Church Video Ideas

My friend, Dave Grumme, from Sugar Creek Baptist Church in Houston, TX is looking for a Creative Media Producer. This isn’t just any church, friends, this is the church that wins every film festival it enters. This team produces the finest media of any church in America. I was a judge at a film festival once where they won every category they entered, plus the they were the overall winner. Working with Dave will stretch you professionally and spiritually. If you are a talented media producer, I strongly encourage you to pray about this opportunity. Below is the job description from them:

Company: Sugar Creek Baptist Church
Job Title: Creative Media Producer
Description: The Creative Communications team at Sugar Creek Baptist Church is a highly creative and collaborative environment. We are a team of producers, directors, artists, designers, writers, programmers, technicians and musicians who are passionate about developing and executing shockingly beautiful, creative media to reach an audience who respond to spiritual concepts spoken in a visual language. We are currently seeking a full time Creative Media Producer to add to our team.

JOB SUMMARY:
The Creative Media Producer is a creative, energetic and organized team member with the ability to conceptualize, strategize, create and produce long and short form video projects, interactive media, and motion graphic designs. The primary focus of this position is to develop and produce creative media for our Student Ministry through individual ability and by building and leading a volunteer ministry.

This will involve:
Pre-production: concept meetings, script-writing, storyboarding, scheduling, and budgeting.
Production: Directing cast and crew, acquisition of video and audio, lighting and photography.
Post-production: logging, digitizing, editing, design, mixing, color correction, and output to various media formats.

The CMP is a devoted follower of Christ who maintains a life of spiritual development and accountability. The Creative Media Producer is a team player who exemplifies a positive “can do” attitude, creates and maintains a superior working environment and fosters an attitude of professional excellence.

DESIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
A committed follower of Jesus Christ with a call to ministry work for the purpose of utilizing video production to impact our community and world for Christ.
One year of professional video production experience.
A pro-active work ethic including a self-motivated drive for quality and creativity.
Excellent project management skills and ability to multi-task several projects at the same time.
Flexibility to adapt to unforeseen circumstances and a strong commitment to meeting deadlines.
Extreme attention to detail and a passion for excellence in creative and technical production.
Strong creative abilities.
Experience and training in digital video production exhibited by a professional reel.
Experience and training in studio and field production including lighting, audio and camera work.
Experience and training in post-production work including non-linear editing, compositing, and motion graphic design.
Expert use of the following programs: Final Cut Pro, After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, DVD Studio Pro, Keynote, Soundtrack, Motion and Compressor

APPLICATION:
Sugar Creek Baptist Church offers a competitive salary and benefits package. This position is based in Sugar Land, Texas (a suburb of Houston) and the successful candidate will need to live within commuting distance or relocate.

To Apply:
1. Email a cover letter and resume including salary requirements (PDF is preferred). Submissions will not be considered without salary requirements.
2. Email links to your on-line work samples with detailed information about your specific involvement.
3. Mail a non-returnable DVD of your work to the address below.

Sugar Creek Baptist Church
Attn. Pastor of CC
13333 Southwest Freeway Ste. 200
Sugar Land, TX 77478

My friends, Nelson Searcy and Jason Hatley, at The Journey Church in New York are looking for a Pastor of Media. This is an awesome team, an amazing church and a special ministry where God is moving in the “Big Apple”. I highly encourage my tech friends to pray about this opportunity.

Below is the job description:

Are you passionate about raising up volunteer leaders, directing the media area at one of the nation’s most innovative churches, and growing a production ministry in a multi-site setting?

Are you interested in expanding an already healthy volunteer base of over 35 team members (camera, lights, stage, switchers, editors, etc.) to a structure of over 100 volunteers?

Can you join with our worship arts staff to lead at a very high level, and bring creative and technical excellence to the Sunday service, to worship planning, and to cultivating highly experienced technicians in New York City?

Are you interested in helping a growing church continue to grow?

Do you have a high view ’serving as part of discipleship’ and do you have a strong desire to reach unchurched young professionals and artists?

