There are two things I absolutely know about volunteers-
#1. If you want people to serve with you, you must be more than willing to serve them.
#2. Volunteers are not serving the tech guys, they are serving God and that's the way they should be treated.
The rest is all really muddy to me.
This past couple of weeks have been filled with talks about volunteers. We had an announcement from the pulpit requesting volunteers. It went better than anyone expected. We had 12 people say they wanted to help. This may not seem like a lot to some, but for us it is and I am so excited at some things that may be possible that never were before (like going to a service and being able to sit with my wife).Throughout the many discussions our team has had, one thing keeps coming up-- Do you make a training program and run volunteers through it or do you get volunteers and cater every single aspect of training to each one personally?
CLARIFICATION: I DO NOT ASSUME I AM RIGHT OR WRONG. I DO NOT ASSUME THE SAME OF MY CO-WORKERS. I AM MERELY LOOKING FOR INPUT (and I'm seeing if writing it out can help me sort through things).
Let me explain a little more. You can go about it in a very systematic way. You can set up a program where you lay out the necessary weekly time commitments, have a very structured class (set date and time and set curriculum) that everyone goes through and then schedule them according to slots that meed to be filled.
Or you can go through a very personal approach, asking the volunteer what they can commit to, tailor the teaching to exactly what they want to learn (on a date and time that is more convenient to them and maybe not you, with not set curriculum) and then schedule them according to what fits their schedule best.
I have no idea what is right, or wrong....or if there is a great mix between the two that keeps everyone happy. And that is where you come in. If you have a second, help me out and respond to any or all of the questions below.
1. How do you approach training volunteers?
2. What is the #1 thing to remember about volunteering?
3. What is the #1 thing to not do regarding volunteers? (extra points awarded for the best story)
Thank you for you help, I do really appreciate it!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Getting Past the "Rough Mix" Stage
Normally, I'm the lighting guy, but about once a month I get to play around on the sound board. For me, this feels like going back to my roots. My fascination with all things a/v started when I was old enough to follow my dad around while he was running audio for our family's church. More recently, I have gotten to run audio with a team of people for a contemporary worship setting. One thing has remained constant until now - there has normally been ample time to do a proper soundcheck.
I am used to multiple hours at one time being devoted to perfecting the mix. I had time to go through every channel and experiment with multiple settings of eq, compression, effects and other things. I went through until I found exactly what I wanted for that one channel and moved to the next. When I finally got each input to sound exactly like I wanted it to, I moved on to blending and sweetening. By the end of a 3 hour rehearsal, I usually had a sound that I was pleased with. I figure that most people generally follow the same method.
Now, I get less time, more complicated setups and inputs that I'm not well versed in mixing. An average Sunday that I run can consist of (on average) a 25-piece orchestra, 75-voice choir, another 12-piece vocal group. At the high end, I could have 40 or 45 inputs. That is way more than I was used to in previous settings. At most there is 2 hours of useful practice that I could do any mixing. Of that, only the last 45 minutes are with the entire group together. The biggest issue is in the orchestra. I mix instruments ranging from bassoons to cellos to a harp. Quite frankly, I have not been completely happy with a mix I've created in over 2 years.
This is my current strategy to finding an acceptable mix. My base was made from a generic setup from our normal sound dude. From there, I reset everything to a flat eq and no compression. (I didn't do this because I hate what I hear every Sunday. Our regular sound dude great. I just like to put my own signature on the mix.) On the first Sunday I ran the audio, I did a lot of generic eq'ing. From then on, it's been rough. I've only gotten to get one or two mics per rehearsal sounding the way I want.
They sound great for that rehearsal, but the inevitably change a little in placement or some other minute factor that leaves me wanting the sound I just had, not the one I have now. It is just a constant struggle to get an acceptable mix and I only end up with what I would consider a rough mix.
My question is....How do I solve the never-ending rough mix? Or should I be happy with where I am? (The latter would be extremely difficult for me personally because I always want to improve my mix.) Comment with your ideas...please :)
I am used to multiple hours at one time being devoted to perfecting the mix. I had time to go through every channel and experiment with multiple settings of eq, compression, effects and other things. I went through until I found exactly what I wanted for that one channel and moved to the next. When I finally got each input to sound exactly like I wanted it to, I moved on to blending and sweetening. By the end of a 3 hour rehearsal, I usually had a sound that I was pleased with. I figure that most people generally follow the same method.
