Greg Atkinson

I’ve mentioned Jake Ludington’s newsletter before. I always learn of some cool new media resources through his newsletter. Here are a few things that he mentioned and I’m going to give a try:

• Spin It Again: Transfer your old 45’s and 33’s to CD or to your new MP3 player or iPod. This dedicated record and tape conversion software makes it child’s play to record and edit your old albums. The wizard driven process guides you through connecting your hardware, getting the correct recording level, and splitting your recording into multiple tracks. The software automatically removes clicks and pops and that unwanted tape hum and hiss. Convert your recordings to MP3s or burn them on to an audio CD.
• Eyejot: I’m doing a little video experiment with an online video tool. Eyejot is a FREE video app that lets you record video messages in your browser and send them to a recipient via email or RSS. This would fall under Web 2.0 tools for ministry. Check it out!
• JPG Video: Time lapse video is something I’ve always found fascinating. Take a series of images from the same place over the course of a day, week, month, etc., and then build them into a video to express the time change in a matter of minutes or seconds. JPGVideo is a simple app designed to make a time lapse video from a series of stills. JPGVideo is billed as a tool for Webcam images, but JPG files from any camera source will work.
  
• Windows Media Player Plug-in for Firefox: This plug-in allows you to use Windows Media Player inside of Firefox. It is designed to support the following Windows platforms: Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista.
• Registry Booster: They claim to be the safest and most trusted solution to clean and optimise your system, free it from registry errors and fragmented entries. Through Advanced Error Detection Technology, Register Booster automatically identifies missing, corrupt or invalid items in your Windows registry and dramatically enhances performance and general stability. * This I actually downloaded and used to clean up my computer. So far, I’m very pleased with it. *
  

NEW PRODUCER:

Check out Erwin Brothers Pictures, a new producer, available at their website or at WorshipHouse Media.

Brian Davis (a friend of mine and the producer of my podcast with Anthony Coppedge) has entered the world of blogging. His new blog is called Worship Tech Online. Brian is a very gifted and smart guy, with an expertise in audio. He’s taught me a lot. On his new blog, he recently wrote about providing talkback to your Aviom system, with step-by-step instructions. I think his blog is extremely practical and one to check often. Check it out!

I’d like to thank Bill Seaver from MicroExplosion, for telling me about AllPeers. This would be a great asset to churches that are sharing files with a group of members. I know many worship pastors have to get various audio tracks out to their volunteers on a regular basis and AllPeers looks like it could be a great way to get it in the hands of the people as quickly as possible.

*PLEASE NOTE: Anytime you give your worship team new songs to listen to, PLEASE make copies or give links to your audio team as well. It is very important that the people running sound in your church are listening to the same kind of music that your worship team plays, are very comfortable and familiar with it, and know how to mix for it.

EXTRA:

Please note, there is still time to register for and attend NRB/Reach. If you’ve been to NRB in the past and weren’t too crazy about it, I ask you to give them another try. I’ll be teaching 3 classes this year, as they are really trying to make their Church Media track more relevant and useful. The class that I’m doing with Grant Guffin (of Flashlight Films) is going to be extra special. We’ve invited staff from Mosaic, Granger Community Church and LifeChurch.tv to join us on our panel. These 3 churches are 3 of the most innovative and cutting-edge churches in the world. We’re thrilled to have them join our class. I hope to see you in Orlando!

A few weeks ago I came across a new, up-and-coming filmmaker, Blaine Hogan. Blaine teamed up with the guys from XXXChurch to produce his first film, “Starving Jesus”, which is also the title of a great book from the XXXChurch guys. I think Blaine is one to keep an eye on. I encourage you to check out his new film entitled “Starving Jesus”. You can get it at WorshipHouse Media ($15), the Shoutable Store ($15), Meatloaf Media ($20) or SermonSpice ($20).

BONUS:

Jay Kelly, from Wired Parish is offering his new “Church 2.0″ podcast series for FREE to Church Video Ideas readers (normally there is a cost to this). Get the feed here. You can copy this link and go to iTunes/Advanced/Subscribe to podcast and paste it there.

EXTRA:

Passion just released their first EP from Passion ‘07. Remember me saying that I have a new favorite speaker: Francis Chan? His message is included in this EP. His message will rock your world.

