Current Issue

May 2012

Print Article     Email Article

  Page 1 of 4   >>

The Ins and Outs of IMAG

If folks in the back can't see the pastor's facial expressions, it might be time to put him up close and personal again.

by Jim Kumorek

"Camera one-give me an establishing shot of the stage. Two-tight on the worship leader. Four-an over-the-shoulder of the keyboard. OK-service is starting; standby one-dissolve one. Standby four-dissolve four. Standby two. One-get me the backup vocals. Take two."

And thus begins another service in the video control room of churches across the country. As churches have gotten bigger, and technology has become within reach of more church budgets, IMAG, or Image Magnification, has become quite common in many churches. But for as many churches that are doing IMAG well, there are probably as many, or more, doing it poorly.

Mark Hanna, live video director of Hope Community Church in Raleigh, N.C., states, "When IMAG is done poorly, it's a huge distraction because the main thing on the attendee's mind will be ‘Oh my gosh-that's awful!' And that obviously detracts from the service."

Why Implant IMAG in Your Church?

"'Because it's the next thing to do' is always a bad reason for doing it," Hanna points out. There needs to be a more compelling reason for IMAG than just conquering that next technological hill, or to keep up with First Megachurch of the Anointed down the street.

"A church should consider adding IMAG when the people in the back of the church cannot see facial and hand expressions clearly," states David McCauley, director of design development for Audio Ethics in Charlotte, N.C.

Hanna agrees with this assessment. "It's really about what experience the people in the middle- and back-third of the room are having during your service. Can they see the pastor well enough to stay engaged? If yes, you probably do not need IMAG. If no, then maybe it's time to start talking about it."

Let's take a look at some of the key aspects of an IMAG system.

SD or HD?

A key up-front decision is whether to go with SD (standard definition) or HD (high definition). "If you are trying to keep costs at minimum you will probably still end up with SD," suggests John Fuqua, vice president at All Pro Sound Inc. in Pensacola, Fla. "But you must look two to three years to the future when making these decisions." The trend toward HD as the accepted standard continues to drive HD costs down and this must also be considered.

Paul D. Henderson, Ph.D., principal with Design 2020 LLC in Harrisburg, N.C., adds that if you're doing a completely new installation, then it probably doesn't make sense to go with SD. "But if the church needs to reuse existing equipment for part of the IMAG ‘upgrade,' then it might make sense to operate in native SD. Any new equipment that is purchased should be capable of at least handling 720p or 1080i standards natively to pave the way for future upgrades, even if it is operated initially in SD mode."

McCauley, too, sees value in considering an SD installation. "If you get a great deal on older SD studio cameras and lenses then, definitely. I would just format the image or scale it to have a 16:9 aspect ratio."

  Page 1 of 4   next page >>

Jim Kumorek is the owner of Spreading Flames Media, providing video/media production and writing services to the A/V/L, technology, architectural and hospitality industries. He has led audio, video and lighting teams in churches as both staff and a volunteer for over 10 years. He can be contacted at james@spreadingflamesmedia.com.