What do you get when you cross DTV, 700MHz, Wireless Mics and your church? Preview Image

What do you get when you cross DTV, 700MHz, Wireless Mics and your church?

Why does the US Digital Television transition affect church wireless microphone (&IEM) usage? This is the crux of the abounding questions I get, punctuated by “The systems work just fine.” The simple answer is, If you have wireless systems that operate in the 700MHz range (698-806MHz) they need to be replaced.

Managing Stage Volume Levels Preview Image

Managing Stage Volume Levels

At Infocomm09 last week, I had the privilege of teaching a session titled Managing Stage Volumes for Technology for Worship Magazine. In that session I addressed this issue experienced universally- the stage that is too loud.

Too loud on the stage cannot be measured in dB. What’s too loud for one person is fine for another- and most often musicians ask for “more.” Generally, it’s understood that feedback is what happens if the stage is too loud (although that’s not an accurate understanding). The true problem with a loud stage is ambient bleed which means a muddy house mix, and another problem- something not always considered- is hearing damage. Usually communication and education with the proper application of technology can manage stage volumes nicely.

I will try and address these thoughts over a couple upcoming blog post – (see links below)

What should the stage dB be? (Managing Stage Volume part 2) – Click Here

Is EXCELLENCE a dirty word? (Part 1) Preview Image

Is EXCELLENCE a dirty word? (Part 1)

Our media team does a great job, better than average as a matter of fact. According to a recent poll on churchmedia.net, most media teams experience 5 or more “errors” per service related to projection, audio and video cues and content prepared for the services.  I would say our average is closer to 3. Yet some members of the team get stresses out every time we talk about excellence, striving for excellence or praying for excellence. Has “excellence” become a dirty word?

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Flexible Office, Working Green

missional lifestyle, thinking green - by Jeff - February 2, 2010 - 01:26 UTC - Be first to Comment!

The need for people to connect across race and class lines, among neighbors and churches, and between urban and suburban neighborhoods is urgent. We’re designed for one another, and there is joy in diversity. We believe there is yet-to-be-discovered imagination between us, meaning that our full God-given creativity is found when diverse people learn from one another, building mutual, give-and-take relationships.
- Nate Ledbetter, metromerge.org

For most of the last 6 months, I have been considering the coworking movement, shared office space and ways to work together as a communityFull Story

Church Sound Basic Training – Audio Workshop – Austin Texas

Excellence in the Arts - by Jeff - January 5, 2010 - 13:31 UTC - Be first to Comment!

Stark Raving Solutions and
Essentric Audio Productions

Presents….

Church Sound Basic Training

a soundbooth.org Audio Workshop

Details:

Date: February 19-20th, 2010

Location: Tree of Life Church
16108 Yellow Sage Street
Pflugerville, TX 78660-2503
(www.treeoflifeaustin.org)

Cost: $245 / Person
*Early Bird and Group Discounts (3+) available

Information and Registration: http://austinchurchsound2010.eventbrite.com/

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Outside the Norm: Special Productions

Projects, Technology - by Jeff - November 4, 2009 - 08:20 UTC - Be first to Comment!

Any time of the year, your tech team is busy planning on, preparing for or producing an extra service.  Easter and Christmas tend to be the first bigger productions a tech team will have on a schedule, but the calendar is full of events that are outside of the normal weekly worship.  Concerts, outreaches, conferences, VBS, holidays, awards, celebrations and facility rentals; each of these events requires additional planning, preparation, equipment, and crew.  How can your creative, tech and media teams support these events, make them extraordinary, and yet endure well on the week to week support of the ministry? As a Media Ministry, we’ll define the purpose, put proper time into planning, and then systematically check each medium in place to support the event. Full Story

Nov 14 2009 Church Audio Workshop

Excellence in the Arts - by Jeff - November 2, 2009 - 17:29 UTC - 1 Comment

austinTech.org church audio basics workshop that I will be leading – if you are in the Austin area and interested in attending, here are the details, and if you don’t know about austinTech.org, head over to the site and check it out.

