“Our goal is to make the best experience for our online viewers. We’re not just capturing a room and broadcasting it.”
explains Noah Vaniglia. He is a full-time Director of Photography for Crossroads church which has almost a dozen locations and a massive online streaming platform. Delivering weekly episodes to tens of thousands of viewers across the country isn’t easy, especially as the demand for online content continues to soar during Covid. With a lot of in-person services closed, the video episodes are now even more important as people look to stay connected with Crossroad’s positive message.
Noah shoots a musical performance on Alexa Mini and 12:1 Optimo.
Tyler Roberts is also a full-time DOP at Crossroads. From fire and water to steadicam and car rigs, Tyler and Noah are tasked with capturing the wide range of visuals necessary for each week’s sixty-minute episodes. After all, “adventure” is one of the main fundamentals at Crossroads. With that comes the need for versatile and reliable camera packages. Tyler and Noah employ a mix of Amira, Alexa Mini, and Alexa Classic cameras all while delivering a consistent look across the board.
“Arri cameras are undefeated. Whether you shoot in a cave, on a lake, or in an old warehouse, we feel there is a huge difference.“
- Tyler Roberts
Tyler captures the Israeli landscape on Alexa Mini.
“Every aspect of the show, from the performances to the interviews, are shot on Arri cameras which makes the whole show feel consistent.”
- Noah Vaniglia
A full band rocks out in the ballroom.
I visited Tyler and Noah on-set while they were capturing a musical performance for this year’s Christmas special. Other churches would have been tempted to shoot in their own sanctuary, but these guys opted to shoot in a grand ballroom at a historic hotel in downtown Cincinnati. For this special occasion, it makes for a very unique look. Tyler and Noah had four Arri cameras rolling with a slew of Optimo zooms on a dolly and in handheld configuration.
“The future of the church is beyond the dude standing on stage. We are creating unique material for people of faith with the quality that viewers have come to expect from other streaming services.” - Noah Vaniglia
Like the Christmas special, most of their shoots are large scale and often employ multiple local freelancers like grips, assistants, and camera operators. Many churches own custom-built video solutions but the benefit of using Arri cinema cameras not only lies in the image. The cameras can easily be configured for any type of shooting scenario and most crew people have become familiar with the camera’s intuitive operation.
“Using industry-standard gear is a benefit when we do have to hire freelancers. They already know how to use the camera and can jump right in.” - Tyler Roberts
