Featured production · Conference & worship
195th Philadelphia
Baltimore Conference.
Business proceedings. Worship services.
Two audiences.
Audio, video, lighting, presentation support, backline, and streaming for the AME Zion Mid-Atlantic Episcopal District at Bethesda North Marriott Hotel.
Video productionDelivered internally by MRD Sound Productions.
Frame from MRD’s conference reel.
The brief
Support the business.
Serve the worship.
MRD Sound Productions provided audio, video, lighting, backline, and streaming for the AME Zion Mid-Atlantic Episcopal District’s 195th Philadelphia Baltimore Conference. The hotel-based event brought several production disciplines together around one conference program.
Daytime business meetings called for clear presentations and contributions from the room. Evening worship services shifted the emphasis to music and preaching. Remote viewers joined through YouTube and Zoom, while attendees onsite followed the proceedings through the room’s sound system and video screens.
All video production for this event was handled internally by MRD Sound Productions.
01 / The shared setup
One setup,
different priorities.
The business meetings and worship services shared much of the same production setup. Rather than repeatedly rebuilding the room, the team adapted its operation to the needs of each session.
During business proceedings, the audio engineers’ attention followed whoever had the floor: a presenter wearing a lavalier or headset microphone, someone using a handheld, or an attendee stepping up to a microphone to ask a question or comment. PowerPoint support and confidence monitors supported the presenters.
Much of that activity occurred in front of the stage. Lighting coverage therefore needed to accommodate both the presentation area and the stage used for worship.
For the evening worship services, the engineering priorities shifted to music and preaching. During musical portions, attention centered on the relationships within the ensemble, supported by MRD’s backline package of drums, keyboards, a bass rig, and a Hammond organ. Separate front-of-house and broadcast engineers attended to the in-room and online sound.
The equipment provided continuity. The engineers’ understanding of the program determined how it was used.
Frame from MRD’s conference reel.
02 / The two presentations
Different screens,
different viewing needs.
The in-room and online audiences did not receive an identical video presentation.
During business sessions, the room’s screens primarily displayed full-screen slides and graphics. The audience could see the presenter in person; the screens could concentrate on the supporting material.
Online, the production team could combine the presenter and slides within the same composition. That kept the speaker visible while remote viewers followed the presentation. Full-screen slides were also used when appropriate.
Multicamera coverage supported live camera images for the room’s screens and the online program, with shot choices adapted to the proceedings and musical portions of the event. The program was streamed to both YouTube and Zoom.
The right view for each audience.
The objective was to give each audience the view it needed—not simply send the same picture everywhere. Live two-way audio and video participation from remote attendees was not part of this event’s scope.
Frame from MRD’s conference reel.
03 / The video workflow
A workflow built
around the work.
MRD configured its two-M/E video switcher with one video mix assigned to the room and the other to the online presentation. A 40×40 SDI router distributed those separate outputs to their destinations.
In the room
Full-screen slides and graphics during business proceedings; live camera images as the program required.
Online
Presenter-and-slide compositions or full-screen sources, delivered to YouTube and Zoom.
That arrangement supported independent choices: the room could remain on a full-screen presentation while the stream showed the presenter alongside the same material.
The video engineer-in-charge managed both video mixes and called the show. Those combined responsibilities were supported by an infrastructure and workflow designed around the operator and the program’s requirements.
For MRD owner Marlon G. Daniel, the approach reflected a deliberate use of the system’s capabilities: configure the equipment around the tasks it needs to accomplish, and give the operator a workable way to manage them.
04 / The client response
Flexibility the
organizers valued.
Marlon reports that the organizers were pleased with the finished production and particularly appreciated the team’s flexibility in addressing their needs.
The shared setup accommodated business proceedings and worship programming, while separate audio and video workflows allowed the team to consider the room and online audiences independently.
The project illustrates MRD’s approach to conference production: understand the program, identify what matters to each audience, and organize the people and systems accordingly.
The team behind the production
Production credits
- Audio, video, lighting, presentation support, backline, and streaming
- MRD Sound Productions, LLC
- Video engineering, switching, and show calling
- Delivered internally by MRD Sound Productions