Some good friends of mine are getting married at the Crow Collection of Asian Art in November; and have requested some projection behind the wedding party.  So; look at this canvas! It going to be a double-wide image/video canvas; probably using a DualHead2Go.

We’ll be doing Asian-influenced imagery during the wedding and reception – which will fit perfect with the surroundings.  (Obviously.)

I met the person in charge of the exhibit to go over how to mount the projectors in the room; and it’s going to be interesting!  I’ll post the results once we get there.

ECHO CONFERENCE available on DVD!

The 2009 Echo Conference Disc Set is a great way to experience Echo again or for the first time. The set will include video of three of four keynote sessions (Phil Cooke, Ben Arment, and Mark Steele) and the church media & technology panel featuring Carlos Whittaker, Bobby Gruenewald, Cynthia Ware, Scott Hodge, and Conway Edwards. In addition, the set will include audio and presentation files from breakout sessions presented by Barton Damer, Shawn Wood, Carlos Whittaker, Brad Zimmerman, and more!

Speaking of ECHO; we (Stephen, Nate and I) always like to follow up and see if anyone who attended our class have any remaining questions that didn’t get answered or discussed.  Just leave them in the comments and one (or all) of us will be glad to respond!

Nate, Stephen and I had the privilege of speaking at the ECHO conference this year, and we have the class notes we used available for download!

I hope it’s a help and blessing to those of you who could not make it to the conference.

Visual Worshiper: Tools & Talent

Conversations on Visual Worship

(They are available in shiny PDF format; so you will need Acrobat Reader.)

Also, we have the live video streams from ECHO & GURUS on the UStream channel.

Share this with your leadership if your church is considering diving deeper into the visual worship conversation; we are so happy and blessed to be able to serve so please let us know if you have any thoughts or comments.

I’m so excited to finally have video content on WorshipHouseMedia!

I made the names of God rising loop for a tour almost 2 years ago and projected it on the walls of a church when we first started doing Environmental Projection.  It was one of the most powerful and moving worship moments of my life.  Since that first time, I’ve used that loop in almost every other event I have gotten to be a part of; and it’s always an indescribable moment of worship.  So, time to share it!  I hope it blesses you as well.

I also realized that content in Spanish is almost non-existent, for whatever reason.  Maybe I’m not in the loop with Spanish content creation, but that’s just what I see.  (Or…don’t see.)  So, they are available in Spanish as well here.  I’m excited for all the churches who have a ministry that focuses on the Hispanic culture; and hope this is a blessing as well.

There are too many pictures; so check out this link! Can someone loan me about $50 trillion so we can build a city made of light and video?!

Gateway Church in Elk River, MN recently completed their Environmental Projection install! AVE out of Maple Grove, MN did a FANTASTIC job making sure the right projectors were used for the job, and that the projection image filled the space.  I’m excited for the church and it was a pleasure to work with Kevin Crow from AVE. Check them out: http://www.audiovideoelectronics.com/index.php

Dan Peters from Gateway Church created some amazing imagery for the church, and I think you’ll agree it turned out beautifully.

One thing you can see in the pictures are the shadows cast by the lighting fixtures and speaker clusters – and I’m just amazed how I actually have to LOOK for those shadows. Every time I look at these pictures, my eyes simply gravitate towards seeing the whole picture and imagery, and not focus on how there might be shadows cast by the projection.
So, let that be an encouragement to you if you think shadows will be a deal-killer for you in your room. It might not be…

I just saw this on www.JimOnLight.com.

Hitachi has developed a film “that can be added to windows and other light transmitting surfaces that allows light to be transmitted when voltage is applied to the film.”

No voltage; and very little light passes through.  Apply voltage, crazy stuff happens in the ‘film’, and all of the sudden light passes through it.  Awesome!!

Imagine being in a board room meeting – you push a button and the windows fade.  Or a church setting!   Cover your stained glass with this, and have the ability to still see the beauty, but control the amount of lighting coming in.  Can’t wait to see this!  More info HERE.

