Touring Video Road Case

The idea for this case emerged during my time as the Video Lead on the 2024 Emerging Artist Showcase Tour, also presented by the Canadian Musicians Co-operative. While loading the truck at the end of each show, a consistent problem occurred- Other teams would be ready to load cases onto the truck, while the Video team would still be packing up their folding tables, computer tower, ultrawide monitor and other gear inside the truck where we usually were placed. This led to loadouts being lengthened by 30+ minutes, and it was there that we decided that a necessary change for coming years tours would need a faster option. Then came the idea of purchasing a video case- but with our lower budget and want to re-use what we can, outright buying some case that fit only some of our needs for upwards of 10,000$ was not a great option. With that crossed out, we looked into building our own- and with the donated road case pictured above, I along with a few other members spent the spring transforming it from something that otherwise have been trashed into a 4 man workstation that could individually record 8 cameras individually, while also cutting, streaming and recording the show live, and provide a live feed back to any crews or projectors that needed such. The design of the case started with around 2 months of drafting designs, modeling the case in autodesk CAD, researching equipment compatibility, and reviewing and revising every aspect of the case to ensure it had everything we needed to bring on tour. after an initial plan was landed upon, we began designing the case physically, by first clearing out all old foam and installing some we had new into the case to shock mount and protect the gear inside. Next, cutting and placing metal frame as well as a Piano hinge for a flip up monitor mount for both storage space and easy use to setup and teardown. This was a critical step as the gear going inside was not cheap or easy to replace, so ensuring that it wouldn't break travelling across Ontario on the tour. Next, installing a rack for the various pieces of gear and 2 desk surfaces, with one being a pull-out desk for more surface space. finally, the last physical part was mounting the 2 monitors onto the flip up piece of the case, and then it was on to Wiring and installing the electronics of the case. First, a patch bay that can support 10 video signals coming in, 6 going out, as well as 4 ethernet ports, 2 XLR ins/Outs, and Powercon were installed- followed by the rack gear consisting of a Rackmount fan, Drawer for electronic bits, 4 video signal converters, and a UPS that can handle powering the case through a whole 4 hour show on one battery and full load. 2 PTZ controllers were installed to remotely control our 4 PTZ cameras (though they could theoretically do up to 8 each), and a switcher to do an isolated recording of 8 video and 10 audio feeds, plus a program and livestream at the same time was placed to be able to cut everything together. Finishing touches to the tech included A laptop, local router, 2 portable monitors, and an audio monitoring system to receive (and send) audio from the case. The next step was to stress test and find all the errors in the case, which rehearsals both in studio and at a local college were able to highlight all issues and provide valuable insight on what needed to be changed. Changes were made, and since then, the case has been the Coop's go to solution for many concerts and workshops that need to be recorded in various locations around Ontario, serving as a centerpiece for media at these events. I have been included as part of the fee of renting the case, as I go wherever it does due to my complete knowledge of its past issues and current workings should something go wrong, as well as being able to setup, operate and teardown all parts of the case.