Stage Change
03 Jan 2012 3 Comments
in Humor, Technical Ministry Tags: church media, stage design
So, we needed to do a stage change…
What’s the best way to get started?
A Not So Silent Night
27 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in church media, Church Resources, Production and Purpose, Service Programming, Technical Ministry, Video Production Tags: Bible, Canon MarkII 5D, Christmas Eve, church media, Church video production, God, Jesus
For our Christmas project this year we decided to do a modern telling of the Christmas Story; a young, pregnant couple on a road trip, unable to find a room for the night.
Our project was used to set up our pastor‘s message in our Christmas Eve services at Seacoast Church.
- 5 different locations
- 4 days of shooting
- 3 great actors (+ one fussy baby)
- 2 cinematographers
- 1 great short film!
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Technical Specs:
- Camera: Canon EOS 7D (Lenses: Tokina 11-16 2.8, Canon 100 2.8 Macro IS, Canon 24-70 2.8, Canon 50 1.2.)
- Edited on Final Cut 7
- Color graded in Magic Bullet
I’m so thankful for the trust of my church leadership; they allowed me to take some risks and take the necessary time to put this piece together.
And since you were nice enough to read this far down, please enjoy the bloopers:
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Questions or feedback? Drop a comment below!
Video Story – Find a visual focal point
24 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in communication, Service Programming, Technical Ministry Tags: Bible, church media, God, Jesus, Jonah, sermon illustration, Sony FS100, story
At Seacoast, we’re doing a short sermon series based on the Book of Jonah, so telling a story on video about someone running from God’s call would be great for a sermon illustration. Finding the story wasn’t difficult; it involves the wife of one of our pastors getting involved with helping people in human trafficking… I just didn’t want to do the ol’ standard testimonial video. After some discussion, it was noted that, while she never thought she could see herself doing anything like this, now it was all she could see. This not only became the closing line of the script, it also gave me a great idea for a focal point; I would have my subject walking around downtown Charleston with a camera.
Special thanks to my new partner-in-crime, Jack Hoey III, who put together a great voice-over script, and to Lisa Surratt who allowed us to tell her inspiring story.
(embedded video HERE)Don’t just dive into a story and default to what you’ve always done; look at the details from different angles and listen for the visual elements. Don’t be afraid to explore new ways of telling the story.
Technical Specs:
- Camera: Sony FS100
- Edit: Apple Final Cut Pro
- Color Grading: Magic Bullet
- Music licensed through FirstCom
Uganda Highlights – Sony NEX-FS100
04 Oct 2011 1 Comment
in church media, Technical Ministry, Video Production Tags: FS100, God, Jesus, Masindi, medical mission, Ministry, mission trip, Sony NEX-FS100, South Carolina
While I was not able to do much more than this highlight video from the footage I shot in Uganda, Africa last month, it is still a good look at my first time out with the Sony NEX-FS100. I’m still learning all of what this new camera has to offer and I’m sold on it!
Great functionality, easy to use, and beautiful pictures… Win!
For now, I just have the ‘kit’ lens that Sony includes; I’m hoping to add some good Canon glass soon.
Here is the piece I put together for those who were on the trip:
(embedded video HERE)Special thanks to the amazing people at Palmetto Medical Initiative!
Quick review: Sony NEX-FS100
31 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in church media, Church Resources, Service Programming, Technical Ministry, Video Production Tags: Christian, church media, faith, God, Jesus, Sony NEX-FS100
As we (Seacoast Church) were just about ready to make the jump to DSLR, we found out about the new Sony NEX-FS-100. While I had only limited experience working with DSLRs, everything that I read and saw about the Sony made beautiful sense; Take all of what makes a DSLR amazing and actually incorporate them into a real video camera. Rather then me blathering on about all of the technical points, this video will do much better:
It’s well worth the 18+ minutes to watch this video
The sad thing is that we ordered a pair, they arrived, and I assembled one… and it sat on my desk for the better part of two weeks. I had just found out that I was being sent to Uganda and had way-too-much to get done prior to my departure. Oh, and did I mention that I would be taking this new machinery with me? I finally had to block out a couple of hours just days before I left to familiarize myself with the camera.
It was love at first sight.
While it won’t win any beauty contests, there is so much to love about this camera:
- I love the view-finder screen; so much flexibility and beautifully clear.
- The ‘kit’ lens that comes with it is a little slow, but still does really well. I’m curious to see it’s capabilities once we add some good Canon glass (coming soon!).
- 1080/24p – Just GORGEOUS!
- Real XLR inputs – and it sounds really good! (One knock I’ve had on the HVX200 that we have been using for 3 years is that things sound one way while recording, but can end up clipping when you get things in the edit environment. Both the included shot-gun and my wireless lavs sound really clean)
- The image stabilizer is so good! Shooting hand-held stuff at the end of the 80-200 lens looks really nice. This was especially great while in Uganda where I chose not to drag a tripod around.
