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:
“Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.” -Harvey MacKay
I recently had about an hour to kill while I waited for my daughter to finish her shift where she works. I had no wi-fi, so messing around on the laptop was out, so I pulled out my new 2010 calendar and a notebook and used the time to think about the coming year. I made sure that my date book had all of my standing meetings, important family dates, and holidays all noted.
Then I started thinking about some of the sermon series that we have coming up at Seacoast and jotted down a few ideas that I will come back to at some point, even if just for a jump-start to other ideas. I grabbed my bible and looked up a couple of verses that came to mind as I pondered some themes and jotted them down as well.
What is going on?
This doesn’t ever happen… Me, just sitting, thinking, dreaming. But, I can’t tell you how amazing it felt! I’ve heard about people doing this, but it always seems to be the uber-cool people like Carlos Whittaker and Anne Jackson… not me. Yet, there I was.
I learned how valuable time like that is. Can I do it all the time? Probably not… but I’d like to have a goal of making time each month when I can get away from all that is ‘normal’ so I can think, organize, and dream… even if only for an hour.
As I consider what I love about telling stories via video, I’ve become enamored with the term “Moving Pictures” – pictures that cause people to think, reflect, change… in that, I’ve decided to do some short posts regarding different aspects of what that means to me and how it may help others who work in church video production. Here is the first:
Purpose
A video that moves people will have a well defined purpose. Do you want people get a great mental picture of a section of your pastor’s sermon? Do you want people to get involved in a cause? Do you want people to consider different aspects of God? Plan, produce, and deliver a piece that is rooted in great purpose and people will be moved.
A video that is well planned and executed will add great value to a service or sermon… the opposite can leave your congregation confused and distracted. Get a clear vision on the purpose of the piece and run with it! Run concepts and rough cuts past trusted friends or co-workers to help you stay true to the intended purpose. Most importantly, when you hit one out of the park, post it on your blog (or youtube or vimeo) with a description of how the piece came to be and how it was used so that it may inspire some one else to do something similar.
I had a great catch-up conversation last Sunday with a worship leader that I served with a couple of years ago; we talked about some of the amazing projects we were able to pull off when we were a team. My favorite was the following video. It was the culmination of a week’s worth of l-o-n-g days and a lot of work. Parts of the music were tracked, the video was shot over two days and edited (and rendered!) over two more days, the band played live… and it all synced via SMPTE! It was the end of a powerful service and people walked out challenged and, I dare say, changed. Enjoy.
First off, I will admit that I’m a little bit freaky when it comes to producing quality media for the church… and I realize that this post may garner some negative responses from churches that are trying but falling short. My hope is that this post might cause some re-evaluation of how some churches use video elements within their own scope and limitations.
Like most media-geeks, I’m on youtube quite a bit… and I watch a lot of videos produced by churches (or church people). While most smaller churches (or churches with less gear, experienced staff, etc) seem to stay away from elaborate productions such as sermon bumpers, testimonial stories, or music videos, there seems to be an open ticket for everyone to take a whack at doing announcements on video. Now, I realize that announcements in any form can be the bane of any church that is trying to establish a good flow for their worship service… there is no way to transition smoothly from a great worship set to talking about the church-wide rummage sale or upcoming business meeting… BUZZ KILL! …but I also realize that if you don’t let your congregation know what’s happening in the non-Sunday life of your church there will be no non-Sunday life in your church… but there are some really BAD church announcement videos out there!!!
My take: Churches need to look at their situation and figure out what works best for them; First, figure out what your priorities are… how much information do you need to get out to your congregation and how soon? Some things may need the attention of a stage or video announcement while others may be better suited for your bulliten or church website. Prioritize what gets the bigger spotlight and proceed… and by proceed, I mean to work with what you have. I have what I call the because we can theory; “We have a camera, a projector, and some screens… we can do video announcements!” …Just because you have those items doesn’t mean you should use them like this. Technology will always be a get-what-you-pay-for category; cheap cameras, editing software and projectors will only take you so far… much the same way that if your youth pastor is also the church video guy, he will only have so much time (and energy) to do all of his tasks well. A well produced video announcement is no different than a well written and crafted song in your time of worship, or well prepared sermon… you will only get out of it what you have put into it.
Second: Do only what you can do well. The because we can theory says to do what ever you want simply because you can… forget the poor results, just do it. I have been around church stuff long enough to be well-over the mindset of “Bless his heart, he tried so hard…” Translation: That sucked but Jimmy sure likes playing with that video camera, doesn’t he? Are video announcements (or any video element) important to you because you feel that they will better reach your people with the proper impact and garner a great response, or are you doing them because you can and they’re not doing much except taking up time in your service? I like to evalutate things on a grade curve (still very subjective, I know). If the proposed video element doesn’t hit about a 7-8 minimum (on a scale of 1-10), don’t even bother… your energies are probably going to be much better spent elsewhere. Hit youtube, search “church announcements” and see what’s out there… I’d say that the bad ones out-number the good ones by about 10-1! If you would like to be effective with yours, make it a priority. Hire a well qualified person (or find a really talented volunteer) and give them the time and tools to do the job well. If that is not possible in the present, start planning for the future.
