Your Love Is Strong

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  • Verse 1: Majesty Vibe (Non-Titled) (Highway Video) - This video starts off with clips of sunrises and sunsets, as well as 2 great shots of the sun arching down and out of frame, crossed with the moon arching up and out of frame. ‘You give me the food I need to live through the day…’ NOTE: The version of this video I use has been slowed down between 25-35% and also has been edited to exlude a brief clip of a fetus (Great visual for the original purpose of this video, not awesome for random VJing.)
  • Verse 2a: Genesis 9 Loop (TWOTP) starting at 2:16 - Beautiful slo-mo shot of a hummingbird feeding at a flower. ‘I walk to the meadow, the birds are composing…’ NOTE: I know that MOST hummingbirds don’t sing, but it’s a beautiful clip.
  • Verse 2b:  Genesis 9 Loop (TWOTP) starting at 1:42 - Slo-mo shot of raindrops hitting flowers. ‘I stare at the flowers, better dressed than any girl on her wedding day…’  By the time the pre-chorus rolls around, the shot moves back into foreboding clouds. ‘why do i worry?…’
  • Chorus: Skies Vibe (Highway Video) starting at 1:48 - Arial fly-over shots and moving clouds bring a happy and moving visual to this chorus. Jump around throughout this video as needed. NOTE: I edited a couple of shots out of this video, namely someone holding a baby in the air. Personal preference.
  • Verse 3: Road Trip (TWOTP) Footage taken while driving along country highways provide a backdrop for the now-driving beat and themes of this verse. ‘The Kingdom of the heavens is now advancing. Invade my heart, invade this broken town…’
  • Chorus: Skies Vibe (Highway Video) starting at 1:48 - Arial fly-over shots and moving clouds bring a happy and moving visual to this chorus. Jump around throughout this video as needed. NOTE: I edited a couple of shots out of this video, namely someone holding a baby in the air. Personal preference.
  • Bridge: God Is Near Vibe (Non-Titled) (Highway) starting at 3:30 - This fast-paced footage of nature, skies, people, animals (yes, the hummingbird shows up) and assorted other goodies harmonizes perfectly with the loud, driving bridge that is the raddest use of the Lord’s Prayer ever ‘Our God in heaven, hallowed be Thy name above all names. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us weary sinners. Keep us far from our vices and deliver us from these prisons.’
  • End:  Majesty Vibe (Non-Titled) (Highway Video) - starting about 3/4 the way through this video. The slow-moving footage of stars, water, skies and other natural elements brings a softness to the experience, as the song begins to float and come in for a landing. NOTE: This is still the version of this video that’s been slowed down 25-35%.

July 17, 2011

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This week we opened our gathering with a call to worship taken from Psalm 95, "Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation." While most of our worship intros are videos that include soundtracks, the first tune in our set, 'Seeing You', has a beautifully-ethereal intro. We slowed down the video to match the tempo of the song, worked with the band to extend their intro to 90sec, and even included a countdown on their stage monitor to let them know how much intro-time was remaining.

Glory To God Forever

  • INTRO: Psalm 95 Worship Intro (New Worship Media)We used this piece instead of a separate call to worship, with the band starting off with an ambient vibe and moving into the straight-ahead feel.
  • LYRICS: Blue Ink Flow (Igniter Media)

Yes, You Have

Forever Reign

Majesty (Here I Am)

January 2, 2011

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This week was an exciting time as we started fresh in 2011 with the 8th birthday of Rolling Hills and kicking off a new series from 1 Thessalonians entitled ‘Momentum’. It is truly amazing to see a community of believers go from a small gathering inside an apartment clubhouse to purchasing a 200k+ sq. ft. warehouse (with half of the space leased to long-term tenants) and a heart for missions in Nashville and around the globe. Thanks again to Jeff Simmons and Chad Jarnagin for their passion to create fresh experiences each week and to not merely play through a worship set, but instead create a series of awe-inspiring moments.

