Saturday evening are our first service out of the three we will be working. We would show up at 4 pm for a rehearsal. During this, we would run through our call sheet. Dividing each church service segment, these schedules are down to the minute; the services run like a well-oiled machine with plenty of fall-back plans. The switcher and video director set up the cameras before rehearsal starts for the camera operators. Rehearsal starts, and they do a run-through. Communication about audio, video, and lighting occurs from the production director, who is in a different booth for live sound. After rehearsing and checks are done, the 5 pm broadcast begins for about 10-15 minutes with preroll and other graphics waiting for the service to start with two to three worship songs. We went through the service, and tear down began 10-15 mins after service. I was tasked with the standard operation procedures as the switcher, turning cameras off and turning off the projectors and TVs inside the broadcast booth.
Sunday morning, rehearsal and preproduction call time is 7:30 a.m. We have two services: 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. The busy mornings are hectic and always filled with technical issues that we must solve quickly and efficiently. Everyone has a role to get in, set up, and run through rehearsal and preproduction. Promptly, we say a quick prayer and start the service.
Production:
I worked primarily in the switcher role. I was in the middle of training as a video director who manages the switcher, shader, and ProPresenter and talks to the sound director and lighting.
As a switcher, my responsibilities were diverse and demanding. I listened to the video director, switched cameras appropriately, and recorded the services via the Blackmagic Hyperdeck. We would have an Elgato Stream deck next to the switchboard connected to the PC next to it for quick and fast macros to “Begin Service” and “End Service”.
I was assigned to be a camera operator for a one-weekend service, so I got to be in the “hot seat” for once and get directions from the video director. Working an ENG camera challenged my skills, and I gained.
Here is a call sheet for running down a normal service for Saturday & Sunday services.
My hand written notes from the video director at the rehearsal can be seen here
I worked primarily in the switcher role. I was in the middle of training as a video director who manages the switcher, shader, and ProPresenter and talks to the sound director and lighting.
As a switcher, my responsibilities were diverse and demanding. I listened to the video director, switched cameras appropriately, and recorded the services via the Blackmagic Hyperdeck. We would have an Elgato Stream deck next to the switchboard connected to the PC next to it for quick and fast macros to “Begin Service” and “End Service”.
In the morning, I would turn on the cameras, calibrate them, make adjustments, and ensure communication headsets were functioning. I would run through the projector procedure to turn them on and check latency. We would broadcast to the other booth for the live-stream setup. That would get a direct feed from the primary program monitor and feed that into a simulcast software similar to ReStream.io or Stream Labs. We use a downstream key (DSK) for our graphics and images on the screen, and the ProPresenter controls the graphics and pictures that the pastor or worship leader needs during the broadcast. These tasks required high technical proficiency and the ability to multitask effectively.
I was camera operating Camera A