so i VJ’d using my iPhone the other day

yep, it’s true. welcome to the future.

thanks to the innovative folks @ Renewed Vision, i VJ’d an entire worship gathering using my iPhone via the new ProRemote app.

it was pretty freeing being able to walk around, sit with my friends, and experience a worship gathering like a “normal” person, but all the while advancing the slides and changing the backgrounds in the palm of my hand. However, it wasn’t a big room, and i dared not venture too far away from the main computer….hey, even the BEST computers & phones still crash from time to time.

one early concern i had was “well what if i get a call or text or … in the middle of VJ-ing?” simple solution: just put the iPhone into Airplane Mode but go back into Settings and turn on your WiFi (it uses the same wireless network to communicate with the main ProPresenter computer).

i did feel the need to be subtle as i didn’t want to distract others from worshiping with my iPhone flashing around all over the place. But it did catch the eye of one or two of my friends, and when they put two and two together, the expression on their faces was priceless!

You can use the app two different ways, depending on the password you enter. The Observer view can be very powerful…imagine giving that password to visually-impaired worshipers who own iPhones or iPod Touches (or if you have the budget, hand out a few at the door…of course that could be scary.)

my pastor  (Jamie George) @ Journey in Franklin is going to start using ProRemote for his message notes. He’s pretty excited about it.

You can access your entire ProPresenter library of songs, bibles, media & playlists right from the interface.

This is what a lyric presentation looks like. It’s pretty simple to use….but honestly i think it could be cleaned up a bit (lots of unused real estate, but then again, your chances of mis-firing a stanza drops drastically). still very cool and simple.

and the best part of the app: simply “shake” the iPhone/iPod Touch to clear elements of the presentation. i mean, seriously, how fun is that?!

Thanks Brad, Matt, Greg, Rich, Greg H & Leah for all you do at Renewed Vision. I know for a fact that you’re just getting your feet wet with this new technology and other exciting stuff that you’re rolling out in 2009! I can’t wait to see what you come up with next!

(to purchase the ProRemote app for your iPhone/iPod Touch, simply download it from the iTunes App Store – it’s only $4.99 and totally worth it.)