First of all – we don’t know it all. We are still learning and always wrestling with the time vs. quality polarity, idea vs. money polarity, and every other polarity that we as designers and media producers in church world have to wrestle with. Tight deadlines and simple or huge creative ideas are the challenges that we, like you, are up against. And, we love it! We have learned a bunch over the past years. Going from one live video director to a team of 10 that don’t work on Sunday mornings (except Ryan). Below is an attempt to answer some questions that are “Frequently asked” of our team. Our hope is not that you see a team that has all the answers but a team that is sharing our current processes that are ever changing with the changes of North Point. We are extremely blessed to be able to do what we get to do.
What are the responsibilities of the Media Team?
Our priority follows our mission statement – which is simply to leave a lasting impression on those that come in contact with what we create. Our department falls under the Service Programming Division, which as a whole is responsible for the planning and execution of the Sunday morning service. Media is a part of the service but it’s not THE service. Music, host team, and production all play a part in making Sunday morning an unforgettable experience. Our goal is to contribute to that experience. Our other responsibilities include developing resources for sale and for our strategic partners, developing North Point TV, ministry promotions, and lots of other goodies we get to put our hands on. For the most part, we do not do anything live for the service. Some of the guys volunteer in those roles but our team’s responsibilities are mainly pre-production and post-production. Basically on Sundays, we hand content to the production team and then after Sundays they hand the service back to us.
Who makes up the Media Team? How are you staffed?
We are sorta separated into four groups: Video (2 people), Design (2), Export (2), Television (2), plus the media director and assistant. There’s a whole lotta collaboration between the areas but those are our main focuses. Everybody has a unique set of gifts that benefit each other. Collaboration is a huge deal within media and North Point as a whole.
What is the TenBefore?
The TenBefore is a 5-10 minute video that currently plays just before each service begins. It is our way of taking the announcements OUT of the service and presenting them in a unique way. Honestly, we want the TenBefore to do one thing really well, and that’s to break down any walls that a first time person may have with stepping onto one of our campuses. Once the video goes on, they are welcomed, they hear our mission statement, some great next steps, promo’s for particular walks of life, and then any additional information that pertains to that Sunday.
We export three different versions for each of our campuses. We shoot it once every two weeks and our Host Kelly Lintz is a professional actor, as well as a member of our church.
Our structure for the TenBefore is the following:
• Opening Host segment (intro – mission statement – next step info)
• Commercial section (original videos, promo’s, fun stuff, series promo if not by Kelly)
• Closing Host segment (current series, additional upcoming events, website info, kick to service)
Does Media work on Sunday?
No. Most of us work Monday through Friday. Ryan (our export coordinator) works Sundays so he can capture the message, and he takes Fridays off. We do have an “On Call” rotation for Sundays just in case something goes haywire. And that only happens when Matty is on call.
Do we create content for the entire church and all of the ministries?
No. We focus mainly on the Sunday morning service environment or “big church”. If a ministry needs a video for Sunday morning that would play in the TenBefore, we would come along side them and collaborate together and yes, lead the charge in executing the video from concept to finished product. If a ministry needs a video that is not a part of Sunday morning, then media does not handle it (most of the time). The ministries either have their own media person or they contract the project out.
How does the Media department interact with Buckhead Church and Browns Bridge Community Church, NP’s other Campuses?
The campuses each have a video director that are extremely talented in the live arena as well as post-production. Media works together and at times separate from these guys depending on what the needs of each campus are. In general, Media is responsible for the look and feel of a series. If the campuses do a series that is different, more times than not, they will take the lead in creative, and media will support as best we can. It is all very fluid and changes with the needs and workloads of the individual campuses.
What software/Hardware do you use?
We use Macs. Final Cut studio. Adobe CS stuff. Adobe After Effects. We are starting to dabble in Cinema4d. We have a Panasonic SDX900. The campuses own a couple of HVX 200s. We often rent if we are shooting HD and we can’t get a hold of the HVXs. We are extremely blessed.
Do you guys use contractors?
Absolutely. I’m not gonna lie to you, things get busy around here. We may have ten full time people on media, but when you divide that group by 4 (minus Director and assistant) it comes down to 2 people per area. Excellence is a word you hear a lot around North Point Ministries and it is valued all the way to the top. With that, they also want balance for work and families. Contracting out people also challenges us, gives us a different perspective, and makes us better.
