Pete's Big TVs Tours with How Sweet the Sound

Pete's Big TVs is, for the fourth year, providing video support forHow Sweet the Sound, an annual competition traveling the country seeking the best church choir in America.

Guy Benjamin, of Pete's Big TVs, handled their role in the touring production, which was designed by Michael Dalton (lighting) and Jeremy Thom (set).

"Video projection is a large part of the show," said Dalton. Four Barco FLM 20k projectors focus on the main front-projection scenic screen, which measures 30' x 80'. The projectors are fed by two Green Hippo HD Hippotizer media servers, which blend and shape images to conform to the big curvature in the scenic screen.

Live IMAG is rear-projected on screens on both sides of the main projection screen, using Barco SLM R12 projectors.

There are also three Sony HDC-1500 multi-format HD cameras and four Sony HD box cameras on pan-and-tilt remote-controlled heads. The cameras are switched using a Ross Vision console. An Avid Deko 3000 manages all the graphics for the production. Each city's shows are recorded on a series of Apple Xserve computers running Apple Final Cut Pro.

Pete's Big TV crew includes video director Jody Lane, EIC Paul Whitfield, EIC2 Brian Brinckman, projection/Hippotizer tech Rob Villalobos, projection/camera Brent Jones, camera operators Erin Lynch and Cybelle Forbes, video tech Chris Hill and Deko operator Michelle Lippett.

A panel of judges -- sitting at the side of the stage -- presides over each city's competition, while top names in gospel music entertain as well.

The biggest challenge in the lighting design is accommodating a wide variety of gospel choirs on stage, Dalton said, as each choir differs in numbers of singers and colors of robes.

"We build the basic show cue list, which remains the same throughout the tour, then update it based on the actual choirs' sizes and robe colors for each city," he said. "As with most competition shows we try to keep the lighting looks within certain boundaries to help level the competition."

Nook Schoenfeld programmed the show and acts as lighting director.

Dalton and Pete's Big TVs have worked together on How Sweet the Sound since the concept for the competition began. "Pete's Big TV is a great crew," Dalton said. "They're easy to work with and with great results!"

The tour's finale is Oct. 28 in Los Angeles.