…and yes, I did get a bit carried away with the amount of footage I used this week. The good news is that by using bits and pieces of some of the same clips, you can stretch its usage out for a few weeks, rather than blowing it all in one week. GLORY TO GOD FOREVER

  • INTRO: The New Has Come (Centerline New Media) - This is a perfect piece to kick off our first gatherings of 2011. Reversed footage of a man having run away from church and fallen deep in the woods is combined with text from 1 Corinthians 5:17 about second chances and new life. The band started off pretty ethereally, just keeping a vibe underneath the video.
  • VERSE 1: Majesty Vibe (Non-Titled) (Highway Media) - (Clip: 2:15 - 2:25) This clip features 3 stars in the darkness becoming brighter and surrounding a larger mass of beautiful purple, a perfect picture of the 3-in-1 God creating substance out of nothingness. NOTE: I slowed down this clip by half, and paused it when the 3 stars had come together and the center was at its peak of brightness. (“Before the world was made, before You spoke it to be, You were the King of kings….”)
  • CHORUS 1: In The Heavens (WorshipFilms) - This Long Play includes 5 minutes of space footage with some subtle effects thrown in for nice transitional elements.
  • VERSE 2 & CHORUS 2: Nature Footage: (NOTE: The footage used for Verse 2, Chorus 2 & the Bridge isn’t currently available. I’m working on this, since it includes some very cool nature scenes. I’ll go ahead and describe it anyway in the case that it becomes available in the near future.) (Clip :05 - …) Scenes of a drive through an autumn forest and a sea journey past icebergs help to augment the lyrics singing praise to the ‘Creator God’.
  • BRIDGE: Nature Footage: (NOTE: The footage used for Verse 2, Chorus 2 & the Bridge isn’t currently available. I’m working on this, since it includes some very cool nature scenes. I’ll go ahead and describe it anyway in the case that it becomes available in the near future.) (Clip 2:11 - …) This clip features a breath-taking mountain fly-over.
  • DOWN-CHORUS: Nature Footage: (NOTE: The footage used for Verse 2, Chorus 2 & the Bridge isn’t currently available. I’m working on this, since it includes some very cool nature scenes. I’ll go ahead and describe it anyway in the case that it becomes available in the near future.) (Clip 2:49 - …) A pink tulip bowing against a dark background in slow motion, fading into rapidly-moving nature scenes. This clip increases intensity as the music begins to build back up into a louder chorus or reprise of the bridge.
  • BRIDGE REPRISE: In The Heavens (WorshipFilms) - (Clip: 2:24 - …) A brilliant starburst almost brings the entire screen to full white, and transitions into other beautiful space shots.

LET GOD ARISE

  • INTRO: Psalm 148 (The Work of the People) - Black-and-white animations of starbursts and circular patterns combine with text from Psalm 148, making for a high-energy intro. (Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host!)
  • VERSE 1: Water Effects (Highway Media) - Abstract footage of water rushing, bubbling & gurgling. (“Hear the holy roar…Watch the waters part…”)
  • PRE-CHORUS 1: Water Stars (Highway Media) - Fast-moving water filmed with a star filter brings out the sparkle in the waves, and makes a great transition from the water footage into the Psalm 148 footage used next in the Chorus.
  • CHORUS 1: Psalm 148 Loop (TWOTP) - This footage is the same black-and-white animations of starbursts and circular patterns from the Psalm 148 Visual Liturgy used during the intro.
  • VERSE 2: Released Vibe (NT) (Highway Media) - Scenes of worshippers dancing in a dark club with colored spotlights and strobes highlighting various people. I prefer to use the slower-moving portions of this long-playing clip, although the faster portions can be used during a chorus as well, keeping the visual harmony already established here.
  • CHORUS 2: Celebrate Vibe (NT) (Highway Media) - Scenes of fireworks, starbursts, dancing, drumming, swimming and raised hands make for a frenetic clip.
  • BRIDGE: Explosions (HighwayMedia) - Slower-moving explosions and fireworks harmonize perfectly with the half-time feel of the bridge.
  • CHORUS THROUGH ENDING: Celebrate Vibe (NT) (Highway Media) - Different portions of this clip are brought back to finish off the tune and provide for some fast-paced footage while the band jams out through the end of the song.

