28 Ways to Create Great Segues: #24 - Videos, part 2

In segue #23 - Videos, part 1, we talked about how to keep the beginning and end of video clips from boogering your service. Part two is a discussion on the DOs and DON'Ts of verbally transitioning the video.

DO: If it is a movie clip, give enough background for people to understand the context.

DON'T explain everything they will see—let the clip do the work. And don’t explain the entire plot of the movie. If they like it, they can get it from Netflix.

DO intentionally create anticipation. If you're going to talk about it, find some way to whet people's appetites for what their about to see.

DON'T set the clip up as the “funniest”, “coolest”, “most incredible”, etc., etc. clip they’ll ever see. Because, it just might not be. And make sure you know if it really is a hip, cutting-edge video before saying so. You might just have discovered the Numa Numa kid five years after it went viral.

DO work hard on the verbal segue into and out of your video. A little thought into our talking transitions goes a long way.

DON'T give away the “tie in” or lesson before you show it. People are smart. Most of the time, they’ll connect with the point you’re trying to make before you make it. And if you have to work that hard to explain the connection, is really the right video? Or just something you like and want to sneak in the service? C'mon, admit it...

DO consider not talking at all. A lot of videos won't need a set up.

DON'T forget to tell your tech that you won't be introducing the video. (This is one of those hand-offs we talked about earlier in the series).

Before we move on to other segues, a few parting thoughts about segues to and from videos:

Lighting - If you have the capability to dim your lighting, do so. Sometimes, that's all the cue you need to get people to look up at a screens. Hopefully the same people that dimmed your lights will bring them back up for you. If you have to ask, you've got some work to do this week.

Sound - If you're sound tech is "muter," make sure he/she unmutes the audio channel for the video BEFORE it starts. (Btw, muters are those that mute every possible channel at every possible moment because of an irrational fear that someone may grab a mic and launch the equivalent of a Red Dawn invasion on our service. Relax, I tell them. They don't.)

Simple Seating Segue - If you're finishing a song and going into a video, say something simple like: "You can be seated now as this clip begins." This does a couple things. It seats our people (who, 6 days a week, know how to sit and stand without being told, but somehow we suck that decision-making process from their prefrontal cortex every Sunday). And it gives a not-so-subtle clue to your tech to start the video.

People know what dead air is. We've been trained by our TVs to squirm after 2 seconds of undefined time. The moment we direct people to the screens and nothing happens, they begin to unconsciously disconnect from the journey we've invited on. And of all the ways we hope to encourage people to express worship to God, squirming is not high on the list.

28 Ways to Create Great Segues - #22, Pre-Service: A Preparation Time

I once attended a Sunday evening service at Parkside Church near Cleveland to hear Alistair Begg preach. A Scottish accent always makes a sermon better. It was a typical traditional pre-service time with soft music, dim lights and people chit-chatting with folks they hadn’t seen for at least a week. Pastor Begg got up and said, “It sounds like your voices are in fine shape tonight.” Folks gave the usual polite chuckle. But before the obligatory laughter died down, the Scotsman shot out a firm, “But you'd be better to prepare your hearts before the Lord.” The place got real quiet, real quick.

A quiet preparation time before the service is likely a thing of the past for many churches. But it might not hurt to implement it occasionally. And I say occasionally just because anything that’s done weekly runs the risk of losing its effectiveness.

If you’re church wants to try to create the pre-service preparation time, consider what you need to create that environment.

• A sign outside the worship center encouraging people to enter quietly.
• Doors closed to foyer/lobby. This will create a feeling of “entering in”. It also cuts the noise from the yakkers in the lobby.
• Soft music – it could be canned music or live acoustic guitar/piano playing softly.
• Dim lighting – quiet and reflective times aren’t encouraged by bright overhead lighting.
• Scriptures or short devotional quotes looping on the screen.

Consider other elements that might help create an environment of quiet preparation: candles, pictures of nature or people in prayer/worship, a written “guide” in the bulletin or on-screen to help people know how to use prepare for worship, etc.

Here are a few things that you should consider with a pre-service preparation time:

• You’ll always have the chit-chatters in the foyer, so you’ll still have to figure out how some way to bring them in. (Besides wishful thinking that they're conscientious of the time and care when the service starts.)
• This time could be off-putting to guests, especially non-Christians. But it also might be just what they’ve been looking for. You can’t please everyone. Just be clear about what you want. Don’t try to make it conducive for preparation and chit-chatting. People won’t know what to do. My two cents: if you’re not going for quiet preparation, I’d always go for the other end: a bright and celebratory environment.
• Your service may need to begin differently. Jumping right in with the typical upbeat opener will be a little jarring to those who have been in there. Consider starting with a quieter slower song, and building up. Or sing the chorus of a faster song in a “worshipful” manner. Then build tempo and volume to move people into the song as usual.

As we wrap up the segues that deal with the pre-service time, here's a last thought as you think through this stuff: Whatever you find that works to bring your people in at the beginning will most likely not work next month or even next week. People will start ignoring that countdown after they’ve seen it a few times and the live music will become background noise. That’s just how it is. So it’s up to us to be creative and segue people into worship.

28 Ways to Create Great Segues - #17 - 20

Segues #17 - 20: The Pre-Service, Part 1

Photo from stock.xchng 

I look at the pre-service time as one big segue: it's a sequence of elements used to transition people into corporate worship. The issue with most churches in American culture is this: the majority of people don’t actually come into the service until right at the start time, or likely a few minutes later. We can use a few segue elements to help move them into the flow of worship. But honestly, none of these techniques will change the culture of lateness in your church, or mine. But these transition elements can help. And while each can be standalone tools, they’ll likely work better when creatively combined with other elements.

#17 - The Countdown Video. This won’t really help if only 15% of that week's attendees are in the worship center when the last 30-seconds tick off. Consider running a feed to a monitor in the foyer or the kid ministry drop-off area. If running video feeds isn’t in the budget right now, just run a countdown off of an independent monitor in the high traffic areas outside the sanctuary.

#18 - Lighting. You know what will get people’s attention? Flipping the foyer lights on and off like they do at the end of intermission at the theater. OK, that's a little crass for our setting. Save the flicking to cue the pray for the potluck or to start the next congregational meeting.

But subtle lighting changes can be an effective way to move people from pre-service chit-chat to worship. Most often, house lights (the lights above the seating area of the worship center) are bright during the pre-service time and then are dimmed noticeably as the service begins. Inversely, the stage lights brighten and bring attention to the beginning of the service. Even if all you have for lighting controls are the switches on the back wall, you’ve got someone in your church who’d love to serve as lighting tech.

# 19 - Pre-service Music. Play a CD or iPod during the pre-service time. Make sure you create a CD mix or playlist that fits the mood you’re trying to create. And don’t be afraid to push up the volume. Just keep it comfortable to talk over. Most people won’t even be thinking about the music, until you fade it down quickly. That will grab people’s ear and help move their attention to the front.

Couple the music fade-down with a lighting change and you’ve got a strong transitional element to draw people’s attention. Some will still ignore it and keep talking. They need to be shunned like a poker-playing Amish woman.

#20 – Video Element. Dropping the lights and starting a video will move people in. Most don’t want to miss a good video. It could be a funny sketch from the Skit Guys, a thought provoking vignette that will tie in with the theme of the opening worship song, or a fun promotional video for a ministry or event.

In the next two installments we'll look at two more pre-service segues.