Television, no longer the dominate medium of Western culture, is still an impressive cultural force, one that many churches were never able to take advantage of. The Internet, however, that new dominate medium, has lowered the bar for churches to get as close to that old medium after all. Live-streaming or uploads to YouTube or Vimeo have allowed more churches than ever to use video as a method of spreading the Gospel. It’s like we’ve entered into the Second Age of Video, via the Internet.
Even with all that the Internet has done to make this easier, it’s not the easiest thing to film your pastor every Sunday. Why? Because pastors move. Unless you’ve got the volunteers to run a camera—not to mention the space in your church to place a camera platform and operator—a stationary camera is not going to cut it.
That’s where Pixio might just be able to save the day.
Pixio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHLJCdlu0Ss
[Video via YouTube]
If you’ve been visiting this blog for a while, you might remember a post about SOLOSHOT, which did about the same thing as Pixio, but it was designed primarily for outdoor sports settings. I wrote that post three and a half years ago, and I still get comments on it (In fact, it was one of those comments that prompted this post. Thanks, Michael!). There’s clearly a need for a “robot camera man,” and I think the Pixio might be able to fill that need.
Now, €499.17/$554 might be a much for your tech budget, and that’s fine. Maybe you have the volunteers to run a camera or maybe you’re comfortable with a single, stationary mounted camera. But for those who are ready for video and want to be able to follow a meandering minister, this definitely something to consider.
Michael Starrit says
Hey Phil, thanks for the mention. I am now waiting for the budget to get one of these. Hopefully, some others may purchase and do a review about any problems they may have encountered.
Phil Schneider says
You’re. welcome, man! Thanks for the keen eye and the willingness to share what you’ve found.
Now, maybe ChurchMag can find a way to expense one of these…
Eric Dye says
LOL
Erin says
Appreciate the post about this! I learned about Solo Shot first, but it’s nice knowing about alternatives, especially since the current SoloShot3 only supports indoor use with an extra adapter that ONLY works on their kit camera lens.
Separate note: I don’t mean to nit pick (actually, being the resident spell checker at my church, that IS kind of my job, LOL), but your Bio box at the bottom lists your book as “Finding Faith Inside the Big Blue BLOX.”
I know it’s been a minute since this article was posted, but I figured it was better to politely point it out.
Thanks again for this article, and I look forward to reading your Doctor Who Devo! ^_^
Phil Schneider says
Erin! Thanks so much for the help with the typo. I suffer from what is known in the fringe medical community as “sausage fingers,” which results in some serious typos. Thanks for help and the comment!
Hope you enjoy the devo!