Third: Be strategic and and focused. As I stated previously, firgure out what needs video support and delegate the rest to your bulliten or website. Let’s face it, if you do a video for every meeting, event, bake sale, youth camp, bible class…. you won’t have time for your sermon! One way to think of things is that most people tend to remember things in 3s; Choose your three main items and give them the attention they need. Be short and to the point (pardon me for the old show business line) …leave them wanting more!
One quick thing to consider: If your church is already doing a pre-service count-down, consider using this time for your announcements. This can be as simple as a power point presentation with a countdown clock on up to a well produced mini news magazine about the events and activities at your church. This is a great option that can encourage your people to show up on time (or 5 minutes early… Imagine that!), and give you a chance to get your announcements out without taking up any time within your service. Here is an example:
If I may be of any assitance in helping your church with media elements, please drop me an e-mail: murphy24p@gmail.com or leave a comment here. My desire is to give God our best so that we can foster great environments for worship.
I really like Subway; (I’m a big fan of the grilled chicken on wheat, pepper jack cheese, toasted…lots of veggies, and a sweet tea). What I think works for Subway is that you walk in to the smell of fresh baked bread, choose your favorite meat and toppings, and then sit down and have yourself a tasty and well priced sandwich.
What I think is not working for Subway is the drive-thru window. This isn’t that kind of fast food! I have been there during the busy lunch rush and watched the employees “sandwich artists” working at 100 miles per hour to keep up with all of us waiting for our $5 footlongs… then there’s a beep…. and another beep… and the artists all look at each other, trying to remember who drew the short straw and will have to deal with the impatient soccer mom at the drive-thru, who figured she’d bypass the long line inside by staying in her Suburban. The kids behind the counter try to keep their rhythm with the long line inside while one of them has to take the window order and meld it into the assembly line. I’ve never seen it go well, and the lady waiting at the window is now honking the horn because this is taking too long!
I do have a point to this minor rant: Are we who work in churches doing what we do well, or are we trying to add things that initially may seem to bring some value, but in the end just complicate, slow down, or confuse people on what it is that we should be doing? I’m a firm believer that less is more and that we should be trying to keep things relatively simple while never diluting the message of Christ. The church will always need fresh ideas for reaching people (see what I did with the “fresh” thing there?), but those ideas should never slow us down in showing people how much Jesus loves them.
I had a pretty good day. On Monday mornings I meet with our pastor, music pastor, and director of operations to talk through the previous Sunday’s services. Yesterday went off without any fires or noticeable scars, so the discussion turned to our general desire to ramp up our live production values. We’re looking to add a stage-wide screen and other visual and lighting elements. Interesting that it never seems possible to make a simple “shopping list” when it comes to technology; as you lay out what you want to achieve, the necessary gear to meet your needs grows exponentially!
We want to be able to XYZ… well, you need an ABC to be able to XYZ… but your ABC won’t work without an LMNOP.
This means a lot of research and planning to make sure we’re getting what will work… and then hoping that we have the right staff and volunteers to make it go every Sunday! Pesky things, Sundays… they roll around right about the same time every week, whether we’re ready or not. Anyone else going through these kind of growing pains?
Today, I’m struggling with a question: Am I doing ministry, or do I just work at a church? This is something that I’m really trying to find an answer to. The truth that I feel faced with is that often I am so busy with busy-ness that I don’t give “ministry” much thought. At the end of the week I’m not sure that I have done much to advance the cause that I claim to have sold-out to. Is there a single person whose life has changed because of something I have done? This is an unsettling thought for me. I made a decision three years ago to leave my weird career in video and television production and go work for God… I’d be lying if I said there aren’t days that I doubt myself and my choices.
I read a great post by Craig Groeschel that is gnawing at me:
Do you truly want to make a difference in this world? Do you want generations to be different because you knew Christ? Do you want to lead a church that will impact your city, state, and the world? Do you want your preaching to awaken dormant spirits, stir complacent hearts, convict wayward sinners?
Then pray this prayer: “God, please break me.”
He will.
And when He does, you’ll be ruined—in the best sort of way.
Your heart will ache for those without Christ.
You’ll despise spiritual complacency.
You’ll see the darkness of your heart clearly.
You’ll be bothered deeply by things you used to easily overlook.
As I consider what I love about telling stories via video, I’ve become enamored with the term “Moving Pictures” – pictures that cause people to think, reflect, change… in that, I’ve decided to do some short posts regarding different aspects of what that means to me and how it may help others who work in church video production. Here is the first:
