I've been asked to help put together an AV setup for a memorial service on June 18th. The top requirement is to have a camera in the main sanctuary upstairs and project it in the cafeteria area downstairs. Ideally, we'd have a second camera and switcher so we can cut between wide and tight shots. No slideshow necessary, through an image before and after the event would be better than running a live, open feed or showing a black screen.

Regarding audio, we have a sound system and mixer upstairs and a good reinforcement speakers downstairs. The main challenge is to get a long enough cable (mono) and somebody to manage the downstairs levels.

Live streaming and a recording of the event might be desirable, but I'm not sure. I would imagine that not everybody in the extended family is local.

Looking at equipment rentals, I'm thinking that we need to shop out the whole job. Yeah, I can rent cameras, switcher, an extender, cables, and a downstairs projector, and I can find some people to do the jobs. But the real issue is that we'd have little time to make sure that it all works. One missing or broken cable ruins the whole thing. An event company would know their equipment, know what works together, and would have backup cables and all the little pieces that are needed to make it all work.

But then there's budget... Maybe this ends up being an HDMI camcorder, an extender, some long cables, and a projector without any switching or photos. The expectations aren't high. The main concern is that more people will show up than can fit in the sanctuary.

Any recommendations are welcome.

FWIW, I've shot live events before, but I've always edited and distributed them in post. Live stuff with remote displays and sound and frame syncs and switching are much more complicated than shooting "flicks".

If you knew the layout of the building and how long a cable was required, you could test out the
hdmi cable with extender connection ahead of time and keep the whole thing simple.

Thanks Stephen,

Yeah, the layout is known. It will probably be about a 300 ft run. I can measure it. And I'll need lots of tape to keep it safe going down the stairwell.

BTW, I spoke with a local rental/service company. They have the Convergent Design Odyssey with Apollo Option, so a two camera shoot might be feasible. IMO, this is they key to a pleasing, professional presentation. With one camera you have two options: static or disorienting. If you leave it static, you don't get to see either the whole context or the personal inflections. If you zoom and pan, then every time you need to get from here to there quickly, it's disorienting.

Switching rocks as you can go tight when the subject says, "I feel..." and you can go wide when they say "we all..." You can also go wide, then pan the tight camera to the next subject and then cut back in order to hide the pan. Makes it look like three cameras. :)

Oh, and the Apollo is SDI. That should cover the run downstairs. I just need an SDI to HDMI converter for the projector.

Thanks to blackmagic, HDMI <-> SDI converters are cheap. Anywhere that would rent you an Odyssey would surely have converters on hand.

I don't know what your budget is. My budget would be camera (that I already own), SDI out, then 300' of SDI, then an SDI -> HDMI converter. So essentially $50 worth of BNC and rent or buy the converter. I would have the camera on a lockdown tight of the podium/pulpit and that's what the overflow crowd would see. I might man the camera and do some gentle pulls if there is more than one person, or a gentle push if I need to go tight, but it's not a dance performance, it's pretty much just people talking at a podium.

I don't know what the scope or expectations are, but my sentiment (from having done a lot of family video favors) is that you could spend $1k on a switcher and a framestore and three cameras, or you could connect a home video camera to an HDMI -> CAT5 balun, run 500' of CAT5, and leave the thing on a lockdown tight shot, and no one will know the difference. I'd save the cash.

Thanks Mike,

Do you have a source for a HDMI->CAT5 balun (and its inverse)? Will that work over 300 feet?

Shenzhen Pinwei Technology Co., Ltd. - HDMI extender,HDMI fiber optic (http://pwaytek.en.alibaba.com/)
2weeks
clench time John :)

I use monoprice because I live in SoCal and they ship overnight for something ridiculous like $5:

HDMI® Extender Using Cat5e or CAT6 Cable - Extend Upto 328ft - Monoprice.com (http://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=8122)

Incidentally Jon, not sure who the decedent is to you, but my condolences.

edit:
Amazon has one for $90 and ships Prime same-day:
http://smile.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Extender-Ethernet-including/dp/B00OZV04BK/

Thanks Mike and Bruce,

The Amazon deal looks great. I'm going to recommend that plus a 300m cat 6 cable. We'll also get 4x100 ft of microphone cables to get the audio downstairs.

