I’ve been thinking a lot recently about image magnification (IMAG) during worship, and why some church communities do it and others don’t. I want to ask some questions to the church communities that do put the worship leader/band on large screens during worship. My home church does not do IMAG during worship, and so I know why church communities don’t do it.
When I’m out with a church, I always ask if they do IMAG during worship. Most don’t, but when the occasional church says “YES“, I ask why…
Usually the response is “So the congregation can connect with the worship leader.” I leave it at that.
Now, I know there are gigantic rooms that “need IMAG”, so they say. But, during worship, aren’t we supposed to be connecting with God and not necessarily the worship pastor? Yes, he/she is there to guide us (through song/scripture/liturgy) to the Lord, but do I really need to see their face 12 feet tall in order to do that?
I’ve visited a particular church in the area several times, where they have gorgeous, bright HD projectors and an entire HD system to back it up. Looks fantastic…almost too fantastic. It was hard for me to look away from the screens. I wondered what the service would have been like to not have the band on screen the entire time. Sometimes the most powerful moments have been when things are turned off.
What, people weren’t able to worship and connect with others in a room before 1987? Is putting the guitar solo on screen REALLY that more effective? Or is it cheesy…
Sure, some churches broadcast and pipe the video to other rooms and locations; that’s cool. But I’m talking about the churches that don’t do any of that, and seem to do IMAG just to do IMAG. That’s just weird to me. Whatever you do, I think there is a balance that needs to be obtained between when to do IMAG, and when not. Hopefully, it’s more often not.
Talk to me. I’m not saying one is right and one is wrong; diversity is great, but I’m curious here…
Why do people feel like they have to have IMAG during all of worship?
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I’d love to see a church that does some IMAG and then shuts it down, or repurposes the screen with visuals that add to the experience. I think in the future we’ll see a push back from the super-produced service that I love to a stripped down acoustic feel, which I also love.
I think about my own church (The Journey in Franklin)….we are in a smaller warehouse room, but there are tons of wooden pillars everywhere. 9 times out of 10 i cannot see the worship leader’s or pastor’s face b/c a beam is blocking my view.
this isn’t true for everyone…but for the majority of the room, it’s a issue.
but it makes me think about the whole “connecting to the person on stage’ thing…which is something I’ve taught about many times myself, actually. b/c i don’t think i need to connect to them by seeing their face on a big screen (we don’t do iMAG by the way).
i agree with Stephen Bateman….i think we are going to see (are beginning to see, actually) a push-back from the high-glossed super-produced worship experiences….i know in Franklin, that’s the LAST thing that we want as a part of our worship gatherings….and we are made up of mostly young, creative professionals that work in the creative/event/music industry.
and most other audiences I work with associate high-end production with performance instead of worship.
the next decade is going to be very interesting.
great post!
I think you’re totally right that balance is important and like a lot of things, if overused, the power of IMAG can be lost.
For me IMAG loses it’s power when it becomes more of a technical and less of an artistic device. Instead of worrying about simply magnifying what’s on screen, we should try to tell a story. We should try to focus people’s attention on certain people/objects/scenes through different shot sequences…try to progress the story line of the worship experience. (Yeah I realize that’s easier said than done…)
Instead of worrying about always getting a perfectly framed shot with plenty of lead room, head room, etc. we should guide our camera operators to get shots that evoke emotions and feelings…tighter shots, different angles, playing with iris levels, focus, adding grunge effects…
Thanks for bringing this up, it’s an important discussion to have since more and more churches can afford IMAG equipment today…
Great comments guys…
@Josh; so true! Well said; IMAG is there as a tool; both for logistics and art; but when it becomes all about making it look “proper” you loose the beauty.
One of the biggest things I cannot understand is when a shot of the person on stage is SMALLER than the person live standing in the room. I just don’t get it…and apparenty neither does the video guy.
Can’t wait to see what happens.
We use it. My answer before I read your post was to engage people in the worship experience…meaning i would hope that making ti easier to see me..the worship leader would make it easier for me to communicate with the congregation. That being said, you make me re think…and I love that. I would love to dialouge more about this.
At my church we do not use IMAG but I do use IMAG for some large events we have in much larger venues. I will often mix the live musicians with imagery and motion video to keep it fresh and to help set a mood and tell a story. One thing not really mentioned yet is what I think the most important use of IMAG and that is when a pastor or person is sharing. We all know that the spoken words is only a small portion of the message being delivered. I see extreme value in being able to see the emotions, and see the facial expressions of passionate pastors and speakers.
