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Leadership and members at Glad Tidings Church in Lake Charles, La., are thankful last month's historic flooding did not hit the church. Especially thankful because the church is just recovering after a water main break in December 2015, which damaged about 50,000 square feet of the campus, including the main sanctuary, bookstore and offices.
Renovations are recently complete and Glad Tidings congregation returned to its sanctuary for services on Aug. 14. According to David Fontenot, media pastor, JVC cameras are part of a complete overhaul of the church's video production equipment that had fortunately been planned before the flood. The upgrade includes a file-based HD production workflow centered around the new JVC GY-HM890 ProHD cameras.
Glad Tidings had been using an aging analog switcher and three analog cameras that were more than 20 years old. Footage was recorded to Betacam SP tape and transferred to DVD for distribution. The new HD-SDI operation features the four JVC cameras and a NewTek TriCaster 8000 live video system, which allows live streaming of its Sunday and mid-week services.
"Everything about the cameras is wonderful."
David Fontenot
Media Pastor, Glad Tidings Church.
Equipped with Fujinon lenses, every JVC ProHD camera is mounted on a tripod with studio configurations, including the KA-790G studio sled and VF-HP790G 8.4-inch viewfinder. Fontenot has positioned all four JVC cameras at the back of the sanctuary, with two cameras in the center and one on each corner. Fontenot appreciates the customization options of the GY-HM890, as well as the speed of the camera's auto focus, which is a big help for the volunteer camera operators.
“For what we needed – jumping from SD to HD – and with the research that we did, it seemed to us that JVC would get us more for our money,” Fontenot adds. “Everything about the cameras is wonderful.”
In June, the church purchased a JVC GY-HM200 4KCAM compact camcorder with integrated 12x lens. Dubbed the “baptism cam,” it will be used near the front of the church on a jib, camera slider, or handheld as required to create a more “immersive” visual experience for the congregation and online viewers. While the church has not yet used the built-in streaming features of its JVC cameras, Fontenot has considered the possibility of live HD streaming of outside events.
For image magnification (IMAG), the church purchased two projectors and a large video screen on each side of the front platform. In the past, screens only showed song lyrics, but the new system superimposes lyrics over live video. The IMAG feed is also shared on multiple monitors in the main entrance foyer and the cry/overflow room.
“We want our congregation to be immersed in the worship service,” Fontenot says. “The video from the JVC cameras is so crisp and clear. It completely transforms how we do church.”
The new video system was a major investment for the church, but Fontenot says it was necessary to help Glad Tidings share its message. The church has not broadcast its services on television in more than a decade, but Fontenot is hopeful the new HD upgrade will help the church return to the airwaves.