For a projector, Optima has a 3000 lumen HDMI projector for $550 and 4700 lumens for $1199. Their screen is something like 12 or 16 feet wide. They do a Movies in the Park event four times each summer and had been borrowing a projector, so this has been in the works anyway.

For a $200 rental, we can get the Odyssey switcher. That would give us a second camera, title card, ability to record the service, and would let us route the audio over HDMI. We could run the audio direct as well for redundancy. As we well know, audio is more than 50% of the video experience! We might lose video but MUST have audio.

And thanks for the condolences, Mike. It's a friend of the family who passed away. My wife is their pastor so I get the AV Specialist job title by default. Good people. Glad to help them out.

Jon, do you have a wireless mic? What about feeding the audio downstairs wirelessly? 300' of XLR is a long way. At the very least, make sure it's line level. I'm not sure if you can push audio 300' without some amplification.

Gentlemen,

I have worked in AV technical direction and video production for over twenty years. To be blunt I don't like this scenario at all. That three hundred feet of cable runs bothers me. You are just out of my comfort zone. When we have to run cat 5 we use high end components from Extron or Inline and I have even seen those fail. I would never trust that cheap converter from Amazon for a sensitive project like this.

This sounds like a perfect scenario for a webcast. You can forget about the cable runs and as you mentioned give the link to family members not in attendance. For small one off webcasts like this I use audiovideoweb.com for the CDN (content delivery network). They are perfect for this job because they are low cost, no contract, and pay only for the bandwidth you use.

If the facility has a good internet access you will be fine. And since your main receiver is in the same building you will be able to pretest and set your encoding lap top for the best possible resolution. All you will need is two computers. One to ingest the video and encode it out to the CDN and one to view the stream in the projector room. Their service has always worked perfectly for me. It is worth taking a look at Jon. They are very inexpensive compared to the big CDN guys.

Good luck. Let me know if you have any questions. With audiovideoweb.com you can get a live tech support person on the phone 24 hours a day with no hassle or waiting.

Kind Regards,

Steve

Streaming might be a better solution. You could also look at what LiveStream has to offer or another product is Wirecast. Gives you a software based switcher and then you can stream to UStream, YouTube or another CDN. You would then have a product for future events The thing to do if you stream is test, test, test.

I will receive the cables (audio and video) and the converters tomorrow and will be able to test them. Hopefully, they will work fine. If not, I'll look into webcasting as a backup plan.

Frankly, I'm at least as worried about the streaming solution. I've used Wi-Fi in the building, but I don't have a sense of how robust the service might be. I don't even know the location of the router or who maintains it.

Also, what front end Video-to-IP compression equipment do you recommend? Can it be done with a laptop?

Regarding the audio connection, I would be going from one mixer to another, line level. With long, analog video runs, one needs EQ to restore the high frequencies. But that's at 6MHz. For 20kHz, over a balanced, XLR run, I'm not concerned. I can always turn up the high EQ if needed.

Back on the streaming side, if anybody can point me to the nuts and bolts of it, I'd really appreciate it. I have to admit it, after experiencing years of poor video conferences, I've been actively avoiding it. I don't even use FaceTime or Skype video. But apparently, things are better now(?)

audiovideoweb.com looks attractive. Two computers are doable. So... what software do I need on the computers? I didn't see any guidance or FAQ from audiovideoweb.com. I've got to admit, I'm a bit concerned about having computers powerful enough to do good real-time encoding and also concerned about using Wi-Fi. My guess is that I'll need a 300 ft cable to get from the computer to the router. But at least it would just be sending compressed video, rather than the whole shebang.

Regarding bandwidth, at 5mbps I would use 2.25 GB of transfer. That fits within the 5GB basic plan of $39.95. Not bad. Let's say I crank it up and we get some subscribers. 25 GB would cost about $150.

Anyway, what hardware and software do I need to make this happen?

Hi Jon,

The reason I recommended audiovideoweb.com is they are a little bit different compared to the current big CDNs.

First you pick your video sources and what ever you want to put in front of your encoding computer ie: single camera, multiple cameras etc....those go before the device you pick to feed a single video stream to the encoding lap top. It used to be super easy in the SD firewire days. Now there are multiple devises out there to get video into the computer. A lap top with USB 3.0 or thunderbolt will work the best if you are coming HDMI or SDI from the camera or switcher.

