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Volunteering: The Video Team

Phillip Gibb — Mon, 31 May 2010 19:54:27 +0000

Volunteering in Church is really awesome; it does not matter whether it is for something technical or something low key and temporary. You can do anything, well almost – e.g. parking lot guy, announcement person or the CGI lady. I volunteered for video and that was a few years ago.
I have enjoyed it so much that it has become my extreme hobby, woot. If I actually make a feature film, I will blame by church.

I know that I am only speaking from an insider’s perspective, but here are a few things that I believe are great about what I do:

It is not about me
What I do is not about self gratification or glory. I don’t get money for this. It is my service and it is to God. And God is bigger than me.

Outlet
More than just doing something, it is an outlet for my creativity, what I learn and hopefully the talent God has given me.

Community
Everything is about team and in teams as with community groups in Church, you do life together; learning beyond any technical or mechanical things.

Growth
Sacrifice and giving is the best way to extend and grow yourself; physically, mentally and spiritually.

I encourage you to rather find out more, shadow if you have to, ask questions. Maybe you find all you concerns are unnecessary and all your questions answered. Maybe it opens doors to you, even doors of interest and passions that you thought you never had.

Video
For me, I was asked just to man the little Church camera. I look back on it now and I think, “oooooooo, how far we have come”. If I did not take that step I would have missed being part of an incredible journey in advancing video to level where the Church can leverage it to enhance the environment and reach people.

When it comes to video, people are often nervous of the technology thinking that it is beyond them. Sure there are a few things to learn and yes we want well equipped and ‘professional’ volunteers – but that can happen through knowledge transfer, maybe workshops and definitely volunteer shadowing. In the end you will have learned a fantastic skill and possibly have unlocked a passion and talent for video, and dare I say – Film Making

Join a team at your Church

Poll: What do you think of Christian Film

Phillip Gibb — Thu, 27 May 2010 14:34:19 +0000

Everyone has there own opinion on Christian Film; it has come a long way that is sure. There are some that would argue that we should not consider it as a genre and others say that we judge it separately because of it’s genre. Personally I like the way it has progressed, there is still some way to go, and it is sure to be hard because not many Producers/Production companies are keen to invest enough into it. Having said that; What do you think?

Poll closed: Results found here.

Asking Questions

Phillip Gibb — Tue, 25 May 2010 06:40:28 +0000

Most of what SynapticLight.com is about is to make connections with people in the spheres of Film-making, Social Media and the Church. I try to maintain an overlap of those three areas in the kinds of people I engage with. However there are exceptions, as always, and some of those exceptions lead to great friendships

Anyway, one of the ways to create those connections and foster those friendships is to be useful. In my mind that means to provide content that readers (dedicated and new) will benefit from. Sometimes I can’ always discern what is useful content; not being a mind reader and all So I am asking you to ask me questions.

I am opening the door here, so to speak, to any question that relates to my blogging (and more than that – Social Media), my attempts at filmmaking and where those elements interact with the Church.

The two ways to ask these questions:

Comment on this post
Fill in the content form: Contact me.
Direct Message or Tweet me on Twitter.
Write on my FaceBook Wall

I will endeavor to answer them directly and may even write a post about them.

So what question would you like to ask me?

[Image by crystaljingsr]

Intersect: Questions and Answers to a few of the Leaders

2 Years of Blogging

Phillip Gibb — Wed, 12 May 2010 10:14:29 +0000

In two days time (14 May) it will be the 2nd anniversary of my blogging life. I started with my first post, just showing the first TenBefore (10B4) we did. GreenScreen, keying, all that stuff. It has been a fun time, I leaned a lot.
And now, 2 years later, as I look back at how I have progressed, how my blog has evolved and how so many good people have been a part of my life.

I remember last year, when I celebrated my first year, things were just starting to ramp up in terms of visits and comments. I was reading Tribes by Seth Godin and taking part in my first group blogging project. It was then that I started developing the notion and drive to connect with Christian FilmMakers as Christians who volunteer in Video related tasks at church. Inspired by Tribes and my interest in Video, I wrote Building a Christian Video Tribe. Between then and now I have certainly made a lot of connection with Christian Filmmakers; in particular, Tom Khazoyan who was involved with The Enemy God, and the Daws Brothers who did Dangerous Calling.

