AV Team Job Description

CONTENTS:

1. SUNDAY CHECKLIST –Process to follow
2. Good microphone technique
3. Getting a good mix (sound check)
4. Video streaming
5. Troubleshooting screen displays
6. Using ProPresenter (switched back)
7. Avoiding feedback on the Lecturn Mic
8. Understanding the Parametric EQ

CHECKLIST ON SUNDAYS

• Arrive at 9am
• Turn on computers and sound desk 
• Turn on all 3 sound amps 
• Use remotes to turn on both TV screens, projector, and camera
• Soundcheck instruments, ensure levels are sounding correct 
• Make sure front of house and upstairs speakers are on
• Downlad Powerpoint, update any changes
• Open Zoom, check audio and visuals are coming through
• 10:15 team meeting
• Check levels of person giving the talk 
• 10:27 start intro video 
• make sure correct slides are displayed throughout service 
• Adjust sound levels acordingly 
• After service, play countdown video on low volume
• once video finishes, mute all mics 
• Turn off projector, camera and TV’s 
• Put computers to sleep 

BEFORE CHURCH

1. First steps
   • Arrive at 9am.
   • Turn on both computers if off, and check the monitors are on.
   • Switch the sound desk on at the back, and hit the ‘Scots’ patch key to recall and run. 
2. Sound check
   • Begin to support the band in bringing their instruments live. Help get the band setup and plugged in. Keep muted whilst plugging in, then do a sound check with each instrument – including vocals. Get levels correct for the room.
   • Start listening to the band practicing. Use your ears to get the best possible mix from sitting in the church chairs. Ask the musicians if they want any adjustments to their fold back mixes (A,B,C).
   • Don’t forget to check the lectern and feedback levels. Do this at the start of sound check whilst there is no musicians practicing. Do it again when the preacher arrives and before the team meeting. 
3. Getting the visuals running.
   • Get the remotes and turn on the café area TV (check HDMI connection & power), the foldback TV, and projector.
   • Turn on PowerPoint. Cycle through the slides to check all displaying correctly, and then check the video and that sound is coming through the system. If not, then use the bottom right sound settings bar to change the output to ‘Speakers’.
   • If having troubles with display, first try cycling the switcher between Chromecast and the Projector. If that doesn’t work, check Powerpoint screen settings (File > Preferences). If that doesn’t work, restart the computer. If that doesn’t work, check the Splitters and Switch are powered and connected properly.
   • For Zoom, turn on the camera, arrive at the desktop, and double click ‘LiveStream’. Check visuals and audio, then ‘Start Streaming’ just before you run the countdown video.  
4. Cross check the lyrics and slides.
   • Whilst the band a practicing, juggle your time between getting a great sounding mix for them, plus follow along with the lyrics so you are sure they are in the right order and say the right thing. 
5. Team meeting starts at 10:15am
   • You are an important part of the service!
   • Be aware of mic requirements (do speakers know how to use the microphone and do you need multiple ones?)
   • Ask questions about the flow of the service
   • Join us in praying. 
6. Launch the countdown video at 10:27am. It should finish roughly at 10:31am – so if it’s a very long video of 5-6minutes, start it earlier.

DURING CHURCH 

• Unless there is a specific plan to do otherwise, don’t wait until the next item (song, Bible Reading, etc.) is announced before putting up the first slide.
• Stay alert to changes in sound levels for different speakers.
• Stay alert for “spur of the moment” unscripted changes (leaders have an annoying habit of doing this when you least expect it).
• Craig provides an annotated script of the talk so you can progress the slides.
• Mute and open mics as required.

AFTER CHURCH 

• Immediately when the service ends, play the audio of the video from the start of church at half volume with no visual. Once it has played once no more music is required. Don’t play Spotify or stuff from your own device as we don’t have copyright arrangements.
• Turn off the TVs and Projector, PC, and amps.

GOOD MICROPHONE TECHNIQUE If there are two or three speakers, make sure they have mics and they have a plan to use them! Make sure this is spoken about before the service. Ensure they know good microphone technique – don’t assume! 

• If it’s a handheld, it needs to be as close as you would have it if eating an ice-cream. Make sure each person knows this who is using one!
• Keep steady and still. Lots of waving of arms or moving away from the mic means people cant hear them well.
• Don’t cup the mic and put your hands over it – hold it below the capsule (cone).
• Adjust the lectern mic to ensure it’s the right height. Easy to move it – make sure they do, so we can hear them well!
• Project your voice as if you are speaking to people without the microphone there. Don’t talk to the mic – talk to the people.