@ Camron – about having shots on the screen where people are smaller then on the stage . . . our video set up is kind of limited and when we show video on the screen it’s the same video that we record to DVD.
When we record to DVD, we get wide shots of the sanctuary from time to time so that people watching at home can get a sense of the space of the room. One thing I didn’t like about some other church’s recordings is that you only had close up shots . . . you never get a sense of the entire space where the service is taking place. In fact, we usually start the DVD with a wide shot from the back of the room (as if you walked into the sanctuary).
We don’t have the equipment (or volunteers) at the moment to do a separate video mix for the screen . . . so we just use what is going to DVD. I dunno if that was the idea in other places you’ve seen, but for us it is just a limitation of equipment. And, as these shots are few and far between, no one seams to mind.
As for putting the worship leader up on the screen during worship . . . here is our philosophy for the entire A-V / Media department at D.F.A. . . .
The technical aspects of the service (sound, lighting, media, video, etc) should NEVER distract from the service, but instead only pull focus to (and help people have a clearer understanding of) what ever is currently going on in the service. We mic Pastor so that people all over the sanctuairy can hear him clearly, we put the words up on the screen during worship to keep peoples hands free, we have lighting on the stage to pull visual focus and so that people can see clearly.
We put stuff on the screen to pull focus to it. It’s just a fact that people, especially the younger generations, have an attention span of like 7 seconds before their eyes start to wander ( I include myself in that category, mine is like 3 seconds). So during the preaching, for example, we put video shots of Pastor on the screen and mix in his notes as he talks about the different points. This keeps it visually interesting, as well as giving people key points to write down for their own notes. Our sanctuary isn’t huge, but it’s deep enough that some people at the back have trouble seeing Pastor clearly . . . especially his facial expressions.
During worship it’s a little different. Like you and other people have mentioned, we want the focus of worship to be . . . well worshiping God. However, we do also have a worship leader to lead us in that. Maybe it’s kind of sad that we need someone to lead us in our worship to God, but it keeps things from becoming chaotic I suppose. So our rule is that we leave the words up on the screen during worship unless the worship leader pauses the singing between songs to speak to the congregation directally. Even then, if it’s just a couple of sentences . . . we usually don’t bother changing it because that, in it self, could be come distracting. However, if the worship leader wants to take a minute to explain the words or history of a song . . . we put them on the screen.
Another rule we have for video (just to spur on more discussion) . . .
- We never get shots of people at the altar. We put the title slide back up at the end of service (so that we are not showing the video shot) and we stop the DVD recording when pastor begins the altar call. And if people come to the altar while Pastor is still preaching, we keep the shots close so you cant see the people. What happens at the altar is between those people and God, not whoever is watching the DVDs. Also, we don’t want people to feel uncomfortable when at the altar, it’s a private time (even though most of the congregation can see them . . . people feel weird when they see themselves ‘on TV’).
Maybe that was too long of a response . . . but you asked lol !
@Richard: I’d love to talk about it more too!
@Jeremy: Yes, I agree that during the message/speaker, seeing the person IS important. That is a different time and purpose for IMAG. It’s interesting because during the teaching time; IMAG can help people connect with the person telling the message portion of the service, and can bring the speaker closer to the audience and vice versa. But during worship, I feel it has a tendency to distract. I feel like during that time; it’s US together…
Here’s one way to look at it: During worship, it’s about all of us together praising God, led by the worship pastor who is gifted by God. During the teaching; it’s about us listening to the teacher, who is gifted by God to teach us. So, fundamentally there isn’t much difference, but on the surface it feels like a different vibe between worship and teaching. I’m still trying to figure out how to verbalize that distinction.
I hope I’m making sense and on the right track…
@Ian: Sure, that makes sense about the wide shots. I’ve had to do that for a few events here, so the overflow crowd could see the room.
What you said about everything we do; and how it shouldn’t distract: Right on! I think we tend to forget that. It’s the age-old battle of balancing what we HAVE to do and what we WANT to do, or think we SHOULD do in order to be effective. The key is to do whatever you do well; and always take time to step back and ask yourself “WHY” you’re doing it.
And right on about not showing people at the altar. I feel that is that person’s time with God, not to be shared with others necessarily in that way.
I wonder what the difference is in putting the teacher on the screen vs worship leader? Is their one? Personally I thing the problem goes deeper than what is on a screen. We seem to get way to focused on people/leaders and less on God. It has been going on for thousands of years and don’t see an end in sight. But by keeping people off the big screen we reinforce the idea that they are not celebrities. And allow a little window of time during the week when people can breathe in truth..life and hope only found in worshiping God.
