For some churches, manned cameras or jib cameras in the sanctuary take up too much space and can be distracting. First Baptist Church in Minden, Lousiana, is a very traditional church with an orchestra and choir and an all-volunteer tech team. “We don't want the show to be so big that it takes away from the experience of our traditional worship. We also don't want it to be so advanced that our volunteers can't handle it,” says First Baptist Minden’s Media Communications Director Kevin Stevenson.
The Cartoni Lifto 25 Motorized Elevation Column has received the Church Production Road Test Certification.
As part of Church Production’s Road Test User Experience, the church is trying out Cartoni’s Lifto 25 Motorized Elevation Column, a tripod specifically designed for PTZ cameras. It adds smooth on-air quality vertical moves for height movement to any PTZ camera’s pan, tilt, and zoom control. The built-in motorized column can motorize itself to over three feet higher than the tripod's highest adjustable stance and weighs only 26 pounds.
“One of the neatest shot angles that we got from the Lifto 25 is a discovery shot..." - Kevin Stevenson, Media Communications Director, First Baptist Church of Minden, LA
“When the Lifto 25 arrived here at the church, it was in a nice road case. We thought it was going to be heavy. It wasn't. We opened it up, took the tripod right out, very lightweight, and easy to lift. We can move it to any place we want on the stage. We can even take it over to another location on campus and use it there really quickly,” Stephenson enthuses.
The Lifto 25 has a load capacity of 55 pounds for any size PTZ camera. It doesn’t take up much room, is very quiet and Stevenson says it allows the team a lot more creativity.
“One of the neatest shot angles that we got from the Lifto 25 is a discovery shot. That's all we could think of to call it,” Stevenson explains. “So, your talent is maybe playing the piano, and as the camera rises, it reveals the congregation behind them. You're at an intimate shot and all of a sudden as you're rising above, you have a momentous shot. This gives us a very quiet, very smooth opportunity to get that angle.”
The Lifto 25 features Bluetooth control and a wired remote control. It has a quick-release plate and available accessories that allow mounting of multiple PTZ cameras at one time and a dolly for even more mobility. But best of all Stephenson concludes, it’s easy to operate.
“We are all volunteer-based, just like many churches. Every person who pushes a button on Sunday morning besides me is going to be a volunteer. So, everything we bring in, we have to make sure it's not going to be overly complicated, not too far advanced. This is a tripod. It has three mechanisms to release the legs and raise it up. It has one very simple remote control to operate, to go up and down. It just doesn't get any easier and simpler than that.”
To see the Cartoni Lifto 25 in action at First Baptist in Minden and hear more about Kevin Stephenson’s experience with the motorized tripod, watch this video.
