Worship Services

When it comes to video production equipment, it seems the technology has a short shelf life and is constantly being updated. It can be daunting to decide what camera to purchase knowing that whatever you sink a large chunk of change into today could very well be an oversized paper weight tomorrow. I guess that could be a bit extreme, however, there is one piece of equipment that if you get right, can hold its value better than gold.

Feedback! Yeah, it can be a problem. Even for a seasoned sound tech. So, how do we stop it? And how can we prevent it from happening in the first place? First, let’s define exactly what it is we’re talking about. What is Feedback? Feedback is the result of sound looping between an audio input and an audio output.

When I launched the first video-based satellite campus of Willow Creek in 2001 the primary question was, “Can this work?” Hundreds of multisite churches later, the question has shifted to, “Should my church go multisite?” What started out as a “Band-Aid” for space and zoning problems of megachurches has developed into a viable option for every local church regardless of size. Multisite is no longer a question of feasibility for a church, but more of a question of strategy, “Is it right for my church?”

I love DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex) cameras and have used many of them for many different projects. But, there are some major limitations because they were not ultimately designed to handle the wide applications of video production. Here are a few reasons I believe DSLR cameras are ill-suited for recording your church service.

Mixing sound is as much an art as it is a craft. And like any art or craft, it requires a commitment to learning and practice in order to stay proficient and mix with excellence on a regular basis. That’s all well and good to say, but what does it really mean to “practice sound?” How can church sound techs practice and get better? Are there tools that can help measure that advancement in knowledge and skill? I hate to break it to you like this, but if you want to get better at mixing sound then you’ll need to do more than just show up at mid-week worship rehearsal, shadow the lead mix engineer on Sunday, and “think about running sound.” Fortunately, there are some great resources to help you get started (if you're an audio rookie), and tools to help you continue your education (even if you’re a live sound veteran).

Planting a church is hard work. In the early stages, a small group of people handles the brunt of the workload. Sunday set-up, child care, budgets, communications, you name it. Resources may be low, but solutions are still necessary. Thankfully, technology can help ease some of the burdens.

The best church sound systems in the world can suffer from one simple problem: Bad audio from the pastor’s microphone. What a travesty! If there is anything a church sound system is designed to do, it is to provide clear and accurate transmission of the spoken word.

As filmmakers and visual storytellers, we can get caught up in the imagery and forget a key component of great picture...great sound. So, how do we make sure we don't sabotage our projects with inferior sound? Here are few ways in production and post-production that we can ensure our sound techniques are pristine while supporting the story and the visuals.