My friend Nelson Searcy and his great resource: Church Leader Insights is helping you begin the New Year. Planning your preaching is one of the most important ways to maximize your outreach, marketing and effectiveness along with reducing your stress! Today and tomorrow ONLY, they would like to give you a FREE copy of their best selling audio download: “Planning A One Year Preaching Calendar.”

*This offer will be available for two days only (Jan. 23-24).  I’d encourage you to download this and pass it on to your pastor. If you’re a pastor reading this - what could it hurt to download it and give it a listen?

Want a fun and very different project? Why not build a headphone amp? How’s that for random? If you’re up for the challenge, go HERE for your instructions.

EXTRA:

I wrote a more detailed article on the technology side of Passion ‘07 for my weekly column on Monday Morning Insight. To read it go HERE. On an upcoming podcast, we’ll be interviewing the Video Director from the main venue.

*If you haven’t heard our latest episode, where we talk about the Christmas production season, technical run-throughs, multi-site churches (including an interview with my friend Shawn Wood, Communications Pastor at Seacoast Church) and when to use IMAG, download it today and give it a listen. Feedback so far has been great.

Also, I keep a list of blogs I read over to the right. The newest edition is the new blog, Swerve, from Craig Groeschel and Bobby Gruenewald of LifeChurch.tv. You might want to check it out.

It’s no secret: I’m a huge supporter and fan of the David Crowder Band. I think they have redefined worship music, as well as Christian music in general. I was amazed and excited that the DCB was voted “2006 Artist of the Year” by MSN Music - now that deserves some mad respect. They didn’t win “Christian Artist of the Year” - they won “Artist of the Year”… period. They edged out INXS to win. Hah!

*Passion is allowing you to watch their main sessions now through midnight on Friday. Go HERE and check them out. Each main session message has the potential to change your life forever.

PERSONAL:

Later today I’m going to post a YouTube video of a band overseas leading one of my favorite Crowder songs - “There Is No One Like You”. This foreign worship band translated the song into their own language and played it very well. I couldn’t help but tear up as I watched the video. God will get His praise. He alone is worthy. It is amazing to see Christ being lifted up in another language, but to a familiar tune. I encourage you to watch the video until the end - when they sing in English. It really messes me up (in a good way)!

EXTRA:

As most of you know by now, Apple announced the iPhone yesterday. What are your thoughts? Are any of you actually going to purchase one? What about Apple TV? Now that’s pretty cool.

Ed Young, Jr. and Fellowship Church are known for creativity and pushing the bounds. I was just on their website and my jaw dropped. For their current series, Ed is teaming up with Hulk Hogan - that’s right, Hulk Hogan. I believe they took it down now, but they had a funny series teaser.

The following is a review by Jeremy Dunn - from WorshipMusic.com.

As a child of the 1980s I have accumulated a large collection of audio cassette tapes over the years. While other kids collected Transformers and A-Team action figures, I was spending most of my money on music cassettes. Eventually, like almost everyone else, I made the switch over to CDs and have since been enjoying the sonic clarity and convenience of recorded music in the digital domain.

As cassette decks become increasingly harder to find I wonder what to do with my old cassettes. That’s why I was so happy to hear about Plusdeck2c. The Plusdeck2c is a fully functioning cassette player for your PC computer that also converts your cassettes into MP3 or WAV format so you can archive them into the digital domain. With a few mouse clicks you can record your audio cassettes onto your hard drive and then burn them to a CD or transfer them to your MP3 player.

Installing the Plusdeck2c in my computer was a fairly easy task. The Plusdeck2c requires an empty 5.25″ bay for installation (please refer to the Plusdeck2c product page for other technical requirements). Once I slipped the deck into the tower, I secured it with a couple of screws and connected the power and the cables that were provided in the box. All of the cable connections were plainly laid out in the instruction manual. There are no complicated drivers to install, only one small piece of software which is the application that is used to control the deck and process the cassettes into digital files.

The front of the Plusdeck2c has all of the transport controls that you would expect to see on a cassette deck; start, stop, eject, etc. I must admit that my heart skipped a beat when I first popped a cassette into the deck and heard the comforting old familiar sound of servos and gears of a cassette deck, though I had to listen a little harder for these sounds since the Plusdeck2c has the quietest hardware I have personally heard on a deck. For those folks that don’t require a “hands on” experience, you can use the Plusdeck2c application to control the deck from your computer screen with your mouse.

