July 17th, 2007
Video Director Training
Posted by Church Video Ideas under Church video, Communication, Media ministry, Movies, Preaching, TrainingAs I mentioned before, I’m holding several training sessions at my church this summer. The first one is for video directors/switchers and is this Thursday night. I have some “in-house” things that I’m going to talk about as well as some skills we’ll seek to learn/improve. I’m curious, though, if any of you have 3 tips or guidelines that you would share in general with video directors. I’d love to hear them.
EXTRA:
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BONUS:
“Five Storytelling Secrets for Pastors and Teachers” by Steven James:
- Key #1 - Let the story speak for itself.
- Key #2 - Stop telling your listeners what happened and start showing them who struggled.
- Key #3 - When you tell stories from your life, always be the mistake maker.
- Key #4 - Never tell the same story twice.
- Key #5 - Pretend Less; Believe More.
To read the entire article click HERE.
July 17th, 2007 at 11:05 am
I need to have one of these too. I’d love to hear how it went and what you shared.
July 17th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
When I’m training directors, one of the first things I stress is that camera cuts should be used for all transitions except possibly for slow worship music and prayer where the dissolve is permissible, but not required. Up tempo worship and preaching should always use cuts.
Another thing is to avoid cutting between similar shots of the same subject, but at a different angle. Never cut between a medium shot of the pastor on one camera and another medium shot of the pastor on a different camera. Each shot should have a reason for the transition beyond just changing the angle.
Finally, try to avoid “crossing the line”, which is cutting from a shot from the left side of the auditorium to one from the right side of the auditorium or vice versa. Suddenly the subject who had been looking right in the frame is now looking to the left.
These three points bother me more than anything else when watching televised church services.
Steve Speheger
Operations Manager
The Vision for Southwest Florida
WRXY-TV, Fort Myers, Florida
July 17th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
I recently did a training for my directors and I covered quite a few areas. I would say my top three are:
1. Keep zoom speeds slow during worship. We use a lot of movement is our worship production. Pushes, pulls, fly aways - etc… The key for us is to not try and create energy with the shots. In order to do this I emphasize keeping out zoom speeds slow. When they are fast, a director will have to make a quick decision and bail to another camera that may or may not be ready. If that continues to happen then the pace of the overall production picks up and transitions become faster and the crew gets more stressed trying to keep up.
2. Do a walk through. I walk every volunteer through their position each time we do production to make sure they understand what is expected and to answer any questions. We produce a run sheet for each service that details each service event so we all know what is going on and when. I make sure and explain to each camera op what shots I am looking for, and give mini-trainings on specific moves. I also cordinate with our graphics team to make sure we time our transitions properly.
3. Don’t experiment on the weekend. Many times in an effort to get to that next level, we want to do more or try new things. We try and set aside time to do that outside of production. It is also important to make sure camera ops know this principle as well. As a director, if a camera op wants to try something - let him do a practice run before you switch to it live.
If you want more, check out http://www.marcushackler.com/?page_id=36 (password is slowzooms). I have the full list of the training topics from our last session and video of our worship to illustrate what I’m talking about. Feel free to comment there as well and explore the rest of the site!
July 17th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
The top three things I would emphasize to a new director are 1. Know your camera operators. I find myself hanging back with some operators and pushing more with others depending on their abilities. It doesn’t matter what you would like to accomplish if the operators can’t perform the task you desire. Sometimes simple is best if the integrity of the move or shot is compromised by the operator.
2. You are not Steven Spielberg. You are first, a servant of Christ. Keep in mind who your audience is and what it is you want to convey. Among other things, this will also determine pacing, timing and style of the shots.
3. Be patient. If you are a perfectionistic artist type, keep in mind once again who your operators are and their ability. You may not have the luxury of having professional camera operators volunteering for you. Work as a team. Keep a team focus. Keep encouraging them throughout the service. Respect them and they will in turn respect your leadership.
Most of what we do is pretty straight forward stuff. We have some limitations to what we can accomplish due to the location and limitations of the cameras we use. Communication with our operators is essential due to the lack of any return signal. They also are having to adjust their own iris according to what the director sees in the program monitor. It works for now, but I am hoping to upgrade sometime in the near future.
Bruce Coffy
Media Director
Parkside Church
http://www.parksidechurch.com
Cleveland, Ohio
July 17th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Awesome stuff. Keep it coming!
July 17th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
I think it’s key for the Director to prepare and anticipate what’s next in the service. They should be thinking forward to the next song, transition, scripture, video, etc. Being that the director has to take all the different elements of the service and make them flow together smoothly it really help if you can anticipate and be prepared to make smooth service transitions.
Communication is key. Take the time required to communicate with your team before service. Whether it’s one on one or in a team meeting make sure your team is prepared to give their best.
Cultivate ownership and buy-in. Directing is ministering through media. If volunteers grasp that concept volunteering will be more fulfilling for them. Sometimes I have the team pray over their area that people would be ministered to through their efforts and sacrifice.
July 18th, 2007 at 10:13 am
This is excellent stuff. I have been directing for several years as a volunteer (the church staff member is the producer). Sorry, I can’t hold it down to only three.
1) The director needs to remember that the cameras are the eyes of the production. Learn how to take in the everything on all the monitors simultaneously. This takes a skill of being able to split your attention.
2) I find that working with the same people on a regular basis is very helpful. Soon your camera people will begin to anticipate your needs and the director can anticipate the camera responses. This also develops trust between the cameraman and the director. For example, if a camera is panning the choir, even if nothing is said the camera operator can confidently pan off the edge of the choir and trust there is another shot ready and not be left hanging.
3) Encourage your camera people (It does not help to complain). If there is a missed shot it’s often the director’s fault, verbally admit it. If it is the camera operator’s fault they already know the problem. Don’t rub it in. I consider these people to be my “fellowship group” for the moment.
4) Get excited about your work, it’s infectious.
5) When locking down and dismissing your operators after an event, always thank them for their help. They need to know they are important.
-Doug
July 18th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Greg,
Is there any way you could have someone video this event and then you could release it as a video podcast. I wouldn’t care how bad the quality is, but I’d love to be able to “attend” the event from a distance.
July 18th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
Greg - what’s up - we met a couple years ago at NRB & you introduced me to IBC, which was so cool…
Just stumbled across your site and thought I’d say HI.
July 18th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
1. Keep in mind that as the director you can set the tone for the overall crew vibe. A stressed out director will make everyone else stressed out. My directors often counterbalance me when I am stressing. In the words of Rudyard Kipling “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you . . .” You know the rest.
2. Anticipate. It’s a terrible trap to be too much in the moment. Be looking two or three steps ahead. If you know you need to be on cam 2 for a guitar solo, hink of that shot and back up through your shot list to make sure you can get to the shot starting from your current shot.
3. Make it your business. If the lyric operator is late on cues, tell him. If lighting is needing atention, say so. I tell my Directors “If a camera op gives you a shot with too much headroom, that’s a camera opeartion issue. If it stays that way, or if you put it up with out it being corrected, that’s a director issue”.
Hope your training goes well.
Brian