At the heart of the Church lies the Great Commission, and for two millennia the good news of the Gospel was shared primarily through the spoken word, the written word and through music.While the 20th century welcomed the advent of motion picture and video, the ability of the local church to employ the power of these new mediums was often reserved for only the very largest and best-resourced ministries. Fortunately, the advent of new, affordable filmmaking tools is opening doors to churches of all sizes, allowing them to unleash the power of original media in new and dynamic ways for the first time. They are also leaning into the power of social media to energize their congregations internally while also reaching beyond the walls of their buildings. As churches continue growing in this area, it is essential for leadership to stay engaged in the process of building the infrastructure needed to create high-quality content. It will also be important to explore the different innovative ways ministries today are using original media.
While churches often wrestle to convey concepts like spiritual growth, temptation, isolation, depression and sin, film is perfectly suited to effectively illustrate and humanize these existential quandaries.
Narrative Films
One of the primary types of original content churches are employing is the narrative film. Probably the most effective of these is the personal narrative, or testimony, which dramatically illustrates the power of God at work in the life of a local congregation. Well-crafted personal narrative films can speak powerfully to people who aren’t yet a part of the faith, while also bringing tremendous encouragement to members who’ve made considerable investments into their local church.
Another central type of narrative churches employ is the scripted narrative. These projects are closer to television or film in that they are based on scripted stories or sketches, with actors serving as the characters within the film. While scripted narratives can be extremely effective, they also are considerably more difficult than personal narratives because they require more expertise in screenwriting and acting.
One exciting trend media ministries are beginning to utilize blends elements of scripted narrative into personal narrative projects. By starting with the foundation of a true story, filmmakers incorporate additional footage featuring secondary actors, props and locations to heighten the dramatic impact of a narrative. This hybrid allows church film teams to integrate the best of both the documentary and cinematic aspects of a potential project.
Becky Occhipinti Story
Concept Films
Another mainstay of church filmmaking is the concept film. While churches often wrestle to convey concepts like spiritual growth, temptation, isolation, depression and sin, film is perfectly suited to effectively illustrate and humanize these existential quandaries. Better still, film can elegantly and efficiently illustrate these types of concepts, which makes it ideal to open weekend sermons or to promote sermon series on these topics to a wider world. Concept films also serve an important secondary function of allowing media artists to flex their creative muscles, contributing to the larger mission of the church in powerful ways that are wholly unique to their discipline. Undertaking even a few of these projects within the course of a year can infuse life and energy into a film team.
“Taking Flight” Series Promo
Recap Films
A third type of creative content, and one that is too often undervalued, is the recap film. Over the course of a ministry season, churches ask their staff and volunteers to invest significantly into specific opportunities and initiatives. Recap films allow churches to celebrate the culmination of their hard work and dedication. Just as importantly, these projects help powerfully communicate return on investment to the members with the gift of generosity.
For tech or media ministries just beginning to dip their toes into ministry filmmaking, recap films are one of the best ways to get started. The most important aspect of a successful recap film is its narrative arc, so finding a single volunteer or participant to serve as the frame of reference for the viewer will go a long way toward helping them connect emotionally to the film.
4th of July Unleashed Recap
Promo Films
The next type of content many media teams are asked to create is the promo film. This type of project communicates upcoming events or opportunities to a congregation, and hopefully to people who are not yet a part of the church as well. While promo films can be effective when done properly, too often they are designed to “sell” an event or opportunity to a congregation. Historically, churches that have relegated their film teams to creating these types of announcement videos exclusively eventually cripple the long-term power and effectiveness of these teams.
A more impactful way to approach promo films is to look for ways to blend them with other, more engaging types of film. For instance, an effective promo for an upcoming baptism event will often begin with a personal narrative of someone’s baptism story, then pivot to an invitation for people who are ready to take that next step.
Siri-ously Hope Promo
Curriculum Videos
Another effective way that churches are utilizing original media is through the creation of curriculum videos designed specifically for small groups and classes. Many churches today are creating video-based content designed to keep small groups aligned with the weekend sermon series teachings. Other churches are creating short-term video studies based on a specific topic or issue. Cutting-edge ministries today are also beginning to create custom web and app-based curriculum that incorporates video teachings directly into the app.
BattleTested Small Group Study
Broadcast and Live Streaming
A final way church tech and media teams are finding innovative ways to incorporate video content is in the areas of broadcast and live streaming. With the advent of distributed video and digital signage, tech ministries are continuing to increase the reach and effectiveness of the weekend message. Just as importantly, forward-thinking churches are finding ways to move beyond simply live streaming to a single dedicated URL. Emerging platforms like Facebook Live, YouTube Live and Twitch are allowing churches to literally bring the message into platforms where people already spend considerable discretionary time.