Currently most of my efforts have been to get more Page Views and Comments. I think that when I reach year three I want to tell the story of how I became involved with Christian Filmmakers (IRL) and worked with them to create great content to Glorify God.

What is the story you want to tell at your next Bloggerversary?

[Photo by: ponsfrilus]

Church Announcements done Creatively

Phillip Gibb — Thu, 06 May 2010 20:05:13 +0000

I had the chance to go to Drive 2006 and was blown away by pretty much everything, but especially the cameras they used and the awesome creative stuff they get to do with video. This year was no exception. Although I was not there, I was excited and looking out for every tweet and FaceBook entry concerning it. Some buddies from church got to go – I ‘ll have to have a word with them why they did not post more updates

Here are some of the videos used for announcements.
Very Creative.
Although there is a time for the more live and personal touch, I think that there aint much that can beat a really professional, relevant and creative video than makes sure the information is brought across effectively, efficiently and in a fun manner.

DRIVE-BYE 1 from North Point Media on Vimeo.

Drive 2010: Drive-Bye #2 from Taylor Cox on Vimeo.

Drive 2010: Drive-Bye #3 from Taylor Cox on Vimeo.

Even more videos can be seen here: Videos for Drive ‘10
Man alive can I come work for you guys?

Help Build Camp SonShine 2 Classrooms

Phillip Gibb — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:21:53 +0000

Kendra Fleming, Tom Shefchunas and Donnie Joiner from the North Point Leadership team came over for a visit to Southpoint Church in February. They had a whole to offer in terms of creativity, leadership and the wow factor. While I did not engage much, I was certainly impressed.
However, Kendra, has written quite a pertinent post about her visit to Camp SonShine in Maitland Garden Village.

Real Life Heroes: You can get involved and make a difference. Find out how!

While Southpoint Church is in partnership with Alison Smith – through the Intersect project, I feel that anyone can be involved in helping to build 2 classrooms for them.
If you want to find out more then read Kendra’s post from the link above. There she offers the opportunity to contribute through NorthPoint Ministries GlobalX Giving page. It is quite easy. If you are uneasy about making an internet payment then you are more than welcome to either contact the Northpoint Community Church or Southpoint Church.
But you know, I am a bit challenged by this. While Southpoint as a Church in involved in community projects (through what we call Intersect), why does it take external influence to mobilize action. Suddenly there is urgency. I am not saying that it is bad, just that – maybe – it should not rely on it.
Anyway, why don’t we go ahead and get these 2 classrooms build and then some,
it’s only $4000
There are enough people out there who can contribute small sums that will quickly add up. So, spread the word.
Lets do this thing.

[Photo by: Kendra]

Copyright Issues for Churches

Phillip Gibb — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:09:42 +0000

Ok, so you want to show a clip from a DVD or from a TV show. It illustrates a point perfects and you only want a short piece. It is not like you are pirating the stuff, let alone making illegal copies for profit. In fact, showing the will not only serve the purpose of illustrating the point but will also promote the actual media source; maybe even result in a few sales and royalties for the content owners.

Right?

…

Wrong.

It could not even suck any more. I mean here you are; serving God, using content – not maliciously or for self gain, and they say it is theft?

Ok, I hate it when people rip or download content illegally. Their excuse is usually; “it’s not like I am ripping hundreds of DVD and running a business”. It’s a choice I have made not to partake in that activity.

However, what about the Church scenario? How often have you seen film clips shown? Maybe even ripped a DVD that you were allowed to show because it is easier to manage as a file? You would think that copyright stuff would have moved on from there, realizing that there is a intangible profit in having having their content shown to hundreds of people for a specific purpose. While I do not condone the infringement of copyright I also see the value of social marketing. Filmmaking is a passion of mine and I will not support piracy but I would definitely love to see my film go viral on the internet or used at almost every Church – even if I loose out on immediate royalties – that’s the independent filmmaker speaking hey?

