Pagelines is by far my favorite wordpress theme. I have used this drag and drop framework to build more than 7 websites in the last year. Recently pagelines has updated their system to 2.0, which means better customization and a new store with specialized plugins coming soon.
Recently we started creating a series of videos that would help promote a program in our youth ministry called FUZE. We shot the below video on a green screen and did one simple take. Students loved the video and it didn’t take a long time to produce because it depended mostly on the characters improv abilities. A lot of times videos we create are scripted and have lots of angles in various locations …occasionally its good to mix it up and do something very very simple.
We recently created a video called "the tale of Johnny Rattleweed". The premise behind the film was to create a fairy tale that would explain the concept of skeletons in your closet in a fun and creative way. We bought a bunch of skeletons from a local haloween store and shot with the new sony fs100.
I was doing some research today and was trying to find a youtube/vimeo gallery plugin for wordpress I ran into this really cool looking one that only cost $15. You can check it out HERE. I love how this plugin is iphone/ipad friendly. This plugin has been out since February, however its still new in my book.
I know often times when you hear MTV….you think bad…..you think negative and anything offensive. Truth is you would probably think right, but one thing that MTV does understand very very well is youth culture. While doing some research for some upcoming programs I watched some clips from the UK series SKINS, which is now a MTV USA series. One of the things I noticed when watching this was that the students often talked on their cell phones more than they talked in real life. Now I know this to be true and don’t need a tv show to tell me this, however the idea of showing students talking on their cell phones on video was a new concept that I stole from watching this series. This gave us the idea for the following promo for a video we showed to promote a new event we call FUZE. Check it out.
Our student ministry recently switched from tatango.com to txtsignal.com because of increasing prices and difficulties with their interface. We love txtsignal.com and have only been using it for a little more than a week.
Here are the things we love about txtsignal.com
1. ability to create multiple groups
2. ability to create multiple teams within each group
3. unlimited admin users
4. web links and email addresses for each group or team
*this means group leaders don't even have to be admins to send txt messages they can do it by themselves
5. its cheap and cost effective compared to most other texting programs out there
6. clean and easy to use interface.
7. discount for non-profits
*just email them and ask
This year we decided to create a movie trailer for our two summer events. We hired a voice from voices.com and downloaded some after effects templates from revostock.com to aid in the creation process. We had great response from the video that encouraged students to sign up sooner than later.
I get frustrated from time to time during the creative process. Most of the frustration comes from not having a finely tuned process. The difficult thing is that sometimes the creative process is messy and sometimes messy does not lend well to a process or system. Systems are great for assembly lines and standardized products, however when you use an assembly line to create a video or piece of artwork…you may be in for something you didn't hope for. I'm not saying we should have no systems in the creative process….however the systems have to be elastic and allow room for the messy parts of creativity to take place.
Below is a system I have created when creating creative videos. I don't always use this system, however when I do I find that things work out better in the end.
1. have a mtg with your leadership team to discuss the next series or sermons and overall direction.
2. meet with yourself to brainstorm some ideas to bring to the table
3. meet with a creative team to flesh out some of your ideas and to come up with more ideas
4. meet with yourself again to fine-tune these ideas
5. present these ideas to your leadership team and ask for feedback before moving forward
6. meet with yourself again and make changes based on feedback
7. create the project
8. show the project (if time allows) to the leadership team and see if changes need to be made
I use volunteers a lot in order to get my job done. I have volunteers edit video projects, shoot events, write and collaborate with me in a variety of ways? Time and time again I get let down by these volunteers who I truly do enjoy working with. Often times it is not intentional by them, they just let you down. They may not show up for a shoot, or forget to drop off equipment. I've had volunteers who have broken cameras, lost expensive stuff and wasted time editing a project that I could have done in a matter of minutes. Some times I get frustrated and would rather not use them at all, however other times I can't get it all done by myself. I have learned that I have to have an appropriate measure of grace when working with volunteers and remind myself they are not paid and do not have the skill/training that I myself might have. I have also learned to double-check with them on everything. Are you sure you are going to be there? Just to be clear you are going to drop off the footage at this time on this day. I have to be extra clear when working with volunteers because I can't expect them to read my mind.