Workshop Details:

When: 9:30AM to 12:30PM, Saturday, November 14th, 2009

Where: At High Pointe Baptist Church, 12030 Dessau Rd, Austin, Texas.  We will be meeting in the choir room. CLICK HERE FOR A MAP

What: This class is the perfect overview of audio systems for new team members, as well as a way for existing team members to get a better understanding of the overall operation of sound systems.  Topics covered include: Components of a sound system, Signal and Connector types, Hooking it all up, Basic Operation.  Our conversation will be somewhat driven by your questions, so come ready to participate.

Cost: It is free of charge

Please RSVP if possible to jeff@soundbooth.org. Space is somewhat limited, we want to make sure we have a spot for everyone who wants to participate.

Doing It Old School

Media - by Jeff - October 26, 2009 - 16:03 UTC - Be first to Comment!

Keep it Simple

Sometimes we get so caught up in the latest gadget or what tool we need to accomplish whatever it is we are trying to do that we miss seeing other ways of accomplishing the task. You have a screw to remove and no screw-driver? What about those vise-grips in you hand?

Other times we have a problem and we go diving in looking for the solution in deep inside the equipment when we should have checked the power cord first. Twice this weekend I was guilty of looking too hard for the solution. Full Story

Giving Back

Excellence in the Arts, missional lifestyle - by Jeff - October 15, 2009 - 12:01 UTC - 1 Comment

“Free” software is heavily relied upon in church ministry, but by using this software the church is often seen as being “cheap-skates” and “free-loaders” – not a very Christ honoring image.  This image is portrayed because the ministry is often only thinking of themselves, selfishly using the software but not giving back to the computing community, not abiding by the software use terms and even stealing the software by not paying for appropriate use.  Not all “free” software is free and we as Christians need to be careful that we are honoring Christ in all we do, including our use of technology in ministry.

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Making Room in the Mix

Excellence in the Arts - by Jeff - September 30, 2009 - 07:56 UTC - Be first to Comment!

When mixing a large number of instruments and voices the overall sound can get heavy or dense, especially if there are not many parts in the orchestration and everyone is playing / singing the same thing.  This is a typical problem we face in churches with large worship teams on the platform and can contribute to the volume level feeling too loud, even when the SPL meter is right where we want it.  How can this be prevented?  What can be done to fix the mix and bring life back to the music? Full Story

Technology in Ministry (Part 1)

Media, Technology - by Jeff - September 25, 2009 - 17:03 UTC - 1 Comment

When discussing Media Ministry, we often get hung up on how to use technology and media better in our worship services, which is a very limited part of our life as a Christian.  Each media / tech ministry has slightly different missions & goals, but in general we seek to help others minister through the use of technology and media, to spread the gospel beyond our abilities to do so in person and to lift up Christ in the arts and creativity.  So let’s step outside the box of the worship center and look at, how a church can use technology outside the worship services and how our media ministries can support those endeavors.  Full Story

Be Controlling (Managing Stage Volume, part 5)

Excellence in the Arts - by Jeff - September 18, 2009 - 10:55 UTC - 1 Comment

“Turn it down!” is an easy concept to grasp, but the reality of lowering the volume is not always that easy.  To take steps to control the “sound makers” on the platform requires thinking through the larger picture. Ask  some questions: what is making sound? Where does that sound need to be? From what does that sound need to be kept away?  The answers to these questions can then help the team make adjustments that will help lower the stage volume level and help everyone hear what they need to hear. Full Story

God’s Work in Atlanta

missional lifestyle, the City - by Jeff - September 8, 2009 - 10:06 UTC - Be first to Comment!

Amy and I had a very encouraging time in Atlanta this last weekend and met some incredible folks.  I wanted to give a shout out to these ministries and people and thank them again for their encouragement and their faithfulness in serving Jesus where they have been called.

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