This is an equipping position to make a difference with the best and the brightest from around the world that make up the Journey Church in NYC.

JOB REQUIREMENTS
- A Solid Calling to New York City
- The ability to mobilize and lead a growing Media/Production Team in an ever-growing environment
- A passion for the Bible and innovation
- A team player
- A high level understanding of media, including contemporary/secular films, video editing systems, technical systems (lighting, staging, video, minimal sound)
- Bachelor or Masters Degree
- Ministry experience in a creative, fast-paced, results-driven environment a plus
- A positive attitude
- A familiarity with The Purpose Driven Church Model
- A risk taker
- A passion for media and the arts
- A passion and drive for evangelism and reaching the unchurched
- A high commitment to the local church

*If you have interest in this position, please email Jason at jason@journeymetro.com.

This past weekend we hosted our top candidate for the Audio Coordinator position at my church. He ran Front of House for rehearsal and all day Sunday. The weekend went great and we received a ton of comments on how much improved the sound was. His name is Tom and he also has a great heart and is going to be a welcomed addition to our staff. Yeah God!

Wednesday night, our top candidate for the Audio Coordinator position flew in. I was with him and in several meetings all day yesterday. He’ll be here all weekend and run Front of House on Sunday. Pray that God would give us wisdom and discernment.

EXTRA:

One of my favorite producers, SermonVideos.com, has a new and improved website. Check it out HERE!

BONUS:

If you or creative people you know are into video production, you might be interested in this…

WorshipMusic.com is hosting an “I Will Remember - Music Video” Contest

They are looking for a fresh and well done music video to go along with song track “I Will Remember”. The entry who wins gets a $500 shopping spree at WorshipMusic.com. All those creatives and filmmakers at your church can get the details and info HERE.

The contest runs during the month of Sept., so its “go time” if you’re interested.

EXTRA, EXTRA:

Collide Magazine ships today. This is THE new magazine for those involved in ministry and media. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can HERE.

My friend and co-host of our podcast, Anthony Coppedge, is now helping churches find qualified technical staff. I know there’s a great need for this because I get asked by pastors all the time who are looking for tech staff. This service is of no cost to you. Check it out HERE.

Yesterday was great. Brenton Brown (and his amazing band) led worship - they rocked and really were sensitive to the Spirit. Our worship pastor preached and blew me away. We had a high school senior video direct for the first time and he did wonderful (keying and all). There’s no turning back now - we’ve started keying and we’re not going back. It was just a great day all in all. I love my church and am proud to be a part of it.

REMINDER (I’m looking to hire a full-time Audio Coordinator/FOH Engineer - PLEASE let me know if you know of someone that would be good for this position. Below is the job description:

Overview

Bent Tree Bible Fellowship, a 5,000-member, non-denominational church located in Carrollton, TX (a suburb of Dallas), is accepting applications for the Audio Coordinator position. Bent Tree Bible Fellowship currently holds three Sunday services (2 in the AM and 1 in the PM) in their current worship center. A new 3,200-seat worship center is being built and should be ready in late Fall of this year, at which time the church will go to 2 Sunday morning services. Bent Tree is seeking a full-time Audio Coordinator who will be responsible for overseeing audio systems for all worship services and special events that occur on the church campus. In addition to mixing front-of-house on Sunday & for special services, this position would include implementation of production team’s weekend sound goals, oversight of regular maintenance of existing equipment, sound support for itinerant ministry events outside of weekend service, team building and interaction, potential studio recording opportunities, and much more. You’ll be working directly with the Technical Arts Director on a week-to-week basis in addition to our large volunteer team and Worship and Arts staff.

Job Summary

The Audio Coordinator will lead volunteer audio teams and team leaders and so will need to be comfortable leading and managing people. The Audio Coordinator will eventually oversee audio editing and sound design using Pro Tools and other editing equipment once the church’s recording studio is complete. Lastly, this individual will oversee the operation, distribution, and maintenance of all audio equipment and systems throughout the campus.

