Church Video Ideas

It’s rare that I post over the weekend. Just felt like blogging, I guess. Yesterday (Friday) was a day of running errands. I took my son with me, so it was some good father-son time.

Friday night I ended up running media (or VJ-ing) for a Michael English concert at Fellowship Dallas, where my friend Brian Davis serves as the Technical Director. Thanks to Brian for giving me the freedom to VJ and have some fun. I was running EasyWorship and doing some cool eye-candy on the screens while Michael English was singing. It was special for me, as I hadn’t seen him live in 12 years. It’s great to see that God did a big work in his heart and is still using him.

Tonight I get to take my oldest daughter on a date. We’re going to see the “Nutcracker”. I’m taking her to dinner before the ballet and she picked Denny’s. I don’t know why, but that’s where she wants to go, so Denny’s it is!

* On another note, I can’t believe it’s December!

I was recently contacted by Albert Martin, a tech staff member at Granger Community Church. He told me that they used to use another presentation software at GCC for their lyric presentation, but between the quirky behavior and crashing, it became really frustrating for both he and the volunteers that run the program most of the time.

As a result, Albert has been developing a brand new piece of worship software from the ground up that “has proved to be both extremely stable and incredibly easy for our volunteers to learn and use” (he said he has trained volunteers in 15 minutes for what used to take at least twice as long). GCC has been using this every week since early this year.

The software is just wrapping up development and he’s released a FREE public beta for other churches to use and test. He currently has a very brief website up during the public beta period that gives a brief overview of iWorship along with several screenshots. A more thorough website is being prepared for the final release. Check it out HERE.

Okay, let’s hear it. How many of you have already purchased Apple’s new Leopard? I’m also curious as to how many of you (like some of my friends) were standing in a long line waiting Friday afternoon to get one of the first copies?

EXTRA:

Don’t forget: You’ve got just a few more days to get all of Highway Video’s DVDs for 50% off. Click HERE to stock up your media library!

BONUS:

For all of you “The Office” fans - Did you see Dwight on Second Life? It reminded me of LifeChurch.tv’s Second Life campus, which you can check out HERE. What did you think of Dwight flying around?

Yesterday I referred to SermonSpice’s release of their new, free worship presentation software: SpiceRack. I did my homework on this, including speaking with several “pro’s” in the industry and getting their feedback, too. I, honestly, don’t know where to begin. To call this product premature is an understatement. I don’t know if they were just concerned with getting it out to Catalyst attendees or what. Let me also say that calling it “Alpha” or “Beta” doesn’t excuse what I saw either. As one computer developer I talked with said, “Beta versions should have most bugs worked out and be MUCH further along before releasing.”

I downloaded the software and tried using it and was not able to. All it did was flicker. I couldn’t press any buttons or tabs. I couldn’t add an image or a video - nothing. The other thing that I and my investigative team discovered is that the software is heavily dependent upon the Web - meaning it doesn’t like it if you’re not connected to the Web (Obviously, the creators of SpiceRack want you to be able to connect straight to their mother company, SermonSpice).

I ask: Who is it that is going to be interested in a free presentation software (knowing you get what you pay for)? The answer: The startup church that meets in a school auditorium or a movie theater. Think you can connect to the web there? Nope. For the church that is portable and in setup and tear down mode every week, they probably are not going to have web access, which makes a lot of this product useless.

My 2 cents… This is a one-time purchase. Prayerfully consider how you can come up with the money to INVEST in a solid product (like the Top 3 in my software poll - EasyWorship, MediaShout and ProPresenter). If you really don’t have that much to invest, then consider MediaShout Express, which I reviewed earlier and is half the cost of the leaders in this field.

If you absolutely need to go FREE, go with a proven product like Easislide or Open Song that has been around for a while.