Then you run software encoding like Microsoft Expression or Adobe's free flash encoder to send your stream to your CDN, like audiovideoweb.com. You dial in the encoder to send what your network connection can handle. I have never used wifi, I avoid it like crazy for this. If you must use it make sure it is a secured network so the attendees do not show up and log on.

On the computer down stairs that receives the signal you must take your audio feed from there to feed the room. There is latency involved in this.

This is a very simplified explanation of how it works. It is not as scary as it sounds though. I would not hesitate call AV webs tech support to find out which encoder they currently recommend. I have not used them for a few years.

You can read more about Microsoft Expression here:

Review: Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 - Streaming Media Magazine (http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/Review-Microsoft-Expression-Encoder-4-73024.aspx)

Kind Regards,

Steve

I would be pretty careful learning to stream the first time at a funeral with people in the basement counting on the feed. I'd kinda lean toward the video cable idea, but I understand there are a lot of pieces here, and you may have to go the other way. Test and re-test. Best of luck.

Mike,

I could not agree with you more. Jon is in a tuff place here. I am saying it could be done one way, but that is not a clean option for him. The other option is not a clean way to go either. I don't know what cable he ordered. But Jon, optical HDMI (as someone suggested) will not survive being taped down the stairs! If your going cat 5 remember that it is not a robust option ether. No matter what you choose, test, test, and test. Make sure that cat 5 can not be run over by wheels on a chair or kicked by a foot that would strain a connector ....it is fragile! Your on a brink of a cliff!

Please let us know which way you go.....

Steve

Yesterday, I received the equipment and tested it. Works great! No glitches. From camera to output, it looks like there is about a half second delay. I think I have an old Fostex DE-1 effects unit. I believe that I can put it in Delay Mode, select full Wet and dial in the needed delay to sync it up. Yeah, the A/D only runs at 32 kHz, but as I recall, it's not too noisy. Should be fine for voice. Here are the specs:

Frequency Response: 20Hz ~ 15kHz (TYPICAL)
Dynamic Range: 92dB (TYPICAL)
AD/DA converter: 20bit
Total Harmonic Distortion: 0.01% (TYPICAL)
Sampling Frequency: 32kHz

Seems adequate for live dialog. I can always adjust the HF EQ on the mixer to find the balance between HF loss and noise.

I'm still not sure if I want to rent the Odyssey switcher. On one hand, I much prefer the look of two cameras for this sort of thing. On the other hand, simplicity rules the day.

A half second delay! That is crazy, and it is probably not coming from a 300 foot XLR run so where is it coming from? That would be my question. With XLR we deal in mil/seconds. Where is the bottle neck? Are you sure the audio is "behind the video signal" or is it the other way around?

You are trying to send audio and video 300 feet downstairs, literally. What cable types did you decide on? HDMI, optical HDMI, or BNC/XLR? Hence the need to sync? I am not sure which way you ended up going? With good five wire cables 300 feet would not be a problem, but I know that was never one of your options for this job. Or did you go with the cat 5? Sorry for so many questions, we discussed a lot of options earlier in this thread.

And the three hundred feet of XLR has a lot of time to pick up interference. I am sure you know to keep it away from power cables and such. You also said part of the run is down a staircase. With foot traffic that is a problem waiting to happen. I really want this to work out for you Jon. A half second is a monster delay! Tell us more about your signal flow please.

Steve

Edit: When we do cable runs in high foot traffic areas we go up when we can instead of down. Look for possible ways to run the cables at ceiling height instead of assuming you have to tape it to the floor.

On the other hand, his audience is never going to notice that there is a half second delay in the feed making it through to their viewing room.

Andrew

I don't think that is the delay he is talking about. I think his video signal is going cat5 and the audio XLR. They are a half second out of sync,

Steve

Great questions and comments, Steven.

I ended up using HDMI over CAT6 with a 300m cable, video only. Audio will be analog over XLR from one mixer to another.

Regarding the delay, I'm just clapping my hands in front of the lens and watching the delay to the screen. The half second is a gut feel, rather than a measurement. If anything, it's on the short side of 0.5, maybe 0.25 or 0.33. Frankly, this surprises me. The format is 24p in 1080i60. If there is a frame of delay in the camera, transmitter, receiver, and projector at 30 fps, it would mean 0.13s of delay. It's 0.167s at 24p. My guess is that the projector has more delay, maybe for the inverse 3:2 pulldown.

