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Spyder Video Processor Enhances Worship at Christ Chapel
PHOENIX (September 30, 2005) -- Christ Chapel at Sportstowne is using a Vista Systems Spyder 353 to enhance worship services and broadcasts from its new large, multipurpose home in Macon, Georgia.
Christ Chapel recently bought the 116,000-square foot sports facility where the Macon Knights arena-football team trains. Boasting three indoor basketball/tennis courts, a roller hockey/volleyball arena plus indoor football/ soccer field, the facility is used by Christ Chapel for regular worship services and for sports ministries while remaining available for city and church sports leagues.
Worship services are held in the basketball arena. One entire court has been outfitted with a huge concert rig and a stage with a theatrical-curtain back wall. Two 12x16-foot screens are flown off the end of truss at the front corners of the stage; 64 channels of audio are run from the stage to a sound booth on wheels which features a 48-channel audio board, monitor console and lighting console.
The other two basketball courts are filled with 1,000 stackable chairs for worshippers; another 650 people may be seated on electrically-operated bleachers. The facility's aerobics room has been converted to a nursery, the hockey arena is used for children's ministries and the sporting goods store has been converted to the youth room.
Christ Chapel's TV ministry, consisting of pastors John Wood and Andy King's sermons from Sunday services, airs locally on Fox, Cox Cable and CTN Cable. Entire Sunday morning and evening services are streamed live on the Internet; college, youth and children's ministries will soon stream live on the Web as well. Spyder video processor is used to display IMAG of the service, various video clips and song lyrics on the pair of big screens flanking the stage. "Even if you're sitting fourth row center stage you're watching the screens," says technical director Bryan Nichols. "So many things onscreen are catching your attention with Spyder. Things you can't see if you're just looking at the stage."
The Chapel is equipped with an Edirol system loaded with thousands of DV video clips used as high-resolution backgrounds for song lyrics. Additionally, lyrics may be layered over the live camera feeds of singers and musicians. "Spyder video processor enables us to have the lead singer on one screen and the guitar soloist on the other with words of the song layered over both screens," Nichols explains. "Or, with Spyder's five inputs, I can put five different things on each screen. We could have the guitar player, bass player, a singer and sax player with the lyrics overlaid on one screen then mirror that combination on the second screen."
With Spyder's Picture In Picture (PIP) function, Nichols can capture pastor Wood in a wide shot while the PIP displays the scripture verses he's reading or the text of his sermon. "We can make the text go full screen so people can read along," says Nichols, "then shrink it back down as the pastor begins to discuss it. We can have a wide shot of the stage across the top half of the screen then use cameras 2 and 3 for PIPs of the lead singer or keyboard player, for example, on the bottom half."
Three-camera feeds are the norm. Two of the Sony digital cameras are manned; the third is mounted to the truss on a robotic arm controlled from the video control room.
Nichols was introduced to Spyder at NAB 2005. "I met with all the big-name manufacturers and nobody could tell me how to do what we wanted to do: stay completely digital so our screens would look beautiful," recalls Nichols. "There were digital cameras and switchers but no devices that would run to the screen and stay all digital for under $200,000. Until I saw the Spyder."
Nichols admits that he was "skeptical" of the cost-effective Spyder's wide range of capabilities until he returned to Macon and began reading the Spyder literature he'd brought home. "Vista Systems could configure a system to fit what we needed," he says. "Spyder was easy to use and enabled us to stay all digital."
Ease of use was important for Nichols who leads a 15-member team of volunteers. "Once you're set up, you just literally push a button," he notes. "Keying is built in for layering words over live video." Vista Systems provided day-long onsite training for Nichols and his team, and they quickly absorbed Spyder's operations. However, "We inadvertently erased all the settings the Saturday night before our first Sunday service with Spyder," Nichols recalls. "But I was able to go back in that night and reprogram it. Nobody's call-in tech support is better than Vista Systems'. They've been superb."
Spyder video processor also integrated well with Christ Chapel's Christie LX55 projectors and Panasonic digital switcher with SDI cards. "Because we run all-digital and have such beautiful images, our 5500-lumen projectors look better and brighter than 10K or 12K models that have analog signals being sent to them," Nichols points out.
Those pristine full-screen images, multiple images, and layered text and graphics are generating "oohs and aahs" from the congregation, Nichols reports. "For the first service's first song I didn't want to do too much, but that song was really kickin' so I put up four different shots with the lyrics over them and I could hear the 'oohs' from everyone."
"We try to do something different for every service. Spyder enhances the experience; it doesn't distract the worshippers," he emphasizes. "We've just scratched the surface of what Spyder can do. Our congregation will never get tired of it."
About Vista Systems
Vista Systems' switchers have become the industry standard for live multiple-destination video and data mixed
signal switching. For more information on Vista Systems, call Todd Hewett at 602-943-5700 or visit their Web site
at www.vistasystems.net.