Churchy Media

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Thu Mar 26

Get That Film Look (on the cheap!!)

I know I have posted quite a bit about these DIY 35mm adapters, but I have recently down-graded from my Redrock Micro to this adapter.

With HDV and AVCHD camera prices plunging in price, nearly any size church can afford the jump into HD Video!! Adding one of these adapters in front of your camera can make a huge and professional looking difference.

Let’s talk money: a Canon HV30 is $599.00 right now here. A used HV20 is only $479.00 here.

Now there are several kits out there you can purchase. There’s The Jag35, the GT35Pro, TwoneilHD, just to name a few. They range in price from $199 - $574 making that film look very obtainable even on a budget. I personally went with the GT35Pro because I have a HV20 and a XH A1 and his adapter will fit both of my cameras. I will post a review and footage when I receive the kit. There is also a great site on how to make them yourself here!

Here are a few examples.

The Jag35

Ready for summer from Baden on Vimeo.

The GT35Pro

GT35pro in the cold Canadian north from Scott Simmons on Vimeo.

TwoneilHD

Twoneil 35 mm adapter test from Adam Örsvik on Vimeo.

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Mon Mar 23

Our New Site.

When I started at Reality Church our website was sad!! So, we had a big push last summer planning what we wanted. We decided to wait until Catalyst to see what vendors were offering as far as show specials. There we met John from Faith Network. We worked tirelessly from then on to help produce the site we launched on March 1st. This does not fall under my cheap or free category but it is great quality from a great company!

We attacked our web presence (for our church specifically) in two ways.

1. The main focus of our church is to attract the UNchurched. Period. It’s not that we don’t accept the believer, we just focus on the NONbeliever. We wanted a simple one page design that when they clicked on anything on the page it pops out and blurs the background on the one page design. Simple and direct.

2. Our home site was designed with our members or regulars. Much more informative and designed with multiple pages and their brand new media center.

Check them out and let me know what you think!!

RealityChurch RealityChurchHome

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Thu Mar 19

Small Fish in a BIG Sea.

I am so honored to be leading breakouts at the Echo Conference. There are going to be some big boys and girls there and then there’s me!

Here is a description of the classes I will be leading in:

Between Sundays

A look at how the small church can use free video sites/services as a means to connect between Sundays. Whether you’re a church plant without a building, or an established church, money only goes so far. Using services from YouTube, Seesmic, Viddler, FaceBook, TokBox etc. you can connect with your staff, volunteers, team/ministry leaders, church body, the list goes on and on. Come experience creative ways to connect Between Sundays.

Between Sundays - A Deeper Look

Diving a little deeper we will look in depth at ways to make these services work for you. To help you look and think outside the box of how to mold these tools for you and your ministry. We will be more “hands on” with the of creation of videos, show you how to get the best audio and video quality, and reveal how to put these videos in any location you need them to be.

I believe that there are so many valuable FREE services out there to use. If you’re at Echo I hope to see you there!!

Hope to see you there!!

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Wed Mar 18

Affordable Greenscreen.

99% of our children’s ministry video is all filmed on greenscreen. I use DV Matte Pro. ($199.00) I cut all my work in Final Cut Pro (1299.00) not exactly affordable, but it’s baby brother is. (Final Cut Express 4 $199.00)

All I knew about greenscreen when I edited my first piece was keep the talent as far away from the greenscreen as possible (10-15 ft. is optimal) and light the talent separate from the greenscreen.

BUT, I pulled my first key in 10 mins. with DV Matte. Affordable software, check. Easy to use, check.

Watch this 9 min tutorial on DV Matte and see if this might work for you!!

Here is the greenscreen setup we purchased.

Examples:

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Mon Mar 16

A Shift.

When I started this blog I was a youth pastor at a church of around 400. I had around 50 students and a LOT of free time because of the mandate to BE IN THE OFFICE?!? (How effective that was… student ministry in an office) So, this blog was born!

When I started at Reality last August the first step in my dream had been realized. A Full Time Media Director. WOOHOO!! Well, I thought now I can blog my experiences as the media director now my blog will be amazing…. Not So Much!! I don’t have the time to do the podcast, can’t find time to edit a stock pile of Short Takes, and the blog has come to a standstill.

Now the SHIFT.

The amazing thing about God is:

I have NO formal schooling to be doing what I’m doing. The first time I picked up a camera was our HoneyMoon in 2001. Yet I have filmed promos for The Virginia Baptist Mission Board. Have a contract with the Norfolk Baptist Association for video work. Filmed, created and sold The WhiteBoard Sessions. Sold the rights of that DVD to Catalyst. Started working in media full time, and have the unbelievable honor of leading two breakouts at The Echo Conference.

GOD ROCKS!!!

If you know me at all, my passion is the small church. The internet has made the world small and brought major attention to the BIG NAME churches. Did you know the average church size in America is around 100 people?? What about them??

Let’s look at my church. MAJOR focus on the lost. Period. We average about 250 people weekly and I’m a FULL TIME MEDIA DIRECTOR?!?!?! WHAT?!?!? Unheard of, I know. I’m so blessed.

Oh Yeah, THE SHIFT...

I am going to use this platform to share how we achieve what we do. I had a $3000.00 budget to buy cameras and other necessities and off we went. We just launched our new website a couple of weeks ago and it’s coming along.

Anyway, I will still be shouting out the FREE stuff I come across but really want to be here to share how we pull off what we do with as little money as possible.

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Fri Mar 13

Did You Know...

I hear of so many people discouraged to use Twitter because of the “Setup” process. Several ministries want to use it in a very strategic way but are sidelined when trying to get their people signed up.

Here’s the work around.

Have a meeting, tell them to bring their cell phones. Ask if they have a texting plan and if they’re a willing to receive texts (updates) from you or the church ministry involved.

Now have them text to 40404 this exact wording:

follow (enter the specific Twitter name here) You’re done! It’s that easy.

Example: text: follow churchydave to 40404

Now if the recipient wants to Twitter themselves then they must signup online.

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Tue Mar 10