EXTRA:

On a more positive note, my friends at SermonVideos.com have come out with 2 cool new things that I’d love to tell you about:

1. HD widescreen motion backgrounds! As you know, I’ve stated before that I’m looking all over for these since we’re getting ready to go into a new worship center with widescreens. SermonVideos.com now joins the ranks of Igniter Media and Worship Films as pioneers in offering HD backgrounds to churches. Praise God. Many of their newest motions are now available in full widescreen 1280 X 720 HD in BOTH Windows Media AND Quicktime MP4 format. NOTE: Subscribers have full access to these files. I’m a subscriber. To subscribe go HERE.
2. SermonVideos.com is happy to announce the new Countdown Creator software. If you would like to quickly and easily be able to create your own countdowns, this software is for you! Simply put your stills and videos into the creator, arrange the countdown clock and export.

PERSONAL:

I’ve received several “Thank yous” from people that read my article in Collide Magazine. It seems there are a lot of people who appreciate honest reviews of companies and products. Thanks for your encouragement!

One thing I enjoy each year at the Catalyst Conference is the worship and their use of technology. My friend, Brad, the creator of ProPresenter is a big part of what goes on. He usually is the Video Director and they use his software to make it happen. With the combined use of ProPresenter and ProVideoPlayer, Catalyst is always on the cutting edge of media in worship. I just checked in with my software poll and ProPresenter is still in First Place, which surprised me - not because it’s not a great presentation software, I just didn’t realize how many churches had switched over to the Mac platform. If you haven’t voted yet, go HERE to vote.

Soon I’ll be reviewing SermonSpice’s new presentation software that they unveiled at Catalyst: SpiceRack.

We’ve all been there: from time to time, we need to convert a video piece from one format to another. I was helping our youth ministry last week convert a video they had created in Final Cut Pro to an AVI and/or MPEG1 so they could play it in PowerPoint. I told them to download the Xilisoft Video Converter, which is what I use. I also suggested they upgrade their QuickTime to QuickTime Pro.

My friend, Brian Davis (of Worship Tech Online), told me about a piece of software that he uses. Terry Storch actually told Brian and he was passing the tip on to me. It’s a software called Visual Hub and it allows you to import MPEG1 (and other formats) into Final Cut Pro for editing. I thought it was a pretty cool piece of software.

So, I ask you: What software package can you not live without? What have you found that works great for your situation?

UPDATE:

Remember my presentation software poll? It’s interesting that the 3 software companies that I stand behind/endorse and list on my “Charter Sponsors” page are the top 3 in the poll. If you haven’t voted yet, vote HERE.

This past Sunday’s worship experience and message was one of those weeks when I was pumped and proud to be a small part of my church. I don’t know when the message will be posted to the web, but it should be soon. Our pastor, Pete Briscoe, is such a solid, Biblical teacher. I was fired up the whole time he was speaking. He’s preparing our church for a new season as we move into our new worship center and lots of changes start taking place around campus. Below is a picture of our worship team this past Sunday (we were trying to fit around the giant door). The other picture is of me standing next to the door yesterday. I’m 6′5″ and I come up to the doorknob.

NOTE:

So far, ProPresenter is leading the pack in the software poll. Of no surprise to me is that the top 3 are the 3 that I endorse and stand behind (my Charter Sponsors). If you haven’t voted yet, you need to represent for your company.

If you haven’t voted for the worship presentation software you use, please do. It takes like 15 seconds to sign up with Squidoo. You can cast your vote HERE.

In meeting with the folks at MediaShout the other week, they mentioned that out of the list of the Top 25 Most Innovative Churches in the US, 19 of them used MediaShout. I found that interesting. I’m a regular user of EasyWorship, but also have a great respect for ProPresenter and MediaShout. I’m curious as to what you use at your church…SO, I created a Squidoo poll where you can vote. Please go HERE to place your vote or.

EXTRA:

Have you heard of Sermon Cinema? Might be worth checking out.

PERSONAL:

Yesterday was a great day. We did a funny drama, great music, our pastor was back from his sabbatical and we played an in-house video we did that was hilarious. Also, we had 4 people shadowing people on the Tech Arts team and watching what was going on behind the scenes. We just did a volunteer campaign called “iServe” and it produced some great new contacts.

Also, after our last service last night, I got to sneak over to Denton Bible and catch one of my favorite artists in concert: Shawn McDonald! I love him, his music and his testimony. Wow!

