Video Production at NCC
I wrote this up for a handout that I gave out a conference this past week so I thought I would share it here. Here is a quick and dirty look at our video setup here at NCC. Definately leaving out a lot of details but this covers the basics. Let me know if you have any questions.
For the capturing of our Saturday service message we are using a Canon XL H1 camera, which is mounted on the ceiling. The mounting does involve an adjustment option so we can modify the camera height for different speakers. The XL H1 may also be adjusted using Canon Console, which is Windows-based software that allows you to control the functions of the camera remotely via Firewire. The XL H1 camera has a HD-SDI output that delivers an uncompressed HD signal.
The video from the XL H1 is captured via a Mac Pro with a Blackmagic Design Decklink Extreme HD Capture Card. We capture live into Final Cut Pro using the DVCPRO HD codec. The audio send is sent to a separate sound board, mixed down and recorded to the video track via the XLR inputs on the Decklink cards.
After editing, the final file is exported and transferred to multiple hard drives (RAID0 and eSata) that go to each of our locations for Sunday morning services. We are using ProPresenter for presentation of all media. The software allows for easy point-and-click operation of all media elements, which are played from the external hard drive.
Each location has Mac G5 or Mac Pro equipped with Blackmagic Decklink HD Extreme cards. These cards have a component output that we connect to our projectors. The machines are all rack mounted in individual carts that allow for easy portability, set up, and tear down. Our projectors are Panasonic PT-D7700U (7,000 Lumen 1400×1050)
For all of our off-site videos we use two Panasonic AGHVX-200 cameras which record to Firestore FS-100 external hard drives or P2 cards, which allows us to avoid the use of tapes.
Technorati Tags: HD, DVCPRO HD, Canon XL H1, Panasonic, HVX-200, Blackmagic Design
Dave,
What do you use for long term storage/archive and back up?
Thanks for the info…
Hey Louis,
We have a 4TB HDPro from CalDigit. It is what we use for system scratch and immediate storage. Once that fills up and files become older and less frequently accessed and used, I make duplicate hard drive copies and back up 1TB of data at a time. http://www.caldigit.com/HDPro.asp
I purchase 1TB internal hard drives and mount them to my machine with a dock. Much like this one. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817392022 I connect to the dock via eSata and fill up two hard drives with the exact same data and then store them in two separate places. Hard drives are so cheap that this seemed like the most affordable solution for us for now.
Hi,
Do you edit in the audio from the sound desk? Considering that, with the camera mounted on the ceiling, that it is not possible to adjust the input levels in the camera.
Are you outputting HD SDI to Blackmagic? Although it is Video only – so it would answer the previous question.
Phill
Hey Phill,
Yeah, we capture audio via the XLR inputs on that same Decklink Extreme card.
So the stereo audio is sent out of the FOH mixer in the performance space at Ebenezers Coffee House and patched into a small 8 channel mixer which sits near the MacPro. Then the stereo mains out of the 8 channel mixer are sent into the Decklink card and captured along with the video in Final Cut.
So were not actually recording any audio at all from the camera. But, to answer your second question we are coming out of the Canon XL H1 via HD SDI and capturing into the Decklink Card.
Thanks!
Dave
Hey man, thanks, this really is useful stuff!
Our church recently went multi-site and we’re going from XL H1 (in SD for now, as our projectors are SD) to a firestore hard drive (video and audio, as raw DV) to edit in FCP on a Mac Pro and presenting on a Dell Laptop via Mediashout.
So far the jump from editing on the Mac to presenting on the PC in MS has not worked well (we’re getting way worse video quality than the equipment is capable of, and the only file type FCP outputs that I can get MS to play reliably is MPEG-2s, and even high quality ones appear pixellated). Probably would have been a good idea to both edit and present on the same platform? The same footage output as a Quicktime looks great played on the Mac Pro. I’d love to hear any thoughts if it is apparent where we might be going wrong!
-Kevin
Hey Kevin,
Yeah I would try and find a file format and codec that will work in Media Shout. Mpeg-2 is not very nice. I would try to install some codecs on that Dell for h.264.
I did a quick Google search for media shout and found this http://www.mediashout.com/download/InstallingCodecs.pdf. Perhaps you can download the K-lite Mega Codec pack from here (http://codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Mega_Codec_Pack.htm) then you can get them working in Media Shout.
If it was me I would look at doing something like MP4 with h.264 video and AAC audio. h.264 does take a decent processor but as long as your dell laptop can hack it, it will give you a great image.
Feel free to call me sometime if you want me to help over the phone.
Thanks,
Dave
Hey, thanks for the help. Maybe it is my particular Dell, but even after installing the codecs for h.264, MediaShout crashes upon browsing to the file. I do think that is the best way to go, so I’ll keep experimenting! I may take you up on your offer for more help– Thanks again!