Gone are the days when sound reinforcement for house of worship applications meant a few podium-mounted mics, a wireless lav and an automated mixer. Church installs have grown to the level where they incorporate high-ticket digital desks, full band and choir miking and multiple monitor mixes routed from a dedicated monitor desk — often embarrassing club, theatre and even touring systems. Many churches have started the practice of making audio and video recordings of their services in an effort to preserve their message while simultaneously finding a new stream of revenue. Ironically, the church production environment often subsists on tight budgets, short deadlines, and technical personnel who–altruistic as they may be–are more "inexperienced volunteers" than "trained technicians." Compounding the problem is the fact that attendees often expect a world-class production, especially when it comes to an audio or video recording of a service. It's not easy for a house of worship to fill this kind of order, and there are a multitude of pitfalls lurking alongside the path.
Training Technical Personnel
Smooth production of any sort starts with people who know the craft. Audio and video technology is advancing at a frightening rate, while technicians struggle to keep up and audiences demand higher quality. There's plenty of information available for audio and video techs, but the average church tech– typically a volunteer with an unrelated fulltime gig–may find it difficult to make time for education. Options include reading FOH (gratuitous plug) as well as other industry related publications, some aimed specifically at the house-of-worship market. Seminars such as those offered by Syn-Aud-Con (www.synaudcon. com), HOW-To Church Sound Workshops (http://www.fitsandstarts.com/seminars- church.htm) and conferences sponsored by Technologies for Worship Ministries (www. tfwm.com), The Willow Creek Association (www.willowcreek.com) or the Institutes for Professional Development held by the ICIA at Infocomm (www.infocomm.org) address topics as diverse as sound system installation, gear maintenance and manufacturer-specific training from basic to advanced levels. In addition, many equipment vendors hold training seminars regarding the gear they sell and how to use it. These resources are invaluable for bringing volunteers into the production environment.
Churches with higher aspirations are broadcasting their services or recording live services for subsequent release on CD and DVD. After all, why not perpetuate the message beyond real time? But what looks like a simple idea can be a daunting task for the uninformed. Even a live to 2-track audio recording requires careful planning and the answers to questions such as which format should be used for recording; will the recorder be fed via room mics, the house mixing console (or both); and can a full rehearsal be held before the recording date?
It may make sense to multitrack the recording and remix after the fact but multitracking raises a multitude of issues (especially in an "uncontrolled" environment). Is the proper equipment available to do the job? Are there sources of outside noise that could potentially damage a take? Is there a quiet room in which the recording engineer can monitor? How will the microphones be split between house, monitor and recording consoles? Is there enough electrical service to support the additional gear? Can one person deal with the recording while the FOH engineer mixes for the house? How will isolation of various instruments be handled? Perhaps most important: can the time and effort required to make a quality multitrack recording be justified by the end result?
Common mistakes include placing the drums behind the choir where they leak into the choir mics. Stage monitor levels must be kept to a minimum to prevent instrument leakage into the vocal mics, yet must be sufficient for vocalists to do their job effectively. It may be wise to avoid wireless mics during the recording process, where the slightest interference can ruin a recording. If you're going to remix, make sure that the remix studio can handle the format on which the service was recorded.
Things get really complicated when video is added to the equation. If a service is important enough to archive on video, then the quality of accompanying audio must be high. A DVD recording of a service can be a great fundraiser, but to keep the viewer interested, multiple cameras are a necessity. If the viewer is forced to watch the recording from the same angle for the duration a snooze is guaranteed. How many cameras will be used and where will these cameras be located? Is there space for a tripod in these locations? Will they physically interrupt the 'flow' of the service? Do you have the proper cables in the necessary lengths?
A two- or three-camera shoot has to be edited, whether on-the-fly or in post, so it probably makes sense to use three identical cameras that are either recording to a common format (e.g. DV) or edited on-the-fly during the performance. The latter process will require a video switcher that should have (at the very least) two monitors: a "program" and a "preview." The program monitor shows the signal being fed to the switcher's output, while the preview monitor shows the signal in cue. Someone will need to direct the camera operators; since audible dialogue will ruin the audio part of the recording and disrupt the service, communication headsets are a must. The output of the switcher will be recorded, so a format must be chosen–again with regard for what gear may be available in the post process.
Recording simultaneously to digital audio and video formats can complicate matters significantly, adding the wild card we fondly refer to as "word sync." All devices in the recording chain must follow a single source of timing synchronization. If they do not, then there's no guarantee that they will synchronize on playback. In bare bones situations it may be as simple as connecting a cable from the video sync output of a video recorder to the video sync input of an audio recorder, but word clock issues escalate geometrically. Add a third or fourth device and it becomes necessary to have a source of "house sync" routed to each device. Daisy-chaining is not an option because the sync signal deteriorates when passed through a device. The sync generator must have multiple outputs that can be 'home-run' to each device, adding sync cable to the audio and video lines which must be routed safely and unobtrusively through the house.
Unfortunately, you won't find the answers to all of these questions in one place, and we haven't even mentioned the issue of backup. The point here is to raise awareness of what's involved in audio and video production for a worship-related recording. What looks like a simple process at the outset becomes very involved as demands and aspirations increase. It's our job to recognize the need for qualified personnel and find a method of providing them with the proper education and tools.
Steve La Cerra is the Tour Manager and Front of House engineer for Blue Oyster Cult. He's trying to figure out how to be in two locations simultaneously and can be reached via e-mail at woody@fohonline.com.
