Image courtesy of Bethel Church, Austin, Tex. and @jesuslovesaustin.
It’s probably easy to think of reasons why your live stream isn’t everything you want it to be. Most of them are likely financial. When that’s the case, it can be easier to ignore the things that you can do because of what you can’t.But it’s a good idea to ask what could improve, given the same circumstances.
So, consider this article just that—a list of things to consider. Perhaps, they won’t all be applicable, but something on this list will no doubt make your live stream better. Who knows, maybe a little improvement will free up some finances for others. So, with that in mind, put all the reasons why these ideas won’t work aside. Try them, because nearly every church has room to grow, even if there isn’t money to buy new equipment.
1. Make better use of what you have
Let’s start by taking an honest look at your live stream and possible changes that don’t involve money. Are you using your equipment as a professional would? Where have you said, “That doesn’t apply to us?” Reconsider it if you have.
2. Ensure better shot selection
Remember who your audience is and where they’re viewing your live stream. They’re not sitting in the seats in your sanctuary. They don’t have the advantage of seeing the “wide shot” in person. All they have is the live stream. With a video feed that’s strictly IMAG, it’s easy to become disoriented if you’re not in the room. That’s why directors at live events show wide shots to establish the location. It helps set the scene in the mind of the viewer. If you’re cutting between close shots, it might not be obvious that the piano is stage left and the drums are stage right. An occasional wide shot helps establish this.
3. Get closer to the action
Don’t forget that your online congregation is watching on a variety of devices. There may be some watching on a television, but most are watching on smartphones, tablets, and computers. You'll need shots close enough to show detail on smaller screens that can get lost in wider shots.For churches that live stream from a single camera, this could mean adding more cameras and a switcher, but deliberate movements that change the focus of the shot, from one subject to another, can accomplish the same thing with a single camera. Slowly pan, tilt and zoom from one shot to another, then stay on the new shot for at least a few seconds before moving again.
Sometimes you can get better shots just by moving the camera from a balcony location to the floor. A shot that’s straight on provides more authority to the subject than one that’s literally looking down on him or her. Maybe you’ve got a straight on shot that includes both the person speaking or singing and a projection screen behind him or her. Instead, consider when you need to include the screen. Maybe you don’t need it for songs, but you do for major sermon points. Switching the shot, even from a single camera with deliberate movements, will add visual interest that can engage the viewers in a way that a single, static shot can’t.
4. Include more people and shift your mindset
If your church views the live stream as another check box the sound engineer or worship pastor checks off, it can seem like a lot more work. Good. It should seem like more work. “Easy” rarely means “excellent,” unless you’re dealing with a team of people with years of experience, who make it all seem easy.
5. Change “checkbox” mentality to a dedicated ministry mentality
By having a dedicated leader, you free up margin for that leader to experiment and grow. If, on the other hand, the live stream is one more duty for someone who’s already engaged, there’s little space for growth. This shift might start with one person, but should grow to include others, as well.
6. Have an operator
Moving from a single static shot to multiple shots isn’t possible if your church hasn’t shifted from the “checkbox” mentality. The first step is having—at least—one operator. If you don’t have anyone who can run a camera now, look for students who seem to always post shots of church events on Facebook or Instagram. Also, look for people who seem to live attached to their DSLR. Between these two groups, and those who will become apparent once you have someone running a camera, you should be able to find two or three people in even the smallest church. Don’t worry if they don’t have experience. A humble, teachable heart can get a novice most of the way to rock-steady camera op.
7. Cultivate a dedicated team
For larger churches, maybe you’re reusing people who do IMAG or who run sound to do so for the live stream, as well.Just as having a dedicated ministry mindset can help single-camera live streams, it can also help live streams, which reuse an IMAG feed or where the live video director does both.If your primary attention is on the needs of a single audience, you have time to focus on them. This shift can change the video from, “Oh yeah, I need to remember to include a shot for the live stream,” to making the online congregation the primary focus.Likewise, camera ops who are dedicated to the live stream can be looking to get reaction shots and other shots of the congregation that they may never have considered before.Adding a dedicated sound engineer who remixes music for the live stream can really take music, especially, to another level.
8. Work with the other techs, too
Sometimes, you’ll have to share resources. While you can have a dedicated director or camera ops, at least theoretically, you can’t really have dedicated lighting.So, work within those limitations.
9. Focus on lighting
Make sure that whoever is in charge of lighting knows to consider your needs. Cameras aren’t yet as good as eyes at seeing contrast. Maybe your lighting tech isn’t used to providing adequate lighting for cameras and prefers a more theatrical mood. You might simply need more light.
Backlighting might just be an effect for special occasions right now, but it really matters for cameras. It provides separation that they can’t normally see.Maybe it’s just a matter of moving or repurposing lights so that they’re more effective.
10. Consider sound for the live stream
If you don’t have a dedicated sound engineer, you can still get better sound by adding in an ambient mic or remixing the audio for the live stream as a submix. Remember that live sound will always be different than what you hear on the live stream because of the acoustics of the room and the added volume that comes from acoustic instruments, especially loud ones like brass and drums.
11. Treat the online congregation as a separate campus
Sometimes, treating groups of people separately can be a bad thing, but if you do so with their needs in mind, it can be very helpful. We’ve talked about separate shots and sound mixes, but you don’t have to stop with the tech.
12. Add in a pre-service greeting
Depending on the equipment you have, you might be able to record a pre-service greeting for the online congregation that welcomes them and tells them about the web page they’re viewing the live stream on, if it's embedded on ChurchOnlinePlatform, for example.Even if you can’t play a pre-recorded video for technological reasons, that doesn’t mean you can’t do a greeting. Set up a spot near the camera where someone can come and greet them before church starts. Maybe it could start with, “We’ll be starting in just a few minutes,” and end with, “Stick around for another 30 seconds and we’ll get started.” That way, the person doing the greeting can finish before church starts, providing even a single camera live stream a chance to transition for service.
13. Include an announcement time just for the online congregation
If your online congregation is primarily made up of people who aren’t likely to attend in person, maybe they don’t need to know about events that are exclusively in-person events. Instead, have someone who can do announcements especially for them.
This will be easiest if announcements are pre-recorded for both in-person and online campuses, or at the end of the service, but you can do it live, with practice.
14. Acknowledge the online congregation
Don’t forget to get the pastor and worship leaders to acknowledge the online congregation. Just reminding them that people know they’re there can go a long way. It’s also nice to feel included. Starting the message with a shout out to cities where they are does the trick nicely.
15. Don’t let challenges become excuses
Try and think of limitations as opportunities for creative thinking. Two churches with the same attendance and equipment can have radically different live streams just based on whether they see challenges as something to be overcome or as excuses to be stuck. Be the former, not the latter, and you’ll be surprised by the opportunities that open up for your live stream.Paul Clifford is a regular contributor to Church Production Magazine.
