When "Just Good Enough" Isn’t Enough

“It’s not good enough to point a camera at a pastor and put it on a screen. We wanted to produce content that would live on well outside the room; to be useful online or as part of a video archive we can draw upon in the future,” says Nathaniel Eldridge, Live Video Director, Northside Christian Church

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The recent move to broadcast quality HD video has taken popular Sunday worship at Northside Christian Church in New Albany, IN, to a new level. But thanks to the vision of Production Director Chris McDonald and Live Video Director Nathaniel Eldridge who worked to upgrade the aging SD video system with professional Hitachi HD cameras and Fujinon lenses, the efforts of Northside Christian Church’s technical teams will live on into the future.

Building a Video Ecosystem

“The move from SD to HD video was clearly overdue and had been on our radar well before the Covid pandemic,” recalls McDonald. As logical first steps, he and Eldridge had made updates to the video infrastructure along with other improvements to Northside Christian Church’s 2,000-seat main auditorium before taking on the challenge of recommending what would replace the three main cameras there. The inevitable shift to more online services and post-production as the result of the Covid pandemic had made the duo keenly aware of how HD-quality video was appearing around them. Some of it was being produced by other teams at the church. “We felt it daily,” said McDonald. “What we were producing at worship looked okay, but could be so much more.”

"...our work now has the quality that can go into any channel anywhere and look great.” - Production Director, Chris McDonald, Northside Christian Church

The team began to see that the goal to improve video technology in the worship space was just the beginning. “It’s not good enough to point a camera at a pastor and put it on a screen,” notes Eldridge, “production is about so much more–focus, framing, composition–and it’s not just for the moment. We wanted to produce content that would live on well outside the room; to be useful online or as part of a video archive we can draw upon in the future.”

To that end, McDonald and Eldridge began experimenting with different cameras and looks for worship video, including DSLR and cinematic options, to see how each would compare with traditional broadcast gear. “Our Communications Team contributes their creative skills with storytelling, social media, photography, and video, shooting in familiar spaces around the building exterior and in the lobby,” observes Eldridge. “Our content from worship needs to live next to what they and others are producing. So, we started thinking about video at a higher level–as an ecosystem.” With that broad perspective, the goal for HD video in the main worship space expanded to find a camera system that could capture moments of worship with broadcast quality, as well as be complementary to the often more cinematic look of other content.

Landing on Hitachi

McDonald and Eldridge evaluated three different manufacturers and compared the results. Their comparisons included how well each system could be leveraged to produce broadcast-quality productions in the main worship space and its ease of use for volunteer staff, but also how the product would hold up against the more cinematic look of output from other sources. “A few things pointed to Hitachi as the best choice for us,” recalls McDonald. “Their engineering responded to our questions immediately and were on point each time and, of course, we were both familiar with the great look produced by Hitachi cameras and how well they mate with high-quality Fujinon lens options. As we got closer to the numbers, it became obvious that Hitachi was the best option.” According to McDonald, none of the other manufacturers could match the combination of quality and value that Hitachi offered.

The goal for HD video in the main worship space expanded to find a camera system that could capture moments of worship with broadcast quality, as well as be complementary to the often more cinematic look of other content.

To help them on the mission to upgrade the camera system and infrastructure, Northside Christian Church turned to the highly respected video engineers and designers at Clark of Alpharetta, GA. Clark’s project manager, Tysen Bowling worked with the church to coordinate deliveries from the manufacturer, installation, commissioning, and on-site training of the new Hitachi system. “The challenge was to complete the upgrade without missing a service,” recalls Bowling. “That dictated that we coordinate installation work around the church’s busy weekly schedule.” Adding to the challenge, work was to be completed in time for the major Easter services and programs, allowing little margin for error.

The new video system design centered around three Hitachi SK-HD1800U-ST2 HDTV 1080p cameras that Clark technicians installed in the main worship auditorium. Each included a camera head, tripod adapter, VF-PBM307 viewfinder, AT-500 mount, CU-HD1300FU CCU, and CA-HF1300 fiber optic head adapter. RU-1000VR remote control units were replaced with RU-1500JY controls that offer high-performance touchscreen remote operation via a 3.5" LCD touchscreen panel, rotary encoders, and custom switches that can be programmed for each position’s workflow.

At the key center position, an SK-HD1800 was outfitted with a Fujinon XA55x9.5 lens bundle. This exceptional bayonet EFP box lens offers video producers a high 55x zoom range that can extend from normal to super-telephoto focal lengths to achieve tighter framing and separation on distant subjects. A Cartoni Sport 200/Master 65 SPORT 200 tripod, with a Master 65 head provides a stable base and smooth control at the key center camera location.

“The Fujinon XA55x9.5 is a beautiful lens,” says Eldridge, whose video team had struggled with the lensing from the original install. “With the 55x lens we can get a clean, tight shot of the pastor at 65 feet out. It’s remarkable, and has changed the way we think about our camera positions and shooting in general.”

Two additional SK-HD1800s were installed at left and right positions equipped with Fujinon HA25X11.5BERD-S18 lens bundles. These lenses are well-known in the industry for their ability to beautifully resolve images for high-definition acquisition and their wide array of extra features such as QuickZoom that makes it easy to verify focus with instant telephoto zoom capability. Cartoni Focus 22 tripod systems provide support at the left and right camera positions.

To support HD capture with the new Hitachi camera system, Clark’s technicians installed a Ross Video ULTRIX-FR5 video routing platform along with two AV-iQ AV-D232E2-AMN75-BZ Mini Video Patchbay Panels mounted in a Middle Atlantic MRK4436 19x33x77" 44-space equipment rack.

Commissioning the System

Clark called upon their Chief Technology Architect, Bob Baker to commission the system. With over 35 years in the broadcast industry, Baker was the ideal person to provide final adjustments to the new system and training.

A key area of concern for Baker at any professional installation is the shading of cameras so that cutting from one camera to another looks natural. “Properly shading a system can show you just how good it can look,” he says, “even where there are changes in lighting levels, LED walls, and projections; all of which you find in a worship situation.” According to Baker, even if worship centers don’t have someone shading cameras at every event, having an initially good set-up and the tools to analyze and adjust the system can set up church teams for professional production quality.

Clark installed a Leader LV5600 Waveform Monitor bundle with a Flanders Scientific AM210 21.5" 1920 x 1080 LCD monitor as the centerpiece for shading operations. “It’s the type of gear you would see on a professional broadcast truck,” notes Baker. “It offers technicians a lot of flexibility and is a very good fit in HD situations for matching and aligning cameras. It’s really about having the right tools to do the job.”

Additional equipment installed to support shading included a Blackmagic Design BMD-VHUBSMTCS6G1212 Smart Videohub CleanSwitch with a BMD-VHUB/WSC/PRO Videohub Smart Control Pro, and a custom 8-Port SMPTE 304/311 patch panel. The Smart Control Pro is a compact control panel with 48 customizable buttons to allow for switching video sources using fast, direct “cut-bus” style routing.

McDonald and Eldrige are pleased with the new Hitachi HD video system, as are church leadership and the congregation. “Bob Baker and the team from Clark did a great job for us,” says McDonald. “It was important to get this upgrade right for lots of reasons, not least of which was for our teams and to realize the enormous ROI for the work they do. With Hitachi cameras and Fujinon lenses, our work now has the quality that can go into any channel anywhere and look great.”