Today marks the last in the series of blog posts about the NTMfilms trip to Indonesia.

This last video is more or less "the making of" of our film. You’ll see glimpses of the scenery, culture and the people that we filmed.

The Making Of… [ NTMfilms : Moi Tribe ] from stephen proctor on Vimeo.

There’s definitely going to be a few more posts in the future about our trip (and future trips) with New Tribes Mission , and when the short film is ready, you can be sure that there will be a blog post about it!

So in the near future, we’ll get back to the regular conversations on visual worship, but thanks for going on a tangent with me and letting me take you on a journey into the Moi Tribe! after all, i believe missional living is the best "visual worship" that we could ever offer to God.

Tags: FILMS, MISSIONAL LIVING, New Tribes Mission, TRAVEL, VISUAL WORSHIP, WORSHIP by proctor
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This week @ seminars4worship (in Bradenton, FL), we tried out environmental projection for the first time ever. Not only was this my first time to VJ using this creative yet simple technique, but it was also my first time to see it first hand. i’ve seen lots of pictures…i’ve even taught on the concept. But experiencing it live and hearing the feedback from those with me, i’m still blown away.

For those of you wondering, i’ll break down the technology a bit:

- MacBook Pro running ProVideoPlayer (for all image playback)…

- …which outputs into a Matrox TripleHead2Go…

- …which is tied directly into three 5K projectors set up on a ledge in the back of the room.

- MacBook Pro running ProPresenter…

- …tied directly into the house video system, where white on black lyrics were run (hitting the house screens which were splashed with the environmental projection)

- lighting by ProGear Warehouse (Elation LED fixtures), LD was Greg Moore, one of the best worship lighting guys i’ve ever worked with.

In no way do i take full credit….we had an AMAZING production team & volunteers help in the set-up. I also have to give credit where credit is due, as i learned from the master.

If you are thinking about doing this in your church, tread cautiously. B/c if you don’t have the right content & VJ it tastefully, you can create the biggest distraction ever. i’ll blog more about that later.

It’s really exciting to do something that is really so simple and relatively cheap, which can transform a stark-white, boring room into a place of inspiration and creativity that hopefully draws people in and points them to Jesus.

Before.

After.

Colt Sammons, bravig the ledge.

p.s. sorry for the bad quality photos, my iPhone is cool but not that cool. the Canon 50D is being ordered this week!

Tags: CREATIVITY, EVENTS, Hardware, ProPresenter, ProVideoPlayer, Software, VISUAL WORSHIP, VJ COMMUNITY, VJ GEAR, WORSHIP, apple, conferences, environmental projection, integrity live, seminars4worship by proctor
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New friend and fellow VJ, Camron Ware, is the owner of VisualWorshiper.com and has an incredible blog. I check it every day and am inspired by his work. What he’s accomplished with what he has termed “architectural projection” is jaw-dropping. He also just bought his first Mac (one of the new 15″ MacBook Pros)…so let’s throw a party and welcome him to the Mac community!

Camron just posted an article on his blog that was very intriguing…concerning the use of iMAG (image magnification/live video) during worship gatherings. This was something i thought about blogging about at some point, but he did the topic great justice. so go check it out!

Tags: CREATIVITY, Hardware, STYLE, VISUAL WORSHIP, VJ COMMUNITY, apple, iMAG by proctor
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I was flying to LA this past weekend to spend some time with a tech team at a church wanting to move towards being a “visual worship team”. As I was flying, I was catching up on some reading in COLLIDE Magazine…a magazine I HIGHLY recommend any one interested in media, worship, and pop culture subscribe to. These are some notes and quotes that I wrote down that I thought were very timely. ———————————-
- don’t let technology INTERRUPT or ENTERTAIN
- Technology should enhance community rather than replace it. It should increase interaction, not decrease it.
- “The Church has really been postured to be an enemy of the creative process b/c you can’t control it and b/c the message isn’t always as linear. The irony is that we wonder why there are no artisans in our church.” - Erwin McManus
- Don’t react & respond to culture, we should be creating culture.
- See beyond the media to the message.
- “Excellence is when media becomes a transparent aspect of the service & not the focal point.” - Mike Apple
- “The greatest failure of media artisans occurs when many people ‘look on and admire without understanding.’” (Schaeffer, The God Who Is There, 33)
- Visual media should focus our people towards the One True God.

- “Ultimately, our motivation for excellence in artistic expression supersedes philosophy, is grounded in theology, and is expressed as worship.” - Scott McClellan

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On a side note, I just added a great blog to the blogroll. Already Been Chewed is a design blog by the designer for COLLIDE Magazine.