Now, I get less time, more complicated setups and inputs that I'm not well versed in mixing. An average Sunday that I run can consist of (on average) a 25-piece orchestra, 75-voice choir, another 12-piece vocal group. At the high end, I could have 40 or 45 inputs. That is way more than I was used to in previous settings. At most there is 2 hours of useful practice that I could do any mixing. Of that, only the last 45 minutes are with the entire group together. The biggest issue is in the orchestra. I mix instruments ranging from bassoons to cellos to a harp. Quite frankly, I have not been completely happy with a mix I've created in over 2 years.
This is my current strategy to finding an acceptable mix. My base was made from a generic setup from our normal sound dude. From there, I reset everything to a flat eq and no compression. (I didn't do this because I hate what I hear every Sunday. Our regular sound dude great. I just like to put my own signature on the mix.) On the first Sunday I ran the audio, I did a lot of generic eq'ing. From then on, it's been rough. I've only gotten to get one or two mics per rehearsal sounding the way I want.
They sound great for that rehearsal, but the inevitably change a little in placement or some other minute factor that leaves me wanting the sound I just had, not the one I have now. It is just a constant struggle to get an acceptable mix and I only end up with what I would consider a rough mix.
My question is....How do I solve the never-ending rough mix? Or should I be happy with where I am? (The latter would be extremely difficult for me personally because I always want to improve my mix.) Comment with your ideas...please :)
Thursday, September 9, 2010
What Makes a Good Lyrics Operator?
Call it what you will...lyrics op, presentation op, slide op, that dude at the computer that puts up the words for songs. That position can be just as hard as the audio position. I, being an audio guy more than anything else, do not say that lightly. Think about it. there are major correlations between the two:
-You can run audio minimalistically. It may not sound as good as if you put your heart and soul in it. Same with presentation.
-The audio guy is more likely to be noticed for a mistake than their excellence. Same with presentation.
-The best possible mix is produced only when you look at every little detail. Same with presentation.
-By changing one thing, like the eq or volume of a bass, you can change the mood of the congregation. Same with presentation.
I got these little glimpses this past weekend. For the first time in over 2 years of me working here, I got the opportunity last week to run the presentation software (ProPresenter4) during a service. Everything was already built and loaded so all I had to do was advance the slides.
Our services are on the traditional side and that means the presentation is usually a lot less in-depth than many contemporary services. This weekend was one of our more elaborate ones with multiple videos, pictures (what's a missions Sunday without pictures?) and of course, lyrics.
As I was running through everything, my mind kept coming up with qualities of a great presentation operator. I have been trying to narrow it down to my top three. I just want to say that these three qualities could be debatable and are my top three, not my only three.
#1-Focused
The operator must be able to focus. I am guilty of not following this. There was one extremely powerful point in the music where my focus started drifting from my duties. Before I knew it, I had begun singing along and missed a cue. I felt terrible. It was my responsibility to make sure those that didn't already know the words were able to follow along. With a mental slip, I could have very easily derailed someones worship experience. What did I learn from that? There is a time and place for me to be "in the moment" and that because I wasn't focused, there was a negative impact.
#2-Familiar
Ok. I'm going to break this up in to 2a and 2b.
2a: The operator should be familiar with the computer program. It has happened multiple times (thankfully, non too serious) that someone has been running the software and they accidentally hit a wrong key or they need to change something on the fly and they freeze. They get that bewildered look on their face and there is no self-recovery. After the fact, I learn that their training consisted of: "That arrow button goes to the next slide. That's all you need to know." The operator should have a firm grasp on the basics of the program before they are put in a pressure situation. Responsibility also falls on the shoulders of those training the operators.
2b: The operator should be familiar with the rundown of the service. Knowing the rundown will cut out a lot of awkward pauses, blank faces and missed cues. For instance, you pastor wants to run a video in the middle of his sermon. He can intro it by saying, "Here's a video." Or he could want it to be rolled when he says a certain cue. If the operator isn't made familiar with how the pastor wants it done, bad things can happen. Rundown familiarity leads to a proactive mindset instead of a reactive mindset. Being reactive is not good when you are leading the congregation.