Duties

* Oversee audio needs for all weekend services.
* Oversee all sound equipment on the church campus.
* Oversee systematic recruiting and training of audio team workers.
* Work with the Technical Arts Director concerning the acquisition of new equipment and software.
* Oversee the maintenance and repair of audio equipment and software.
* Ability to set up and operate advanced sound system (96 channel Digidesign Venue) and has at least 1 year experience with digital consoles and comfortable mixing at least 40 channels of audio.
* Oversee a budget for area of responsibility.
* Provide stability, leadership and mentorship for Audio ministry.
* Develop and implement training for secondary and volunteer audio staff.
* Oversee digital audio recording and editing of conferences, seminars, sermons, concerts, and other activities as requested by Worship & Arts staff.
* Oversee audio recording for website and podcasts.
* Oversee audio needs for small classroom settings and other smaller church functions.
* Oversee training of non-audio lay persons in the use of audio/visual classroom equipment.
* Maintain inventory of audio equipment.
* Maintain current knowledge of new technology and availability of latest audio equipment and supplies on the market.
* Fulfill other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

* Has a strong relationship with Jesus Christ.
* Must be an equipper and lead as such. The Audio Coordinator will have to multiply himself.
* AS/BS in Audio Engineering or related field is preferred.
* At least three years previous experience in related field.
* Organizes simultaneous multiple tasks.
* Operates with thoroughness and attention to detail.
* Works cooperatively with maintenance team, custodial staff, pastoral members, volunteers and general public.
* Act as a troubleshooter and makes mid-course corrections as needed.
* Has a strong knowledge of signal flow & RF wireless mic programming.
* Has experience with a digital console. The new worship center will have a Digidesign Venue as its sound console (prefer someone with experience on the Venue).
* Ability to troubleshoot and do basic repair on electronic equipment.

Additional Skills that are beneficial to this position

* Administrative skills
* Teachable and able to teach
* Leadership/supervisory skills
* Passion for excellent sound
* Participation in weekly planning and production meetings
* Ministry experience (volunteer recruitment/training)
* Keep a neat stage/platform
* Self-motivated to manage work-load
* Humble, servant attitude
* Love the Lord, show up on time, work hard, lead by example, pray often, rest hard, do it again!

Salary

This is a full-time position with benefits (40 hours/week on the average.) Be aware that there are peak ministry times 4 times a year where you’ll probably work over 40 hours (Good Friday/Easter, Christmas, Summer Fine Arts Day Camp and Fall Missions Festival). Feel free to check out http://www.btbf.org for more info about our church. Resumes and demo reels or CDs can be sent to Greg Atkinson at the church.

Email resumes to: gatkinson@btbf.org

Contact Information

Bent Tree Bible Fellowship
Attn: Greg Atkinson
4141 International Pkwy
Carrollton, TX 75007

Phone: 972-306-4477
Fax: 972-306-0894
Web Site: www.btbf.org

This Sunday we have Brenton Brown and his band as guest worship leaders. Brenton has written such songs as “Hallelujah (Your Love is Amazing)”, “Lord, Reign in Me”, “Hosanna” and one of my favorites: “Everlasting God”.

PLEASE NOTE:

I’m looking to hire a full-time Audio Director at my church. I started 5 months ago as the Technical Arts Director (I oversee the entire sound, video and lights ministry). This is my first hire and thus the first addition to the Technical Arts staff, which will eventually include other key staff, such as a Lighting Director and a Video Director. This first hire is crucial as we prepare to move into our new worship center and switch from an analog to a digital console (The Digidesign Venue). Tomorrow I’ll post the job description on here. If you or someone you know is interested in this position, please email me at gatkinson@btbf.org.
EXTRA:

One of my favorite bands, Mute Math, rocked David Letterman last night! Who saw them represent?

The wonderful folks at Passion, including Louie Giglio, have released a special EP to encourage and minister to anyone affected by the events at Virginia Tech and for anyone just searching for hope in this world. To download the songs of hope, go HERE.

