Why Your Church Should Be Producing Videos
Video Advice
by EXW Staff
November 03, 2009
By Tim Eason - ChurchMedia.net
It never fails.... The final session of my seminar is on video production. Every time I start this session, half of my audience glazes over and looks at me in disbelief. "You want us to what? Make videos?". Yes! Yes! Yes! Here's why....
If you have been keeping up with broadcast technology lately, you know that all television signals will eventually be transmitted digitally. If you have been keeping up with company mergers, you have noticed that broadcasting, cable, Internet, and telephone companies are all trying to get together. There is a reason for this phenomenon. Inevitably ALL communication will end up traveling through the same medium. Your computer could eventually act as your television, VCR, phone, and web access. The industry has given this movement a name-- convergence. It's going to happen. It's only a matter of time.
So why should the Church be aware of this trend? Because there will come a day when every other house on the block will be editing their own videos and broadcasting them on the web. And I'm not talking about cheesy 8 frame-per-second videos in a tiny window. I'm talking about full-screen playback. Everyone is gearing up for it. Video editing "appliances" are making their way into homes everywhere. And what is one of Windows Millennium Edition's main features? You guessed it-- video editing. It is becoming a prevalent form of communication in our society.
If you have a projector in your church and are only using it to display lyrics and sermon notes with PowerPoint, you are quickly becoming an "average" church. Several years ago, a projector in a church was considered cutting edge. Now, most of those churches are stuck at what I call the "fancy overhead" level. Churches are realizing that it takes more than a projector to communicate effectively. Media ministry is ultimately about content. Many times the equipment becomes the ministry, and it's back to church as usual. Video production changes all that!
The reason that PowerPoint alone becomes mundane is because of its static nature. A few things may be animated or a transition may be applied, however it looks less like television and more closely resembles a video game. Using movie files as moving backgrounds in PowerPoint is not possible because any text placed on top of the movie will not be visible when the presentation is played. The solution is to use a video editing software to create a more dynamic presentation. By using stock animations for backgrounds you avoid the boring business software look and communicate at the CNN level of quality. You may also utilize stock nature footage specifically shot for background use as a moving backdrop for worship lyrics. This technique is great for demonstrating God's beauty as shown through His creation and helps to enhance the worship experience.
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This is the debut album by EXW friend Paul Langford. Paul is a Chicago based singer, arranger, keyboardist, producer and conductor. Paul has a career that spans 14 years. Paul's work includes arranging for groups like GLAD, Voices of Liberty, VoiceTrek, The Chicago based "Caroling Party" and Day of Discovery Singers. His arranging has appeared on recordings side by side with greats like Gene Puerling and David Maddux, and he has sung with Don Shelton, Bonnie Herman and Bob Bowker, among others.