I shot a lot of footage in Uganda and I will eventually post some of that, but this is a quick (literally, shot and edited in one day) project that I had to knock out upon my return to the states. It was used as a ‘table setter’ for a message by Greg Surratt about hell:
A quick shoot and a little coloring help from Magic Bullet on this video
While I’m still getting familiar with all that this camera offers, I’m really glad that we chose to go this route!
Confessions of a Church Video Director – The Dumbest Thing I ever Said
09 Aug 2011 2 Comments
in faith, Random thoughts
Today I uttered what may have been the dumbest words I have ever strung together:
I wish I had time to pray.
What?
This morning, I had time to:
- Shower and get ready for work.
- Make (and wait for) coffee.
- Stop by the bank on the way to the office.
- Set-up and light the studio for a couple of video shoots.
While I was setting up lights, I read a tweet from a co-worker who was at our weekly staff prayer time. He was really glad to be there.
And then it happened.
I said, out loud: “I wish I had time to pray.”
As soon as I said it, I thought about slapping myself.
I confess to over-scheduling my days. I confess to finding a thousand other things to do before I look for the slightest margin to seek the One I claim to do these things for. I confess to allowing myself to feel overwhelmed.
Lord, forgive me for thinking that anything on my schedule is more important than time with you.
How is your prayer time?
Pursuing Christ, Creating Art
04 Aug 2011 1 Comment
in Books worth reading, church media, Church Resources, Ministry, Video Production Tags: Bible, Christian art, Christian media, church, faith, God, Jesus, reading
I haven’t done a ‘books worth reading’ post in a while, but I am really excited to share this with my readers.
I’m quite sure that I’ve never read a book like the one I’m recommending now; My friend Gary Molander has written a book for anyone who works in the production of church related media, Pursuing Christ, Creating Art; Experiencing Life at the Intersection of Faith and Creativity. I’ve had the honor of knowing Gary for a couple of years now, and his influence has caused me to change the way I think… the way I approach my own creative process, by simply helping me understand the proper order:
- Pursue Christ with all that I am
- Create my art as a response to who He is and what He means to me.
I must admit that I’m at a bit of a loss as to where to start on this little review; This book is so good that I might end up quoting everything in it and then Gary would make no money and his wife and kids wouldn’t eat, and no one wants that.
Simply put, Gary understands us. He’s done his time as a church pastor and knows first-hand what we as producers and artists go through as the weekends keep showing up right about the same time every week. After 17 years in pastoral ministry, Gary resigned from his church to what was initially an unknown future. He eventually formed Floodgate Productions, a video production company that produces short films and other visual media for churches all over the world.
We don’t create art for God. He doesn’t need it. We create art in response to God because the world needs it. -Gary Molander
Gary’s words will challenge and encourage you. He isn’t trying to prescribe a new “how to” on creativity, but rather what might be a new thought process where we all need constant reminding that we are not our ministry, we are not what we produce, and that our relationship with our Creator is much more critical than anything we could ever create.
At the core, being an artist is a heart condition, not a job. And art created from that place is intended to be more mission-related than we’ve ever dreamed.
I also love that he enlisted the help of some other folks who do what we do to get several different insights on faith and the creative process.
Get this book. Read it carefully. Read it and mark it up with a highlighter and a pen. In six months, go back and read it again.
He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:3
Echo 11 – Wrap up
29 Jul 2011 1 Comment
in church media, Church Resources, communication, Ministry, Technical Ministry Tags: Bible, Christ, Christian community, church media production, Echo Conference, faith, God, Jesus
I’ve just returned home from 2011 version of The Echo Conference, and I am so tired. Good conferences have a tendency to do that, and I’m OK with it. Because, in truth, even though I’m dead-dog-tired and have a weekend of church services to get through… I can’t wait to go again.
Once again, the crew from RT Creative Group put together a great event where artists can come together to worship, learn and mingle.
Much can be said about the speakers, the breakout sessions, the times of worship… but those are the the kinds of write-ups that most people expect; I’d like to go a slightly different direction:
The “Now what?”
When you leave a conference like Echo, your head is swimming, you’ve met countless people whose names you may or may not ever remember, and you hope that the notes you scribbled during the keynotes make sense when you go to read them again. You picked up countless ideas; some you want to try right away, some you will shelve until you have more time to figure them out, and a few that you know would make your pastor’s head explode (but you might try them any way).
For me, the now what part that really fires me up is that I don’t have to do what I do alone! The community that I have access to is unrivaled. The easiest thing to do is to search the hash tag on twitter (#Echo11); there you will find people from all over the country (Canada too) who do what you do. People who know the value of someone a little ahead of them lending a helping hand. For you, the now what means you need to:
- Reach out.
- Make contact.
- Be available
- Participate.
This odd community needs your involvement, no matter what you do. We swap ideas, we critique, we encourage… it works! I believe the on-going spirit of Echo is that we are all working for the same King and for His glory; we’re much more effective when we work together and support each other. (If you work in church video or live production and need help with something, drop me a line (murphy24p at gmail dotcom)
See you next year.