BEAUTIFUL JESUS

  • VERSE 1& 2: Clouds Vibe (NT) (Highway Media) - (Clip: :40 - …) Slow-moving footage takes us soaring through the clouds as the song begins.This particular dark scene can be restarted as needed without anyone noticing.
  • CHORUS 1: Jesus, Garden of my Rest (Highway Media) - (Clip: 1:04 - …) Sunny, lens-flared film footage of stone statues including angels, crosses and Jesus harmonize with the strong guitar-driven chorus and lyrics (‘Beautiful Jesus, Beautiful Savior, nothing is greater, Brilliant Creator, Friend of mine.’)
  • CHORUS 2: Jesus, Garden of my Rest (Highway Media) - (Clip: 3:06 - …) More shots from this long-playing video of stone statues.
  • BRIDGE 1: Jesus, Garden of my Rest (Highway Media) - (Clip: 2:08 - …) This clip starts by panning around a statue of someone kneeling and clinging desperately to the cross, and then transitioning to other footage. If the moment feels right, you can always smoothly restart the video, using the clinging statue footage for the entire bridge.
  • DOWN CHORUS THROUGH END: Cross Montage Loop 2 (TWOTP) - This clip features bright, blue-tinted footage of stone crosses and the crucifix.

GOD OF WONDERS

  • INTRO, VERSES, CHORUS: Galaxy Vibe (NT) (Highway Media) - Images of the earth from space, stars, galaxies and the beauty of the universe.
  • BRIDGE: Galaxy Vibe (Titled) (Highway Media) - (Clip: 2:31 - …) The titled version of the clip at this in-point includes the text ‘Lord of Heaven and Earth’, creating perfect visual harmony.
  • CHORUSES & ENDING: Galaxy Vibe (Titled) (Highway Media) - (Clip: 3:25 - …) This portion of the titled version includes thematic text including ‘God of Wonders’, ‘Sovereign’, ‘Creator’ and text from Revelation 21:6.

December 24, 2010

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JOY TO THE WORLD (ALL CREATION SING)

  • Holy Night Long Play (WorshipFilms) - Classical imagery combined with an abstract starburst pattern. NOTE: When using this long-playing loop, I edited out the last scene of two angels, as it was a bit cheesy for my taste.

HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING

OH HOLY NIGHT

  • Desert Star (Radiate Films) - A star shining over the desert, guiding travelers on their way.
  • Star Figures Long Play (WorshipFilms) - Constellations form shapes from the first Christmas.

COMMUNION

  • Don’t Be Afraid Loop (The Work of the People) - Scenes of a pregnant women in the darkness of a modern city night. This loop was combined with text from Gabriel’s visit to Mary in Luke 1, using The Voice translation.

LABOR OF LOVE

  • Silent Night Vibe (Non-Titled) (Highway Video) - This long-playing loop combines classical nativity images with film footage of the manger in a hazy spotlight.

December 19, 2010

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SHINE YOUR LIGHT ON US

  • Starry Night (Radiate Films) - A bright star shining in the darkness.

HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING

OH COME ALL YE FAITHFUL

  • O Little Town (WorshipFilms) - A sleepless, starlit night overlooking the town of Bethlehem.

HALLELUJAH (LIGHT HAS COME)

  • Manger Scene (Radiate Films) - A silhouette of the Baby Jesus underneath a starry sky.

December 12, 2010

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This week featured modern adaptations of classical nativity artwork. ALL CREATION SING (JOY TO THE WORLD)

  • Holy Night Long Play (WorshipFilms) - Classical imagery combined with an abstract starburst pattern. NOTE: When using this long-playing loop, I edited out the last scene of two angels, as it was a bit cheesy for my taste.

THE FIRST NOEL

  • Nativity Impressions (WorshipFilms) - Classical nativity imagery from various cultures, with a bright starry night in the background.

REVELATION SONG

  • Verse 1: Smoke Effect (Highway Video) - This short clip of light smoke over a black background is actually the first scene of the longer video we used later in the song. NOTE: This clip is not a seamless loop, so it must be restarted before it ends, in order to dissolve over itself.
  • Majority of the song: Silent Night Vibe (Non-Titled) (Highway Video) - This long-playing loop combines classical nativity images with film footage of the manger in a hazy spotlight.
  • End of the song: Nature Loop 7 (The Work of the People) - A montage of wintry forest and mountain scenes.