Within minutes of installation I was able to create my first MP3 files from a cassette. Basically, the Plusdeck2c works by sending its audio signal to your computer’s audio input and it records the signal, converts it to WAV or MP3 and saves it to your hard drive. As a user, all I needed to do to was insert the cassette, adjust the line-in volume on my computer (this information is in the users manual), give a name to the file I was about to create, and click on the convert button. Plusdeck2c did the rest. After converting several different cassettes from different eras, I did find that newer cassettes are louder and have a broad dynamic range so they require more finessing of the volume levels to avoid distortion in the conversion process.

I can think of several applications for this deck aside from converting music cassettes. This deck is a great solution for those stacks of teaching cassettes that every church has in the back closet. What better way to make sure that your church’s past services are preserved for years to come than transferring them to CD? Also, I know people who have been singing in church for years and they have lots of performance track cassettes that they can’t buy on CD. Plusdeck2c would be perfect for them too.

I was surprised how practical and easy it is to use the Plusdeck2c. As different of a concept it is to have a cassette deck in your PC, this product isn’t fancy or complicated. It only promises to do one thing: play cassettes on your PC and allow you to process them into digital format. It does just that and it does it well.

*Review by Jeremy Dunn - from WorshipMusic.com.

EXTRA:

Anthony and I have just released our latest podcast episode. Check it out - you’ll be glad you did!

PERSONAL:
I’m glad the world got to see why the SEC is the toughest conference in football. Let there be no doubt now. I feel I must point out that my South Carolina Gamecocks nearly beat Florida - losing by just 1 point.

While at Passion in Atlanta, I was only back with my laptop at like 2am and was too tired to blog. I thought I’d take a moment to share what God did at Passion ‘07. From worship leaders like Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall, Matt Redman and David Crowder to speakers like John Piper, Beth Moore, Louie Giglio and my new favorite speaker: Francis Chan - it was one God-moment after another. God touched my heart, challenged me, encouraged me, stretched me, ministered to me and got my eyes back on what matters most through the words and music of the above mentioned servants.

As I mentioned before, this was my 3rd year serving with the Passion staff. It is an indescribable thing to see God moving among 22,000 college students. These students literally invade the host city and leave it changed for the better. This year, each student brought socks and towels which were given to Atlanta’s homeless. I go each year because God moves in my heart and it encourages me to see the next generation so fired up for Christ and making His name known among the nations. Students gathered from all 50 states and several countries around the world. As happens each year, many students committed their life to Christ for the first time and many dedicated their lives to missions and have committed to as Louie said “pack up the American dream” and move to a nation and work with a people group that has never heard of Jesus.

Personally, I always look forward to seeing what the Passion tech team does with media/video - they are always pushing the boundaries and taking things to the next level. This year was no different. Technology was utilized and pushed to the extremes especially this year, as for the first time, all the students couldn’t fit into one arena (like they had the last 2 years). This year there were about 18,000 college students packed into Phillips Arena (which is downtown, right beside the Georgia Dome). Another 5000 people were packed into the Georgia World Congress Center, which was across the street from Phillips Arena. The students rotated and each had time in Phillips and the GWCC. Each venue had LIVE worship led by the amazing Passion worship leaders. Regardless of what venue you were in, you would worship LIVE with your worship team, then you would join (through the gift of technology) with the students and worship leaders in the other venue and all sing together. Your worship leader would lead the other venue in worship (you watching live and they watching on the video screens), then they would switch and you would watch and worship with the other venue’s worship leader via LIVE video.

Louie Giglio would come out at the GWCC early on and do a welcome, which was seen via video in Phillips Arena. They would then go to a split screen and show Louie in one venue talking to the worship leader in the other venue - and they would talk back and forth and have their venue raise up a shout. After Louie’s welcome, the worship leaders in each venue would continue on leading worship for their crowd, while keeping their eye on a countdown clock which was on the ground in front of the worship leader. Both worship leaders wrapped up their set when the countdown clock told them it was time. Now it was time for the message, and Louie had walked across the street and came on to the stage in Phillips Arena, so the people in the GWCC watched him on the screen. As I said, they pushed the boundaries of technology and did it in a very professional and worshipful way, that wasn’t distracting.

