Category
New studio technology — non-broadcast
Submitted by
Communications Engineering Inc.
Design Team
First Baptist Church of Glenarden: Pastor John K. Jenkins, Sr.; Tom Pope, audiovisual dir.; Deacon Stanley Featherstone, church admin.; Jac Cooney, consultant
CEI: Joe Strobel, sr. proj. mgr.; Tim Bailey, sr. design eng.
RCI Sound Systems
HH Architects
RJC Designs
Technology at work
AMX control system
Apple Final Cut Studio
Barco
Encore processor
OverView displays
Canon HDxs lenses
Chyron Duet LEX
Clear-Com Eclipse DPI HIGHlite and TITAN Draper Cineperm screen Evertz MVP display
Harris Leitch Integrator Hitachi Z4000W cameras
Microboards CD recorder Omneon Spectrum server
Panasonic DVCPRO
Rimage 555201-200
Ross Video
ADA-7801 DA
OverDrive control
Synergy 3 switcher Yamaha PM1D and DM2000 mixers
First Baptist Church of Glenarden adds live production and broadcast capabilities
In September 2007, the First Baptist Church of Glenarden (FBCG) built a new 205,000sq-ft structure that would feature state-of-the-art live production and broadcast capabilities inside a theater-style sanctuary capable of seating 4000 attendees.
Key production system goals for the new facility were to provide high-quality coverage of the services and events; enable fast, efficient distribution of recorded services in various formats on a large scale; and enhance the worship experience of the attendees and home viewers.
The church hired Communications Engineering Inc. (CEI) to design, integrate and install a network-quality live production facility. CEI also partnered with RCI Sound Systems to provide a concert-grade sound system, and with RJC Designs, which developed the original system concept and preliminary design.
The full-scale production facility can handle all types of events and can be used by both professional engineers and volunteers. A production control room, a dedicated audio production room with voice-over booth and three nonlinear edit suites are all located within the main production area. A second identical audio production room is located high in the rear skybox of the church’s sanctuary.
The audience experience is enhanced by two 22ft 16 x 9 Draper rear-projection screens located directly above the performance platform and illuminated by two DPI video projectors. The alignment and placement of the screens and projectors was especially challenging due to many client design changes to this area of the building. The team successfully overcame the challenges that this presented and provided the maximum image allowed by the building constraints.
The broadcast production system provides tremendous event flexibility, with more than 130 connection panels strategically located throughout the facility. The facility’s worship center can send and receive signals from its ministry center located several miles away via bidirectional fiber-optic link. This interconnection also provides the church with access to the Verizon AudioVisual Operations Center, which allows easy access to send or receive signals anywhere in the world.
The church leaders wanted to make recorded services available to attendees immediately after the services, so CEI designed and implemented a large duplication center. The system can generate 100 DVDs and 300 CDs within 10 minutes of the end of a service or event. Future cabling is already in place to expand these capabilities as required.
To enable use of the system by volunteers or other nonprofessionals, key production and media-related functions can be performed via an AMX control system with custom touch panels throughout the facility.