BABY BOY

December 5, 2010

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This week we premiered some new Christmas content from the guys at Centerline New Media (@centerlinemedia) as well as our own version of a beautifully dark Advent piece from The Work of the People (@twotp).ALL CREATION SING (JOY TO THE WORLD)

  • Christmas Manger (Centerline) - bluish purple loop with the nativity scene in foreground, mountains in the background, and an angel hovering amidst slowly moving stars.

ALL WE NEED

  • Christmas Shepherds (Centerline) - golden-toned loop with shepherds watching their sheep in the foreground, mountains in the background and an angel hovering amidst slowly moving stars.

OH COME ALL YE FAITHFUL

  • Christmas Wisemen (Centerline) - green-toned loop with wisemen travelling in the foreground with a mountain and guiding star in the background.

OH COME, OH COME EMMANUEL

  • Hope Has Answered (The Work of the People) - A beautifully narrated Advent poem that walks through the history of Christ’s lineage and the bleak darkness into which He was born. NOTE: Although we did not use this video, we did use the text from the video (available here), and divided it up into 6 parts, which were read between a capella verses of Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel, making for one of the best moments of this Sunday.

November 28, 2010

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Many apologies for the delay in posting last week’s set. This is by no means an indication of the amazing time of worship that we experienced, or the quality of visuals we used. In addition to the great set this week, including a couple of my new favorites: the song ‘With Everything’ and a Visual Liturgy piece from Colossians 1, we celebrated Communion and used some amazing footage from the talented Jason Satterlund at Big Puddle Films and a passage of Scripture from Thomas Nelson’s new translation ‘The Voice.’

ALL BECAUSE OF JESUS

  • Unfortunately, the Nature Loop I used for this song is not currently available, but it uses time-lapse shots of sunrises, sunsets, clouds, canyons, and rivers. I’ll try to avoid this as much as possible in the future.

MAJESTY (HERE I AM)

  • Verses: Confessional Vibe (Non-Titled) (Highway Video) - Blurred footage of a man praying in church. “Here I am. Humbled by your majesty. Covered by your grace so free. Here I am. Knowing I’m a sinful man. Covered by the blood of the Lamb…”
  • Chorus Option A: Crucifix Frames Loop (The Work of the People) - Various framed pictures of Christ on the Cross, including some hands and feet images, are displayed on a surface covered with tealight candles.
  • Chorus Option B: Cross Montage 2 Loop (The Work of the People) - This clip features outdoor footage of stone crosses and the crucifix.
  • Ending/ Down-Chorus: Declaration Vibe (Non-Titled) (Highway Video) - Dark footage of candlelit parchment. The handwriting on the parchment, which you can barely decipher, and the titled version of this clip features text from Psalm 63.

WITH EVERYTHING

NOTE: As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we’re only doing about half of the original tune, including the first two verses, chorus and bridge, but it ends up being a powerful 6-7 minute piece.

  • Intro & Chorus: Declaration Vibe (Non-Titled) (Highway Video) - This is a continuation of the clip we used to finish out the previous tune, since they run together so well.
  • Verses & Chorus: Armor of God Loop (The Work of the People) - This clip features dark sepia-toned still images of crosses, people and nature. “Open our eyes…to be Your church…Your light to be seen.”
  • Break before quiet Bridge: Psalm 121 (The Work of the People) - Using the first 10sec of this visual liturgy, and smoothly restarting it as needed visually poses the question from Psalm 121:1 “I lift my eyes up to the hills, from where will my help come?”
  • Quiet Bridge: Psalm 121 Loop (The Work of the People) - This loop keeps the visual harmony between the Psalm 121 question, and a quiet, thoughtful response “with everything we will shout for Your glory, with everything we will shout forth Your praise”. While starting softly, the music continues to build underneath the bridge with an impending explosion of energy going into the next musical break.
  • Break after Bridge:Jesus Holds It All Together (The Work of the People) - This powerful visual liturgy piece comes from The Message translation of Colossians 1:15-29. At this point, the band is singing to ‘wooahs’ and lyrics from the bridge are used on-screen, one line at a time, as needed. Once again, good communication between the visual worship leader and the musical worship leader is key, in order to keep from interrupting the reading of God’s Word at an awkward moment during this time. With longer pieces like this, it’s usually a good idea to either work through these things in rehearsal or in a production meeting earlier in the week, just to give the stage team a heads-up so they can plan accordingly. NOTE: Currently the available video has a misspelling around the 1:21 mark. I’ve re-edited the video to cover this entire screen of text until the corrected piece is officially uploaded.