Well said Wes!
Exactly. I believe that to be true.
I think a good question is, “What does the medium of IMAG communicate apart from whatever the person on screen is saying?”
Some possible answers from different viewers might be:
“This church wants me to see the speaker/singer even if I’m in the back”
“This church cares about having the latest technology”
“This church wants to look like a secular concert venue”
“This church believes the visual sense is as important as the auditory”
“I’d probably have to be really good looking to be zoomed on a screen like that”
“Man, I feel really connected to the speaker. It’s like he’s talking right to me.”
This is based of the idea that the “Medium is the message” (McLuhan) meaning that just the presence of the technology communicates independently of whatever the words or images actually say.
It seems that accurately answering this question (for your audience) and seeing if it matches up with your biblical theology of worship (which all churches have thought through, right?) will help determine if using IMAG makes sense.
@John; great comment.
I wish more churches asked themselves that question. I think some do it simply because a company said; “You need to do IMAG in this room” and didn’t think twice about it.
Hmm…
There are so many issues that come into play with this seemingly simple topic. Several people find IMAG distracting, so we normally just don’t do it during worship. As a photographer/video director and a musician (amateur musician), I do not find IMAG distracting if it is directed properly. Eh – as I would prefer it, I should say. The biggest complaint I have heard as a video director is this:
“I do not want to look at the screens during an intimate time of worship and see the face of a guitar.”
I agree completely with this. I have not been allowed to shoot IMAG during worship songs, so I cannot offer feedback from viewers. But, if I could, I would direct something like this… for example, let’s stick with the guitar/player. I would start at a waist-up shot, showing part of the guitar and go with a slow push to the player’s face in sync with the song instead of a static shot of a Gibson Les Paul. I’d do the same kind of thing with the lead singer. I enjoy seeing others worship. Personally, it helps me lower my inhibitions and become a participant rather than a spectator. I think all aspects of production should compliment a worship experience – not enhance it. If video, media, or lighting is enhancing worship, I don’t believe it is true worship. I don’t believe our Father delights in that.
This brings me to a few other points. Many people are spectators. Some of them are content with simply watching. Usually, they are younger. They enjoy the spectacle… music, lights and video. As maturing Christians, we tend to discourage anything resembling the stereotypical rock star lifestyle, and rightly so. But this is where it gets sticky. Is it a director who would rather direct for Coldplay that is causing a distraction on screen? Is it a musician with an ego problem? Is it a camera operator who watches too many U2 videos? Is it a combination of some of these things? Is it simply a matter of personal preference for each viewer? Is it an issue with motives in our hearts? For me, these points intermingle and get so tangled up with each other because I believe they are all true at some point. With a congregation of one thousand people, you have one thousand variables. So do we err on the side of caution? Do we limit the creativity God has given some at the discretion of others? Is it good for business (because we all know a church is a business) to keep the tithe offering up by pleasing the masses and running only media with lyrics or giving them all IMAG – all the time on a HD system? It is a tough topic because it is different at every event, at any point in time during those events. I don’t think there is a definite line here. I don’t think it is black and white – as we have tried to make it.
I believe balance is key in anything. One night I saw six screens, four bands, ninety-seven background images/jumpbacks with intermittent three camera IMAG during a worship set. Not a concert, a worship set. Distracting isn’t a big enough word. Personally, it is all about content when it comes to praise music, worship music, and the Word. Hyped up, lit up, loud, and flashy productions don’t help me in my daily walk on this earth. Recognizing God is good regardless of my circumstances and proclaiming it in song (as He commands) and in the way I live my daily life strengthens my relationship with Him. Does IMAG keep me from truly worshiping in song? Not if it isn’t distracting. How’s that for a reply? Does lighting take my focus off of Him? Not if it isn’t distracting. Media? I’ve seen more distracting media than anything else. Seeing landscapes doesn’t help me connect with God. Seeing my brothers and sisters really does. I believe God has given us all gifts and talents that we should explore and develop. When we are met with criticism that is not constructive or we are just shut down all together, a few things can happen. Us creative types begin to die inside. It can be extremely frustrating, and more than likely, we will walk away after a time, feeling bitter. Or we may go to extremes in our work, basically in rebellion to those in authority over us, and eventually leaving. And feeling bitter. I think it is paramount to encourage – and monitor – the creative qualities in people. But as I’ve said… it gets sticky. It gets sticky real fast. I think this issue is much deeper than it seems.