EXTRA:

The folks who you brought you Church Marketing Sucks and the Church Marketing Lab can now help you get a job or fill an opening. CFCC is now helping to connect churches and creative professionals with the launch of their job posting sites, the Job Lab and the Freelance Lab. Churches can post listings for full-time job openings as well as freelance projects and creative professionals who want to help the church can find the job or project to make that dream happen.

For a limited time postings are FREE while they bulk up the listings and work out any kinks. Check out the sites and spread the word. For more Center for Church Communication news visit their web site.

Phil Cooke is someone of whom I have a great respect for his heart, work and vision. I mention him often on my blog. Recently, for TFWM, Phil Cooke shared his company’s thoughts on style guidelines. He said, “Today, to “cut through the media clutter,” the best method is often a whisper, rather than a scream. At Cooke Pictures, we’ve been working lately with our clients on some guidelines for video editors to help them understand how to make their programs contemporary and effective. In that process, I was talking to the Senior Producer and Editor at Cooke Pictures, Brian Mead, on some tips to help video editors give their programs more impact.” Here’s Brian’s thoughts:

1. As a general rule, stay in touch with current television, web design, and art. Secular TV will especially expose you to current style trends and ideas. We want faith-based programming to be up-to-date, contemporary, and relevant, and keeping up with current styles and formats is the key.

2. As a form of practice, record several hours of television and watch commercials, frame by frame if necessary. We recommend you begin by copying others work and style exactly until you are able to produce the same quality. Turn off the sound, and you’ll begin to focus on the production techniques and style. Look at graphic effects, and graphic animation. At the time of this writing, “subtlety” is what’s hot. No raging, blaring graphics – just simple, clean, and stylish.

3. Enjoy art of all kinds from traditional to current. Have a “deep bench” when it comes to your own personal knowledge of design, camera framing, and art.

4. Read the latest trade magazines. Production and post magazines from the entertainment and media industries help keep you up to date on what’s working for other organizations and give you new ideas.

6. Refer to fashion magazines for the proper use of current colors and fonts. Oddly enough, these types of magazines use color and font choices well. They are a great source of ideas.

7. Keep graphics clean and simple. Again – not screaming graphics. Today, people are expecting something much more unobtrusive as they watch the program.

8. Lower 3rds and graphics should not be busy. Make them readable and clear at first glance. Lower third does not mean lower two thirds. Use you screen space wisely, and if you have too much information, either change to a full page graphic, or use two successive lower thirds. Don’t be afraid of white space.

9. Rule of thumb when creating a spot or graphic - If you don’t understand it the first time, it’s failed. Meaning: If a viewer doesn’t understand it completely on first viewing, it doesn’t work. Chances are, the audience will see your TV spot only once, so you need to be clear and simple with your art, ideas, and info.

10. Use Avid or Final Cut vendor plug-ins that make sense, just don’t use a plug-in because you have them or because they look cool. We recommend not using any until you can push pure creativity to it’s limits. The top editors rarely use plug-ins. The key thing to remember regarding the “look and feel” is that it must reflect the story you’re telling. For instance, don’t use a grainy look just to make it different. In a similar way, “wacky cam” works wonderfully well on a movie like “Man on Fire,” but on “The Gilmore Girls” it would be a huge mistake. Your shooting and editing style should not be chosen in a vacuum. It must reflect the story you’re telling.

11. Use music to enhance your work, and use it to tell a story and accentuate the visuals. Today, music is a key element in all spots, segments, and programs. Choose your music cuts carefully and be very selective. Once again – use music to help you tell the story.

12. Keep to the style guide. The programs ALL need to have a uniform look and feel. If your church or ministry has a logo design and style guide, chances are, they were created after a lengthy branding and identity process and with many factors in mind. Therefore, focus your creativity on telling a great story, or capturing a powerful message, not creating unusual and unique graphics. All producers and editors need to work together to create programs that reflect the new branding direction. Having the Photoshop and/or After Effects elements determined ahead of time will free you up to focus your time and creativity on the program itself, and not be bogged down in creating graphic templates.