Regarding the cable runs, I believe that I can go out of one window and in another. It looks like there will be rain. I'm thinking of buying some PVC pipe to keep the cable dry. The cables are brand new and unlikely to have a problem with light rain, but I've had a wet XLR fail once and I'd rather not risk it.

FWIW, this is the equipment we bought:
https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Extender-Ethernet-including/dp/B00OZV04BK
https://www.amazon.com/UbiGear-Ethernet-Network-Internet-Computer/dp/B00BNL001Y
https://www.amazon.com/GLS-Audio-100ft-Cable-Patch/dp/B000RO6C1K (4 100 ft cables total)

Turn off Steady Shot (or whatever it may be called) in the camera as that will also introduce a slight delay.

The tock is clicking...

The current plan is two cameras, one wide and locked down, the other with a zoom that I will operate. We will rent the Odyssey with Apollo option. I'll feed the two cameras and a static title slide. Fade from the slide to the wide when it starts. Cut to the tele when the speaker is settled in. Cut back to the wide any time it suits the story or I need to re-frame. At the end, I cut to the wide. After it's clearly over, fade back to the title slide, It cuts to black when we turn off the system and tear it down.

The wide is AC powered. I have a 2nd battery for the tele, if I need it. I can cut to the wide, change the battery in about five seconds, and I'm back in business. The Odyssey and all other gear are AC powered.

I can run an audio feed to the Odyssey, which will allow me to time-align the sources. It will also record the overall event. The audio will stream over CAT6 with the video, be recovered by the projector, and sent to the 2nd mixing board. I will also provide a direct feed from the 1st to 2nd mixer. That's my failsafe. If all this whiz-bang digital video stuff goes belly up, I'll still have good old analog audio ensure that the downstairs audience isn't sitting in silence. As long as none of the local power poles are hit by a passing beer truck, we should be okay.

It's a crew of three: Me on the tele cam and switcher. One audio person upstairs. One person managing the audio out level and baby sitting the projector downstairs. Cellphones for communications with text messages (probably using GroupMe) if absolutely needed during the service.

I'll pick up the Odyssey at 5pm the evening before the 2pm service, so I'll have enough time to really learn and test it. It will be my monitor as well as switcher control panel, so I don't have to look back and forth at anything, except when I glance up at the surroundings. I've got a good tripod/cheeseplate/rails/followfocus/arm, so I should be able to get a comfortable setup.

Cables will string out/in windows and be gaffer taped along no-traffic areas. Looks like no rain, so I won't bother with a PVC plenum. Hopefully, woodpeckers don't like CAT6 and XLR cable.

So, that's the story. Hopefully, I will have tales of success on Thursday...

Well John, You have certainly put a lot of thought into your signal flow. You are going to be just fine. I have done hundreds of these things. Give yourself plenty of set up time and you will be in great shape.

Why is one of the cameras on battery power? That seems a little strange to me but you must have a reason for it.

The only thing I did not see mentioned was on camera monitors instead of viewfinders or small camera LCD screens. Counting on just the Odyssey for all of your monitoring when you have this much going on will be tough. You have made your self a tight shot operator and a switch operator. I run Small HD 7" on camera monitors when I am in studio configuration. It helps a lot. Or you could put any large LCD monitor (from a PC or other source you already own?) next to the Odyssey to give you a large program or camera monitor. Splitting the 7" Odyssey screen into four screen mode is not good monitoring. Just food for thought....

I hope you have some fun with this, other than the fact that it is a memorial service.

Kind Regards,

Steve

Turns out the Odyssey is off the list. The rental company has a big project going on that day and they have no HDMI/SDI converters available.

All my gear is HDMI-based. The Odyssey has one HDMI input. I would need two HDMI to SDI converters to get my 2nd cam and tablet output into the device. Also, while the Odyssey has an HDMI output, it only puts out the 2x2 on HDMI. Preview is on SDI-A and Program is on SDI-B. Without a converter, I can't get the Program feed to the projector.

So I'm back to a single camera shoot with a 70-200 zoom. My plan is to leave the camera open at the wide end before the ceremony without a title card. This will ensure that people downstairs know that they will be able to see what's going on.

Don't mess your pants, but I will be using a Canon 5D2 in live view for this event - with Magic Lantern no less. The only function of ML is to remove the overlay. The result is a clean 3:2 (13.5 x 9) image. The camera will just be idle in live view. The projector is 16x9, but our screen is 4:3. The top of the screen while up on the stage is blocked, revealing a 3:2 area. The camera image fills it perfectly. I've drawn the curtains to frame the screen and it looks quite good.

