You’ve seen them everywhere.
Those HD Jumbotrons in arenas that magnify presenters and singers larger than life. Skin pores suddenly grow to the size of lunar craters. Zooms so fast, they induce motion sickness. Over 45 angles to choose from.
And so you get inspired. Pumped. Hyped, even. You can’t quite put your finger on “why”. But it’s undeniable. Sitting in front of a 30-foot version of a 5-foot presenter enhances the experience, especially if you’re in the nosebleed sections.
And now? You want to bring that experience to your venue. But just because you can doesn’t always mean you should. Let’s take a step back and think through the process first.
For Starters:
In the right context, IMAG (Image Magnification) can enhance your church and worship experiences. How, you ask?
Your camera’s unique vantage point can aid in guiding and focusing the audience’s attention on any specific detail of an event.
Whether those details are close-ups of a musician’s fingers strumming a guitar, headshots of the presenter, or wide-angles of the whole venue… it’s entirely up to you.
How Not To Begin:
The truth hurts: I wish I could tell you that we carefully weighed our options, that we prayerfully selected passionate volunteers, looked at our current equipment, and executed with ready-aim-fire precision. You know, that we thought through the “why’s” of doing IMAG.
But really? My thought process was more akin to:
“Why do IMAG? Because it’s DANG COOL. That’s why!”
Not that there’s necessarily anything wrong with that. But with 20-20 hindsight, I begin to wonder if things would’ve have gone a tad smoother if we had taken the time to begin with the end in mind.
You know what IMAG is, you’ve seen it in action, and you feel like it could significantly enhance your experience. But how do you know when to pull the trigger, make the investment, and start doing it in your gatherings?
Great question.
The answer to that can be derived by asking yourself three essential questions. These will provide a springboard as you flesh out your plan.
1. How will IMAG Enhance Your Services?
Square one. You will be the one to decide how and what to display on your screens. It’s an amazing responsibility and privilege to know that you get to choose what people focus on during the event. Consequently, you find yourself asking the question, “What particular image will best enhance the experience for the audience & support the spirit of whatever is happening on stage?”
The answer to this question isn’t always a zoomed in shot of whatever is onstage at that time.
For example, some churches blur out the speaker during times of prayer to remind the audience to focus on God. Others use a close-up of fingers playing a piano can provide angle and detail the audience wouldn’t normally see. Some good starting questions would be, “What image would enhance or support this experience?”, or “What special angle might people otherwise miss?”
Take inventory of interesting and creative shots that you are missing today. Write them down.
2. What Equipment Will We Use?
This answer can sometimes be determined by your budget and creativity.
Luckily, you don’t need a “3-CCD-HD-KFC-Fill-In-The-Blank-Here-With-Some-Uber-Expensive-Camera” to get started. You do obviously need a camera, though. Things get more interesting (read: expensive) when you start to add extra angles and a switcher into the mix.
When it comes to hardware, you can do more, but it costs more. And while more is sometimes better, more is not always better. Ultimately, you’re the judge. And I think we can all agree that less money doesn’t equate to less creativity. Sometimes less money is the driving force behind ferreting out a creative vein that would have otherwise remained undiscovered and untapped.
Take inventory of your target equipment and budget. Write this down.
3. Who Will Run the Equipment?
If you’re just starting out, there’s a big chance that the answer to this will be “you.”
If you have passionate people on your team who “get it” and free you up to focus on other elements, that’s perfect. Otherwise? Tag, you’re it.
If you plan on operating more than one camera, a potential workaround is “peopleless” cameras. Get creative! Handheld cameras can be duct-taped to mic stands behind drum cages or over keyboards to provide that “extra” angle when another operator isn’t available.
Take inventory of who will run the equipment. Write this down. You may need to refer back to your budget and equipment after this step because it is tightly coupled.
Finally…
By now the answer of when, and if, you should take the IMAG plunge should be clear. Review what you have written. If you have the budget, the equipment, the people, and if all of those things are worth the additions to your creative palette, that you identified in the first question, then the time is now. Otherwise, be patient.
Remember, technology is a tool to amplify the spirit of a gathering or event. It’s not the event itself. It won’t make your church “cool” or “relevant”. But it does play some role in the entire experience. We hope these starter questions have gotten your wheels turning.
Are you doing IMAG at your Church?
If so, what’s it been like? What’s worked? What hasn’t? We’d love to hear about your experiences!
Bill Whitt says
I thought question #1 would be: “Is your venue so small that the speaker would appear larger in person than on the IMAG screen?”
John Saddington says
haha.
davisseal says
At http://firsthattiesburg.com we starting using IMAG in October. We moved from a traditional Baptist church building seating 750 to a modern, theatre style building seating 1300+.
We have a unique worship experience–we bring in a different worship leader almost every week-leaders who’s style is new to Mississippi. In the past year, we’ve had Todd Fields, 33 Miles and Mac Powell lead worship.
IMAG isn’t necessary for worship, but it enhances our worship–IMAG adds another layer of connection between the worship leader and band to the audience.
The hardest part has been training video directors–having courage to make fast decisions, plan their shots in advance and adapt to the pace of the song.
Easiest part was getting the lyrics on the lower 1/3 over the video. Lyrics are displayed on a green screen in ProPresenter which our switcher keys out.
Video example of our IMAG: http://blog.firsthattiesburg.com/worship-january-17-2010
John Saddington says
love this! thanks davis!
Andrew Mason says
Dang! Great quality.
…Mind me asking what model switcher your church uses? (We’re in the market for a new one…)
Brad Davis Seal says
Switcher is the Ross Crossover
Andrew Mason says
Thanks!
PhillipGibb says
http://visualworshipper.com/ had some great ideas on when to use IMAG. The one thing I agree upon it – when you need it.
As in when there are so many seat between the back of the room and the front of the stage. Not sure what the idea number will be.
Otherwise I still like the idea of using IMAG during worship or even just during the opening song. But it requires another piece or two of equipment and another volunteer.
However I do use IMAG’ish for feeding the video through to the creche with song overlays and lower thirds.
But you have caught me out – I want our InsideOut guys to use IMAG because it would be so cool – even though there is only about 100 teenagers in the room 🙂
PhillipGibb says
http://visualworshiper.com/blog/2008/10/imag/
this is that Link I was referring to.
Andrew Mason says
Good stuff. I definitely don’t believe “cool” is a bad reason for doing something.
…It does cause me to make rushed decisions, though 😉
Jesse Phillips says
I don’t think “Because it’s dang cool” should be a reason to spend God’s money. Why should I tithe to your organization for you to do something because it’s cool & fun. I’m afraid this kind of attitude is way too prevalent in the Church, while the rest of the world rightfully despises us for being hypocrites & not caring about outsiders.
It seems to me like many of us are more concerned with building flashy temples of entertainment, than caring for the orphan & the widow, than loving & serving our neighbor, etc.
John Saddington says
agreed. i think it definitely is an issue within the church and we need to be wise with our spending. word up jesse!
Andrew Mason says
Good stuff Jesse.
Focusing on tech & entertainment at the exclusion of people & mission is ALWAYS wrong.
I do believe both can (and should) be done. I think “Dang Cool” can enhance the mission. But should never BE the mission.
PhillipGibb says
word!!