Tags: VISUAL WORSHIP by proctor
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In the context of a message (whether it be a song, sermon, etc.), visual media can be either directly or indirectly related to that message, as well as can cause a cognitive or emotional response within you. Visual media that is directly related is more or less a literal translation of what is being sung or talked about. Indirectly-related media is more of a “cousin” to the message; there’s no direct correlation but there is a link that can support the message. When a visual causes a cognitive response, it activates something in your head; you see text or an image and it causes you think. Or the visual can cause any type of emotional response…excitement, energy, reverence, adoration, awe…this list goes on an on. Text-based media tends to lean more on the cognitive, while image-based media usually stirs up your emotions; however, it can go both ways.

(A) Direct/Cognitive: A great example here would be lyrics to a worship song. Projected lyrics are directly related to the song itself…I mean, how more literal can you get? And when you see lyrics on a screen, it triggers a cognitive reaction; you see the words and sing along. Another example of this would be keywords from the lyrics that fly across the screen.

(B) Indirect/Cognitive: Have you ever decided not to project lyrics because everyone knows the song by heart? I do this with “Breathe”, “Awesome God”, and “Agnus Dei” all the time. Instead of lyrics, I’ll scroll through various scriptures that support what is being sung about. Or I’ll play a video that has the names of God (“Names of God” from Highway Video’s Vibe Vol. 4).

(C) Direct/Emotional: Try singing “Draw Me Close” and using a silhouette of someone kneeling down and praying. There is a direct and literal translation, and the image can stir something in you. Maybe you aren’t in a position to kneel down yourself in worship, but you can wrap your heart around the image on the screen, letting it express what is in your heart. In concert settings, an example of dir/emo would be singing along with a music video.

(D) Indirect/Emotional (‘indie/emo’ as I like to call it): here is where most of us lie in using visuals, especially as backgrounds for lyrics. These visuals have little or nothing to do with the song itself, but evokes emotions that are appropriate. Using colorful, abstract animations to an upbeat song can support an energetic and celebratory atmosphere. For many, candles can represent a closeness and intimacy with our Creator. The use of creation/nature imagery or a video of a galaxy or nebula that stretches 15 million light years while singing “How Great is Our God” is another great example. You’re obviously not singing “How great is our galaxy, sing with me…”, but being reminded how big God is and how small we are sure does echo the anthem of God’s glory louder than a blue background.

Knowing why and how visual media affects us will help us in selecting visuals that will speak truth to us on multiple levels and help us to engage our people in a purposeful way.

~proctor

Tags: CREATIVITY, VISUAL WORSHIP by proctor
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Today I thought I’d start a series of postings on the art of VJ-ing and the various components that go along with the territory. Most of these postings will be taken from a few articles that I’ve written back in the day for Worship Leader Magazine and EDIROL’s ENGAGE newsletter, but slightly updated and refreshed. Today’s posting will serve as the intro section. Enjoy!

The term “VJ” stands for “video jockey” or “visual jockey”, and sometimes has been known as “video DJ”.

The idea behind the worship VJ is not so emerging, if you think about it. You’ve seen this in forms of visual artists in the Church. But in the context of digital media & newer technologies, the role of the VJ is relatively new. It has emerged from the position of the “powerpoint guy”; you know, the volunteer running the slides on Sunday mornings.

It’s the guy we all turn around and look at when there’s a misspelled word on the screen, or when the slides are behind, or when the video doesn’t start on time, or when…i’m getting depressed.

Being a worship VJ means taking that role to the next level…intentionally & artistically. It shifts from being a spot on the tech team to someone engaging with the worship band. You aren’t just hitting an arrow button and “doing your job”; you are now carrying the mantle of “visual worship leader”. Because whether you like it or not, anything visual during corporate worship is going to affect the Body. It could be meaningless and wasted space, not to mention boring and misrepresenting the glory of God, or worse…distracting; or it could be inspiring, convicting, and truly engaging…leading and pushing the Body to worship the Living God. It’s given that we are affected by what we see, so why not take great care and responsibility with that knowledge?

Many have started to integrate visuals into our gatherings, usually in the form of lyric backgrounds. Video Staging has become the next logical step in the evolution of visual media. And any and every type of visual image (and format) are at our fingertips b/c of the internet. It seems that life for the VJ is better than ever now! But the battle to keep the focus in the right place is stronger than ever. It’s so easy (at least for me) to lose balance and make the “experience” about the technology/creativity. I heard Louie Giglio confess his own struggle with this at one of the Passion conferences; it was very convicting for me.

So have we reached the summit in our climb to overcome the obstacles of doing media well? Can we as VJs do anything else that might enhance our worship and keep the focus on Jesus? Where do you think the journey is going from here?

All for now…. - proctor

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(the above image is from packaging of Highway Video’s “Elements” - a great resource for the worship VJ.)

Tags: VISUAL WORSHIP, VJ-ing, WORSHIP, video staging by proctor
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