March 2020 Hot Topics
Gear, Resources, and Tools for your Ministry
This is the second in a monthly series where we will talk about our favorite gear, resources, and tools for audio, video, lighting, and team building. Each month, we will highlight one topic in each of these areas to help you better serve your team and congregation. We encourage you to comment on any of the things we highlight, especially if you have personal experience with them. And check out the February 2020 Hot Topics!
Audio
Ableton live 10
Ableton LIVE 10 is one of the top choices by musicians and DJs for a number of different reasons. It’s innovative tools allow song creators to create unique songs using loops very quickly. But deeper in the program is a fully-functioning DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) that gives you editing, tracking, recording, effects, and a whole host of other tools. In addition, Ableton LIVE 10 can also use MIDI commands to send and receive information in connection with you lighting and presentation software. Essentially, you can automate your music, lyric slides, and lighting cues all from one central system. Now, there is great power in this, but this does not mean you need to go and release all of your volunteers to other ministries. I still prefer the live volunteer over an automated machine, but in the case where I don’t have a volunteer available, Ableton can come to the rescue. At our church, we use Ableton for running a simple click for the core band (drums, bass, piano, guitar, and Worship Leader) as well as prompts for where we are in a song (Chorus, Verse, Bridge, etc.). Occasionally, we will run a pad sound to supplement the live musicians or might even go as far as adding in multiple stem files of instruments we don’t have available. It is a great tool for helping lock the band in and setting up the flow of your worship music. And, there are different levels depending on your need. Most users can start with the Intro Version ($99 MSRP) but more advanced users may want to consider the Standard ($449 MSRP) (which I prefer) or even the Suite ($749 MSRP). And if you invest in certain MIDI controllers (like the Novation Launchpad MK2), you can even get Ableton LIVE 10 Lite included, which can be a nice teaser for you.
PROS: Powerful tools, great for building stems or automating lights and lyrics, cost-effective
CONS: Can be tough to get started using, lots of possible ways to use it so finding the right process for your situation can be time consuming
For more great info on using Ableton 10 LIVE in your church, check out Jake Gosselin’s Churchfront website where you’ll find tons of blogs on how to setup, configure, and use Ableton, no matter the size of your church or budget.
Video
VisualWorshiper.com
As Easter approaches, many churches recognize this as a time where visitors arrive who may not normally come to church. In addition, this is the time of year when we tell the greatest story of mankind - the death, burial, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus, the Messiah. Telling that story and impacting people in a way that envelopes them is what the guys over at VisualWorshiper.com do. About seven years ago, I got to work with Camron Ware the first time and I could tell this guy was passionate about telling Gospel stories in very big ways. In fact, they have created opportunities for churches all over the world to tell this story in their own church using Projector Mapping, Environmental Projection, and images and videos that capture the hearts and minds of those who experience it. This is not a show or theatrical magic. Instead, it is an intentional dive into creating an experience that can draw people closer to God in ways we couldn’t even have imagined 15 years ago. If you are interested in Environmental Projection and how it can impact your services, reach out to Camron and the team at VisualWorshiper.com. I’ve personally worked with them and can’t say enough great things about how they serve the church. And they offer a FREE Mockup to show you what your space would look like! And tell them Aaron West sent you!
PROS: No matter your church size or building configuration they have a solution, they run it so you don’t have to stress about it
CONS: It isn’t cheap, once you do it you may want to make it permanent!
Lighting
lightkey 3
Lightkey 3 is an amazing and easy to use lighting software for your DMX controlled lights. Using your Mac Computer (sorry Windows users) and a DMX hardware interface, you can build out great lighting cues visually on your computer screen. Instead of dealing with just icons and grids, you can get a true sense of what your lights will look like in a 3D virtual space. This helps you create a better lighting solution that works for your space, whether you are working on House Lights or Stage Lights or both! Making changes on the fly is very easy as well. And the intuitive interface makes programming fast and easy. Combine all of that with a LARGE list of fixture profiles that you can download from their website and you are all set to start working on your lights right now without a lot of pre-work setting up all the details. And it integrates with Ableton LIVE! If your setup doesn’t allow for a traditional physical light board, check out Lightkey 3 for controlling and managing your DMX light fixtures. And, they have a FREE version with all functions and features and is only limited by the DMX channel count. If you need more output channels, simply upgrade to one of their other yearly subscription options.
PROS: Easy and intuitive, Free version to try, tons of Fixture Profiles available, great training videos
CONS: Paid version is yearly subscription, only on Mac OSX, Support is only available by Contact Form
Team
Building a Volunteer Culture
Volunteers are the lifeblood of a successful tech ministry. But how do you build a culture that grows volunteers and encourages others to join? You don’t see them as a commodity or someone just doing a J-O-B. You see them as an important part of the Body of Christ and you help them to see that in themselves. Check out the blog post where we talk about Who, Why, When, and What it means to build an amazing Volunteer Culture and then Five Practical Steps to help grow and protect it. Start with one person and build the culture you want in your ministry there and then continue to expand. Learn to delegate tasks and train your team members to be successful in execution. Lead them to excellence in all things that they do, not for their sake, but for the Glory of God.