So, yes, the 5D2 aliases at full-view, but here's a nice thing with Magic Lantern. I push the zoom button and I get 3x crop mode - showing the native pixels, centered. Not only do I get no aliasing, but I get a 210-600mm equivalent lens, which allows me to get tight shots from the back of the sanctuary. And that one button press lets me fake a switch from wide to tight without a glitch. None of my other "free" camera options would give me this much sensitivity and reach. I've got the AC adapter, so I won't have battery anxiety.

For recording, I will use my son's Atomos Shogun, so I'll allow the 5D2 to simply idle (aside from the crop button.) That gives me a 7-inch screen, XLR input, headphone feed, focus tools, and exposure tools - plus clean recording. The unit will embed the audio in the output feed, and I'll have analog XLR direct as a backup. My son used to work as a service tech for Atomos, so I'm well-supported. :)

At the end, when it's time to say, "show's over, folks", I'll use an HDMI switch to go to a title slide so people will know it's okay to stand up. There will be a couple second glitch, but that will have to do.

So my job will be framing, focusing (with a follow focus), and pressing the 3x crop button. The lens is not parfocal, so if I zoom, I need to adjust focus as well. I'll zoom with the lens only when absolutely necessary. I simply can't frame, zoom, and focus at the same time. The crop button has no such difficulty. I just need to ensure that the subject is centered before I crop in.

So that's the current plan. I really would have preferred cutting to the second, wide, locked-down camera. That would let me relax for a moment and make any ugly transitions off-air. It's not to be.

Oh, regarding wiring, there is a cable plenum near the main mixing board. We routed the cables last night. If anybody wants to step on the cables, they have to be able to walk on the ceiling.

So, the overall cost for the family? They bought the HDMI extender and XLR cables for the church for $250. The church bought itself a new projector for $550 (which they've been meaning to do anyway.) All else is gratis. The production won't be broadcast quality by any means, but I expect that it will exceed their expectations. As long as nothing goes haywire, the audience downstairs will get good quality video, even if the camera positions and transitions are dull. But the main goal is to help everybody experience the ceremony. Hopefully, they won't be thinking about the technology.

Wow, this thing really went south. It is to bad you are out of time. There are some good HDMI switchers out there. This has become a case where you are using the wrong piece of gear for every key function. Not a criticism at all, this is what happens on low budget, gratis gigs. You are working with the tools you have been given. I have saying I tell guys on my crews all time "Just because you can does not mean you should." I think this is harder than it sounds. There is to much room for things to go wrong now.

First, I don't know what magnification you are going to end up at but I hope you have a solid tripod to handle the vibrations.

Second. Make sure the person in the projector room knows how to go to black there if need be in worst case scenario and you bail to audio only. Do NOT put a lens cover on the projector or place something in front of the lens for black. Many newer projectors have now gone to plastic lenses and when blocked they MELT. A lot of projectors have a "shutter" button on them. It is not a shutter as we know it, it is behind the lens and shutters to black so you don't melt the lens. Look to see if yours has one.

Third, is this going to be one speaker or are friends and family going to speak too? You really need your presenter to stay at the podium to make this work. I would talk to the pastor (your wife?) and ask them to stay there. If friends and relative are coming up don't give them a wireless lav. A podium mic is a great tool to force them to stay at the podium ;-)

Jon, good luck with this project, I hope it goes well for you!

Kind Regards,

Steve

Thanks Steven,

There will be multiple speakers. We will put an X in blue tape on the floor. My wife will have a headset. The others will use a wireless handheld mic with a wired backup. I'll use my "zoom out" button for each transition and "zoom in" when the speaker starts to get personal.

I've got a good Vinten tripod and the 70-200 is stabilized, so it reduces the microvibrations. The funny thing is that the projector seems to dance around, probably as part of an anti-burn in function. I can show a static, wide shot or JPEG and the image vibrates! I don't know if this will hide camera shake or amplify it. The key is that I'll be able to be at the back of the room, so I won't be a distraction and I'll be able to zoom in close enough to show the presenters' micro expressions. That's the real story. And with the zoom lens, I should be able to get tighter for the "standers" and a bit wider for the "walkers."

