This device called the PTZ Controller, short for Pan, Tilt, Zoom, controls all three cameras remotely. It's like a video game! Here we'll work through each section of this console.
In the top right section of the controller, you'll see three buttons illuminated, 1, 2, and 3. These buttons select which camera you want to control. So, if you want want to adjust camera one, press the "1" button.
The joystick on the bottom right corner of the console is used to "move" the cameras. It controls their pan (side to side) and tilt (up and down) movement.
In the bottom left section of the console, the largest knob controls focus. This makes sure the subject is sharp and in focus.
In the bottom left section of the console there is a "rocker-switch." If you've used an old cam-corder, this will look familiar. There's a W and a T marking Wide (zoom out) and Telescope (zoom in). This rocker is used to zoom the camera in and out.
Iris = exposure. Like your eyeball, the iris controls how much light is let into the camera sensor. If the iris is closed, no light will come in. If it's all the way open it's allowing as much light as it can into the sensor. If a shot is bright, or overexposed, bring the iris down. Iris is controlled by the smaller knob in the bottom left section of the console.
Color correction is in the top left section of the console and has five components. The top two blue and red knobs are for highlights (lighter parts of the image). The bottom red and blue knobs are for low lights (darker parts of the image). The fifth knob, labeled PED, controls the overall black levels. Think of this as contrast.
The middle section of the console deals with presets. If one of the buttons labeled 1-50 are lit, that means that button has a preset saved to it. You can recall it by pressing that button (please don't do this while that camera is live).
To store a preset to a button, look towards the top of the preset section, press "mem store," short for memory store. Once the "mem store" button is lit, press and hold the button you want to write the preset to until the LCD screen says "Preset Stored."
To delete a preset press the "mem delete" button so it's highlighted, then press and hold the preset buttons you want to clear. NOTE, do not clear presets 1-10 for any of the cameras.
Make sure to disable the "mem store" and "mem delete" buttons in order to recall presets.
Many sections have a sensitivity or speed knob. The higher this is turned the more sensitive or faster the preset will be adjusted. Meaning if you have the pan and tilt joystick's sensitivity all the way up, the camera will move very quickly! This is great for setting up a shot. But if you have to move a camera slowly, say, adjusting it while it's live on screen, you want to go slowly. It's usually good practice to put your sensitivity knobs at half way until you learn your own personal preference.
In order to keep track of which presets correspond to which look or part of service, we use a home made "whiteboard" of sorts. This is just a laminated piece of paper with dry-erase markers. It's laid out in a grid. All of camera 1's presets are in red, camera 2 blue, camera 3 green.
Here's how to use this. If camera 2's preset number 41 is for welcome and call to worship. Find box number 41, green, and write "W/CW" or the worship leader's name in that box.
This is kept on a small magnetic Scoche mount so it can be stored and taken down quickly. This keeps it visible, out of the way, and easily accessible.
Back left of the console!