Livestream Upgrade Phase 3: January-July 2025
For the first 4 years of live-streaming, the camera and media technicians would operate in the sanctuary which presented several challenges: they had to be quiet and couldn't communicate with one another, as the director and producer of the livestream I was removed from them and couldn't give adequate instruction, and the techs were facing nearly constant interference from sometimes curious, sometimes angry congregation members. As you can imagine, this was a difficult environment to work in, so after lots of planning, we began installing a broadcast studio for the camera and media technicians, and the director/producer of the livestream.
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Some of the install had been completed the summer prior when we installed our broadcast audio studio so our Dante network was already set up and we had some of the cabling done as well. My team pulled the rest of the cabling in January and February and we demo-ed, installed new desks, and set up the new equipment and software March through May. We were able to reuse a lot of equipment from the Sanctuary "studio" in the new studio which cut back on costs which was great.
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After our first week of working in the new studio, the technicians all remarked on how well the new studio worked and about how grateful they were to be working in a studio instead of the sanctuary so they could focus on their work and communicate more effectively with the other technicians.
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As the director and producer of the livestream, I couldn't be prouder of this studio and all of the work that went into it. This has been a labor of love for the last 4 and a half years and it's a dream to finally have both our Audio Broadcast Studio and Camera/Media Broadcast Studio installed. Being able to communicate with the technicians during the service and being able to have a more hands on role in directing has raised the quality of our livestream and taught me a lot in the process.
Broadcast Camera/Media Studio Install: Early Install and Planning
This studio has undergone the most dramatic change of the two of our studios. It had been picked to be the Sound, Camera, and Media Broadcast studio back in 2021 because it was roughly equidistant between the Sanctuary and Incarnation Hall back when we were live-streaming in both spaces. From the time that we moved in until the end of 2024 the space had been both a storage room for our equipment and a place where we would build and prep equipment for install.
Broadcast Audio Studio Install: Cabling
In January of 2025, we started installing the new cabling running from the sanctuary and the broadcast audio studio to the camera/media broadcast studio. These cables run camera signals, audio, and media back and forth between the studios and the studio and sanctuary so we can both send and receive feeds of all kinds.
Broadcast Audio Studio Install: Last Day Live-streaming In The Sanctuary
We live-streamed for the last time in the sanctuary on May 18th before taking apart all of the livestream equipment to take to the studio. We had a "sound only" service the following week for Memorial Day weekend so we had about 2 weeks to install our equipment in the new studio and test everything.
Broadcast Audio Studio Install: Demo and Install
All of the livestream equipment was removed from the media cart and table and taken back to the broadcast camera and media studio for install.
Broadcast Audio Studio Install: Future Projects
To honor our commitment to sustainability and being good stewards of our resources, we've been able to reuse most of the equipment that was formerly part of the sanctuary livestream set up for the new studio and we'll be able to use a lot of the rest of it for future projects. This rack casing will be re-used for a project we have coming up in the Fireside room in 2026.
Broadcast Audio Studio Install: Final Product
Our Broadcast Cameras and Media Studio has been a dream come true and our technicians love working in here. Getting to work in an isolated space, free from interruptions has made all of the years that were put into planning this studio well worth it. We were able to reuse a lot of equipment from the Sanctuary, but we've also made some major upgrades that will future-proof the studio and we're really excited to have this space be used for years to come. There are a few more upgrades that we plan to make to the space: we'll be installing acoustic treatment like we did in the Audio Broadcast Studio and there will be some minor storage upgrades. Using this studio for the last month and a half has been incredible and it feels like the final piece of our livestream puzzle.