I've shot numerous company meetings with the 5D2 and 70-200, albeit not with the crop function. However, those were just recorded in-camera and edited in post, along with a fixed wide cam and power point slides. This will be more challenging, but at least I have a feel for the equipment.

The key will be for me to show restraint. The story is the speakers and their emotions, not the camera moves and transitions. If I stay out of the way and people experience the presentations, I'll have done my job.

For future reference, can you recommend any good HDMI switchers? The thing I like about the Apollo is that it can be controlled by the camera op, rather than at a fixed console. With a two camera (fixed/wide & tight) shoot, I like the ability to do both. For other functions, I'd like the ability to do a key as well. For company meetings, the shots are:

1) Wide
2) Tight, centered
3) Tight, offset with slides keyed on the side
4) Full screen slides

By controlling it myself, I can pan from 2 to 3 and fade in the key. Also I can go to 1 or 4 when I want to reframe and back to 2 or 3 when the reframing is done. To do this traditionally, we'd need a TD, switcher operator, camera op and intercom system - plus a trailer so the TD isn't shouting in the presentation room!

Note that the Odyssey doesn't do keys, so I'd need that done externally with that product.

So far, I haven't found my perfect HDMI switcher for this task.

Jon, I feel for you. Sounds like a real white-knuckle project. However, just when you get all the technical stuff figured out, this is what’ll kill you.

One of the things that was written earlier was the problem with speakers not holding the mic close enough to their mouth or chin and that is a real common problem. It happens all the time.

There’s the arm waver. The new speaker gets handed the mike, starts speaking, and before you know it, they’re waving their arms around with the mic two feet away. For fixed mics, there are the short people and the tall people. They get in front of the rostrum and maybe they adjust the mic but anything within a foot or two is good enough, right? Then there is the soft-spoken speaker, often the shortest one, and often furtherest away from the mic.

As a suggestion, maybe one can print up a large sheet for placement on the rostrum to let them know the mic must be close to their mouth or chin. Words? A side view diagram of the face with a mic? Whatever. With the TV news crews they typically have a mic with a cube and their call letters or something like ABC, NBC, and for our British cousins, BBC, written on it. Okay, since we can’t have that, what about a cardboard piece taped to the mic (sticking up at right angles) that tells them to hold it close to the mouth?

Just telling the speaker doesn’t generally work. The typical speaker forgets after two or three seconds and it’s all over. Everybody strains to hear what they’re saying until they finally sit down.

It would be neat if the audio person had a red light with a remote. The red light could be placed on the mic and when the audio gets too weak the button could be pushed that would activate a flashing red warning light.

What’s the old saying? “A chain …. er, sound system, is as strong as it’s weakest link.”

We’re all rooting for you on this project.

Hey John,

This switcher might be what you are looking for:

Roland V-1HD Portable 4 x HDMI Input Switcher V-1HD B&H Photo

Search B&H for Roland video switchers, they have a large line of them. Be careful with Black Magic switchers, many look attractive until you get down to the specs. The ATEM line does not have internal scalers.

Steve

Success!

Sure, this wasn't broadcast quality or pro-event quality, but it exceeded expectations and met the need.

So... the memorial was at 2pm and I went there in the morning to get the last pieces put together. And... the audio flat didn't work. They have this big Soundcraft console and it has ZERO balanced outputs. Huh?The Atomos recorder is XLR in and the downstairs feed expects XLR as well. I have a transformer, but couldn't find it. So great. No audio.

Then I tried some test recordings into the Shogun. Invalid media. We mounted a brand new hard drive the night before. Worked perfectly. Two hours to go and the HDD is belly up.

Whee!

I bolted home as I needed to change clothes anyway. I grabbed by Mackie mixer and a spare SSD that I hadn't gotten around to installing in an audio sampling PC. I took the Soundcraft output to the Mackie and used the Mackie's balanced outputs to send the signals. We have audio.

And I bolted the SSD into one of the media carriers, plugged it in, formatted it, and it worked perfectly.

We had some audio hum. I moved the cables away from all power cords, but it was still there, however, it was tolerable. And the A/V delay was acceptable. We were ready for the show.

I hit REC about ten minutes before the service and just let it roll. When you have over five hours of capacity and are running on AC, why risk starting the recording after the service starts?

