Finding the right music.

That is – in creating promotion titles Intros and Motion Graphic with funky lights and stuff.

Music just makes it, it’s the icing on the cake and the cherry on the top. With the right music your hair will stand on end; with the wrong music you can loose interest – not be pull forward as the music and sound effects help drive the tension.

I get faced with this problem all the time (read it like the kid from Sixth Sense – how often are you faced with the problem? Allll the time…)

The problem is that we just don’t have a library of royalty free music or license to use some of those cool tracks. Like just recently with the promotion about the move we are going through as a Church; Dare You to Move by Switchfoot is perfect – but I can’t put that in a promo and post it on the web for all to see because it compromises copyright. So I am stuck using the cheesy jingles and bundles tracks that came with GarageBand and Logic Studio.

There are lots of options out there like DigitalJuice etc, and their prices are good, but they are just not Switchfoot, hey? Besides sometimes the shipping to South Africa is more that the  cost of the product. ooooo.

working on a solution.

Where we are

Where we could be

Actually where we will be in Feb, with a KIDstuf launch on 1 Feb 2009 10:30am at Old Mutual.

Prepare to have you minds blown away!

I am not really sure how many of you have actually been faced with this kind of problem. Ok our Church is not hitting huge attendance numbers but I have this feeling – you know – that we are about to hit that tipping point, especially with this intermediate step we are taking to hold services in a new location. 

So I wrote a few posts and asked many questions. In the end, myself and Ron reckon that we can start off with just ProPresenter3 – a per normal. The size of the venue and the numbers don’t really motivate for a mixer, maybe there will be a call for one in the near future, but for now there are other needs that need to be budgeted for.

The only case for a mixer is our KidStuf environment – there we could send a FireWire feed for live video to be set to the Projector with/without text overlays. Maybe there is something cheaper than a mixer that could help out in that area.

I added some good replies as comments that I received via email in response to the question of using an Edirol V8 for IMAG and source switching. There is good advise there.

http://www.condron.us/  - testing

After much discussion with justPlainRon, we can upon a few more practical solutions.

The current situation is that we have

• One PAL DV Camera.
• ProPresenter3 site licence
• Projector
• LCD TV for Creche Area
• Potential other LCDs

Below are two other options. The second can forgo the use of a Video Mixer/Switcher and therefore safe money – especially because we have only one camera at the moment (a second can make use of a simple RCA switch)

Option 1

Option 2

• Main Screen: Projector Screen
• Baby: Creche LCD TV
• PP: ProPresenter3
• PvP: Pro Video Player
• Video Source: Camera/s
• Chroma Key: a dedicated hardware keyer like DataVideo’s DVK100MkII
• Mixer: Video Mixer like Edirol’s V8

The only problem with option 2 is that we will need 2 operators for the PP Macs. But then we can provide a set of slides that are formated and sized for lower thirds to place the text over the live footage for the Creche TV.

We have been looking into a very much needed video mixer and have such 

looked at the Edirol v8 as an option. The v8 has a diverse number of 
input options and has the ability to key using luma and chromatic 
operators. 

How ever I am not sure that is will satisfy all our needs. 

There is also the option to use Pro Video Player together with the 
Video Mixer, actually an interesting option. 

The idea is to be able to use the mixer in the follow ways: 

Main Service 

Switch between the video camera and computer feeds for the creche TV 
while the computer feed remains static for the projector. The option 
is also to key the slides over the video feed for the Ceche TV, maybe 
even a lower 3rd set of slides for this. An extension of this is the 
way NPCC use the slides superimposed over Andy on the side screens. 

KidStuf and Transformers 

The same as Main Service except that we can use the option to super 
impose the slide of over the dancers/singers or just offer the video 
feed to the big screen. The use and switching between a second camera 
is ideal for these environments. 

check out 

• http://worshipvj.com/ 
• http://www.renewedvision.com/pvp.php?page=tour 
• http://www.edirol.com/
• http://www.edirol.com/index.php/en/products-mainmenu-421/video-mixing-mainmenu-386/v-8

Problem is that I do not think or at least confirm that the V8 can output two different signals. More investigation is needed.

Any Ideas?

This is purely an academic post. No one has come to me an said; “Phill, you have this bucket of moola for video”. But I do have a bit of input to what will ultimately be a need – to set out a budget for the Big Move to the New Location. This will obviously be aimed straight at video needs brought out from the new location.

Video Mixer

For a long time I have been motivating this. Initially with the intent to improve the Creche environment  - currently we film any content displayed on the projector screen to be displayed on the Creche LCD TV. It is a terrible setup but it does the job. The new location has more LCD options and therefore greater potential for a Video mixer. Sending content to the projector  and the LCD TVs as well as switching to live footage with keyed verses for the LCDs will be way more professional. The option to use the projector for live footage with always be there but at the moment there is no real need as the environment is not that big.

But Environment like KIDStuf and UpStreet with definitely benefit from live footage, especially for close ups and the Singing sections. And once a new camera comes on board it will be even more fantastic.

There will obviously be the requirement for volunteers to operate the mixer, with a steep learning curve and responsibility. But once up and running it will be awesome.