Phil goes on to say, “We encourage all the producers, directors, and editors to have a real desire to grow and be the best you can be. The media industry is changing at light speed, and if you’re not learning, you’re falling behind. Let’s commit to focusing our efforts on becoming the leading edge of television, and creating the format and template for what television should look like in the 21st Century.”

BONUS:

Wanna create your own countdowns? Marathon Church (via SermonSpice) is offering a chroma key countdown. It might be worth checking out for your media ministry.

*Anyone use Windows Vista, yet? What’s the word? I hear it’s pretty amazing. I know the beta has been out for a while. I’m curious as to if any of you have purchased it and are using the real deal.

Bill, in his MicroExplosion blog, recently mentioned PXN8 - an online photo editor. It seems like someone else, possibly Don Chapman, had already told me about this, but I forgot. Thanks to Bill for bringing it to our attention.

JOB OPENINGS:

1. If you’re in the Dallas area, possibly a seminary student, Dallas Theological Seminary is looking for a part-time video editor. Here’s the description from their website:

Video Editor

Department: Media Production
Hours: 25 hrs/wk
Available: Immediately
Job Description: This position will edit and process recorded sessions including class sessions, chapel, studio sessions, special projects and off-campus events.
Job Duties:

• Edit video from written cues following departmental procedures
• Finalize video for different media needs including DVD, streaming and tape masters.
• Watch finished sessions for quality control and make necessary changes to resolve issues.
• Publish streaming content and other media onto the internet with FTP
• Operate recording equipment including studio cameras, PTZ cameras and controller, video mixer, audio mixer, microphones, DV decks and Direct-To-Disk recorders.
• Assist in the production processes of video and audio projects including chapel, class sessions and other special projects.
• Assist in the maintenance and archiving of our editing software, hardware and licenses
• This position may be responsible for some evening and weekend events and setups.

2. Director of Communications - Sugar Creek Baptist Church

You are a unique individual with an ambidextrous brain. You think creatively and logically. Your skills as an organizer, planner and manager are matched by your talents as a visionary, artist, and storyteller. You realize these abilities are God-given and are actively seeking an opportunity to develop shockingly creative communications projects designed to reach an audience who respond to spiritual concepts spoken in a visual language. Maybe you never considered a church would need someone with your gifts, abilities, and expertise. This one does.

Sugar Creek Baptist Church is seeking a Director of Communications to lead four key areas of our communications efforts: Marketing, Advertising, Publications and Public Relations. We are seeking a multi-talented, energetic and enthusiastic individual who is a successful leader of creative teams and aspires to pioneer innovative approaches to reach our community and world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In our Creative Communications Department, you will direct how marketing objectives are translated into creative strategies and oversee the process by which advertising projects and publications are completed; continuously leading the collective team to new levels of innovative creation and development.
To accomplish this, the right candidate must have excellent writing, verbal, presentation, and consensus-building skills; an intuitive and analytical approach to problem solving; experience with marketing, branding, and information architecture; ability to communicate coherently and sensitively with staff members, vendors, and volunteers; general ability to organize people, projects, and information; and, ability to juggle multiple tasks/projects simultaneously. A Bachelors degree in Journalism, Marketing, or Communications is preferred.

This position is based in Sugar Land, Texas (a suburb of Houston) and the successful candidate will be expected to become a member of Sugar Creek. We offer a competitive salary and benefits package with relocation assistance.

TO APPLY:
1. Email a cover letter and resume including salary requirements (PDF is preferred). Submissions will not be considered without salary requirements.
2. Email links to your on-line work samples with detailed information about your specific involvement.

Or, you may mail printed copies of the above to:

Sugar Creek Baptist Church
Attn. David Grumme
13333 Southwest Freeway Ste. 200
Sugar Land, TX 77478

BONUS:
Check out this special from 36 Parables via SermonSpice: 36 Parables is offering a new collection of their short films. The product bundle, 36 Parables: The Complete Collection So Far, includes all nine of their videos for $75 (that’s a great price for 9 videos). Each of their films is a modern imaginative of a classic Biblical parable. If you don’t have 36 Parables in your media library, I’d encourage you to take advantage of this limited time offer.