Week Three - BattleTested - Weekend Experience
Content Creation Adolescence
One of the most exciting aspects of church filmmaking and content creation is how it’s begun to emerge from its infancy stage into a kind of adolescence. While video-capable DSLR cameras opened creative doors for church filmmaking almost 10 years ago, church media teams today are reaching a point of maturity that extends beyond the surface level. Perhaps even more importantly, an emerging generation of filmmakers and media artists is beginning to pursue church film as a first-choice career path. These young men and women are unique voices with diverse points of inspiration, and if the church is to prevail moving into the 21st century it will be crucial for its leadership to properly equip and empower them to do the work they’re called to.
The Right Tools for the Job
As ministries begin the process of equipping content creation teams for success it’s important to remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Success should be considered in terms of months and years rather than days and weeks. Too little investment and media artists will become discouraged and disaffected. Too much investment and you could end up with equipment being underutilized and undervalued. The optimal plan usually involves a healthy long-term vision that encourages developmental growth over time. The [essential] tool for any effective film team is a primary camera designed for digital filmmaking.
One of the most important innovations in filmmaking ... has been the introduction of drone camera systems that allow cinematographers to capture high-quality aerial footage.
Fortunately, there are some great options on the market that provide knockout feature sets at price points most churches can afford. For media teams just starting out, it’s usually wise to invest in cameras with strong codecs and low-light performance more than higher resolution and frame rates. Ministries with more established film teams will be wise to let their media staff choose which camera is best for their specific contexts. Most digital cinema cameras will be designed to allow the use of different lenses, so it will be important to budget for at least a couple of lenses to go with the camera. As film teams grow in their abilities it will be important to plan for additional specialty lenses as needed. The most important thing to remember with lenses for filmmaking is that you get what you pay for, so making serious upfront investments in this area will pay off for years to come. The next essential area to invest in can broadly be categorized as stabilization. A good fluid-head tripod that can support the weight of your camera rig is essential. Depending on the style your film team gravitates toward, it will also be important to invest in either a professional-level, shoulder-mount rig or a good monopod. Churches that are just starting out should be good with mid-level stabilizing gear.
Next-Level Tools
Once a film team is equipped with the essential tools for capturing good footage, the next step will be acquiring the right gear to capture great audio to match. Audiences are actually more forgiving of sub-par visuals than they are of poor sound quality. The first essential microphone will be a wireless lavalier mic for recording good spoken dialog, followed closely by a quality shotgun mic for documentary-style filming. Fortunately, there are many great options on the market and most tech directors will be more than happy to make some recommendations.Ministries ready to take their next step in content creation should begin investing in lighting designed specifically for filmmaking. Lighting tools for cinematography is another area where manufacturers have really started bringing high-quality, affordable products to market over the past few years. Younger teams may want to invest in a good portable LED-based light kit that allows the color temperature to be adjusted to different environments. As film teams mature, lighting will be one of the main ongoing investment areas, since lighting will often have a greater impact on the image quality than the camera itself.
Tools in Motion
As producers continue to evolve in their abilities to create compelling imagery, tools that allow filmmakers to move the camera while filming will be a key part of their arsenal. These devices include things like camera sliders, jibs and motorized gimbal systems that allow cinematographers to fly the camera through space without the usual visual shakiness. And speaking of flying, one of the most important innovations in filmmaking over the past several years has been the introduction of drone camera systems that allow cinematographers to capture high-quality aerial footage. This type of footage can be indispensable when documenting an ongoing building project or missions event. Just be sure to research national and local ordinances that apply to drone flying before getting started.
Successful churches will begin the process of intentionally investing in the development of media leadership, artists and volunteer teams.
Tools for Next-Level Streaming
For tech and media teams looking to get started in live streaming, or for those looking to elevate their live streaming game, there are some great new tools coming to market that could significantly streamline the process of getting content from camera to the viewer. Tech directors will want to check out the newest cloud-based streaming solutions for customized configuration and scalability. Streaming companies are also beginning to offer products and solutions custom-designed for live streaming directly to social media platforms. Another exciting innovation is the introduction of new all-in-one solutions that allow for easy remote live streaming and can be controlled from a laptop or tablet. Tools like these allow directors to focus less on the technical side and more on the content creation and execution.
Conclusion
The ability for local congregations to express their visions and missions through the creation of original content and film is inarguably one of the most exciting developments in the pro video market over the past several years. Moving into the future, churches looking to engage a wider world will want to begin the process of investment today. Successful churches will begin the process of intentionally investing in the development of media leadership, artists and volunteer teams.
Moving into the future, churches looking to engage a wider world will want to begin the process of investment today.
It’s also wise to block out time to learn from churches who are a little farther along in the journey. Often ministry leaders are pleasantly surprised to find out just how generous leaders of larger film and media teams are with their time and energy. Finally, commit today to stay engaged through the up and down seasons as your content ministry develops. Breakthroughs in team-building, techniques and technology are often right around the corner when we stay faithful to what we’re called to do.