I’m back in good ‘ol Dallas (’till I fly to Atlanta tomorrow). Hopefully I’ll get to go to 7:22 tomorrow night at North Point. My worship pastor and I will be meeting with Clark ProMedia to go over our equipment list for our new worship center. It will be two days of meetings, then I’ll finally be back in Dallas for a while. I think the next thing I have on my calendar is Catalyst. I’m taking a break from conferences/traveling.

Nashville was great. I arrived Tuesday night and had dinner with Wayne (our church’s band director who was also in Nashville) and Gersh (formerly of WhiteHeart) - who Wayne was spending the week with. Gersh (who has written 20 #1 songs) works with churches and worship leaders, as well as writing, arranging and producing for a living in Nashville. I didn’t plan on it, but I ended up spending all day Wednesday with Wayne and Gersh. We started off the day eating brunch at the famous Loveless Cafe, which was amazing (see above).

Wednesday night, I took Wayne to see the legendary Wooten brothers, who play every Wednesday night in Nashville. This was my 5th time seeing them and I was as amazed as ever. I think Wayne was blown away, too. I met up with my best friend, Thomas Rose (worship leader at Mosaic Nashville) and followed him back to his new house, where I stayed the rest of the week.

Thursday, Thomas and I hung out at Rocketown (where Thomas also works) - Rocketown is a youth community center/skate park/concert venue founded by Michael W. Smith. Later that afternoon we went to a strategic planning meeting for Rocketown, which was held at one of the board members’ home (the owner of Purity milk and ice cream). I sat two chairs down from Michael W. Smith, who was listening to stories from teenagers that had been impacted by Rocketown’s ministry.

Friday, Thomas and I stopped by MediaShout to say “hello” and get a demo of their brand new MediaShout V3 Express. It was great to meet some new folks at MediaShout, as well as talk for a while with my friend, Paul Jackson, President of MediaShout. MediaShout Express is going to be an answer to prayer to many, many people. Every conference I do, I come across people that would love to leave PowerPoint, but can’t afford to pay $399 for something like MediaShout, EasyWorship or ProPresenter.
MediaShout Express is on sale for $199 - that’s right ONE ninety-nine. Express has all the main features of the full version (and is upgradable, if you want to go to the full version down the road), including text over motion backgrounds, a song database, Scripture, sample media and more. The retail price is $229 - tell them Greg said you could get it for $199. If you’re ready to take the next step, leave PowerPoint and start using a presentation software designed for worship, then this is definitely worth checking out.

Friday night we went to the Nashville Sounds baseball game (minor league team), where it was “Faith Night”. Rocketown was there in full force - with their skaters and bikers putting on a show outside the gates, plus one of Smitty’s new bands (from Rocketown Records) playing music - as well as Michael himself singing a song. Michael also sang the National Anthem and threw out the first pitch. It was great exposure for Rocketown. The B-Boys (a dance group from Rocketown that my friend, Thomas, oversees) danced on top of the dugouts in-between innings.

Saturday night, we got to visit LifeChurch.tv’s campus in North Nashville (Hendersonville). I’ve blogged about LifeChurch.tv many times, but had never been to this campus (they have 11). Thank you to Andrew and Charles, who invited me via this blog’s comments. Andrew is the campus pastor at the Hendersonville campus (read his words HERE). Charles works for MediaShout and is a part of their tech team at the church. LifeChurch.tv was on week one of their new series “30 Days to Live” - it was very moving and powerful. I love the move and work of God that I experience each time I visit one of their campuses. I’d encourage you to check out the service online. ALSO - don’t forget that you can use ALL their resources for each series for FREE via their Open website.

Sunday, I worshiped at Mosaic Nashville, where my friend Thomas leads worship. This was their second week in their new location (which is really cool). I had a great time there and then hit the road to head back to Big D.

I got back in time to see my kids last night. I’m hanging with the family all day today and then catching a 6:30 AM flight to Atlanta to begin the 2 day meeting. I’m not bringing my laptop with me, so I’ll blog again on Thursday.