Camera Operator and Video Director Training for Churches

Huge thank you to Canon for sponsoring this video!

0:00 - Introduction
1:24 - Importance of Proper Exposure
2:17 - Setting Up Front Lighting
3:11 - Manual Mode and Exposure Triangle
4:11 - Shutter Speed and ND Filters
5:40 - Adjusting Gain and White Balance
7:29 - Focus Settings and Face Detection Autofocus
9:39 - Saving Exposure Settings Presets
10:34 - Headroom and Framing
12:11 - Common Shot Compositions
13:03 - Waist Up Shot
13:49 - Knees Up Shot
14:37 - Elbows Up Shot
15:30 - Feet Up Shot
16:16 - Rule of Thirds and Looking Room
18:47 - Camera Movements: Tilt and Pan
19:38 - Camera Movements: Zoom
21:21 - Adjusting Zoom Speed
22:22 - Canon XF605 Professional Camcorder
23:26 - Camcorder Tension and Composition
25:17 - Camcorder Network Control
26:07 - Recommended Camera Setups for Livestreams
27:04 - Auto Tracking Feature for PTZ Cameras
32:37 - Video Directing Tips and Techniques
33:44 - Importance of Switching Camera Angles
36:15 - Transition Shots and Cover Shots
38:44 - Monitoring Professional Broadcasts
40:12 - Conclusion

[johnadesola]

Big shout out to the guy standing on stage the for entire video! 😀 40 mins long and not a sign of tiredness on his face

[CanonUSA]

Great job creating an excellent training guide! 👏👏

[MagicBiscuitShow]

Excellent. I will show this video right away to all video volunteers in the future.
Grace & Peace, Chuck (River City Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida)

[aguyandhiscomputer]

32:35 Good info on directing. What I have learned:

- You have to essentially be in the future. If you focus on the shot that's live, you'll miss the timing on the next one.
- Know the songs so you know what's coming next. Singers, guitars, drums, breaks, end of the song, etc.
- Change shots on the beat. Count to 8 during the song. Cut to the next shot on 1. This is a safe way to time the shots during songs. Can sometimes count to 4. Tap your foot or nod your head to help hear the beat. It might seem boring but well timed cuts are important.
- Tighter shots for the fast parts and wider shots during the cooldown parts of a song.
- Preview with the left hand. Cut/fade with the right hand. I see directors previewing and programming different ways and it takes your eyes off the screen.

[wilberivs]

I’m setting up my canon ptz camera this week, perfect timing for this video!

[kdmmediaTT]

Thanks for this lesson it was great session I learned a lot I would just use it for training at my church

[daggerNC]

Hey Jake. Thank you much for the video training video. Will be going to our first recording session tonight with the new AVL upgrade you guys did at MBC. And you may have another video on this topic, but as one of the Video guys at our church I always have questions on how to frame and transition the worship team - sometimes it is just our worship leader with guitar, sometimes with one other singer or singer plus kahone, or a full worship band. Agree on knowing what the songs are and who is singing/playing what during them, but any best practices on framing and angles and camera changes to best capture the worship team would be helpful too! Thanks again.

[aguyandhiscomputer]

16:00 15 yr cam op here.... for me, I tell people to keep the mic in the middle of the frame. Solves the lead room issue 99% of the time.

[soundxajay]

Cool 👌 great video too much thing for learning ❤

[aguyandhiscomputer]

22:00 I always prefer a tighter pan/tilt setting on the tripod. It lowers the amount of jerkiness which newbie cam ops often have an issue with.

[jessearriaga]

Very helpful!!!! Thanks! Do you have videos showing using the camera tools on going from camera to camera and do they have auto settings that you can recall on the fly?

[RylandRussell]

Great training! Although, I almost didn't watch because of the lack of black pro mist filter 😉.

[Hem_Panha]

Thanks for your shared Pastor! This video give me a lot information! But I want to know more about can this PTZ Canon Camera work really well with Black Magic Switcher and Black Magic Studio 4k Camera? 😊

[BrettCrimmel]

Thank you! Bought a canon PTZ based on your advice ... but we have an LED wall on the stage and are getting crazy moire type patterns. Ideas on fixing that?

[aiuuu]

I was told with the 500 you can use as 1080p instead of as 4K, and this allows you to increase the digital zoom. Have you got some footage test of the software side to do that and the results from minimum extended digital zoom and maximum? Thank you

[Extraedit]

great video, is it possible to operate these cameras manually and automatically using blackmagic design ATEM mini pro ?

[bryanskinner]

that would be good to use if those certain church has more then one phone camera or Prof... camera (either Men/Women prof... cameras or ptz cameras) plus volunteers might be needed

[jasonstlouis]

Hi Jake,
Hi Monte,
What about encryption? Lots of churches are being hacked. could you make a video showing how to secure the PTZ's using HTTPS?
thanks,

[judecaudill]

A little off topic, but how do those mic capsules sound? I'm wanting to get some for my church

[jonathanarmstrong]

Would you still place the C200 in a higher category than the 605? Or has the 605 bridged the gap to be on level with the C200?