I think we can use our friends on Broadway as an example here. They are doing something for a large audience where the actors must connect with the audience, yet they don’t require IMAG. I think if you’re holding your worship service in a stadium that might be the only exception.
Now the argument of an IMAG shot of the worship leader or band could make worshiping distracting and take our focus off God could be turned around the other way too. If you use imagery behind your words on the screens that too can be distracting and put focus on the wrong thing. So often as production people or worship leaders we get so wrapped up in what we’re doing to worship, that we can forget about the hundreds of other people in the room trying to worship. We like to think they are feeling the same way we are, but they are not creating the mood with lighting or video or creating the music that is heard.
We’ve been given powerful tools that all have a place and time. I think we can worship God with these tools too. We can worship God with music from instruments, with light and imagery…He created it! We just have to be sensitive to those worshiping with us. Maybe the church needs more teaching on the subject of worship. I think pastors like to leave that up to the worship leader, but that shouldn’t be. Oh, and know you can never please everyone!
great dialogue. we do use IMAG in HD in our community. here’s my take:
my thought on IMAG is that it is an effective way, when done tastefully and in the right context, to bring the experience in closer and more effectively. in our community, we work VERY hard to create an experience in our gathering times that would creatively reach the Un-churched with every component we plan in order to allow them to engage in new ways in what God is doing. what we do create, through media, should also serve as a totally accessible means for the believer to enter in and worship.
the funny thing is that i’ve RARELY heard the adversity or complaints on IMAG or even on the topic of the approach to the music from the Un-churched. It’s usually ‘mature christians’ that wave their whining flag on IMAG and approach to using creative mediums. i think this is, largely, an issue of a lack of education and immaturity on behalf of the ‘believer’. it is important that as church leaders we are educating the ‘believer’ on the purpose of our sunday gatherings. obviously, community to community that focus could be quite different. our purpose really is to create a worshipful and relevant experience in which those that are far from God might actually see Him. we choose a presentation style that is unconventional from traditional church, on purpose, so that we can have the opportunity to have the dialogue about this amazing news of Jesus. we’ve, with intentionality, created an environment on sundays that you would feel TOTALLY comfortable inviting those in your circle that may not, yet, know Jesus and we speak to and allow the environment to be a place where the believer can worship and the unbeliever can come, see and hear. the mission of your gathering time has huge implications for the mediums (IMAG, great sound, etc…) and why/how you use them. (just a note: we have MANY fingering ministries that offer a maturing component and often our sunday gatherings serve that purpose as well)
For those that are checking church out for the first time, often, the creative mediums that we’re using are a sticking point and a reason why the come back. we often hear, ‘if church can be like that, i think i’ll come back’. simple things like IMAG are just one of the components on what aids in creating the experience, but, it is definitely only part of the experience. if you don’t have ‘IT’, as Craig Groeschel says, IMAG, great music, cool branding, etc… won’t do anything for you. The Holy Spirit is the key component and when we’ve lost that focus that it’s Him doing the work we’ve lost it. IMAG and things like it are a means to the end.
we live in a society and culture that is so used to HD, high quality sound, lots of cameras and excellent media mediums. i think we, the church, should look at ways in which we can also lead the way in these things. obviously, this dialogue is all VERY contextual to your community and the approach to your gathering times.
obviously, the job of the worship leader is to be a ‘worshiper first’. If we’re doing our job as worship leaders the IMAG will only help people see us leading the way in leading worship. whether it’s the words we’re singing or the way that we’re playing we get the chance to lead out as we stand before the congregation.
those are a few of my thoughts! hopefully it brings some different perspective.
I agree with many here… as long as it is a “help” to the atmosphere of worship, there is no problem, but I think that it can give a performance mentality to band members and pastors alike. The question I always ask is, “if the power goes out, can we still worship?”
I do like to see other elements on screen, especially during slower, more worship-ful or meditation times… so that the congregation doesn’t feel like they’re being entertained.
Wow…talk about lots to think about! This is great. I have thoughts for each comment; hopefully I can reply to them this weekend.
Let me throw something else in now. This is me the lighting guy talking:
When you do IMAG, you have to generally have more light on the people/band/stage. If you want to get proper and technical, then we’re talking 4-point lighting, which can quickly make the stage feel bright and “loud.”
Obviously camera gear and projector plays a part in it, and while some churches have the resources to have the cameras that are more forgiving in low-light, most churches don’t.
My home church is not a “video church” as I call it, and we have some ancient video gear. In order for the cameras to pick up the people on stage, we have to have a lot of front, white light.
This comes around when my church hosts an outside event and wishes to have our band play worship music, and also have the band on IMAG.
