A “Shout” Out!

Many of you may not know this, but years ago my first job in Nashvegas was working for MediaComplete, the makers of MediaShout. My early days as a VJ were spent making PowerPoint do things you’ve never dreamed it could do, and then one day my campus minister introduced me to this amazing worship presentation software. After a series of events, i found myself in the hills of middle Tennessee getting my start in the real life. And those first few glorious years were spent with the awesome team of visual worshipers @ “MediaShout”.

It was Jann & Mona who first showed me the technique of “VJ-ing” by inputting two laptops into a V-4 and mixing visual media live during worship. Then “Thumper” came along (former VJ for Tomlin) and had the same type of setup built into a custom road-case with multiple V-4s. I was hooked. The days of simply picking one background video file to play during a song were OVER.

Those first days @ MediaShout taught me a lot…exposed me to life on the road…and equipped me in some powerful ways…all of this has played a major role in who i am today and what i do. i am thankful every day of this journey for the days God gave me behind the Tractor Supply Co. in Mt. Juliet, TN.

And i’m really excited about the new season my friends @ MediaShout are entering into. If you haven’t already heard, the company was bought out and is in the hands of some really cool folks. but not only that, they are about to release their next major version!

There are lots of changes & enhancements being made, and one in particular i wanted to blog about. It’s a feature that will finally untie the hands of those using PCs and allow them to VJ with freedom! The following is an excerpt from the latest preview update entitled “MediaShout and the Worship VJ”.

“For those of you unfamiliar with the term ‘VJ’, the Video Jockey is quickly becoming in creative worship circles what DJs have become to the tech-savvy creative music circles: an artist working to maintain the flow and atmosphere in real-time. The visual worship leader or worship VJ creatively uses video to enhance themes and textures during a worship service. This may mean visually expressing lyrical and theological themes or matching changes in tempo, color palette and visual harmony or dissonance, just as a musical worship leader alters their leading of a song to respond to musical and spiritual elements from their point of view. In essence, the VJ and musical worship leader have the ability to walk hand-in-hand through the spiritually creative movement of a worship experience.

To accomplish this real-time artistic expression, the visual worship leader needs not only visual content, but the tools to use this content in real-time. MediaShout Version 4 adds a tool we call Background Mode to provide this flexibility. In a nutshell, Background Mode allows you to instantly change background content behind text.” To read more about this feature and Version 4, click here. And if you are obsessed with Twitter like i am, then follow MediaShout! So for those of you using MediaShout, your days of VJ-ing are looking very hopeful! i know Todd, Richard, Nato, Paul & the team have been hard at work for a long time, and there is light at the end of the tunnel. They definitely deserve a huge “shout” out. :) i will leave you with this. i’ve spent a gross amount of time in conversations & debates about what software to use. and many of those, i’ve been a major part of, if not leading them. i think there are WAY MORE URGENT KINGDOM THINGS that we should be spending the bulk of our time, money & energy on other than what software & latest video background we’re all using. However, this is still an important issue that affects almost every Church in the Western hemisphere. We must do ALL THINGS to the glory of God, so that means an unheard of amount of excellence, diligence & creativity. If you are in the process of deciding what software you should use, i recommend that you try out the best options available and then make an informed decision based on your own AND other people’s experiences. Choose the option that best serves you, your volunteers and most importantly YOUR CONGREGATION. Then strive to become the true & authentic visual worshiper God designed you to be…not only with your media but also in your life outside the church building walls. Make His great Name known and spread His fame in every possible way!