Video Recording Requirements

Equipment. There is likely to be a large initial capital investment, ongoing maintenance costs, and duplication costs. In the longer term, upgrades will be required at some stage - something which needs to be budgeted for. The existing sound recording system may be inadequate for producing a good recording mix of the whole service. This will need to be addressed (although a side effect of this is likely to be the capacity to produce much higher quality audio recordings of services).

Installation. A considerable amount of work is required in most buildings to have a useful system which is installed without visible cabling. Both video and power cabling is required, and to provide maximum flexibility, video points are needed at multiple locations - not just one or two main camera locations.

Operators. At a very simple level, one person may be able to do everything for an entire service, however, realistically there will be a regular need for a Vision Mixer and a Camera Operator. The introduction of video also places more demands on the sound engineer, and may ultimately mean there is a need for a separate Recording Engineer as well as a P.A. Engineer.

Location. A basic system may have one operated camera, and one fixed position static or remote control camera. The operated camera will obviously have an operator, who, with the camera and tripod, causes an obstruction and disturbance to nearby worshippers. The vision control equipment and recording system need a home, and again, there is an operator to consider. In some churches, there may be room at the P.A. desk to locate the vision mixer there, particularly if the Video Projector operator works from there. (Ideally the Vision Mixer and Projection Operator should be located together). It is however worth considering placing them out of the main church building altogether.

Training. Training is perhaps not a wide enough term - "education" may be more applicable. Video changes the way things are done. Vision Mixers and Camera Operators need to be trained to use their equipment properly, and to do so with sensitivity - good video production is more about technique than technology. But others who are not as directly involved need to "think video". At a most basic level, this means that when something is to be seen, you "show it to the camera". This applies to people doing a children's address, a book review, a baptism, or anything else where something needs to be seen. In some instances, special services will need to be planned with video production in mind, both to ensure that those watching at home have something worth seeing, and to ensure that those in the church are assisted in their worship rather than distracted.

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