steveostudios

From the Blog

Dec

Chauvet PAR

Posted by Steve at 10:00 am

LED technology has come a long way from the ColorBlast days. We just recently purchased a couple PAR 38s and four PAR 54s. They are relatively inexpensive; around $200 a pop. Although you can purchase a Tungsten PAR 64 for somewhere around $80, you will easily make up the difference in the cost of electricity! These PARs are only 24 and 36 watts, compared to a 575 or 700 watt lamp in a standard PAR. According to Chauvet’s website, you can daisy-chain up to 12 PARs on the same 20A circuit, which is convenient given the Edison outlet on the top of the light that provides power for the next light. Other features include the yolk of the lamp that unfolds to become a floor stand, DMX (3-pin), independent RGB control, and even an internal microphone for audio response (not sure that we will ever use that feature). I’m looking forward to never having to change gels or lamps again!

The one issue I have is the color temperature of the lamps themselves. The built in white is nowhere close to either 3200K or 5600K. But I think we can mix our own colors to get something worth capturing on video. Other than that, though, these light are totally worth it!

You can find out more info on the Chauvet PARs here and here.

Dec

Gurus Rap

Posted by Steve at 10:00 am

In October we had a free conference for tech staff and volunteers for the local church called the Gurus of Tech conference. We had a ton of fun, learned a lot and met some really cool folks.

One of the fun things that went over really well was the Gurus Rap that we showed. If you are or have ever been a techie you should watch this. Heck, if your’e anyone with a sense of humor you should watch this!

Enjoy!

Sep

Camera Cheat Card, plus free Illustrator file

Posted by Steve at 8:00 am

We do things just a little different at Southeast Student ministry, namely in that almost all of our production is handled by the students. Junior Highers and High Schoolers They run the graphics. They run the lyrics. They run cameras, lights, the switcher, direct and even produce. All of this means that part of my team’s job is to train and raise up these students in the art of production.

While in California, I visited Discovery Church and talked with Scott Kolden, @mixerdad, and while in their kids room, I saw this gem behind the jib (yes, jib in the kids room!).

Simply genius! I loved the idea so much that I began to muse over what I would want my camera operators to see every-time they get on the stand. So, I set some rules for myself. I wanted it simple. Black and white. 3″ x 5″. Reproducible. Editable. Clear. So here is what I came up with:

Keep in mind that this is the first generation of this design and it will most definitely change, but so far I can already sense the excitement in my students! (That and the newly lowered screens!)

I’m going be doing a quick tutorial later on how I made the card, but, in the meantime, here is the Adobe Illustrator file that I created, if you want something for your own.