Camera support in A/V booth

[gletiecq]

A Church remodeling project includes a spiffy new A/V booth in the back of the sanctuary that I'm in charge of designing and outfitting, although that means I have to raise all the money to implement my choices. The room is 9 feet wide, 4 feet deep and has an 8 foot ceiling. The architects have already included a built-in bench and a 6 ' sliding window. Floor is a 6" raised plywood floor over concrete.

We record sermons for the web and occasional special programs like the Christmas play and such. Sermon videos are a 1 camera/1 person shoot, we bring in 2-3 more cameras in for special events.

We intend to locate a camera in the booth when it's ready but I'm a little concerned about having available space with a tripod set up. Anyone know of a supplier of fixed floor pedestals that I can put a hi-hat / ball head combo on top of? Can't seem to find any searching the web. It would seem like a better use of the space to have a solid fixed pedestal about 5' high bolted to the floor rather than trip over tripod legs in a fairly cramped space.

[tdangelo]

gletiecq,

What solution you chose will depend greatly on how large (or heavy) your camera and pan/tilt head are.

You could DIY a solution by mounting an existing HiHat (if you have one) on a 6x6 section of wood (from the floor, standing vertically) or use a Dutch 90 degree angle plate from the ledge of your booth.

Or you can purchase a complete solution. The camera term for what you are looking for is a "Bazooka." Here are some examples of Camera Bazookas used for camera dollies. The concept is the same. Instead of screwing the Bazooka into a doorway dolly you will just be screwing it into your flooring.

http://www.hdvshop.com/hdvs/PROAIM-B...75mm-Bowl.html
http://www.dvcity.com/dvshop/product...roductid=17981

[Brad Weber]

Are you thinking of the camera being set and left or being manned during use? If the latter then you might want to consider if a manned camera co-existing with everything else in a 9'x4' booth is really practical, for the operator to move a third of the booth and much of the open window space. This is why many venues use a compact packaged PTZF camera with remote control mounted in the window or on a wall just outside the booth.

[gletiecq]

We use an XHA1 for sermon videos, and that or a DSLR for other stuff. I saw someone making a static bazooka-type support out of steel pipe with a hi-hat on it, and that looked pretty sweet, although I suppose we'd have to get one fabricated if we wanted to do that. The challenge here is that the floor is being raised nine inches with two layers of 3/4 ply so we'd probably need to cut through the new flooring in order to get to the concrete underneath if we were going this route. I can't see the wisdom in attaching a fixed camera support to a raised floor where vibration from movement in the room would affect the camera.

[gletiecq]

We use manned cameras for sermons so we can get in tight. I'll bet the BRC-300's and the like have gotten cheaper than the last time I looked several years ago, but I'm not about to try to follow the action with a PTZ camera any time soon.

Nothing is more reliable than a good camera operator and a decent fluid head.

[Brad Weber]

Originally Posted by gletiecq

We use manned cameras for sermons so we can get in tight. I'll bet the BRC-300's and the like have gotten cheaper than the last time I looked several years ago, but I'm not about to try to follow the action with a PTZ camera any time soon.

Nothing is more reliable than a good camera operator and a decent fluid head.

I agree, however room for a camera operator to move freely would seem to potentially take up a good portion of the booth and I had the impression that there would be more than just the camera in the booth.

You might want to verify the 4' depth for the booth and whether that is the clear depth inside the booth or the depth outside with any wall depth then being subtracted from that. With a 30" to 36" desktop depth that is common for such spaces, a 43" to 48" clear depth in the booth may not allow sufficient room for the operators, especially if they may need to get by one another. Since the basic space is existing, if you have not already done so then it might be worth 'mocking up' the booth on the floor and seeing how everything fits, sightlines, etc.

You might also want to verify the 6' sliding window planned as that might be 6' wide but only 3' or less of open area. If the audio mixer and a camera would both be in the booth you might even want to seriously consider the booth being open.

Finally, be sure to consider power, cable routing and access, knee space, etc. Those are the little things that can sometimes make or break how effective a booth actually is to use.

[gletiecq]

I submitted drawings for the booth today and had them reduce the length of the counter to accommodate space for a tripod, as well as specifying power outlets, the size and placement of the window, and the flooring. I'm in perhaps a somewhat unique position of designing the booth, being chairman of the building committee and also being the on-site liaison with the architects and builder. If there's a problem with the setup, it's entirely on me.

For the past three years I've been working in a horribly cramped space next to the organ, so I've become quite experienced in what doesn't work. Right now there's four inches of clearance between the tripod arm and the back wall and no space for a stool, even on the side. Thank God I'm not fat, or I'd never be able to contort myself to where I have to stand.