PROJECTS
Simplicity in motion Grace Church has turned to MRMC for a cost-effective solution to capture its services IT’S A FAMILIAR STORY – A group of like-minded people come together to create a Bible group and, several years later, the gathering has grown into a following of thousands. One such example is Grace Church, whose origins date back to 1970 when Senior Pastor Ron Tucker started a worship group in his parents’ home. Just 10 years later, the church had expanded its numbers enough to buy a modest building and nine acres of land, preparing the way for the construction of its present building and the purchase of adjoining land. Today, the HOW occupies two campuses – one in Maryland Heights, Missouri, and the second near Granite City, Illinois. With eight different camera positions in its 3,200-seat Maryland Heights sanctuary, Grace Church wanted to have better control of the equipment so that it would be possible for a single operator to create smooth and natural-looking content for its recordings. “I’d become familiar with MRMC [Mark Roberts Motion Control] products through marketing and tradeshows and reached out to investigate options to replace our ageing system,” explains Ron Krause, technical director at Grace Church. “MRMC’s reputation, fluid motion and pricing made it a simple decision.”
The HOW selected two MRMC AFC-100 heads which have been integrated into the eight-camera setup, along with the manufacturer’s Multi-Head Controller (MHC) user interface. “Age was the primary issue with our older system,” adds Krause. “It was basic and had lasted almost 10 years, but robotics has come a long way during that time and our upgrade was influenced by MRMC’s smooth live movement combined with their controller interface. “During prayer services when many of the cameras are static with only one or two operators, we’ll use the AFC-100s to spin a camera around to see what’s going on at FOH, or something going on in the auditorium or to get a better look at the stage entrance where people are entering so we don’t miss anything,” describes Krause. “The PTZs make it simple and efficient to catch these additional shots from the control room, without setting up alternate camera feeds down in the auditorium.” The other six cameras consist of two units on PTZ heads which run SDI into the router and then to the Blackmagic Design ATEM Constellation 8K 4 M/E switcher; two cameras on tripods with fibre runs; and four handheld HD wireless transmitter/receiver units using SDI
runs to the router. Krause explains: “On the ATEM we switch Program M/E for in-room IMAG and Campus TV monitors. Another M/E feeds our outgoing stream to Wowza Cloud, which then multistreams to Facebook, YouTube, Rumble, Vimeo and the Church Online Platform.” The two AFC-100 heads have been installed mid-auditorium on structural columns and networked with the MHC in the control room. “The singleuser MHC and joystick controller setup used by the camera operator is incredibly user-friendly and works well with our dual remote cameras,” continues Krause. “We’ve found that having one operator controlling the two AFC-100 heads with both live motion and preset moves was the best fit for our shooting style. It has given the operator improved control over live moves and produces smooth camera movements.” The church looked into the potential of adding further MRMC robotics but limited the purchase to two AFC-100s to better reflect its more fluid, handheld style
MRMC’s AFC-100 of worship. The presets on the MRMC heads allow Grace Church to transition from the more lively elements of its service to slower movements during the sermon, along with some static shots. “We chose the AFC-100 heads based primarily on their smooth on-air manual movement,” explains Krause. “Compared to other equipment we have used, the MRMC robotics are high-quality products and the MHC software has a lot of potential for us going forwards. We are very satisfied with the smooth movement and the control we have over our two AFC heads.” www.gracestl.org www.mrmoco.com
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