Use of CCTV DVR's in a amateur dramatics environment

Overview

 In a theatre environment show relays are used to provide a connection from the stage to the dressing rooms and control room. This normally can be made up of audio and video. The feeds can range from one camera to multiple cameras. These can be fitted though out a theatre. In this environment being able to relay the signal though out a theatre can present a challenge. With the cost of equipment becoming cheaper in theory a small budget group could set up cost effective relays.

About the group

Theydon Bois Drama Society is a village based amateur dramatics group. Founded in 1925 they have preformed over 250 shows. They have staged shows ranging from dramas to comedies to panto right to big musical numbers. Each show brings a new challenge to the technical team. There is over 50 years of technical experience with in the group and over 300 years with in the back stage crew.

For their 250th show the society is staging a variety show. This ranges from solo singing to big cast showing to short comedy sketches. There are 21 performers in the show. For the crew there are 8 support crew who are supporting the show. These range from sound engineers to stage hands to the stage manager. The groups website can be found on http://theydondrama.org

The old set up

The society currently own its own tie lines between the stage and the control room. As a group they currently used a CCTV camera plugged in on the front rig bar facing in to the stage. This then connects back though the main patch panel to the stage managers monitor. By doing this we was only able to connect to one monitor at a time. The issue with this meant that the green room could not see the stage.

Setting up the new set up

Hardware

• 1X 8 channel DVR unit
• 1X 1M cat5 network cable
• 2X BNC 1m connectors
• 1X Wireless point
• 1X Laptop
• 2X small monitors
• 2X large monitors
• 1X 3m HDMI to DVI
• 1X 3M VGA M to VGA M
• 1X 6 way
• 1X 4 way
• 1X CCTV camera

Locations

• Stage mangers point
• Dressing room

Set up issues

• Between the green room and the main patch panel there are no BNC or network sockets
• The green room does not have many plug sockets
• Where the stage manager is there is not much space to place the DVR

The set up

To start with the CCTV camera was placed on the main rig bar where it is normally housed. This is facing on to the stage to give a view of what is happening to the stage manager. This is then feed back via a line to the main patch panel. From here this is plugged in to the DVR unit socket 1. On top of the DVR is one of the small monitors that then connected in to the DVR unit. This provides a control source to work on the DVR is the need arises. From here the Wireless router is connected in. Afterwards the DVR is connected via BNC in to the patch panel to provide the stage mangers view. This allows him to view the direct feed from the DVR and is set to display the view from camera 1. In practice if there was four cameras this could be set to display a split view of the four feeds. From the patch panel to the stage managers point is a another BNC line that is then connected to a small output monitor

To set up the green room a pair of 22" monitors are used from a laptop with a VGA and HDMI out. These are set to mirror each other which means both show the same content. The laptop monitor is disabled but when the monitors are disconnected the laptop goes back to its own monitor. In windows the monitors are preset so when they are connected they take up the configuration. The laptop connects back to the wireless point and then it runs IMS200 video monitor. When this is running it shows the feed from camera 1. In theory this could support all eight cameras the DVR unit can handle. The dressing room is split in to two halves but due to the size one monitor will face to the left and the other to the right. This means both sides will have their own views.

The end result

From a testing point of view the theory works well. There would be room for improvement but cost wise this could provide a financial problem and also involve replacing current hardware. During the show a lag of 50ms was noticed between the DVR and the laptop. This could be due to the use of wireless and the limitations placed. The stage mangers feed does not seem delayed nor does the DVRS local monitor.  

The image on the screens in the green room is not a clear image but does allow for the tracking of the show and for the people waiting to see what is going on. This could be resolved with a better camera and a better DVR unit. Deeper testing would be practical to re-size the images on the green room screens. Smaller screens in theory could be used to over come this problem.

From a actors point of view this was a useful system which meant they could see what was happening on stage and even tie up the actions of the performers to the sound the they are hearing.

To summarize

In this case this set up if further experimentation with more time the results could be better. The practical side of this set up is nearly working as well as it could. One of the main factors effecting the final result was the time needed to set up the hardware and get it to work with the society's current system. This system for smaller shows would not totally be required if other important matters was needed.