More on the Subtle Choices of Media-use
The guest post on ChurchCreate a couple of days ago is really an extension of a lot of what of we talk about at IMAGO all the time. In fact, the idea of how we build community in gatherings is a large part of Mark’s story that he shares when we do workshops and he leads discussions about rethinking gatherings.
It’s amazing just how small some of the choices about how we use media in our gatherings can seem. However small the following questions might be, though, I believe their greatest significance is found in each choice being part of a larger set of choices that makes a huge difference in the way it feels when we gather…
LIVE VIDEO – What happens when you project a worship leader or pastor’s face 50 feet wide on multiple screens in the room? How are people’s perceptions of those leaders changed? When we decide to give the live video a film-look, does it make it feel even more like we’re watching something pre-produced that we have no real part in? Does the film-look make it feel more like we’re watching an artifact of the gathering, versus actually being there?
PRODUCED VIDEO – Is what’s on the screen helping me experience something I couldn’t experience in the room without that video? If not, why use that video? If it’s a scripted video, does the choice of actors (and how well known they are to the community) enhance or distract me from the story? Does what format we shoot on, and the quality of that format lead us to engage in the video in a specific way?
LIGHTS – What response are we looking for when we set and program lights? Is our highest goal demonstrating the creativity of the program? Setting an environment? Enhancing worship in some way? When the lights on stage shine OUT at the audience, is it possible that we feel less drawn in?
AUDIO/MUSIC – What level of volume helps us engage in learning and worship? Is it possible to be so loud it’s distracting? Too quiet that it’s awkward? How does the actual sound mix of a worship band contribute to how included those at the gathering feel in the worship experience. How much does being able to hear my own voice and the voice of others play?
SOCIAL MEDIA – Are we providing ways for people to communicate with others throughout a gathering, as well as in between gatherings? What kinds of conversations are we hoping they have? Is the absence of something like Facebook or Twitter in a gathering a more helpful thing?
Worship arts pastors, media producers, musicians, technical artists … we need your voice on this one! What do you think? Please share any thoughts about these questions by commenting below. Thanks!
05/05/2010 at 8:22 pm
I am currently helping lead worship at 2 campuses of a large church. One is the main building, and we do everything there except the social media during services. The other is held in a roller-rink, and we only have the media as part of the music worship at that facility – with no lighting options available. It’s been interesting to watch the people’s responses to the same music/sermon/format in both places on a given weekend.
At the larger facility, the majority of the people are what I call “sit and soakers.” They come in, watch what happens up front, may join in the singing, and then leave after the service with very little interaction with others. In the small facility, people interact more. Comments or questions are often made from the “audience” during the sermon. People join in the singing more often and with more enthusiasm, and the congregation is much more likely to serve or be a part of the service in some way. After the service, the people stand around and talk, help tear down our equipment, ask the pastors questions and make plans to get together outside of church.
Some of this is due to the smaller size of the church, but I think alot of it has to do with the atmosphere and controlled use of media as well. The roller-rink doesn’t allow us to provide an “entertainment” factor, to turn up the volume for the musicians, to do fancy lighting or to project live images. What we do choose to project is there for a specific purpose, and it’s only because we can’t do the same thing live. The musicians aren’t center stage there either. Even though we are up front, we are off to one side, and it seems to help people feel more comfortable about participating in the singing even if they aren’t the best vocalists.
After observing this, I’m torn. I love technology, and I know that the use of technology in worship can be a great thing. But I’m seeing that limiting technology in worship is actually producing a more worshipful attitude from the majority of our people. Perhaps it is because the controlled use of media is so different from the everyday world our people are experiencing?