What about Creative Commons? Surely that would cover scenarios like this?

There are ways to make life easier when it comes to displaying video content, not perfect. CCLI kind of comes to the rescue by doing all of the work in handling copyright issues, but that does not come without conditions. For instance, here in South Africa where we fortunately have access to CCLI(Christian Copyright Licensing International) and also CVLI (Church Video License), we are faced with the following cans and cannots:

You Can

Ask for a contribution from people.
Show any number of films/film scenes from the producers signed.
Promote the film title within your church
(notice board, newsletter, etc).
Show films from television series that have been published by an authorized studio.
Put the DVD in your computer and cue it up.

You Can’t

Charge an entrance fee.
Show any film – check the producers list.
Promote the film title outside of your church (including billboard, websites etc).
Show films that you have recorded from television.
Burn the film onto another media for adding into a presentation.

I am not sure what your experience is at your Church or maybe even your company, but I think that this is ridiculous. That’s my opinion of course. What if you have clips from 5 dvds?

Have you been faced with theses issues? Have any alternatives, suggestions or thoughts? Please write them down here.

[Photo By(modified): laubarnes]

Metro Kids Christmas Box 2009

Phillip Gibb — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 06:40:30 +0000

Last year I had the please to be involved with Southpoint Church putting together a video that just showed the involvement and result of all the gifts given to the children of Metro Kids Africa. There were so many Christmas boxes put together that a lot were given out to kids from a different organization.
I was not able to be at the hand out personally, but to be able to contribute with my what I have is just awesome.

Thank you Southpoint Church

Phillip Gibb — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:42:05 +0000

Not many people are able to take their interests and passions to new levels with the help of the community – most have to go it alone, have to find their own opportunity and fight their own battles.

Southpoint Church gave me an opportunity to take my dream to a new level by helping me get involved in filmmaking, motion graphics and general video media. I have learnt how to use a professional camera, edit in Final Cut Pro, create industry standard DVDs and interact with the community. All that I can do now is a result of the opportunity afforded to me. Not many people get even a sniff of opportunity.

Thanks Southpoint Church. When I make my feature film you will certainly be credited.

This post was created as part of a global groundswell of gratitude called TweetsGiving. The celebration, created by US nonprofit Epic Change, is an experiment in social innovation that seeks to change the world through the power of gratitude. I hope you’ll visit the TweetsGiving site to learn more, and to bring your grateful heart to the party by sharing your gratitude, and giving in honor of that for which you’re most thankful.

Bali Church Promo

Phillip Gibb — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 06:21:37 +0000

Considering how close we are to renaming and rebranding our Church, I thought I would show a little about who we are from the promo video I did for us. Will definitely be a good idea to create a new and better one for the ‘re-launch’

Some of the leaders of our Church had the opportunity to interact with other leaders from other Churches. Here is a Quick Promotion that I put together to show some of the things that go down at Stellenberg Community Church

Eight Second Set Down

Phillip Gibb — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:13:42 +0000

Now the volunteers at our church seriously rock!!!! But they can’t do an eight second set down. I can make it look like it, with some variable speed time re-mapping – he he he. Actually I ran out of tape in this case because the guys forgot a spanner – seriously.

None-the-less the volunteer team rocks!

Back in the Day: Intersect Review

Phillip Gibb — Tue, 19 May 2009 06:46:11 +0000

Ok, maybe after this, things can’t be ‘back in the day’ any more – but I’ll continue to show case the work we have done for church .
As I explained in the last Back in the Day about Intersect – it was a community based project in partnership with the community, Metro Kids Africa and North Point Community Church. Here, James from Metro Kids Africa gives a review of the cool stuff that transpired over the time of the project.

From Responsibility to Accountability

Phillip Gibb — Thu, 14 May 2009 19:30:32 +0000

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wfiupublicradio/

It really does not matter where you come from; church, non-profit, corporate or even small business. The people under you or the people that follow you will only take the initiative or go the extra mile if they have a stake in the matter. Most people are willing to take responsibility for something; they will be keen to do something for some form of benefit be it pay or recognition, but the non-delivery or non-completion of a task will not is not an issue because there is no ownership. When you have ownership you are at least accountable to yourself to complete the task as successfully as you can.

