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Mosaic’s first services were held in a Hollywood nightclub and incorporated hip-hop dance forms into worship. That, and other moves the church has made, have proven to resonate with the young, single and entertainment-savvy LA community.
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"Mosaic’s recent technology upgrade is a complete end-to-end 4K video environment for video production and filmmaking." John Delmont, Technical Sales and Project Manager, VMI Inc., Garden Grove, CA.
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Mosaic is no longer looking for a bigger building; it's looking for new mediums, like 4K video. "We were ready to take on the challenge (even if it was somewhat undefined) to take the church into the future," says Executive Pastor Lawrence Fudge.
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To lend a more cinematic look, Mosaic added two Sony CineAlta model PMWF55 4K Super 35mm Digital Cinema Camera Systems with 16-Bit raw recording and global shutter features. The F55 cameras are tripod mounted close to the stage, but can also be shoulder mounted for location use or coverage on stage.
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"We met with several vendors for cameras, tried some third-party switching solutions, and even talked about just doing a cutting-edge HD system," says John Delmont, Technical Sales and Project Manager, VMI Inc., "but ultimately the church decided on Sony 4K."
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New technology may be particularly important to Mosaic's LA community, as some 70% of its 3,500 worshippers each week range in age from 20 to 34 and are single.
Founded in 1994 by Pastor Erwin McManus, an author, futurist, filmmaker, and designer, worship at Mosaic reflects the remarkable diversity and creativity of the Los Angeles communities it services. The church’s perennial growth speaks to the success of its creative worship style and, outside of LA, churches worldwide have taken notice of the leadership role the church has taken in integrating the arts and worship. Most recently, the church is breaking new ground with a commitment to 4K video at their 700-seat facility in Hollywood. By adding full 4K video workflow to its technology resources, the creative team at Mosaic seeks to develop and distribute its creative content well beyond their LA community. “4K clearly gives us more creative freedom,” says filmmaker and long-time volunteer, Adam Genzink, “but, ultimately, the ability to reach more people in a broad but intimate way.”
Editor's Note: Join us at a Church Production LIVE! Showcase event Nov. 1-2, 2016 at Mosaic, Hollywood, Calif. For more information on this and other Church Production LIVE! events, visit (visit link)
A Culture of New Technology
“When Mosaic first held services in a Hollywood nightclub and incorporated hip-hop dance forms into worship, many called those things crazy,” says Genzink. That, and other moves the church has made, has proven to resonate with young, single and entertainment-savvy LA community. “We use multimedia in a true sense,” he adds, “where services can include digital projection, original music, the spoken word and dance—all as part of the worship experience.”
Genzink has taken the role of broadcast systems installation project manager at Mosaic and is well-suited to meet the challenges of the church’s move to 4K video. He studied filmmaking and cinematography, logging close to fifteen years of film production experience. In addition, he was successful as a church technical director before moving to LA. After discovering Mosaic, Genzink started volunteering as stage manager and then worked with the church’s multi-camera setup before using his production skills to help to move the church in the direction of 4K production. “We have to look at how to create community over the Internet,” he says, “and we must be relevant.”
Relevance and creativity are central to Mosaic’s operation and the entertainment industry’s dedication to the new 4K format resonates with the church’s tech-savvy volunteers, as well as church leaders like Executive Pastor Lawrence Fudge. “Our church,” says Fudge, “places high value on creativity. Mosaic has an anthropology that views every person as being creative.” In terms of technology, Fudge sees the church’s commitment to new technology as being not only necessary, but a clear responsibility.
New technology may be particularly important to Mosaic’s LA community as some 70% of Mosaic’s 3,500 worshippers each week range in age from 20 to 34 and are single. Fudge has observed that the church’s body of worshipers closely mirrors Hollywood's demographic where as many as 15%-20% are likely to move out annually. In looking for avenues to access people, and the LA population in particular, Fudge points out that the challenge put to church’s is no longer about finding bigger buildings. Rather, he says it’s about finding new mediums, like 4K video. “We were ready to take on the challenge (even if it was somewhat undefined) to take the church into the future.”
4K Video Quest
For many years, Mosaic didn’t own any property at all, opting instead for a broad footprint covering the LA area with contemporary worship services offered at multiple rented locations in nearby Pasadena and Beverly Hills, as well as downtown LA. For the past five years, the church has made a home in the heart of Hollywood at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea Avenue. The building features a 700-seat sanctuary with professional lighting and sound, but perhaps the most outstanding feature of the church’s recent technology upgrades is a complete end-to-end 4K video environment for video production and filmmaking.