Church Video Announcements; An on-going conversation
18 Jul 2011 16 Comments
in church media, Church Resources, communication, Leadership, Ministry, Service Programming, Video Production Tags: Christian church, church communications, God, making church video announcements
I struggled with calling this post ‘an on-going conversation’, it’s probably more of an obsession. While I would never classify myself as a communications expert, I’m passionate about communicating well within the church. I’ve posted about this passion before (See 8 Simple Rules for Video Announcements), and I’d really like to hear from other video producers who are tasked with making video announcements at other churches. If that’s you, drop me a line in the comments… I’d love to hear the philosophy behind the how and why from others.
I’ve been doing my current version of announcements at Seacoast Church for about 6 weeks now. I call it “The Dispatch” and thankfully, I was given a lot of artistic liberty on how to execute each week.
Some of the parameters that I work within:
- Keep the final piece at about 2 minutes long. We roll the announcements right before the message roll-in and the idea is to keep it short but informative.
- Cover no more than 3 calendar items. I believe that any more than 3 items will be quickly forgotten.
Here is one of my favorites:
(Embedded video HERE)–
Some of my philosophy:
- Video announcements allow me to tell a better story. I don’t ever want to just move a “talking head” from the stage to the screen; with the bit about the Harbor Cruise, I was able to to get onto the boat that they were using for the event. The boat, the water, the bridge… these are strong visuals and they tell as much of the story as the spoken word. A third layer in this was the music; “Come Sail Away” by Styx was a great way to help people remember that event as well. Never underestimate the value of getting a song stuck in people’s heads!
- Pictures and a little bit of information get the point across. In the bit about Serve Saturday, with just a little bit of footage from a previous event, I was able to show that anyone can get involved, from someone with car skills to people who can throw a little paint around. An interesting side note is that the event organizer came to me after that piece ran with a concern that it needed more information, I assured her that it would be okay; all that people needed to know was already in the piece. They had only been averaging about 20 people in the past few months for Serve Saturday… we ran that bit for two weeks prior to the July event and they had 70 people show up! You don’t have to over-sell… keep it short, give people the what/why/when, and they will respond.
- Quick reminders work! At the end of the piece, I had the talent simply ask folks to silence their cell phones and I was amazed at how many people were reaching into pockets and purses to do just that! Beyond that, finishing with a way for people to get more information is another key to communicating well; Our website will always have more information than we will ever try to fit into 2 minutes, I like to finish each week with the church’s website address.
If video announcements are something you’re already doing, or looking to start doing, jump into the conversation! Let’s help each other out by swapping ideas. Feel free to include links to stuff you’ve done so we can all see what you’re doing.
Fuel
01 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in church media, faith, Ministry, Personal, Technical Ministry Tags: AAA, Bible, burn out, God, Jesus, out of gas, Sabbath, Technical Ministry
I drive a 2000 Ford Explorer with mileage north of 140,000… to say that this is the point in ownership where the parts start to go south would be a bit of an understatement; less than a month ago, I had to forfeit nearly the equivalent of a mortgage payment to replace the radiator and associated pump, hoses, and gaskets. Yesterday, as I hopped in for a short trip, I found myself listening to the never-fun sound of an engine that, try as it might, had no chance of turning over. Once again, I was stuck… going nowhere.
I’m blessed to have a AAA membership, so I called for a tow truck. When asked about the problem with my vehicle, I told the operator that it simply wouldn’t start; I was nearly offended by the next question:
Does the vehicle have fuel, sir?
Are you kidding me? I’ve been driving since 1982! I know what I’m doing! I’ve had some mishaps along the way, but I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I have never run out of gas… not even close!
While my driving sense was mildly insulted, I answered that I had just filled it up the day before and we proceeded to make the arrangements for the towing and visit to the repair shop.
If I’m writing about this, there must be a teachable moment in here somewhere, right?
I think that those of us who work in and around churches can make the dangerous assumption that we are properly fueled, if only by osmosis. We get to hear the sermon multiple times on any given weekend, even to the point that if the pastor were to fall suddenly ill, we could probably grab his notes and preach it ourselves! We might pray with our teams just before the service… We can tap our feet and maybe even sing along with some of the worship while still doing our appointed jobs; we are masters of multi-tasking, but
…are you out of fuel?
or more importantly, are you offended that I’m asking?
Are you doing and doing, keeping the creative and technical aspects of your church life going, but not having any time where you can unplug and read God’s word for yourself?
Do you have a sabbath? …a day when you aren’t doing church? …a day when you can find some quiet, some rest, a true re-fueling?
I’ve seen some of the smartest, most talented, and best intentioned people crash and burn because they filled every possible moment with their tasks, but left no margin to seek God on their own. I’ve come to believe that we can be crushed under the weight of all we have to do if we don’t have proper time to seek the One we claim to do these things for.
First and foremost, God wants my heart. Not my art, not my technical know-how… he simply wants me, and I need to make time for that.
What are you doing, intentionally, to re-fuel?