I have been looking at the Edirol V8 because of the great variety on input and output options. It also has luma and chroma keying capabilities.

Mac Pro

Equal with the need for a new camera is the need for a better computer. One can never under state the need for a good editing setup. At the moment we double up the current Editing MacBook Pro as a Video and Slide presenter using Pro Presenter. Which becomes a problem because one can never really say that you are done editing your 4-5 hrs for the week as a volunteer. More like, yeah pick it up midnight tonight after the render – I hope.

Also one can never have enough processing power, RAM and storage. If there was a 10GHz 16Core mac Pro with 128 GB RAM – I would need it. As the hardware improves so does the software and artist’s abilities (as do the layers/nodes in the composition, hehehe). I just know I can do so much more with a Mac Pro, do it faster and do it more professionally. With the new Mac Pro’s I would start doing more 3D in Motion that is for sure.

A new Mac Pro would also free up the Macbook Pro for a new volunteer to share the workload – that would be a huge plus. Not many Churches does have the budget for Mac Pros and volunteer video editors/compositors  don’t always signup with a Mac pro under the arm.

Camera
As much as I want to shout out “RED One! RED One! RED One! RED One!” I do have to keep reason within reach. The RED One is just perfect and RED’s new EPIC is even way more better. But I could never motivate it’s cost to the leadership team. Well I could also not put anything past God.

Anyway Practicality must prevail (unless there is divine intervention) and I reckon a Panasonic HVX200A will suit our needs. And will also require a beefy Mac Pro and storage solution to work with (but not as much as RED One’s 4K footage).

The only problem is how this will integrate with the Video Mixer with is DV and my Camera which is also DV (Panasonic DVX100BE).

Software

With more computers for more volunteers there will have to be more licenses. Currently I am the only license holder for editing Software of any worth: Final Cut Studio 2, Shake 4.1 and PhotoShop CS2. There will have to be at least 2 more licenses for this as well as After Effects CS4.

As a Church it is imperative to adhere to the law of the land and comply to copyright. We cannot say that since we are not doing this for profit or commercial reasons so that we can download and use whatever. We must set the example. And this goes for content as well.

Wrap Up

Well there we go. My major budget items. Obviously there are other considerations  for integrating everything and making sure that everything works (storage, interfaces, screens, etc). If there was a bottomless pit of moola I would motivate for my Editor’s Wish List.

Churches like North Point Community Church and it’s Satellite campuses and partners (domestic and international) provide stunning and engaging visual effects live – on stage and on screen. And maybe the world can learn a few things from them (I certainly can – like limiting the use of the word ‘and’ he he he)

But of course there are people that do visual effects for stage and screen for a living. Some of these guys get paid a lot of moola for their work and rightly so because they have talent and expertise to burn.

I would like to see a touch of some of this on our Church’s stage. Imagine that!!!!

Here is a post on “10 Most Innovative Concert Visuals ’08“

Stunning Visuals

Big times ahead, challenging times, exciting times.

Our Church is moving to a new venue – a more modern venue with more room and facilities (hopefully). It will not be our own place, it will be rented just like we have been renting the school hall the last while – just more expensive.

Secretly I am hoping for a name change as well but that may be just a tad too much for the poor congregation oooo. Although it would be the best time heheh.

Also I am praying that this will be our tipping point. It has been a hard slog this last year and it will continue to be hard as we find our feet in this new venue. But God is with us, and even more so with this move that will happen next month.

Sure there will be great financial challenges as well as logistical and emotional. While this seems to always be the case no matter what, especially in the current financial climate, this time is different because this time we are stepping forth in both Wisdom and Faith. I am stoked about the leadership team’s courage and perseverance in forging forth to finalize the decision.

Great stuff!

I just like the idea of using all those LCD TVs they have setup as well as putting together the promotional videos for this nice.

It’s a beautiful thing!

Keep watching this space as I keep you posted in what God is doing with both our Church and our little Video team

Should there be? Standards as in quality and relevance. Well of course! But even as I say this I remember a number of times when there have been last minute requests or just not enough time – resulting in sub standard products. And I hate that, grrrrrr, roar, hisssss.

Content creators as well as Content consumers for Church Video should be asking questions of quality and relevance, when? Alll the Tiiime. I am always challenged in both the areas of quality and relevance (challenged as in inspired to do better). But so often, mostly because of the fact that I am but one in a small team that volunteers, the content is not really good enough and even when using something done before it is not always relevant enough. hmmmm.

Can we say that God can use anything? That He uses the foolish to confound the ‘wise’. Does that condone inferior content? I don’t think so. In fact we should be creating as if creating for Jesus Himself, hmmmm.

Anyway check out this great article from Collide on just this topic.

A quick review of North Point Community Church The Missions trip to South Africa where a team of people helped Metro Kids Africa and the Kids themselves in partnership with Stellenberg Community Church. James Senior talks about the impact the trip had on everybody.

There is actually a truck load of footage and feedback from the NPCC guys that I’ll have to ship off to those interested, but this little video sums some of the work done. Pity I missed out on filming the Metro Kids Africa Leaders’ feet by the NPCC Mission team and the water slide fun they had .