Blog Posts

Free AV Resources

2/17/2021

We were very excited when we walked into a job and saw the Lambda Audio Guides printed off and sitting on the desk. If you haven't already checked out the great resources on our website, now's the time! These guides will change the way you train your volunteers and are a solid resource for reminding yourself of the essentials too! Check out lambdaav.io/resources for Audio AND Video guides!!!

A Simple Set-up is Sometimes the Best

2/17/2021

With the unexpected rise and spread of Covid19, it quickly created new problems for everyone. The Navigators ministry was faced with the task of taking their numerous in person conferences and converting them all into virtual online conferences.

Lambda AV designed a compact streaming system that would allow them to have a multi-camera live stream of all the keynote speakers. It also had the ability to run a full graphics system while being set up virtually anywhere.

Being a Picky Sound Guy...

2/11/2021

...And that being a good thing

I believe that the sound guy is one of the most important parts of the band. Without a good audio engineer, you could have the Beetles on stage and it wouldn’t matter, because the sound guy decides who and what is going to be in the mix that everyone hears. So how do you go about choosing that mix especially with livestream? This can be a difficult question to answer, especially in an age when many bands are supplementing what they have live on stage with tracked instrumentation and an extra challenge occurs when you are playing the same set multiple times. Not to mention social distancing limitations. How do you keep it sounding consistent?

Continuing With Covid...An Industry Update

2/11/2021

As we continue to provide AV support and solutions in these changing times, wanted to give you a quick update on the tech industry.

Due to the repercussions of the shutdown and the high volume of video orders during Covid, there is a national shortage of product. Though production is picking up again, most video product is now several weeks backordered. If you have any questions on if or when a product may be available, don’t hesitate to ask Lambda!! We would love to find a solution for you and help you continue to navigate through Covid.

Did you know you can make long distance video support appointments on our website? This is an easy, quick way to view your system and troubleshoot any problems you might be experiencing without having anyone in your building. Visit lambdaav.io and our scheduling and support page to make an appointment today!

The Benefits of Installing in Stages

2/11/2021

The Summit Church upgrade covered Audio, Video, Lighting and general stage design. It was a big project for Lambda, so after the initial design and approval to move forward by the church, Lambda decided to approach the install in stages. We were able to add the equipment in a logical order over the course of two months. We did this for several reasons.

First, it gave the church time to hire electricians to come in and update the buildings wiring. We’ve joked before about using a plug strip for power, but in reality, for the install we were about to do, Summit needed to make sure they had plenty of power circuits! Not only is it safer to have the appropriate power supply, but it also protects all that expensive equipment and makes sure that when you need to power cycle, you can do it in a safe, easy way. Second, it not only gave the church more time to make a few payments towards the install, but it gave their tech team time to “play” with each new completed stage. After each stage of the install Andrew was able to request adjustments and simply better understand each detail that went into the placement of the equipment.

The third benefit of doing the install in stages was the time it allowed the Summit tech team to learn about their new equipment. It’s difficult to change a system and learn about video, audio and lighting all in one go. Doing the install in stages allowed us to plan in training time for each part. At the end of Video week the Lambda video experts trained the Summit video techs and then stayed to make sure their first service went smoothly and everyone could get their questions answered. Having the Lambda expert in video, audio, and lighting meant that Summit got the best training possible on each install phase.

Through the initial design process and even the first weeks of installation, Lambda was able to build a relationship with Summit. Summit Church and Andrew saw the benefit of having an expert from Lambda that they could trust to offer the best solution in each situation. Through this relationship of trust and communication, when Andrew said, “Get me some new mics.”, Trevor, our Audio expert, was able to go pick out mics that met every expectation from the Summit Tech Team and those on their stage.

It took a lot of planning and time to build and integrate the updates to Summit, but everyone involved couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out!

Stepping up Your Stream

2/11/2021

The benefits of adding a broadcast room

We recently completed similar upgrades for both Village Seven Presbyterian Church (V7) and Austin Bluffs Evangelical Free Church (ABEF). Both churches asked Lambda to help them create Broadcast rooms for them. We’ve talked about broadcast rooms before, but what exactly is a broadcast room for and why would you need one?