#3-Musically Inclined
This is probably the most debatable quality I have ever thought of, but hear me out. Being musically inclined can be incredibly beneficial. Playing the trombone from middle school through college has given me enough knowledge about music to make me dangerous. My music abilities have definitely served me well in other tech areas. It came to serve me well again when I was running through lyrics for the worship set. I could pick out the musical phrasing and time my lyric transitions accordingly. It also made it easier (less choppy) for the congregation. It flowed. Knowledge of music phrasing also comes in handy when you are preparing the slides.
There you go, my top three qualities for the lyrics operator. Thoughts? Corrections? Your top three?
-You can run audio minimalistically. It may not sound as good as if you put your heart and soul in it. Same with presentation.
-The audio guy is more likely to be noticed for a mistake than their excellence. Same with presentation.
-The best possible mix is produced only when you look at every little detail. Same with presentation.
-By changing one thing, like the eq or volume of a bass, you can change the mood of the congregation. Same with presentation.
I got these little glimpses this past weekend. For the first time in over 2 years of me working here, I got the opportunity last week to run the presentation software (ProPresenter4) during a service. Everything was already built and loaded so all I had to do was advance the slides.
Our services are on the traditional side and that means the presentation is usually a lot less in-depth than many contemporary services. This weekend was one of our more elaborate ones with multiple videos, pictures (what's a missions Sunday without pictures?) and of course, lyrics.
As I was running through everything, my mind kept coming up with qualities of a great presentation operator. I have been trying to narrow it down to my top three. I just want to say that these three qualities could be debatable and are my top three, not my only three.
#1-Focused
The operator must be able to focus. I am guilty of not following this. There was one extremely powerful point in the music where my focus started drifting from my duties. Before I knew it, I had begun singing along and missed a cue. I felt terrible. It was my responsibility to make sure those that didn't already know the words were able to follow along. With a mental slip, I could have very easily derailed someones worship experience. What did I learn from that? There is a time and place for me to be "in the moment" and that because I wasn't focused, there was a negative impact.
#2-Familiar
Ok. I'm going to break this up in to 2a and 2b.
2a: The operator should be familiar with the computer program. It has happened multiple times (thankfully, non too serious) that someone has been running the software and they accidentally hit a wrong key or they need to change something on the fly and they freeze. They get that bewildered look on their face and there is no self-recovery. After the fact, I learn that their training consisted of: "That arrow button goes to the next slide. That's all you need to know." The operator should have a firm grasp on the basics of the program before they are put in a pressure situation. Responsibility also falls on the shoulders of those training the operators.
2b: The operator should be familiar with the rundown of the service. Knowing the rundown will cut out a lot of awkward pauses, blank faces and missed cues. For instance, you pastor wants to run a video in the middle of his sermon. He can intro it by saying, "Here's a video." Or he could want it to be rolled when he says a certain cue. If the operator isn't made familiar with how the pastor wants it done, bad things can happen. Rundown familiarity leads to a proactive mindset instead of a reactive mindset. Being reactive is not good when you are leading the congregation.
#3-Musically Inclined
This is probably the most debatable quality I have ever thought of, but hear me out. Being musically inclined can be incredibly beneficial. Playing the trombone from middle school through college has given me enough knowledge about music to make me dangerous. My music abilities have definitely served me well in other tech areas. It came to serve me well again when I was running through lyrics for the worship set. I could pick out the musical phrasing and time my lyric transitions accordingly. It also made it easier (less choppy) for the congregation. It flowed. Knowledge of music phrasing also comes in handy when you are preparing the slides.
There you go, my top three qualities for the lyrics operator. Thoughts? Corrections? Your top three?
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Long Overdue
Truth be known, this isn't my first blog. My first blog was made a couple years ago with no intent and not really much content. But lately, I have felt the desire to start blogging again. Through this blog, I hope God gives me the ability to inspire, enlighten, challenge, and maybe have a little fun -- all while discussing the technical ministry as it applies to churches. I do not pretend to know everything (read: jack of all trades master of none), but maybe through some experiences, I can help and be helped.
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