CARRIED TO THE TABLE

We used this song during Communion this week, hence the use of those visual themes. Also, the visuals used during this song are all from a Big Puddle Films volume called ‘Droplets Volume 3: Communion’ and feature a beautiful, multi-cultural picture of Communion being served at a long candlelit table. I can’t currently find a site that includes the volume for sale as 1 piece, but if you can find it, leave me a note after you purchase it, and let us know where it can be found.

  • Verse 1: Bread (Big Puddle Films) - A single-scene loop of flatbread on a candlelit table.
  • Chorus 1: Bread Edit (Big Puddle Films) - Footage of bread being passed, broken and eaten at a long table of people. This shot made use of a jib crane, so the overhead and side footage is wonderful!
  • Verse 2: Wine (Big Puddle Films) - A single-scene loop of the wine cup on a candlelit table.
  • Chorus 2: Wine Edit (Big Puddle Films) - Footage of wine being passed, poured and drunk at a long table of people. Again, this shot uses the jib crane.
  • Bridge:Bread & Wine (Big Puddle Films) - A single-scene loop of the bread and cup at a candlelit table/
  • Interlude & Ending: Water to Wine Loop (Big Puddle Films) - Footage of wine being poured, which turns into water, which turns back to wine. Since this was used toward the end of the song during a musical interlude, I created my own visual liturgy with text from The Voice translation of 1Corinthians 11:26, “Every time you taste the sweetness of this bread, and every time you place the cup to your mouths and drink, you are declaring the Lord’s death, which is the ultimate expression of His faithfulness and love. Until He comes again, keep this memorial.”

November 21, 2010

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This week was a great example of how we sometimes fail to realize role we play in visually leading others deeper into worship. You’ll notice I’ve included two versions of this setlist, one that was used in our first service, and the other that was used in our second. Unfortunately, I was in a creative funk early Sunday morning and had originally decided to just use some more simple, abstract backgrounds to make the set look good, with relatively little effort. And I needed coffee. I know, I know, not cool. But sometimes we as worship leaders and creatives let ourselves get in the way and keep us from being used to impact others. We either go through the motions, knowing that we can fake it, or we broadcast our personal moodiness out to everyone, using all of the dark, starving man in the desert footage and quotes from Lamentations, and. freak. everyone. out.

  • Does that mean we shouldn’t express how we really feel?
  • Does personal emotions count when you’re called to lead others in worship?
  • How do we provide an environment for meaningful worship, both for ourselves and for everyone else in the room, that maintains authenticity without freaking everyone else out with our junk?
  • Or is sharing the crud of life part of what it means to be in community, even from the stage?

Many thanks to @jeffreycberry for his encouraging words from the stage during the first service, regarding the way our intentional use of visuals enriches his time of corporate worship. Those words shook me out of the funk and back into the realization of my role as a worship leader.

NOTE: All of the song and image/video titles include links to a reference song, or the actual media content we used in the set.

««FIRST SERVICE»»

GLORIOUS ONE

  • Radial Glow (Igniter Media) - Dark blue abstract with a pulsing light shining out from the center.

CAME TO MY RESCUE (bridge only)

  • Grunge Window Room (Igniter Media) - Grungy shot of light shining through a window into an abandoned, time-scarred room

OUR GOD

  • Nature Sunset Colors (Igniter Media) - Grungy shot of a sunset through the trees with floating light particles throughout.

