Thanks to Sean Harrison for sending this great video. Yet another great performance by an accomplished musician. You gotta love it!
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
ONE OF MY HEROS
Victor Wooten is one of my all time greatest influences in playing style. His groove combined with a tasteful ability to solo brings a smile to my face every time I hear him. Check it out!
Monday, March 19, 2007
Nursery Call
Well, I've struggled for the past 2 and a half years with how we do nursery calls at FBC. I know what you're thinking..."it's just a nursery call, how hard could it be?" This one simple little thing can cause the biggest headaches for most Technical Directors. If you are broadcasting your nursery call on your screens, I know this is a headache! It seems so simple...just put a number on the screen...right??!! No...not that simple. Without going into too much techno-babble, in video-land there is something that we call keying. This is a process that allows you to superimpose text or whatever over video. Then past that there is downstream keying, which means you can key a source and switch inputs under that key. In order to run worship words we have to use a key. Since we only currently have one level of key, when we have the words up, that's it! No more keys. So we have to figure out a way to get multiple keys going while being able to switch inputs under both of them! Not to mention two different sets of keys; one for the music portion (moving backgrounds with key) and the message time (camera feed with key). Okay, I promised not to techno-babble, and I broke my promise. Anyway, I guess you can begin to sense my headache. Basically, when you add a key, you add stress to my life!
The solution::
Yesterday we implemented a new way to show nursery calls. We installed two 32" LCD screens (one on each wall to the left and right of the stage). These screens are dedicated to series logos and NURSERY CALLS! This completely takes the nursery call out of the technical video system! It also keeps the distraction down as after it gets your attention (the necessary evil for nursery calls...they have to get EVERYONE'S attention) you can then look away, back to the screens and continue worshipping. Nothing is going to be perfect, but the first run of the system seemed to go without a hitch.
The solution::
Yesterday we implemented a new way to show nursery calls. We installed two 32" LCD screens (one on each wall to the left and right of the stage). These screens are dedicated to series logos and NURSERY CALLS! This completely takes the nursery call out of the technical video system! It also keeps the distraction down as after it gets your attention (the necessary evil for nursery calls...they have to get EVERYONE'S attention) you can then look away, back to the screens and continue worshipping. Nothing is going to be perfect, but the first run of the system seemed to go without a hitch.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Grass Valley Indigo
We are in the process of upgrading our video suite at FBC. We have contracted with a company, Design 2020, for all of the design and integration. Our team here at the church have recently completed the computer flooring and trim and we are now ready for the furniture courtesy of Rack and Roll. I am looking forward to installing our new video switcher, The Grass Valley Indigo, and implementing some new gear that will significantly increase the video quality we deliver each week at FBC. Right now we are waiting for our version (HD capable) to ship. I was told that it should be shipping in the next couple of months. I'll post again after it gets here and I have a chance to get my feet wet with it.
Check out that great flooring!!! Woo Hoo
Saturday, March 10, 2007
what a team!
I have the best volunteer staff anywhere! As I stopped by the church today (Saturday afternoon) to pick up some things, I was pleasantly surprised to see several members from my tech team gathered with the large garage door open out by the dock. Upon closer inspection I found that they had been there several hours cleaning and organizing. It is such a great joy and a blessing to be serving alongside so many dedicated people. Week after week volunteers come and give of their time without complaining or arguing. It is such a joy to lead a team that loves what they do and has their sights set on greater things. Thanks to all of you who serve week after week. We couldn't do what we do without you.
Friday, March 9, 2007
perfect day for golf
Today was a great day. 18 holes with 7 of my best friends. Doesn't get much better than that. I played okay on the front...the back was a little different story. Nathaniel took home the bragging rights this time. I love this time of year...great weather and plenty of golf (hopefully). Justin and I took on David M. and Tim P.. We ended the day all square (in points) so nothing gained, nothing lost. I would let you know my score, but I don't think I'm that brave yet.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
OpenSong
OpenSong was brought to my attention a few weeks ago. For all of you chart-makers out there, this could prove to be a VERY useful tool. Here are some key benefits:
1. You can organize your entire chart library into one easy location.
2. Once charts are loaded in, you can change the key with a click, or convert it to flats or sharps (flats for me).
3. Another really cool feature is the ability to turn the program around as a presentation software...that's right...with backgrounds and the whole bit. If you need some of the more advanced options that ProPresenter, Media Shout or Easy Worship provide, you will not want to use this as your main presentation software, but it would be great for a rehearsal.
4. If you have an account with ccli's Song Select , this program integrates and imports seamlessly from that account.
5. And best of all...it's FREE!
1. You can organize your entire chart library into one easy location.
2. Once charts are loaded in, you can change the key with a click, or convert it to flats or sharps (flats for me).
3. Another really cool feature is the ability to turn the program around as a presentation software...that's right...with backgrounds and the whole bit. If you need some of the more advanced options that ProPresenter, Media Shout or Easy Worship provide, you will not want to use this as your main presentation software, but it would be great for a rehearsal.
