Sharing A Story: One Screen at a Time
Every individual has a preferred method to share a story. Some people cut right to the point for the purpose of communicating the main idea as efficiently as possible. Others use grandiose gestures, word play and possibly even exaggeration before reaching the climax of the narrative.
Throughout the majority of history the ability to communicate and share a story started and ended with one key metric: the use of speech. Yet, over the last five hundred years, the means of communicating has expanded at an ever increasing pace. The printing press, photography and radio all marked significant changes in communication. Yet, none of these have marked as significant of a change as television and video.
Video boasts the ability to not only share a story with words but also with graphics, animations, visual explanation, music and more. Video is captivating and engaging. Yet in comparison with most of the other communication art forms, video is very new to the scene. It has only been in the last few years that video editing has become accessible to the general consumer and local church.
It is the “newness” of the platform that causes much excitement and much reservation. Sure, we can edit and record a video solely on our mobile phones with little forethought or design and end up with a relatively useable result. We can livestream our services on a variety of social media platforms at the touch of a button. We can replace live action with prerecorded drama.
But . . . should we?
And if we do, how should we do it? Just like poor speech, ugly photos and bad music can ruin a message, the same is true for video. We as the church should make sure that our implementation of this extremely accessible yet challenging art form fits the same standard we have set for all other means of communication.
Ways To Implement
Announcements:
One of the most popular implementations of video in worship is through the creation of announcement videos. The main purpose of these videos is to share specific announcements, highlight specific ministries and to more efficiently communicate with the congregation.
While these are great and simple goals to set, execution can be far more difficult. A low quality camera and bad microphone can make it difficult for the congregation to understand what is being communicated. The wrong person behind the camera can void every technical achievement.
When beginning video announcements, start with the best equipment you budget allows for, a good communicator behind the camera, and simple edits. Find good lighting and make sure the audio is clear and consistent. Notice in the video below that the background is simple, communication is clear and transitions are clean. This allows the information being presented to take center stage.
Livestreaming:
The latest iteration of video sharing on social media platforms involves the streaming of video in real time. Churches have begun to use this as a means to broadcast their church services and other special events as well to a potentially global audience. This form of video allows church members who are away, homebound members and other interested parties to view the church service as it is occurring.
The suggestions here follow much the same advice as the preceding section: make sure the audio is clear, the video is as high quality as possible, etc. There is just one major distinction that should be heavily accounted for: this video is no longer just viewed by the church body. Some people will have their first impression of a church based on the live-streamed videos generated. It is possible for the Gospel to be heard for the first time through one of these video streams. As such, we should take great care in how we implement this tool.
This begs the question: should we implement live-streaming at all if we can’t achieve a high-quality result? I would argue yes.
Does this mean we must have multiple video switchers, separate audio feeds and high-definition cameras before incorporating a live feed? No. But there are countless examples of low-quality, poorly executed church livestreams scattered over various media platforms.
We are communicating the Gospel and we should do it well. In some contexts, a mobile device on a tripod may be sufficient. In others, an all-in-one solution such as Mevo Camera may do the trick or an entire creative arts team may be required. We should know our audience, know our church and design an effective, high-quality solution from there.
Drama Videos:
Drama videos have the potential to not only incorporate the art of video production into a corporate context but also the ability to incorporate drama and story-telling. These videos allow the drama to be edited and executed with precision virtually eliminating all the variables of a live performance.
Using these for setting up a sermon, communicating a theme, or highlighting a specific element are great implementations. The same precautions as previously discussed should be taken here as well.
Conclusion
Video production is a valuable tool in the arsenal of communicators. We should seek out those who are proficient in these areas to help us better understand them. We should seek outside council and critiques for our implementation. As Gospel-communicators, we as the church have the responsibility to use this tool for Kingdom work to the best of our abilities.