Everything went as expected. With a single camera, everything I did was exposed, but I was mostly judicious with my movements. The zoom button dropped a frame or two, but did the trick. The biggest problem was needing to center the person first (not so artistic), and when you zoom, you have to re-frame. The nice thing is that focus was maintained.

The way out was also a bit obnoxious. Hit the zoom button again and you get 10x(!). Hit it one more time and we're back wide. I'd let the person start to walk off the screen, then zoom in and out quickly so we're not looking up their nose. Certainly not pro, but I only did this during the transition between speakers.

At first, I was at the 70mm end, which showed the full front wall of the sanctuary when wide and a thigh-to-top-of-head shot when tight. But one of the clergy was sitting in the tight shot, which was distracting. I then went to 200mm, so zooming in was chest-up. The first person to get this close up was very emotional, so it was pretty touching. People stood at a lectern and didn't move much, so I didn't have to touch the camera at all once the framing was set.

Turns out, people loved the close ups. (I think my zoom was 5X, so this was 1000mm equivalent on full frame. The Vinten and image stabilization rocked. My moves might have been a bit clumsy, but smooth.) I heard from a few people that felt that they had a better view than those upstairs as they got the close up shots of the speakers. And nobody complained about hum or delay. In fact, there were no complaints at all.

I checked the recording and it's clean. I mixed down obvious audio hot spots, added the title card, did some fade ins and outs, and that's it.

Anyway, I call it a success after dodging a few bullets. Given more time/money, I'd like to get rid of the audio hum, use a second camera with a switcher, and use more appropriate cameras (though I have to say, the good old 5D2 still has a nice look - especially when magnified to show less aliasing and when going to an external recorder. I was able to get a nice color balance, offsetting it to cancel a green/amber cast. Oh, we'd also get some mics on the piano. It was barely audible.

Thanks to everybody for their suggestions. And thanks for understanding the context. We'd all like perfection, but time, budget, and manpower don't always allow it. And if you exceed client expectations, put a tick mark in the win column.

Congratulations Jon! Glad it all went so well. I have always said "money matters", and these days there is less and less of it no matter what kind of gig it is. It was your thought, foresight, and effort that pulled this off for them with next to nothing.

Kind Regards,

Steve

Thanks, Steve.

Looking at the footage, the 5D2/ML, crop mode, and 70-200L IS combo was surprisingly good. One of the keys was not just adjusting the color temp, but also doing the offset to remove the green cast of the lights. Having the waveform parade and nice screen of the Atomos Shogun really helped me dial it in. The images were sharp, yet a bit diffuse, the colors were great, and the Canon skin tones were quite attractive. As you can imagine, many of the speakers were older, they weren't professional actors, and they weren't wearing cinema makeup, yet they all looked quite good. At 1/60, f/2.8, 640 ISO, noise levels weren't an issue. The available lighting in the church was diffuse enough to be attractive. (When your wife likes the way she looked on camera, you know you nailed it.)

The only downside was that odd 13.5 x 9 aspect ratio. The upside is that it filled our cropped 4:3 screen perfectly during the service. The aspect ratio only looks wrong when playing back the recording after the fact. The people look nice and the recorded audio sounds good, so I'm happy.

Interestingly, my poor transitions between wide and tight with the single camera setup aren't too obnoxious as I only did these transitions while the speakers were transitioning or just settling in. I held my water during the speeches, so the stories come through without technology getting in the way. This was definitely a case of "less being more."

Now I have to dig out a DVD burner. I mentioned putting the video online with a password to a few of the people, and you could see anxiety fill the eyes of the older people. Definitely a DVD crowd.

Projects like this are only finished long after the lights have been switched off...

Great report! Reading it was like reading the climax of a thriller novel condensed into a couple pages. It would have been interesting to be wearing a sports watch so one could replay what the pulse was for the day.

After reading about the HDD that went belly up I was prepared for the worst but a true professional pulled it off with a work-around. Man, talk about a squeaker. It also goes to show that one can’t have too much extra gear! You just never know. Talk about a cliff hanger!

Turns out, people loved the close ups. (I think my zoom was 5X, so this was 1000mm equivalent on full frame. The Vinten and image stabilization rocked. My moves might have been a bit clumsy, but smooth.) I heard from a few people that felt that they had a better view than those upstairs as they got the close up shots of the speakers.
Close ups: I’ve noticed that on TV programs like the BBC Masterpiece Theater that they will often have real closeups of the face, often even filling the screen with a partial face. The “wedding with a JVC LS300” that Noa posted had a full face shot and they do help make the video more personal or emotional. Wedding shooters seem to be more in tune with closeups. Even though I don’t do weddings, this is something I need to try and incorporate in my shots but I keep forgetting.