This will be a win for me in the next year

Can I walk away from what I do, knowing full well that I am not important, that I am not not major cog in the wheel? Can I walk away and know that I can hand over something that can run smoothly without me. This is my goal this year, this is a win that I want within a year. But I know that to see this happen I need to shed some accountability and let others take ownership. not easy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/designsquid/

I am a volunteer, I work with many other volunteers, we all put in lots of effort. We also hear the call or more effort and more commitment. Hell, I hear it at work place in the form of a productivity talk in every weekly developers meeting.

Ownership (or at least custodianship) brings accountability. I would like to see every volunteer at our church feel that they are accountable in their roles, but you can’t bring that about by preaching fear and the consequences of failed accountability. I think that you can bring it about by first of all being an example and second by offering ownership as an opportunity. For example in the video team I do a lot of the editing and I take all the initiative, but that is because I horde the ownership of the tasks; I need to let go a few things and share the ownership.

So starting next month I will start sowing the seeds and talking about it. With the aim of handing over this here MacBook Pro that belongs to the church in any case and reverting back to my old 1,6GHz SP G5; shop and horror. If that’s what it takes to get it done then so be it. This is going to take a bit of letting go in order to empower the team.

Anything that you have to let go for the bigger picture?

Spread the Word and Share

Back in the Day: Intersect

Phillip Gibb — Wed, 06 May 2009 19:32:41 +0000

Here is a promotional video I did for our church last year. Intersect was a partnership between a group from North Point Community Church, Metro Kids Africa and our church, We basically went into the townships and helped fix a few things, engage, entertain and offer some great gifts to the kids. Although the event was over a short period of time; Metro Kids Africa continues to engage and teach the kids.

Building a Christian Video Tribe

Phillip Gibb — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:53:13 +0000

What do I mean by a Tribe for Christian Video?

A tribe is a group of people with a shared interest and a way to communicate. In this case I am referring to the group of people that work full-time or as volunteers at a church. A group of people that provide a service or help in the area of video; camera work, directing, editing, vfx, motion graphics, etc. Is there a leader for this tribe, I don’t think so. There are definitely lots of leaders of smaller localized groups. There is definitely a way and a means to communicate but it is not very effective – or it is just not happening.

Why is a Tribe needed?

Most churches cannot afford the expertise and equipment; a lot cannot afford the volunteers. Yet the videos and motion graphics produced, maybe even films, needs to reflect the worship we have for Christ our Lord as well as be excellent enough that someone can say, “Wow, I want to come back” – as apposed to: “oh man that was terrible, not I want to expose myself to this again”.
So the little guys – at the little churches – who somehow find time in between time to do this on top of maintaining a family and work life – need to be apart of a bigger tribe that has members that are maybe professionals in the video world or maybe work full time with video at a church.
This so that we can learn from each other, help each other, encourage each other.
I am a little guy, I would love to be a part of a tribe like this.
Too many times do I feel that I am on the sidelines shouting to the big guys, “please let me, open the door”
There are many like me.
I don’t really mean for you to open the door to let me in to your group, I really mean lets form our own, lets band together an help each other out – a group of people; a TRIBE, made up of people, some that film after school with a Hi-8 cam and some that use a 35mm film camera on a multimillion dollar budget, some that sit after hours editing on their G4 iMac and some that are editing with a Mac Pro setup that fills the room.

To what outcome?

To empower the little guys – yes. But even the little guy has a lesson to give and a service to provide that can be useful to all.
The dissemination of expertise and information.
Encouragement by means of stories etc
To the benefit of all in the Tribe

How?

Communication is key. There are so many tool out there; Facebook, Twitter to name but a few. I don’t think that forming a Facebook group is the be all and end all of it. Success of communication will be in the activity of members talking to each other though what ever means; by engaging in each others blogs is an example or even taking part in discussions at what ever social media mechanism.

How do you think we can band together and communicate effectively?