I’ve been emailing back and forth with the Video Director in the main venue (Phillips Arena). He’s been telling me how they pulled some of the things off. I’ll write more about that in a future blog. For the record, they were using ProPresenter, which I blogged about 2 weeks ago and is my newest Charter Sponsor.

Freebie 1:

Get a cool FREE motion background from RevoStock.com HERE.

Freebie 2:

Get Christian Audio’s FREE monthly download HERE. This month they are giving away Andrew Murray’s timeless classic, Absolute Surrender. This is a powerful book! Listen to it as a way to start 2007 with a fresh commitment to being totally surrendered to God’s will in your life.
Use the coupon code, JAN2007 to redeem this audiobook.

Freebie 3:

WorshipHouse Media just switched their monthly FREE download - it’s a powerful and dramatic interpretation of the woman at the well, and her desire to be loved for who she is.

Freebie 4:

SermonSpice is offering a new FREE download - it’s a sermon illustration from 36 Parables entitled “Spilt Milk”.

Freebie 5:

SermonVideos.com is offering a new FREE looping background entitled “Hands to Heaven”.

Phil Cooke just blogged his thoughts on “Seven Things Religious Media Professionals Must Do in 2007″. Here they are:

1. Start the project you’ve always dreamed of creating.
The clock is ticking and you’re not getting any younger. Remember that dream script in the desk drawer you’ve always wanted to produce? Or the TV series you planned on the back of a napkin? Or the company you always believed would change the industry? Stop dreaming and start doing. There’s no better time than now.

2. Understand the power of a compelling brand.
In a media-driven culture, a compelling brand is the key to breaking through the media clutter and getting noticed by your audience. A successful brand is the story that surrounds a product, organization, or person, and it’s much more than just a logo. It’s a promise you make to your viewers or customers, and it powers the connection that transforms companies, and revolutionizes fundraising. Don’t end 2007 without creating a strong brand identity for your station, network, church, or ministry.

3. Carry a small notebook and pen everywhere you go.
Ideas are fragile, and your memory doesn’t always work. Write it down. Ideas come in the strangest places, and if you don’t write them down, you’ll lose the idea that could transform your future. Many people type notes on a handheld PDA and then download them into a computer. Either way, if you don’t record your ideas, you’ll regret it later. Phone conversations, meeting notes, spiritual insight, breakthrough ideas – write them down.

4. Read more novels.
Because most religious media professionals deal with reality – preaching and teaching programs, interviews, documentaries, commercials, etc, we often forget the power of drama. Make a commitment to read more fiction this year (and not just “Christian fiction”), and learn the art of storytelling. As my old writing teacher told me, great fiction may not be “true” but it’s “truth.”

5. Spend less time on what’s urgent and more time on what matters.
Think about your epitaph. Will they praise your great ability to handle e-mail, or your genius at company politics? Or will they honor the time you spent as a husband and father, or how you accomplished great things with your life? Eliminate the distractions – including the people who end up just wasting your time – and focus on real priorities. Whoever invented the “open door” policy for leaders never accomplished much. Be accessible to your team, but don’t be afraid to shut the door and achieve the big picture priorities in your life.

6. Go HD.
It’s time. High definition is here, and while there are plenty of competitive products and standards, it’s time to make the change. Start this week on a strategy for upgrading your equipment, and get proven, expert help for every step. Right now, networks are looking for HD product, so the chances of getting your program broadcast might be even better if it’s on HD. There’s a wide range of options, and for my money, I’d rather have a low budget HD facility than a big budget standard definition facility.

7. Remember the reasons you chose this career.
It’s so easy to get caught up in advancing technology, paying the bills, and the daily grind, we often forget the reason we decided on a career in media in the first place. Chances are, you had a dream back then, and the question is – was that vision ever accomplished? In 2007, cut through the clutter, and get back to the heart of why you do this for a living.

* Again, those are Phil Cooke’s Top 7 list for 2007. Do you agree? What do you think about #6? Phil has an HD poll that he’d love for you to participate in. Go HERE to vote.