How many speakers were there and did they all use the mic properly? Hand-held or rostrum fixed?

“(When your wife likes the way she looked on camera, you know you nailed it.)” Ha ha ha…. right on!

One of the best post-shoots I’ve ever read! I’m really glad the shoot was saved and turned out well. Even if those who attended don’t realize what it took to record the event, the crowd here does. So, another sigh of relief here, too.

Hey Jon,

Don't forget to check out the link to the switcher I posted above for you. Only a grand and it may be what your looking for?

Steve

The switcher looks like just what I need. I used to design switchers in the early 90s at Grass Valley Group, and it looks like this has the main items that I'd need. The GVG switchers had an "E-Mem" feature that let the user set up macros. I'd need to dig into the manual to see if this is possible here.

The iPad app looks good as I could put the unit on a table and tape down the wires, but then use an iPad on a holder/stand and mount it near the camera so it's easily in sight and in reach. Very cool.

I might pitch this to my company for corporate events. If I can finish the production live and avoid any post work, that's a win. It gets us a step closer to live streaming as well.

Great report! Reading it was like reading the climax of a thriller novel condensed into a couple pages.
Agree 100%. DVInfo thread of the year. Congratulations on a job well done, Jon.

Great report! Reading it was like reading the climax of a thriller novel condensed into a couple pages. It would have been interesting to be wearing a sports watch so one could replay what the pulse was for the day.

That's it! I definitely need a sports watch now!

One could have also recorded my speedometer on the way to/from home. ;)

Close ups: I’ve noticed that on TV programs like the BBC Masterpiece Theater that they will often have real closeups of the face, often even filling the screen with a partial face. The “wedding with a JVC LS300” that Noa posted had a full face shot and they do help make the video more personal or emotional. Wedding shooters seem to be more in tune with closeups. Even though I don’t do weddings, this is something I need to try and incorporate in my shots but I keep forgetting.

I never went super close as that can feel like we're looking close for flaws or guilt in the character. The chest to top of head was perfect for this. It's not too invasive, but it's close enough to feel empathy. Also, the bottom is just above the breasts, so there's no distraction with female speakers. It's also important not to cut right at the nipples or any joint, like the knees. Otherwise, when the person moves, it can feel like a game of peek-a-boo. Not good at a memorial service!

How many speakers were there and did they all use the mic properly? Hand-held or rostrum fixed?

There were at least ten speakers. Most went to the rostrum. One of the clergy was there and adjusted the mic for each person. My wife wore a Countryman headset. Only one person who went handheld did it poorly. That person was very nervous, spoke quietly and nervously from a piece of paper, and held the mic far to the side. My wife walked up and said, "here, let me hold this for you." and all was well. The biggest mic problem was no piano mic. The pianist sang the opening song and it sounds a cappella. Fortunately, her voice is good enough that she could pull it off.

One of the best post-shoots I’ve ever read! I’m really glad the shoot was saved and turned out well. Even if those who attended don’t realize what it took to record the event, the crowd here does. So, another sigh of relief here, too.

Glad to have entertained! And my work now seems to be done. The client is happy to have the video on a thumb drive, which will plug into his TV or computer. My wife has the file and will take care of it from there.

Gotta say, I'm really eyeing that Roland HDMI switcher and a Teradek encoder for future events...

Hey Jon,

Kudos for your wife jumping in to help the poor lady out with her mic. During such an emotional time doing so had to have been a little delicate. As time goes on I’m finding that women tend to be very good at picking up all the emotional nuances.

That's it! I definitely need a sports watch now!

One could have also recorded my speedometer on the way to/from home. ;)
Speaking of Live Streaming the Washington State Patrol gotcha covered. One of their cams on the straightaway picked up your plate. Yeah, as might be expected, the number was little bit blurry but they managed to read it okay.

Not to worry though, the bills’ in the mail.

One more run like that and the Governor can finally get his budget balanced.

Thankfully, I was on rural roads down here in Southwest Washington. Had I been on I-5 between Olympia and Tacoma, I might not be heard from again...