Excellence in the Arts, Media - by Jeff - July 28, 2007 - 00:50 Etc/GMT+5 - Be first to Comment!
(part one HERE)
Last week we talked about what NOT to do – but what should we be doing to be operating in excellence?
Creating Media that is part of the entire message of the service – it fits and is part of the whole.
Video that blends with the worship, not standing out from it. Graphics that reinforces the sermon, not confusing it or driving it. Backgrounds that reinforces the song we are singing, not distract from the words of the song. A good read on this topic can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/yvsqyj
Lighting that directs your attention where it needs to be, and helps hide things that might distract or hinder worshiping. Light that set and support the mood, not just become a show.
Audio that is just the right level that help us sing out and feel the congregation singing. A mix that conveys the worship from the platform to the pews. A recording that becomes a witnessing tool for a church member.
We are here to worship and glorify God and help others to do the same. So not only should we be actively getting rid of the bad things in the ministry, we also need to actively pursue doing more to enhance and reinforce the service.
Excellence in the Arts, Featured, Media - by Jeff - July 28, 2007 - 00:43 Etc/GMT+5 - 2 Comments
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?
Full Story
Excellence in the Arts, Media - by Jeff - July 23, 2007 - 18:54 Etc/GMT+5 - 1 Comment
So previously we discussed the need for Excellence, not perfection. So now what is Excellence?
Some might say that if we remain invisible to the congregation for the service we have achieved it. Not drawing attention to the media or the Media Ministry is a great start.
In the visual world this might include: Menus on the IMAG screen, Bad Camera Shots, Wrong Words, long pauses before the videos plays. We want the audience to see the screens but not think about what it took to get it there or what should be there.
In the audio world; no feedback, mics on in time, loud enough to hear, not too loud that it hurts the ears, decent mix.
So we know we are doing a good job when nobody notices. When we get no complaints we have done our job well…. But this is only half of doing media in excellence. This is basically a list of what not to do, what about what we DO? Remember, part of our purpose as a Media Ministry is to help create an environment that is conducive to worship, to help encourage and amplify worship. We will look at the DO aspects of Excellence Next Week.
Is Excellence a Dirty Word? (Part 3)
missional lifestyle, the City - by Jeff - July 2, 2007 - 19:57 Etc/GMT+5 - 2 Comments
My wife recently blogged about loving her city. We have been considering moving because we could use a little more space, but as we considered our options we realized we would have to move away from the city (austin) and into the suburbs to get more space (that we could afford anyway.) So what’s the problem with this?
We both have a heart for ministering to the city, and reaching the city for Christ. How can we do that if we don’t live in the city? Why the city? Well, that is where the PEOPLE live… after all, it is the people we are trying to minister to, right? There are more people per square mile in the city than in the ‘burbs.
Look at the political, social, spiritual aspects of people living in the city verse in the suburbs. Most people would agree that the urban areas tend to be more “unGodly” than the suburbs. Alternative lifestyles flourish in the city. The percentage of those who attend church is lower and the churches that many people attend tend to be un-biblical pagan churches! Yet urban dwellers tend to seek community more than those in the suburbs. They gather for arts and culture events, night clubs and coffee houses become that “third place” for the city dweller. They spend less time in their cars and more time being social. The city needs more people who love Jesus to be apart of this culture of the city.
Not sure what my final point is, other than wanting to put some of my thoughts on this to paper (or pixels) – but then again, that is the point of this blog.
Media - by Jeff - June 30, 2007 - 21:42 Etc/GMT+5 - Be first to Comment!
How come there is never enough time? No matter how much advanced warning we get for a project, it always comes down to the last minute. I once was told that an edit is never finished, you just run out of time – how true that is.
I think some of this is my fault – I tend to put off projects till I feel like working on them, or until the deadline is fast approaching. Even then, I will want to work on a project, but when you have plenty of time, the scope of the project is huge, so you spend most of the time planning and gathering elements – many of which will never be used because as time runs out, the scope of the project gets simpler and smaller!
Recently we have been looking at project collaboration solutions – and one thing I look forward to having it the project planning calendars with goals and milestones – maybe that will help be be more accountable.
Cool Products, Media, Technology - by Jeff - June 28, 2007 - 17:56 Etc/GMT+5 - Be first to Comment!
Cast? What Cast?
podcast, vodcast, RSS feeds of various types – See, I ask because I know that a majority of you still just read what you want, when you want it using your web-browser. I have recently converted myself from one who just checked in when I felt like it, to one who subscribes to the feeds.
I resisted the movement for a long time – I figured the fad would pass, it was just a waste of time, I really didn’t need it, would not use it. Boy was I wrong. Everyone is blogging and podcasting. I even have heard that some church staff members are creating internal podcast just for their team members to improve communication. Now there is a thought – where is my microphone?
So what am I using?
- iTunes for all the media content feeds (podcast / vodcast)
- Vienna for all the blogs and news related feeds
It is nice to always have media I want to listen to ready on my iPod, and when I just have a minute and want to catch up on new, open Vienna and see what the latest is at all the sites I like to visit.
family - by Jeff - May 14, 2007 - 15:56 Etc/GMT+5 - Be first to Comment!
Okay, let’s get this straight. It’s called “Mother’s Day” because it is suppose to be all about mom. So why does she get so angry when we complain that she is not done with our lunch yet and we are very hungry? Why does she complain when we remind her of all our chores she is suppose to be doing today?
I think we all know the answer to those questions – because we are suppose to honor our Mothers and Mother’s Day is a great time to honor her by giving her a a day off – not that they ever really get a day off, but we can at least lighten the load for a day.
It was a real blessing this year to see several of the children take initiative on their own this year and get something / make something to bless their mom. Previous years it has seemed so last minute (probably due to me forgetting about it till the last moment), and thrown together, but even I was able to get something pre-arranged. (it wasn’t the hammock she wanted, but hey, at least there was a nice card and good chocolate – I can’t even remember the last time I got her a card!)
I guess it is time to start planning for next year.