It’s interesting to show them how “vibey” the stage can look when NOT shooing IMAG, and then turn on the lighting required for the cameras, and see how the people in charge of the event cringe and say “Oh we liked the other look better.”
Now, for the most part you can put worship songs in two categories. “Up”…and “down”, to be simple. It’s easy to light for IMAG (if you’re doing it) during an “up” song, because the song calls for brighter and livelier. But during a “down” reflective song, turning the lights down (or even OFF, dare I say) on the band and stage and using shadow and color can create a very fitting mood for the music.
Unless you feel like you have to do IMAG for the introspective songs as well, in which case you “have” to light them “properly”. In doing that, I think you can lose beauty and simplicity.
With the majority of churches doing IMAG in mind, my question is this:
Do you think you lose something beautiful and simple when you light for IMAG (during certain songs) ?
Do you light for the room or for video…?
I heard about a pastor who refused to let anyone use IMAG of him when he was speaking. It didn’t matter the venue. He told Promise Keepers to turn off the cameras in a huge football stadium rather or else he wouldn’t speak. His reasoning: “I’m a real person, not a media image. If people need to strain to look at me, so be it. I’d rather have them strain to see a real person telling them about the gospel, than be just another image on a screen.”
Worship isn’t a concert. It’s not even an “experience”. It’s an audience in the throne room of the heavenly emperor.
Very cool…I like that “mindset shock”, if you will.
I don’t like using the word experience either…it’s participation, not observation.
I don’t remember where I heard this, but a good rule of thumb is that if you don’t have 1500 seats, it’s not called IMAG… it’s egoMAG. Take that with a big fat grain of salt =)
Lighting . . . now here’s something that varies greatly from our Worship service on Sunday to our Youth service on Wednesday.
Our main sanctuary (the one we use for Sunday morning worship) was first designed to look good, second to sound good, and then they threw some lighting positions in over the balcony as an after thought. Our stage is a strange shape as well. Here’s a picture for reference from a Sunday evening (http://www.arackas.com/images/paisley1.jpg). Please ignore the horrible paisley pattern, we were trying different things and . . . well that just didn’t work lol.
To answer your question, we light for the room first. Then we make a few compromises and tweaks for video. At least, that’s what we do on Sunday mornings.
Because of the shape of the stage, and where the lights are hung in the auditorium, and having limited lights (including no back light at all) we cant do much other then light most all of the stage at once. If we light Pastor in the pulpit area, that same light falls on the band. The only thing we change lighting wise during the service, is to turn off the side fill light for the band and to turn off the choir area light after Praise and Worship is over. This lets the more saturated color behind the pulpit show through giving a nice background for Pastor (so he sticks out on video more with out any back lighting). This is how the lights are set in the picture. We also have a pattern on the wall depending on the season. The paisley was a bad idea, but we’re trying different things (and our people know that). In October, we had orange leaves. This past Sunday we had blue with white stars (to remind people to vote). We try to keep things visually interesting with out distracting.
Why do we try to keep it visually interesting ? What’s the point ? The sad fact is that people have a short attention span. We try to keep them visually engaged so that they stay focused on what’s being said on the stage. This may not work with other congregations, but our people respond well to it. Since it’s a non moving pattern, it doesn’t distract from the worship or speaking.
In the Student Center, on Wednesdays, it’s a very different story.
We have a much more robust lighting rig (though no back lighting still), even have a few Mac 250 moving lights. The youth stage is a more traditional rectangular stage. During worship, we pick a color depending on the song, match the background behind the words to it, and get the moving lights doing a pattern on stage to match. For instance, the first song is usually faster. So we might do orange light, with a background behind the words that’s orange, and have the moving lights do a faster more complicated pattern on the stage. For a slower song, we might do blue light with a matching background and the moving lights doing something slow and subtle.
While this kind of ‘Youth’ worship service might be distracting to many in the main Sunday service, it’s perfectly acceptable (even expected) in the Youth service.
You can make a very good argument that if people need a ‘stage show’ type lighting set up to worship, that they aren’t truly worshiping (that it’s just a concert) . . .
But reaching different generations, especially the unchurched, requires different methods. I’ve seen countless lives changed in our Youth Services, so I know that they work on some level. Do people get saved because we had cool lighting ? Absolutely not. Can people worship better if we have cool lighting ? That depends on them (what generation they are, and what area you are ministering in).
To some, the changing of the lights for every song helps them get into worship, it actually helps them focus more on worship. To others, it’s just a distraction. It just depends on who your ministering to.
I should notify you about it.