««SECOND SERVICE»»

GLORIOUS ONE

  • Verses: Majesty Vibe (Non-Titled) (Highway Video) - This video starts off with clips of sunrises and sunsets, as well as 2 great shots of the sun arching down and out of frame, crossed with the moon arching up and out of frame. NOTE: The version of this video I use has been slowed down between 25-35% and also has been edited to exlude a brief clip of a fetus (Great visual for the original purpose of this video, not awesome for random VJing.)
  • Choruses: Sunlight Vibe (Non-Titled) (Highway Video) - Footage of sunrises, sunsets, pulsing, flaming sunspots, and other high-energy, sunlight-tinted clips.
  • Quiet Instrumental & Down Bridge: Underwater Cross (Highway Video) - As the music begins to sit quietly coming into the bridge, this dark clip of a small, metallic cross under slow-moving water begins to show the beauty of the cross.
  • Up (Loud) Bridge: Cross Montage Loop 2 (The Work of the People) - The first portion of this clip features bright, blue-tinted footage of stone crosses and the crucifix, bringing visual energy back as the music rises back into the chorus.
  • Last Chorus Set & End: Majesty Vibe (Non-Titled) (Highway Video) - Coming back to this video and starting a couple minutes in, brings back the original visual theme. NOTE: The version of this video I use has been slowed down between 25-35%.

CAME TO MY RESCUE (bridge only)

  • Jesus Said These Things (The Work of the People) - Our arrangement of the song this week only uses the bridge, starting softly and crescendoing into a powerful instrumental. To harmonize with the simple lyrics (‘In my life be lifted high, in my world be lifted high, in my love be lifted high’), this Visual Liturgy film uses the entire text from John 17, where Jesus prays to his Father for his disciples and all believers, that “they may be as one…so the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

OUR GOD

  • Intro & Verse 1: Heavy Rain Effect Loop (The Work of the People) - This dark loop of heavy rain, provides nice visual harmony and constant movement to the 4-on-the-floor beat.
  • Chorus 1: Rain Vibe (Non-Titled) (Highway Video) - Dark, rainy footage with some nice light filter effects give brightness and more energy to the first chorus.
  • Verse 2 & Chorus: Dance (Highway Video) - City streets, dusty lanes and darkened forests continue the dark visual theme but add energy and the human element to the journey.
  • Bridge: Timelapse Commute (Highway Video) - Fast footage from the front window of a car on a twilight drive through windy roads.
  • Chorus to End: Sunday Drive (Highway Video) - Bright, sunny footage taken from the side window of a car, looking up into the trees.

November 14, 2010

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This week, we stripped down the visual set and used mostly still images, both to mix it up a bit, and to highlight a Visual Liturgy piece we were using that correlated with the main text of the sermon. NOTE: All of the song and image/video titles include links to a reference song, or the actual media content we used in the set.

SING TO THE KING

  • Flower & Butterfly Blue Still (Igniter Media) - This nature-themed still image with linen fabric feel highlights elements such as clouds, grass, butterflies and flowers.

OUR GOD

THE STAND

  • First Half: Sundown Still (Igniter Media) - This grungy image of a sunset is the darker companion to the second still image used later in this song.
  • Instrumental Break After Chorus: Transfiguration (The Work of the People) - The text for this visual liturgy piece comes from Matthew 17, and uses visual imagery of mountaintop aerial shots and clouds to paint the scene Peter, James and John witnessed with Jesus, Moses and Elijah.
  • Ending: Sunrise Still (Igniter Media) - This grungy image of a sunrise is the lighter companion to the still image used earlier in this song.

IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL

(NOTE: We created our own arrangement of this tune, so this recording does not necessarily reflect the energy or flow of the song from this set.)

  • Grunge Frame Red Flare Still (Igniter Media) - This image is fairly abstract, but the use of images that appear off-axis compared to the perfectly horizontal/vertical screens provide a nice touch.

November 7, 2010

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This week, my buddy @waitsfornone did an awesome job as visual worship leader, giving me an opportunity to sleep in and enjoy a coffee date on the way to church with my wife, the lovely and talented stylist @audistyles. While I designed the basic structure of the visual setlist, Tim makes tweaks depending on how the actual flow feels during the set, or if he has ideas that fit better. Here’s the final setlist:

BEAUTIFUL JESUS

  • Intro & Verse 1: Sunrise Sunset (Organic Videos) - This clip is a beautiful 4min loop of a sunrise over the ocean, which reverses halfway through, providing a seamless loop. This provides a simple way to start the set, giving our worship leader the space for a scripture reading at the top, and keeping the same visual for the first verse ‘…Your majesty for all to see in raging storms and quiet cloudless days’
  • Choruses: Jesus, Garden of My Rest Vibe (Highway Video) - Sunny, lens-flared film footage of stone statues including angels, crosses and Jesus harmonize with the strong guitar-driven chorus and lyrics ‘Beautiful Jesus, Beautiful Savior, nothing is greater, Brilliant Creator, Friend of mine.’ NOTE: I use two instances of this video, one for each chorus, starting around the 1min and 3min marks, since the first 30-45sec are a slow sunrise.
  • Verse 2: Clouds Vibe (Highway Video) - Slow-moving footage takes us soaring through the clouds as we sing ‘You’re Powerful above this world…Your glory shines a holy light…’ NOTE: I start this clip about 40sec into the video, as this particular dark scene can be restarted as needed without anyone noticing.
  • Bridge:  Jesus, Garden of My Rest Vibe (Highway Video) - I start this clip at 2:08, which starts by panning around a statue of someone kneeling and clinging desperately to the cross, before moving on to other footage.
  • Last Chorus (down): Clouds Vibe (Highway Video) - Coming back to the clouds footage returns to a familiar place, and the slow, dark motion allows the song to come in for a landing, while giving space to breathe if needed.

HOW GREAT THOU ART

NOTE: We’ve done our own arrangement of this tune, but I’ve linked to a similar version from the amazing folks of @PageCXVI.

  • First Light (WorshipFilms) - Various sunrise/sunset nature scenes combined with a soft grunge effect add a simple visual harmony to this well-known song. NOTE: The guys at WorshipFilms have also created another version of this film using subtle overlays of various people in worship postures.

AGNUS DEI

  • Names of God Rise (Visual Worshiper) - This visual is a simple use of  various names of God, printed in various white-colored fonts over a black background, scrolling from the bottom to top of the screen. Since this song is both simple and widely-known, we used this visual without any lyrics on the screen. NOTE: The video is only 5min long, so if your live version goes longer, I would recommend leaving the screens completely black throughout the quiet intro and verse, starting the video when the band brings up the volume in the chorus.

GIVE ME JESUS

NOTE: This song was used as a response after the sermon, so the visual theme isn’t necessarily tied into content from earlier in the set.

  • Free To Worship 3-05 (WorshipFilms) - The single-scene, grainy footage of flickering candles and an iron cross complements the quiet, introspective music and lyrics of this song. ‘In the morning when I rise…When I am alone…When I come to die…Give me Jesus.’

October 31, 2010

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As a visual worship leader, I’m continually asked about what footage I use during a set, and specifically why some of the clips have been chosen. In addition, now that we’re beginning to use much more scripture during the set, (thanks in large part to Travis Reed and the brilliance behind the Visual Liturgy series over atTheWorkOfThePeople.com) we’re now asked about the Bible references of clips used during the set. This weekend was an incredible time at @rhcc, with mad props to @chadjarnagin, @LanaeHale and @SKafoure, and the amazing band.

SING TO THE KING

  • Natural Vibe (Non-Titled) (Highway Video) - While the constant change of scenery and tempo of this video allows it to be used without much tweaking, I did find it necessary to jump around to other portions of the video to enhance big musical moments in the song.

TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS

  • Calibrate (No Text) (worshipVJ) - I started this clip somewhere between 3 and 4 minutes in, which gave a couple of extra minutes of footage by the time this song ended. Since this tune and the next flowed right into one another, I continued to let this roll into the next song.

WITH EVERYTHING

NOTE: Since we started using this song a couple of weeks ago, we’ve only used the first 2 verses, chorus and bridge, which does leave out some portions of the song, but leaves a nice 6-7 minute tune with lots of space to play.

