Quick review: 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:

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!

Pursuing Christ, Creating Art

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

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.

Behind the Tech; Confessions of a Church Video Director

I’ve been thinking about some things lately… things regarding the many aspects of working in media and in ministry. We, the techies… the artists… the producers… can get so wrapped up in what we do and how we do it that we can completely miss the God who we claim to work for. This may end up being a series of posts; I welcome your feedback.

Confession #1: The Throw-Away Weekend

If you’ve worked in or around churches for any time, you know that the calendar year passes with several different sermon series. 3-4 times per year, the series take a break and give way to what we call a stand-alone weekend. This is usually a time where we have a guest speaker because one or more of our teaching team happen to be out of town or committed to be elsewhere. These guest speakers typically come in completely prepared with a message and rarely need much from us beyond a microphone and instructions on when to go on stage.

I confess that I have, at times, referred to these weekends as “throw aways”; especially when they fall on a holiday weekend when attendance can be predictably down and we, the crew, can merely be going through the motions.

This just happened: We were slated to have a guest speaker on the weekend following Thanksgiving. I was not excited about ‘doing church’ after a couple of days of gorging myself and spending time with my family, but I dragged myself in to direct. I wasn’t expecting much.

Wait, you weren’t expecting much?

Can you guess that this is the part where God messed up my little pity-party?

The message was wonderful… and I felt privileged to hear it four times! The worship was awesome… and people responded to God.

I am a dolt.

I honestly felt ashamed.

Who am I to think that just because we weren’t doing our normal routine of things that God couldn’t have His way in the services? I minimized God… as if this wasn’t all about Him. I was quick to worry about how things were going to go for me and not about how God would move among those who did show up.

Lord, forgive me for the times when I phone it in. Help my unbelief.

Does every story end with “happily ever after”?

I have been working in and around church and ministry for more than half of my life, and I think that I was influenced early on to believe that every great testimony had to end with everything that was once bad now turned around and great… Yay, God!

Now, I don’t ever want to be perceived as the seen-it-all, bitter believer; I’m not ever going to speak ill of some one who has seen God work miraculously in their life.  God is a redeemer and a restorer, and I praise him for that! I’ve just come to a place in my own faith where I’m aware that every story doesn’t end happily ever after… and that it’s OK.

I sat in on a break-out session at the Echo Conference this year by Blaine Hogan from Willow Creek Church. Blaine is a great presenter and an incredible artist in the (C)hurch. He gave me so much to think about that day, but the stuff that rocked my head heart the most was:

Most Christian art feels more like propaganda than truth.

Why is this?

Why is it that so much of the art I make/we make feels this way?

Boom. That’s me.

As a Christian videographer and editor, I’ve been conditioned to only tell stories that end with the hero winning, the damsel rescued and the sinner saved. Does that mean that the stories of doubt and struggle are meaningless? I don’t think so. In truth, I know that there is nothing wrong with the happy-ending stories, but if I look at my own life and faith, I have countless chapters that are still incomplete, still in process, still very messy.

Should all of our stories merely give people a warm-fuzzy, or should they cause them to reflect on their own experiences and seek a deeper faith?

We all want to be inspired by the stories of good triumphing over evil… we love hearing about prodigals coming home… these stories have worth and always will, but I don’t want to miss an opportunity to tell a story that can motivate me and others even if it’s still in the matrix.

I still have a lot to process in this… I’d love to know your thoughts too.

Sharing Your Stage

A few years ago while I was still working in the freelance video world, I had an opportunity to work on a show with the amazing Gregory Hines. While I’d love to regale you with the part of this story where I got to hang out backstage and talk about life and fatherhood with him (coughNAMEDROPPERcough), there really is a point to this.

He was an incredible performer; one of the best I’ve ever seen. You see, most of the content of his stage show was a showcase of his amazing tap-dancing ability. (If you have no idea what I’m writing about, click HERE) About 2/3 of the way through his show, he made an announcement that anyone who brought their tap shoes should line up by the stage and wait their turn. I remember thinking, “Come on; who in their right mind would bring their tap shoes to a Gregory Hines show?” You might be as surprised as I was to find out that about 30 people had done just that. I learned that this was a common practice for Mr. Hines… nearly every time he did a live show, he would allow anyone with enough courage to try it an opportunity to share his stage.

