later date. I thought I would throw it in here too just to give you an idea of the framing and view angles necessary to achieve split screen. TD's will need to learn how to make this happen on the switcher. It's a little bit more complex, but later, maybe we can try this out during one of the Thursday night Praise Band rehearsals.

That brings me to Thursday nights. This is a great time for teams to rehearse without the need for a live recording. Coordinate with your teams and let me know if you would like to participate and practice during the praise band rehearsals. They start every Thursday night at 6:30pm at the Prairie Village site, of course.

Thanks again for everyone's participation! Installation starts tomorrow, Monday Dec. 29th and runs 2 weeks. Our first practice run through will be Jan. 11th on Sunday for all three services. We may also get a chance to practice on Thursday, Jan. 8th, if the installation is complete. I will keep you posted.

God Bless and Happy New Year! 

Tech Training

I hope everyone is staying warm and is driving safely to their destinations. I have a couple of important dates to make you' all aware in regards to training and organization.

Dec. 21st in Room 205 during the 11am Service - Volunteer Team meeting get-together. Mark and Lee may join to say hello. This is to familiarize everyone with each other and to update you on the installation and organization of the control room. In case you can't attend, we have another one the following week.

Dec. 28th in Room 205 during the 11am Service - Volunteer Team meeting get-together. Mark and Lee may join to say hello. This is to familiarize everyone with each other and to update you on the installation and organization of the control room.

 

Dec. 29th & 30th in the sanctuary from 9am to 4pm - Need a handful of folks to help pull cable for the installation of cameras. If you could spare a couple of hours on either of those dates, your assistance is appreciated.

Jan. 9th in the new Control Room from 10am to 2pm - Mandatory switcher training for Directors and Technical Directors. This is provided by Ross Systems engineer, Les O'Reilly. If you can't make this, Owen and I will provide one on one training scheduled at your convenience.

We will continue to provide training for camera operators on a team by team basis or one on one if necessary. Look for those dates to come later.

We are getting closer and closer to our Launch date. Post your comments or questions here and I will reply as soon as possible. Thanks again for everyone's participation!

Tech Teams as of 12/8/08

I'm happy to report that our teams are coming along nicely! Teams A & B had their first site visit at Church of the Resurrection. Each member came out of the experience with enthusiasm and excitement, eager to begin the training process at Hillcrest.

That said, I would like to begin an overview training soon to familiarize everyone with how our site will be installed and the equipment therein. Organizing that during the busy holiday and having everyone able to participate at Hillcrest may be difficult depending on everyone's schedule. So maybe I can perform a WebEx meeting or something online so everyone can join in from home or download at their leisure. 

Anyway, here's how the teams are shaking out at the moment. More to come later.

Thanks for everones participation!

Hillcrest Covenant Prairie Village - 8am Service (Call time: 7:30)

PV (Prairie Village) Crew A: Gary Brown, Jeff Centimano & Taege Thailing

- Producer - Sandy Thailing & Owen Evans

- Director - Gary Brown

- Switcher - Jeff Centimano

- Cameras - Taege Thailing

- Graphics - 

- Audio - 

PV Crew B: Matt McLenon, Greg Ator & Peter Thompson

- Producer - Sandy Thailing & Owen Evans

- Director - Matt McLenon

- Switcher - Greg Ator

- Cameras - Peter Thompson

- Graphics - 

- Audio - 

PV Crew C: Chris Cook, Paul David Benedict (Sub), Barry St. John, Grant Mong & Gary Mullin

- Producer - Sandy Thailing & Owen Evans

- Director - Chris Cook or Paul David Benedict

- Switcher - Barry St. John

- Cameras - Gary Mullin or Grant Mong

- Graphics -

- Audio - 

PV Crew D: Dawn Peete, Chris Cook, Amber Thailing

- Producer - Sandy Thailing & Owen Evans

- Director - Dawn Peete

- Switcher - Chris Cook

- Cameras - Amber Thailing

- Graphics -

- Audio - 

PV Crew E: Jimmy Tompkins, Jim Tyler, 

- Producer - Sandy Thailing & Owen Evans

- Director - Jimmy Tompkins

- Switcher - Jim Tyler

- Cameras - Jim Ferneau

- Graphics -

- Audio - 

Hillcrest Covenant Blue Valley - 9:30am Service (Load-in: 7:00 am)

BV (Blue Valley) Crew A: Albert Lierz, Chris Cook, Taege Thailing

- Producer - Sandy Thailing

- Graphics - Chris Cook

- Lighting - Albert Lierz

- Audio - 

- Grip - Taege Thailing