Worship

Live Production in the Worship Environment

Using live production in your worship environment can be a great benefit to the overall worship experience.

The integrated uses of audio, video, and lighting have become a major staple in modern church worship environments. Live production in and of itself can take many forms and facets. What may be the norm for a large, multi-site church may not be the norm for a congregation of three hundred or fewer. Recognizing the need for high quality, understanding the costs associated, and developing a live production culture within the administration and congregation are vital to creating a successful and effective live production environment. Finding balance in what you do with production is the key to its effective use in your church.

Using live production in your worship environment can be a great benefit to the overall worship experience. Click To Tweet

In today’s live production culture, it is important to maintain an intentionality in our service makeup. Live production for the sake of live production is never a good idea. There must be a purpose behind the move from a more traditional service structure to a more produced service structure.The goal behind using live production should be to use it as an effective tool to share the gospel. This goal is achieved through effective set-design, use of lighting and video elements, and in providing high quality audio to help the pastor clearly communicate his message.

The effectiveness of your production is often determined by the quality of your production. The best gear, most talented artists, and the most dynamic videos will be completely forgotten if the quality of the whole experience is poor. Gathering the best tools in terms of gear, artists, and content is not enough, preparation is key- test videos, hold rehearsals for band cohesiveness, test gear, rehearse transitions. Each of these steps in preparation contribute to the natural flow and overall rise in quality of one’s production. There are no short-cuts to quality. It takes time, effort, preparation, and vision to present a high quality worship environment.

If high quality is the goal, a realistic grasp of the price of reaching that goal is paramount. Real gear costs real money. Each church has unique financial limitations and must find the most effective use of the finances available. Quality, not quantity- cutting corners with substandard gear will only lead to future problems. The best is not always the most expensive; know the specs and understand what equipment will be most effective in the environment. Prepare and plan for the space you have. In live production, imitation is not always the sincerest form of flattery but is usually the most effective way to kill the production. To reduce costs and maintain quality, take the time to invest in relationships with equipment vendors and audio/video integrators to ensure that what is purchased is the best choice for the best price.

Creating an effective live production environment is a process, it will not happen overnight. When you work with the administration to develop a unified understanding of goals, standard of quality, and available resources, you are creating a purposeful and impactful live production worship setting within your church.   

AARON SPENCER
Production Director
Trinity Baptist Church | Jacksonville, FL
tbc.org

Aaron started learning A/V as a volunteer in his church the age of 15. He became interested enough to continue volunteering through college and eventually began a career in Media Production. He spent five years on staff as the Manager of A/V Services at PRI Productions in Jacksonville Florida. During his time at PRI he was also part of the Game Day Crew for the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL team. He spent his first 2 seasons as a Camera Operator and his last 3 seasons as an Instant Replay Operator. In July of 2014, Aaron begin working on staff at Trinity Baptist Church as the church’s Production Director. Trinity is a multi-campus church located in Jacksonville, FL.