One by one, he welcomed every person in line to center stage, stood to the side, and said the same thing:

“Show me what you got”

Easily adding another 30 minutes or more to his show, he gave each person their own moment. Some showed great skill, others stumbled through… Mr. Hines watched each one with the same level of interest, and when they finished he applauded their effort with great enthusiasm.

As I ponder that experience, I’m convicted about how often I tend to be critical rather than encouraging towards those who haven’t learned or experienced all that I have… times that I default to feeling threatened by some one who may show me up in my chosen field rather than being excited about the gifts and talent of a young person who is finding their passion… moments when I have shrugged my shoulders and walked away when I could should have offered an a vote of confidence.

I want to be better. I want to be a teacher… an encourager.

Just one of those moments when I realize again that He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30 ESV)

Thanks for reading this.

Production and Purpose – 10/5/10

This is a gem!

Great communication, clicking on all cylinders! Great writing, shooting, editing… and what I want to point out most about this clip is the location; even with the great production value, this piece would not have the same impact without the old church as a backdrop… it almost becomes the main character in this story!

(embedded video HERE)

This is a great example that even in marketing, a well told story can be the key to a great video. Anyone else want to read this book now?

Guest Post: Adam Kring – “Write Them Down”

I’m happy to have my friend Adam Kring guest-posting here today! Adam is a very talented video designer with NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC. This is just some good stuff that makes good sense! (Make sure to check out some of Adam’s work HERE)

Write Them Down

How many times of you thought of a fantastic idea, only to find yourself trying to remember what the great idea was a few hours later?  You probably said to yourself, ‘I can remember that for later’…except you can’t…because you didn’t.  Do yourself and others a favor, take a few minutes to write that sucker down before it leaves your head a lands in someone else’s (And yes, I’m convinced that’s what ideas do).

One thing that I’ve started doing lately is caring a small notebook with me anywhere I go.  Ideas and thoughts strike me at the most random times.  For years I have fallen into the trap in telling myself, ‘I’ll remember that for later.’  And I didn’t.

If you don’t take the steps to put a system in place that will help you catch ideas and inspiration you are lazy.  God has blessed all of us with an imagination and the creative factories to generate some amazing ideas, they just don’t always roll anything out between the hours of 9AM to 5PM.

So when they come to you, take a moment, write them down.  Now you might not want to use a pen and paper…and that’s fine.  Lucky for you, there are a ton of app developers out there who would love to make a few bucks off of your need to use technology.  Evernote is a fantastic app that runs on both your desktop and phone.  It keeps it all up ‘in the cloud’ so it’s available to you anywhere you go.  And it’s free.

You just need to get over your pride and write some of these great things that pop into your head from time to time.  Being able to have a stockpile of thoughts and ideas to pull from when you are asked to is way easier than staring at a whiteboard for hours on end.

Moving Pictures; Ideation Part 4

(Finishing up a series of posts on the ideation process… at least how it works for me)

Step 4 – Post-Production… it’s time to edit!

You are in the final stretch! Now is the time when all of the planning and production work come together and you can finally see what you have made. Here is a list of things to keep in mind as you work through this final step:

Make sure you have all of your assets. As you start your time-line, make sure that you have everything that you need readily available. This includes:

• Video (Everything you have shot, plus any stock footage or extra visual elements)
• Audio (including music and sound effects)
• Still photos or graphics

There is no fail-proof method for how to keep track of your files, just be careful to keep everything that you need in a place where you can find it easily. I recommend that you start one folder with the project name and then add sub-folders with all of your assets. (As you do more projects, use similar file titles so that you always know where to find things)

Save your work! This is a habit worth starting as early as possible. Ask anyone who has been editing for any length of time and they will likely have a horror story about losing work because they forgot to save it and had an unexpected power-outage. I like to save my work every few minutes; it is a small step that can pay great dividends!

Stick to the plan. Your production plan should have served you very well up to this point, don’t abandon it now! While we all wish we had an infinite amount of time to finish a project, we’re almost always working to meet a deadline. By working to fulfill the original idea, you will avoid running down a rabbit trail with new ideas. This does not mean that new ideas can’t work, sometimes they’re awesome! Just try to avoid re-inventing the whole thing; you can end up frustrating yourself. This is an especially important step if you are doing a project for your pastor or other speaker who is expecting things to be done a certain way so that it fits within the context of a sermon or special event. Since what we do is often happening concurrently with sermon preparation, following the original “map” will keep you on track.