To help find the right vendor partners for 4K equipment, the team at Mosaic reached out to John Delmont, technical sales and project manager at VMI Inc. of Garden Grove, Calif. Delmont recalls the team investigating 4K technology and meeting with several vendors. “We met with several vendors for cameras, tried some third-party switching solutions, and even talked about just doing a cutting-edge HD system,” says Delmont, “but ultimately the church decided on Sony 4K.” Two key factors that Delmont cites for the decision were Sony’s ability to handle 4K end-to-end and the company’s tradition of solid support practices. “The team reviewed footage from other vendors,” Delmont recalls. “The team agreed that Sony clearly looked the best. Plus, they had all the pieces: camera, switcher and server. Sony engineers also did a great job of demo’ing their system, spending a lot of time with the team.”
Craig Harper, national manager of Sony’s Professional Solutions of Americas (PSA) Faith group, notes that Mosaic’s experience in exploring 4K technology is precisely the reason the company maintains its Digital Motion Picture Center (DMPC) at the Sony Pictures Lot in Culver City, Calif. As an industry resource for learning about 4K production tools and workflows, the facility and the equipment are available for use by interested cinema and broadcast professionals who want to investigate the benefits of working in 4K. “The DMPC is another way that Sony is showing leadership in 4K,” says Harper. “We bring customers into a working studio to show end-to-end workflow and that we’re not struggling to make it work. Because we are Sony, we don’t have just technology, we have the science behind it.”
The VMI team, including technicians Bob Bolling and Steve Williams, worked closely with Sony engineers to install a Sony 4K video system with four cameras, a full 4K switcher and live server. Cameras include two 4K UHD CMOS model HDC4300L Studio Companion Portable Camera Systems equipped with Sony’s HDVFEL75 seven-inch OLED viewfinders and BPU4000/S baseband processor units. The 4300 cameras were installed in fixed locations about 80 feet from the stage, outfitted with Fujinon model UA22x8BERD 4K UHDTV 2/3-inch telephoto lens with 22x zoom and 2x Extenders.
To add a more cinematic look, the video build out also called for two Sony CineAlta model PMWF55 4K Super 35mm Digital Cinema Camera Systems with 16-Bit raw recording and global shutter features. Each unit is equipped with a CA4000 4K Live Fiber Adaptor and BPU4000/S Baseband Processor Unit along with Sony’s HDVFEL75 seven-inch OLED viewfinder. F55 cameras are outfitted with Fujinon (ZK4.7x19SAFB) 19-90mm and (ZK12x25SAF) 25-300mm Cabrio Compact Cinema Zoom Lens. The global shutter feature is designed to eliminate spatial distortion thereby avoiding the risk of “rolling exposure” and contributes to the camera’s increased signal-to-noise ratio and faster frame rates. The F55 cameras will be tripod mounted close to the stage, but can also be shoulder mounted for location use or coverage on stage.
Harper reminds churches looking into 4K technology that the company provides multiple paths to 4K. Both 4300 series and F55 cameras deployed at Mosaic have a software option to work in 1080p only. “With that option,” Harper notes, “you don’t pay for the 4K until you need it. With the licensing option to turn 4K optics on or off, churches can ‘walk’ in HD before ‘running’ in 4K .”
To support the new 4K video system, the team installed Sony’s latest generation XVS-8000 multi-format switcher. A powerful switcher for IP Live and 4K or HD production operations, it allows the church to realize a powerful mixed environment with SDI and IP. A flexible ICP-X7000 X-Panel with an assignable modular design allowed Mosaic to configure the control panel to suit their specific operation. The XVS-8000 10U switcher chassis houses three XKSS8110 16-SDI input connector boards and four XKSS8165 16-SDI output boards with 4K upgrade software and is supported with an outboard 32-button remote panel.
The team configured and installed Sony’s PWS4500 live server with 4K and HD cutout ability to store files and facilitate production. Cutout software provides the capability to cut a full HD image out from up to three recorded 4K sources. Fast system networking is accomplished with a Netgear ProSafe M4100 24-Port Gigabit switch.
Displays for video include a Sony BVMX300 30-inch 4K OLED master monitor, two 55-inch Pro Bravia model FWD55X850C Professional 4K Ultra HD displays, three 65-inch Pro Bravia model FWD65X850C Professional 4K Ultra HD displays, and two Sony model FWD48W600B 48-inch LCD Full HD displays.
Delmont notes an additional challenge from the church was to make the video system portable. “It’s in the DNA of this church to be able to move,” he says. “With multiple BNC cables currently required to support Sony 4K, we had to give careful consideration to cabling, mounting and racking video equipment so it could be relocated easily or used on location.”