I just love conferences.  During ECHO this year, I was so honored and thrilled to be able to lead a breakout again this year on visual worship, alongside my great friends Stephen Proctor and Nate Griffin.  We led a class in the main sanctuary of Watermark in Dallas, TX, with around 200 people!  It was encouraging to see that many people come join in on where we are in this visual worship conversation.  All three of us met so many new faces and heard cool stories about what churches are doing visually – I almost wanted to have the church leaders who attended get up and speak. Very cool – thanks so much to all who came to the conference and breakout.

I also got the pleasure of working with the ECHO team – which are so fun, so talented, and just straight-up servants. Scott, Kami, Ashely, and of course Jeff and Rob - thanks so much for all y’all did putting this together.  Trent and Clint were in the booth with me, producing and running lyrics respectively.  Thanks guys!!!   There are so many others on the team too, and you know who you are, and you are awesome.  Thanks to the Watermark house guys as well!!  Ryan and Les - couldn’t have done it without ya.  Hope I didn’t miss anyone…if I did, you have permission to come yell at me.

I hope you were blessed and encouraged if you came to the conference – it’s always a blast hanging out and sharing stories about how we’re all using media in the Church to tell the Story.  See pics here and here!

I wanted to highlight some content producers who I know personally and show you some of my favorite media they produce.  These producers are always at the top of my playlists in my presentation software, simply because I know their content will be able to tell the visual story that fits the worship element.

Igniter Media

I love Igniter’s loops and stills – they have a broad range of genres (including triple wide!) and I use their stuff all the time to VJ.  I hear from churches all over how they use Igniter’s Videos and Tracks, and are always top-notch in quality and message.  My favorite is still “That’s My King” -  Makes you want to cheer.  Every time.  The story told in 99 Balloons is…well just watch it.  And grab the Kleenex.  The team at Igniter is a blast to know, and it was a pleasure working with them at Echo 2009!

Rob, Jeff, Trent, Bart, David, Jenni, Clint, Daniel, Zuriel, Ryan – Y’all rock!!!

Shift Worship

I’ve known these guys personally for a while; and love their approach to providing content.  They offer an All-Access Pass that allows churches to buy a subscription for a year at a time, and have unlimited access to their entire library of media.  When I was on staff at a church, I loved having that peace of mind.  I knew I could jump on www.ShiftWorship.com and download something last minute if needed, right before the service started.  (But that never happens in the church-media world…right??)

They have GREAT mini-movies too -  some of my favorites that I use to VJ with are the Easter and Christmas line drawings, and the He Is Risen chalk drawing.  Simple yet super powerful.

Josh, Mitchell – Y’all rock!!!

Awake Images

When I first saw their imagery; my jaw dropped, and I literally shouted “YES!!! This is what I’ve been looking for!”  I tell people ALL THE TIME about these guys.  Steve Hickok is the artist; and is also the worship arts pastor at the Bridge Church in Atlanta.  I got the pleasure of meeting Steve, and got to show him how his art was being used with Environmental Projection.  Steve has an incredible talent, and heart, and it’s a joy to be able to use their imagery.  The photos he takes and the imagery he creates is sacred, lasting, and powerful.  I haven’t seen anything else like it.  I like how the distribute them as well.  They have several volumes (with about 400 pics each) with various genres, and also have entire volumes dedicated to a single genre.  My favorite is the Sacred imagery – and there are 4 volumes of it.  Just incredible!

Steve, Paul – Y’all Rock!!!

Grateful Inconvenience

Stephen Proctor and Nate Griffin out of Nashville are in this ‘visual worship conversation’ along side of me, and just recently put their videos and loops on WorshipHouseMedia! I know their hearts quite well, and trust me – you need to see what they are producing.  They travel the world and tell the stories through video; and it’s moving beyond words.  And, they have it setup so when you purchase their media; it helps support a mission organization!  Very cool guys.  Oh, and if you serve in the church, watch this.

Stephen, Nate – Y’all rock!!!

Check out the USTREAM LIVE channel @ 3pm central TODAY (Wednesday, July 29th) and watch us at the ECHO Conference live. Stephen Proctor, Nate Griffin and I will be teaching 2 classes.

Visual Worshiper : Tools & Talent (3pm CST)

Conversations on Visual Worship (4pm CST)