  • Intro & Chorus: Calibrate (No Text) (worshipVJ) - This clip is a continuation from the last tune. The imagery toward the end of this video uses a candle-lit closeup of the cross. ‘let hope rise and darkness tremble in Your holy light, that every eye would see Jesus our God…’.
  • Verses & Chorus: Rain Vibe (Non-Titled) (Highway Video) - Dark, rainy footage with some nice light filters captures the quietness of this bit of the song. ‘open our eyes…to be the church…Your light to be seen’
  • Break before quiet Bridge: Psalm 121 (TWOTP) - Using the first 10sec of this visual liturgy, and smoothly restarting it as needed poses a question arising from the earlier verses, from Psalm 121:1 ‘I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where will my help come?’ 
  • Quiet Bridge: Psalm 121 Loop (TWOTP) - This loop keeps the visual harmony between the Psalm 121 question, and a quiet, thoughtful response ‘with everything we will shout for Your glory’. While starting softly, the music continues to build underneath the bridge, an impending explosion of energy going into the next musical break.
  • Break after Bridge: Restored Fortune (TWOTP) - Upon the explosion of sound arising from the bridge, this Visual Liturgy from Zephaniah 3 calls us to‘Sing…shout…rejoice…for the LORD has turned back your enemies…takes great delight in you…rejoices over you with singing…’ At this point, the band is singing the ‘wooahs’ and lyrics from the bridge are used one line at a time, if needed. Good communication between the visual worship leader and musical worship leader is key at these times, to keep us both dancing together without stepping on one another’s toes (ie - dumping out of this huge moment before the scripture has ended, or at an awkward moment)
  • Quiet Ending: Blurred Colored Candles (Highway Video) - Since this loop is only 15sec long and isn’t a smooth loop, care needs to be taken in order to continually restart this video to dissolve into itself before a hard-restart. As the song comes in for a quiet landing, this clip of small lights brings us full-circle to themes of hope rising and light coming from the darkness.

YOUR LOVE IS STRONG

  • Verse 1: Majesty Vibe (Non-Titled) (Highway Video) - This video starts off with clips of sunrises and sunsets, as well as 2 great shots of the sun arching down and out of frame, crossed with the moon arching up and out of frame. ‘You give me the food I need to live through the day…’ NOTE: The version of this video I use has been slowed down between 25-35% and also has been edited to exlude a brief clip of a fetus (Great visual for the original purpose of this video, not awesome for random VJing.)
  • Verse 2a: Genesis 9 Loop (TWOTP) starting at 2:16 - Beautiful slo-mo shot of a hummingbird feeding at a flower. ‘I walk to the meadow, the birds are composing…’ NOTE: I know that MOST hummingbirds don’t sing, but it’s a beautiful clip.
  • Verse 2b:  Genesis 9 Loop (TWOTP) starting at 1:42 - Slo-mo shot of raindrops hitting flowers. ‘I stare at the flowers, better dressed than any girl on her wedding day…’  By the time the pre-chorus rolls around, the shot moves back into foreboding clouds. ‘why do i worry?…’
  • Chorus: Skies Vibe (Highway Video) starting at 1:48 - Arial fly-over shots and moving clouds bring a happy and moving visual to this chorus. Jump around throughout this video as needed. NOTE: I edited a couple of shots out of this video, namely someone holding a baby in the air. Personal preference.
  • Verse 3: Road Trip (TWOTP) Footage taken while driving along country highways provide a backdrop for the now-driving beat and themes of this verse. ‘The Kingdom of the heavens is now advancing. Invade my heart, invade this broken town…’
  • Chorus: Skies Vibe (Highway Video) starting at 1:48 - Arial fly-over shots and moving clouds bring a happy and moving visual to this chorus. Jump around throughout this video as needed. NOTE: I edited a couple of shots out of this video, namely someone holding a baby in the air. Personal preference.
  • Bridge: God Is Near Vibe (Non-Titled) (Highway) starting at 3:30 - This fast-paced footage of nature, skies, people, animals (yes, the hummingbird shows up) and assorted other goodies harmonizes perfectly with the loud, driving bridge that is the raddest use of the Lord’s Prayer ever ‘Our God in heaven, hallowed be Thy name above all names. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us weary sinners. Keep us far from our vices and deliver us from these prisons.’
  • End:  Majesty Vibe (Non-Titled) (Highway Video) - starting about 3/4 the way through this video. The slow-moving footage of stars, water, skies and other natural elements brings a softness to the experience, as the song begins to float and come in for a landing. NOTE: This is still the version of this video that’s been slowed down 25-35%.