GETTING A GOOD MIX (SOUND CHECK)

• Good communication is vital! The band needs to speak with the AV desk, and the AV desk needs to speak with the band. This isn’t a passive role – the AV desk is as much a part of the band as the lead singer! 
• Develop your ears. You’re not just a techie – you’re musical now! Mixing a sound desk is a combination of art and science. It is of no value to teach someone the art of mixing if they have little to no interest in music. Listen to music often and learn what sounds can be produced. Learn how EQ can help or destroy a mix. A very affordable program for understanding EQ, tone, and level would be Quiztones. HearEQ is another program. Typically, cut before boosting a range of frequencies. Cut narrow, and boost a little wider. 
• Know the mixer and signal flow – know where all the in’s and out’s go. Understand leads and what they do and where they should arrive. Know what the snake (multi-core) is and how it functions. 
• Tame the stage. You will never get the mix right in the house if your stage is too loud. Get the levels right for the mains before the monitors. Try to get the musicians to hear more of the room and the stage with less monitoring. It’s often the floor monitors (wedges) that are responsible for the excessive levels. 
• Use your mutes. Shut microphones off when not in use during the service. This will allow your system’s maximum gain to be realized and greatly reduce the potential for feedback. 
• Listen to the instrument by itself – you that’s the monitor on the desk, and use PAFL to listen to its levels and the sound it is producing. Adjust from there.

WE’VE NOW GOT A VIDEO STREAMING SOLUTION

• We now have a dedicated PC to stream (video) our service. This goes out to parents who would like to be in a separate room, as well as anyone wanting to tune in from home.
• Make sure the PC is on, double click the Live Stream button on the desktop to start.
• Turn on the camera and it should be pointing at the stage.
• Check that audio and video camera is showing correctly in the OBS (LiveStream Software) and then click ‘Start Streaming;.
• Do this at the start of the service before the leader jumps up.
• Leave this running through the service.
• Turn off at the end of the service.

TROUBLESHOOTING VIDEO AT START

• If having troubles with display, first try cycling the switcher between Chromecast and the Projector.
• If that doesn’t work, check Powerpoint screen settings (File > Preferences).
• If that doesn’t work, restart the computer.
• If that doesn’t work, check the Splitters and Switch are powered and connected properly.
  • Click the PC/AV on each small screen to select HDMI input on both.
  • Check the screens are connected correctly and powered on.
  • Check the Splitters and Switch are powered and connected properly. 
• Windows settings:
  • Click Windows Settings > System > Display
  • On all 3 inputs, set Resolution 1920×1080.
  • If there are not 3 displays, check cabling and check switcher is set to 5.

LECTURN MICROPHONE

• Start the fader low, and then build it up when bringing online.
• We’ve done lots to get a good EQ of the mic now, so most feedback frequencies should be eliminated whilst still keeping volume high enough.
• Mute whilst band it playing, but pay attention and make sure you bring it back online before the person starts speaking. Attention to detail matters!

USING A PARAMETRIC EQ

• Parametric equalizers are effective when shaping the tone of an audio signal. 
• The controls allow for the user to be precise in selecting a frequency to boost or cut, which is helpful if the signal is feeding back or has an unpleasant overtone. 
• An EQ is just a really smart volume fader. It’s really that simple. If you dive in, an EQ really just turns up or down the volume, not of the whole track, but of a specific frequency you’ve selected. It’s like a surgical volume fader. 
• A regular volume fader will allow you to turn up or down a whole track to achieve a balance with the other tracks. By the way, BALANCE is the key! Spend some time with just your volume faders and pan knobs BEFORE you add EQ or compression. 
• Once you have that initial balance, you can then use a parametric eq to get rid of unwanted frequencies that may be adding mud and harshness to your mix. 
• There are three key areas in a parametric EQ you need to be concerned with:

1. Frequency
2. Gain
3. Width

FREQUENCY

• This is the most important one, and allows you to point to which frequency you want to effect. (turn up or down)
• If you need a little more air on the vocals, maybe point to some super high frequencies and boost a little.
• If you need to cut out some Low mid range mud, then point it to around 200-400 hz and pull a little out there.
• Just pointing to the freq does not effect the audio, it just puts you in the right spot so you can begin to operate.

GAIN

• Once you have pointed at the right frequency then you need to decide if you want to boost (turn up) or cut (turn down).
• I typically like subtractive EQ, turning problematic frequencies down in order to expose the wanted frequencies, which typically makes for a warmer, less harsh result.

WIDTH (Q)

• The Q selects how wide or narrow of a range you want to effect.
• Typically if I’m boosting a freq, I like a wider Q so it’s not so harsh.

HIGH AND LOW PASS FILTERS

• We also have what they call a High Pass, and Low Pass filter.
• A High Pass Filter (HPF) will cut out everything below the frequency you set it at, and let everything above that freq pass and be audible. (High Pass)
• A Low Pass filter (LPF) will do the exact  opposite, and cut out all the frequencies above the selected freq, and let any freq below it pass through and be audible. (low pass)