Blink. Okay, this may sound a bit odd… but what I mean here is to take a break every once in a while! I know that too often, I will sit in front of my machine for hours without a break, this usually means horrible posture and sore eyes. Get up, stretch, walk around the building, grab a cup of coffee or a bottle of water… I firmly believe that a 5 minute break can help keep you sharp.

Fresh eyes. This is something that I have really come to rely on; ask someone else to look at what you’re doing, even if it’s just a rough draft. Allow them to ask questions and give their opinion. Don’t ever get so caught up in what you’re doing that you neglect to consider how it may look and sound to someone else. This can be a great way to make sure that you’re sticking to the plan or to know if you’ve veered off track. (you can read more of the specifics on fresh eyes HERE)

Video treatment. This is where you add visual enhancement with Adobe After Effects, or perhaps color-correction or other treatment with something like Magic Bullet. Here is another area where you need to figure out what works for you. I know editors who like to lay out their entire sequence before they add any treatment or color-correction; for me, I start to look at options after I have just a few clips on my time line simply because it helps me continue to visualize how the piece will look when I’m done. Understand that this can drastically change the amount of time it can take to finish your project as these treatments can take more time to render.

##

As I entered the final phase of the process on “Monsters”, I must admit that I couldn’t get into the edit fast enough! This was an idea that I had been brewing in my head for the better part of 3 months. I had a two-part deadline: The first part was to put together a short teaser that would really get the kids in our student ministry talking about things and hopefully getting their friends interested in coming.

I really love a good cut of music to edit to… use the big ‘pops’ in the music to add some drama and suspense! The first piece ran 3 weeks out at the Wednesday night youth service to a roomful of screams (WIN!).

The second piece includes all 4 kids and will run the week before the series starts.

Moving Pictures; Ideation Part 1

I’ve come to really appreciate the process of “ideation” here of late…

Ideation is an emerging buzzword (c. 2004) representing the creative process of generating, developing, and communicating new ideas, where an idea is understood as a basic element of thought that can be either visual, concrete, or abstract. As such, it is an essential part of the design process, both in education and practice. (from Wikipedia)

Idea-generation is nothing new, necessarily; it’s just a cool way to designate the time and effort necessary in planning the projects that we work on. This is how the process works for me and how it plays into a project I’m currently in the middle of:

Inspiration; This can be, quite literally, anything that gets you thinking about how to execute an idea. It might be a directive from your pastor or leader… it can be a story that you hear from a friend, or something you read about. Maybe the words to a song just beg for visuals… maybe it’s a combination of two or more if these things. Two things came together for me in this new project; it started when I heard a song by Skillet called “Monster”. Music is always an easy pathway to ideas for me; when I hear a cool song, I immediately start thinking about how to shoot a video for it.

(See/hear the song on youtube)

For me, the how comes easy; I can plan and execute a video shoot and easily dive deep into post-production… The bigger question might always be, Why? Is there a purpose for such a video and will that purpose justify the time and resources necessary to do it well? While I may love to shoot and edit, even if it’s just for fun, my boss and my church have certain expectations on my time. If I can find a worthy ‘why’, I will likely have a green light to move forward with an idea.

The second part of this idea came as I pondered the thought about monsters and what I could do with a video, and then I recalled a book that I had read a few years ago by Andy Stanley, “It Came From Within“, where he examines four issues that many of us deal with; guilt, greed, anger, and jealousy. What an amazing match! A song called “Monster” combined with a book that refers to our issues as monsters. This was starting to sound like a pretty cool thing! (Side note: Don’t ever stop reading books; you never know what will spark your next big idea!)

Since the song has a younger feel to it, I figured perhaps the best way to flesh this idea out would be to propose a series for our student ministries where they could break down each of the four monsters over 4 weeks. Then the clincher hit me; why not do something like this in the month of October when, like it or not, the whole monster-thing is rather prevalent? The truth is, even the coolest churches in America will have a group of people that are anti-Halloween… why not try to leverage what is so common in our culture and use it as a backdrop to help students deal with their own monsters? I pitched the idea to our youth pastor and he loved it!

Bottom line: While inspiration can come from many things, it takes time to really put together a good plan to bring a good idea to life.

• Pray: Ask God to give you crazy ideas that will bring Him fame
• Keep a notebook and write down everything that you can come up with (even ideas that seem silly or over your head!)
• Bounce your ideas off some one who you trust. Listen to their feedback; it will help you refine the ideas into real plans.

What does your ideation process look like?

(click HERE for part 2)