4. If you have an account with ccli's Song Select , this program integrates and imports seamlessly from that account.
5. And best of all...it's FREE!
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
If you haven't already, you should consider making Google your homepage. Below are 3 of my top reasons for using Google as my homepage:
1. It loads VERY fast!
2. It is a search engine! (duh!)
3. It now sports a fancy login capability that allows you to customize content.
I'll speak on the last one as the others are self-explanatory.
In this relativily new age of sharing information and more of it, it's getting tougher to organize all of the thoughts that are coming our way. From instant weather, to headlines, to blogs and email, information is pouring in faster than we can gather it. If we don't create some type of container to hold and organize all of this STUFF, it can tend to be more frustrating than helpful.
Google has always done a great job of being simple. I think we all know by now that simple is almost always better. You can now create a user profile for your Google homepage and login wherever you are. You can add content like crazy...and most importantly, it's EASY to use.
For example:
First:
My sister recently began blogging. She lives in Texas and keeping up with her blogs is really the only communication I get other than holidays and an occasional special event. Rather than checking her blog everyday to see if she posted something new, I just subscribed through my Google account and now whenever she posts something new, it shows up on my Google homepage. I also use this same process to keep up with all the staff guys and their blogs. Jason Stewart also blogged about other ways to do this. Check it out.
Second: (this is really cool)
The ability to add content by just clicking on the 'add stuff' link at the upper right of the screen. One of the coolest features I've found so far is the TODO list. I will create a todo list at home on my Google homepage, and when I get to work the next day it is sitting right there on my screen when I open Google at my desk.
If you are trying to keep up with information overload, give Google a shot.
1. It loads VERY fast!
2. It is a search engine! (duh!)
3. It now sports a fancy login capability that allows you to customize content.
I'll speak on the last one as the others are self-explanatory.
In this relativily new age of sharing information and more of it, it's getting tougher to organize all of the thoughts that are coming our way. From instant weather, to headlines, to blogs and email, information is pouring in faster than we can gather it. If we don't create some type of container to hold and organize all of this STUFF, it can tend to be more frustrating than helpful.
Google has always done a great job of being simple. I think we all know by now that simple is almost always better. You can now create a user profile for your Google homepage and login wherever you are. You can add content like crazy...and most importantly, it's EASY to use.
For example:
First:
My sister recently began blogging. She lives in Texas and keeping up with her blogs is really the only communication I get other than holidays and an occasional special event. Rather than checking her blog everyday to see if she posted something new, I just subscribed through my Google account and now whenever she posts something new, it shows up on my Google homepage. I also use this same process to keep up with all the staff guys and their blogs. Jason Stewart also blogged about other ways to do this. Check it out.
Second: (this is really cool)
The ability to add content by just clicking on the 'add stuff' link at the upper right of the screen. One of the coolest features I've found so far is the TODO list. I will create a todo list at home on my Google homepage, and when I get to work the next day it is sitting right there on my screen when I open Google at my desk.
If you are trying to keep up with information overload, give Google a shot.
Monday, March 5, 2007
keeping your mac running smoothly
I use my Mac Quad everyday for large projects. I'm running several programs including Final Cut Pro HD, Motion, Live Type, DVD Studio Pro...blah, blah, blah...you get the picture. Not only do I use it for these high end programs, but also for many common task as well...email, and typing this blog to name a couple. So how do you keep a mac running well day after day without having to restart everytime you come into the office? Here are two simple little tricks that will keep you up and going when things start getting hairy.
1. Boot-up your mac holding down the 'shift' key:
-this will start your mac (OS X 10.2 and later) up in safe mode and temporarily disable login items and non-essential kernel extension files...it basically refreshes your memory and certain file directories to clean up/speed up your system.
2. Run 'disk utility' to repair permissions:
-anytime you install software/updates, make changes to your system, or it's just been a couple of weeks, you need to repair permissions...this kind of works like a windows registry cleaner, only much better...'disk utility' is found in the following directory:: applications/utilities ...just click on the drive you want to repair and click on 'repair disk permissions'...don't mess with 'verify disk permissions' as if it finds a problem, you will just have to repair anyway.
If you notice any glitches during video playback or your system is just running slower than it used to, these two steps should put a smile back on your face.
1. Boot-up your mac holding down the 'shift' key:
-this will start your mac (OS X 10.2 and later) up in safe mode and temporarily disable login items and non-essential kernel extension files...it basically refreshes your memory and certain file directories to clean up/speed up your system.
2. Run 'disk utility' to repair permissions:
-anytime you install software/updates, make changes to your system, or it's just been a couple of weeks, you need to repair permissions...this kind of works like a windows registry cleaner, only much better...'disk utility' is found in the following directory:: applications/utilities ...just click on the drive you want to repair and click on 'repair disk permissions'...don't mess with 'verify disk permissions' as if it finds a problem, you will just have to repair anyway.
If you notice any glitches during video playback or your system is just running slower than it used to, these two steps should put a smile back on your face.
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