For V7 and ABEF, essentially, we took any staffed positions related to video and the stream audio mixer and moved them to a separate room. Now why would we do that? There are positions in the video world that require a lot of communication, specifically the video director to camera operators. The Director needs to make sure their cameramen know when they are live or different shots they would like to see. They are also communicating with whomever is running graphics so they know when to make sure particular slides or videos are live on stream or in the room.

Preset Lighting

10/20/2020

Another very important element to the Summit lighting system was the Preset wallplate.

The Doug Fleenor Preset Wallplate can save up to 10 of your favorite lighting presets in the DMX based PRE10-Ethernet system from Doug Fleenor Designs. Working in conjunction with a lighting console, presets are captured via programmed output and available for quick use. The PRE10-Ethernet can operate independently from the lighting console, holding a look if one unit goes offline or simplifying control when needed. Its an easy way to save your best looks or general stage looks for visiting artists, or easy lighting for day to day use. Each preset can be assigned a unique fadetime and simply recalled at the touch of a button.

Using this wallplate, not only tied perfectly into the rest of the AV system for Summit, but allowed anyone to access certain preset lighting without the need of a lighting director in the room. It saves time and ensures that even simple events or gatherings will still be well lit.

Lighting the Room At Summit

10/20/2020

Lighting was the last major piece Lambda designed and installed for Summit Church earlier this year. It made an incredible visual difference and impact to their main room. It was so much fun to see this design come to life and how incredible it looked.
For a more in-depth case study, we asked Brad Helzer, our main systems schematics designer, to write a little about what building the lighting system for Summit looked like:

“Summit Church was such a great project to work on. It presented unique challenges and a need for a fresh update in their look. The first thing I noticed when looking at the room for Summit is how wide it was. I imagine all the church attendees also got the feeling they were far away from the people on the other side of the room due to the width. So, to mitigate some of that width in the room I wanted to design something that had a central focus and moved outward from the stage toward the audience. With this in mind, we chose to use truss flown from the ceiling on a raked angle to create the sense of height and a dynamic depth for lighting fixtures to be hung from.

4K Color Correction Solution

10/9/2020

The Black Magic Pocket 4k and 6k camera are some of our favorite pieces of gear that we use and install. This is evident by how often you see us talk and post about them. They are extremely versatile, and their price point makes them very accessible to a broad range of budgets.

One of the hurdles that occurs though when using the pocket 4k and 6k in live productions, is the lack of ability to control the camera settings from a remote camera control panel. This is something that, while not necessary for everyone, is crucial in making sure your camera colors match throughout the duration of your live production.

The Middle Things APC (ATEM Pocket Control) Solves this problem. The Middle Things APC allows you to control your BMPCC 4k and 6k over SDI with your ATEM switcher and camera control panel. This integration allows you to keep your workflow the same across the BMPCC 4k/6k and the Ursa Mini cameras. The APC gives you control over the Shutter, Iris, WB, Gain, Some Primary color correction and Zoom. The APC does this by converting the SDI Program out (that has the control data) from your switcher to Bluetooth control. This Bluetooth control signal is then sent to the connected BMPCC.
The APC further adds to the versatility of the Blackmagic pocket cinema camera 4k/6k and opens up possibilities for it to be even more creativity implemented in live productions.

Want to learn more about color correction? You're in luck! Lambda has a color correction expert on our team who can help get your cameras matched! Call or email for more!

Training with Lambda

10/9/2020

Did you know you can schedule a training day with Lambda too?

The cost is reasonable because we believe your team is your greatest asset! You can ask us for more specific and advanced training depending on your team's needs. We have experts across our Lambda in Audio, Video, and Lighting who are passionate about what they do and love to share every tip and trick they have. We make these training sessions unique to you and can build on skills that you want your team to have.

If there’s anything you’re looking to learn or maybe even help training new volunteers, contact us any time. We’d love to discuss different Training options for your team!

Contact us today to learn more!

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Authors

All of the Lambda Staff contribute to the Blog. If you have any questions about the info we provide, please don't hesitate to ask!

Resources

Check out our resources page for FREE checklists and tools we mention in articles! We are here to help you improve and maintain your Audio Visual Systems!

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