Robotic Cameras at St. Patrick’s Cathedral
St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City is arguably one of the most historic landmarks in the United States. Since opening it’s doors in 1879, millions of people have visited, gathered and prayed at the cathedral encompassing an entire square city block from 5th Avenue to Madison Avenue between 50 and 51st streets in Manhattan. The building has undoubtedly seen its fair share of upgrades and renovations; however, the mission has remained the same. The man behind the idea, Archbishop John Hughes, shared the mission of St. Patrick’s 150 years ago when he envisioned this historic cathedral:
A look inside the cathedral at St. Patrick’s.
“For the glory of Almighty God, for the honor of the Blessed and Immaculate Virgin, for the exaltation of Holy Mother Church, for the dignity of our ancient and glorious Catholic name, to erect a Cathedral in the City of New York that may be worthy of our increasing numbers, intelligence, and wealth as a religious community, and at all events, worthy as a public architectural monument, of the present and prospective crowns of this metropolis of the American continent.” -Archbishop Hughes
That being said… It should come as no surprise that Sunday Mass at St. Patrick’s has become one of the most sacred and sought after experiences of many modern day church-goers. Not only in NYC, but worldwide, people want to be a part of mass at St. Pat’s…
Sean Cox has taken a diverse path throughout the production industry during the past few years. Starting off in the realm of reality television, Sean quickly made his way from a post-production intern with Leftfield Pictures to numerous production assistant roles on shows such as Monster In-Laws, Oddities, and Cake Boss. Further elevating his career, Mr. Cox embraced a job with Ferro Productions. Assigned to the New York Giants broadcasts and programming, he served as a camera operator, editor, and production assistant/stagehand.
Next, Sean decided to do what all successful people in the production industry tend to do, namely, keep searching for new gigs and never saying “no”. It was about seven months ago when Mr. Cox was asked to become a remote camera operator at St. Patrick’s Cathedral for Sunday morning mass. Recognizing this honor, Sean quickly accepted the job without knowing exactly what it entailed. Since then, Sean has spent a majority of his Sunday mornings filming the mass, among other duties.
Sean Cox in the control room at St. Patrick’s.
Sean’s Sunday responsibilities would impress even the most seasoned production veteran. Sean explains, “I show up at 9 AM for the 10:15 mass and, well, I’m doing everything. Chipping cameras. Directing Photography. Camera Operating. Technical Directing. It’s like a one-man show, it’s really cool. I’m working like eight different positions. By 10:15 we are streaming live to the whole world via the web. I can’t take all the credit though. There is one other guy on the crew; he handles all of the Audio Engineering, which is a monumental task in itself!”
This means that Mr. Cox has no camera or show direction at all, no one calling for shots, no one telling him what things are supposed to look like; he’s doing it all on his own. Impressed? Well, consider this… Aside from a couple of crash courses from Sean’s co-worker, (fellow camera operator who Sean alternates Sunday duties with) Mr. Cox has acquired all of these skills (directing, producing, video-tech, dual robotic camera operator) through self-instruction.
Interestingly enough he attributes his quick learning and success to the following two things:
1.) Being familiar with both mass and production; how live TV shows are shot. This allows him to anticipate what is going to happen next to be able to have the correct camera in the proper position at a given point in time.
~AND~
2.) Playing video games. Sean compares operating the robotic camera to playing Xbox… HA! “It’s exactly like playing a video game. I have two joysticks controlling two cameras with a couple buttons. Except these buttons are focus, zoom, iris, and a fade bar, not A B X Y. You have to be smooth, efficient, and observant at all times.”
Probably not the most orthodox way to become successful in the industry, but as all of you industry professionals know, there really is no “textbook” way to make it. It’s not how you get there, it’s what you do once you’ve arrived. You either have it or you don’t and Sean simply possesses that “it” that so many people in the industry strive to achieve. Mr. Cox is loving the gig at St. Pat’s and boasts about the knowledge and experience he is gaining as he knows it will surely come in handy in the future.
On behalf of the Ferro Productions crew and the thousands of dedicated viewers of Sunday Mass, I would like to congratulate and thank Sean for his ambition and dedication.