Flexible Support for Sound
The entire FOH system in Mosaic’s Hollywood facility was replaced to meet the audio requirements of contemporary worship, as well as to provide flexibility for future needs. Professional audio engineer and volunteer Matt Grabe helped the church audition several speaker systems before deciding on Danley Sound Labs (DSL) components. “Danley provided the high-quality/high-SPL point-source system with sharp pattern control that was needed for the room,” says Grabe. He and Joel Moak, western regional sales manager at DSL, designed a dual mono system that covered every seat while retaining a well-defined audio image. For Sunday services at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and a mid-week 7 p.m. service on Wednesday, the system must support a typical band set up with drums, bass and vocals, as well as guest performers.
As mains, two Danley SH96-HO loud speakers were centrally located and splayed outwards. The SH96-HO is a three-way loudspeaker design housing 4-inch by 15-inch low-frequency drivers, 6-inch by 4-inch mid-frequency drivers and 1-inch by 1.4-inch exit high-frequency compression driver, mounted within a 45-inch by 25-inch horn. In addition, two Danley SH64 loudspeakers, designed for narrow coverage, are employed at the sides to handle the remainder of the room. Low frequencies are covered by two compact Danley model TH118 subwoofers flown downstage center. Power and system status is provided via two Danley 20K4 Pro amplifiers. Each amplifier provides four channels of Class D amplification for 20,000 watts RMS of total output along with digital signal processing and Ethernet network software for system operation and monitoring.
Grabe was also charged with choosing a mixing console to meet the diverse performance requirements at Mosaic. “We needed a highly flexible console that still maintained a straightforward workflow for volunteers,” he recalls. “The Soundcraft Vi7000 with a UAD RealTime Ultimate rack met that criteria with exceptional sound.” An additional Dante card in the Vi7000 allows for virtual playback and multi-tracking abilities to the console.
For performance, all existing in-ear monitors and handhelds were replaced with Sennheiser's 2000 series units and hand-held transmitters fitted with MMK965 and MMD945 capsules. All the pastors use DPA d:fine omni headset mics that feed Sennheiser SK 2000 bodypacks.
Lighting Design for Mood
Luke Maxcy consults on lighting for Mosaic and contributed to the lighting system design and installation. Designed to support a wide variety of performance and worship activities and with an emphasis on high color output to generate moods for the church’s productions, system design integrated existing lighting with new LED fixtures. In addition to 24 ETC Source4 Ellipsoidals, Maxcy helped to install eight High End SolaSpot Pro 1500 fixtures that can output 20,000 lumens with a 400-watt LED engine. Lighting effects are created with four High End Shapeshifter C1 units, four Clay Paky A.leda B Eye K10 and seven K20 units along with eight Elation Rayzor Q7s. Color. Additional color fill is provided by six ETC Selador D60 Vivid LED fixtures, two Martin Atomic 3000 LED units, 18 Custom RGB LED Poles, and an MDG ATMe Hazer.
Lighting control is handled with ETC Ion 3000 console, ETC Sensor+ 48 channel touring rack and an ETC Paradigm 24-channel dimmer rack. The friendly and familiar layout of the 3000 console along with its compact design made it an ideal fit for the Mosaic volunteers, while its advanced features provide for future growth.
For projection display, the church installed a Christie HD10K-M 11,000 lumens Roadster projector. The compact Christie unit features True HD native resolution (1,920 x 1,080) with a variable contrast ratio of 2,500:1-10,000:1. The projector supports two high-definition input channels along with multi-windowing and screen processing features. Christie’s mapping software and a specific ProPresenter configuration are used to map projected images to the atypical shape of the church’s pre-existing 3:1 screen.
Leading Church Technology
“With 4K there is an understanding of building for the future,” reports Fudge, “and we see it as part of our stewardship to the greater body of the church to be leaders.” Fudge admits that he and his team didn’t expect advancing 4K video for the church to be a simple project. “Certainly, 4K has presented us with many challenges,” he says. “That’s the reality, but it’s worth it.“
Despite the challenges, Fudge and Genzink clearly love the new technology. They also see the future in the church’s 4K project. “Filmmakers and creatives move to LA to be part of the community,” Genzink says. “My role is to pave the way for the artists and filmmakers that come after me. I can’t wait to see what they dream up—stories, films and beyond.”
Andy McDonough is a freelance writer, photographer, musician, educator and consulting engineer based in Middletown, New Jersey. Among his favorite topics are the application of technology and music in houses of worship. He welcomes email at andymcd@comcast.net.
