IT Tech Corner News
Whoever said that running the soundbooth isn’t a spiritual experience? While ensuring that the audio and slideshow components of the worship service go reasonably well often entails a certain amount of prayer and faith, it’s actually more profound than one might expect.
At first glance, one might reasonably believe that audio engineering and slideshow management distract the operator from engaging in the actual order of worship. In fact, I often say that when I’m pushing buttons and adjusting levels during a worship service that while I am listening to the spoken words and melodious tunes, I’m not actually paying attention to the meaning. There are times when my family asks me what the message was about and I’ll say, “I have no idea, but the audio quality was excellent.”
The truth: I experience the worship service three times; once as I prepare the slideshows (plural, one for the congregation in the sanctuary and one with chroma effect for the online viewers), once as I manage the streamdesk on Sunday morning (often with help, necessary help mind you - thanks Goodwins!), and once again as I watch the video after the fact. Assembling the content for the slideshows includes reviewing the bulletin multiple times, as each draft can reveal changes as any revision process always does. I compare the song lyrics to the hymnal because while copy and paste is our friend, the internet has yet to earn my complete trust, not even the CCLI database. As I read the words to the songs and see the names of the worship leaders and participants my mind begins to envision the church service. There are times when my preparation requires me to walk the sanctuary and set up the microphones to accommodate the various parts of the worship service. Sure, it’s just plugging in microphone cables and saying “testing” to an empty room, but the purpose of the preparation provides a connection to the people who will participate and engage on Sunday, as well as the 50+ who tend to join on Youtube or watch the recorded video online in the days following the service.
When I watch the recorded video, I make notes of times when the volume could have been higher or a microphone could have been closer to an instrument or zooming the camera at that moment was ill-advised, but I also get to take it in again, without the distraction of queuing up the next slide or planning the next camera transition. I hear the prayers, the children chattering during their message, the murmur of the congregation before and after the service. I find it a nice way to witness the life of the church. Whoever said that running the soundbooth isn’t a spiritual experience?