Video Content

To Stream or not to Stream

It seems like streaming is the thing to do right now. This is definitely a viable option, because it allows the church to participate together at the same time. The live stream lends a bit of authenticity to an otherwise weird and manufactured online service. The downside is a level of technological unpredictability. On the other hand a pre-recorded service is very stable and can be edited (more on that below), but feels disconnected because it’s not live.

I’m going to offer a third way that offers the best of both worlds — the “Premier Event.” When you upload a video to Facebook or YouTube, you can check a box to make it a premier event. This means that no one can watch it until the specified time and when that time arrives everyone watches together. It feels like a live stream, but is actually pre-recorded. We used this method yesterday and I highly recommend it. I’m going to give some help with doing either option though.

Streaming

If you have a smart phone, you can probably livestream without any additional software. The quality will not be great, but it will work. If you want to use a computer, you will need some sort of camera and microphone. Many computers have those built in, but your quality will increase if you upgrade.

A high quality webcam will increase your stream’s quality by handling low light situations and sending a higher resolution image. I’d love to give some recommendations for a great webcam, but it seems everyone is trying to buy them right now. I guess you can look for them on the toilet paper aisle on Amazon. Logitech is the go to brand if you can track one down.

For our church, we use a regular camcorder connected to a computer for our streaming setup. If you purchase an Elgato Camlink HD 60 S any camera with an HDMI output can be used as a webcam. We use a Sony PXW-X70. One good option for a much cheaper camera in this setup would be something from the Canon Vixia series (HF R800).

You’re also going to need a good mic. Both cameras linked above include mic inputs. The Sony has XLR inputs that come straight from our sound system. We do that for live streaming, but when we pre-record we use other options. Both the Sony and the Canon offer 3.5 mm microphone inputs. One cheap option to utilize those inputs is the Movo VXR10. Keep in mind, the closer the mic is to the speaker the better so something like the VXR10 will be limited. See below for more information about how to get good quality by pre-recording.

The video from the camera (either webcam or through the Camlink) will then come into the computer where you can use one of several tools to convert it to a live stream. We use Elgato Game Capture, but OBS is another popular free option. I find Game Capture much easier to use. These pieces of software will allow you to log into your YouTube and Facebook accounts to set up the stream.

Pre-recorded

This brings me to the other (and my personal recommendation) way of doing a service/devotional video, pre-recorded. Our church is set up to live stream, and we’ve been doing so for more than a year. Nonetheless, we are still choosing pre-recorded videos during the quarantine. There are several reasons why this is probably a good idea for you and is for us.

First of all, pre-recorded videos are less awkward than a livestream to an empty auditorium. You can’t replace the gathering of the local church with a livestream. So, I’d encourage you to shift your paradigm and do something that is genuinely good in this format rather than preaching and singing to an empty auditorium. Pre-recorded videos will allow you to do this well.

Secondly, pre-recording allows better sound quality for less money. That’s why we pre-record videos with this lavalier mic. While the lavalier mic provides good quality, the downside is that it has limited range. The camera might need to be farther away than the cord will reach. There are two solutions to this problem. First, you can use a wireless lavalier mic (I have not personally used this one, but Rode is a highly respected brand). This is obviously a bit pricy, although it would also work with a live stream setup.

The alternative is to record the audio on a separate device. You can use the lavalier plugged into either an audio recorder or your smart phone to record the sound. While this is cheaper (assuming you already have a smart phone), it does require you to use video editing software to sync the files. If you need help doing this, there are many video tutorials which will teach you how on your specific editing software. It’s not too hard to do, but will take a bit of work.

The third advantage of pre-recording is the ability to edit the videos. Editing is work, but basic skills are not too complicated. I can’t give an exhaustive run down of all editing software, but I do want to give you four options.

Simple and free: iMovie is the default Mac video editor. I don’t know what the alternative is on Windows, but iMovie should do most of what you need.

iMovie is the default Mac video editor. I don’t know what the alternative is on Windows, but iMovie should do most of what you need. Fully featured and free: Davinci Resolve is a free pro level video editor. It will do everything you need and more. However, it is somewhat complicated. This is the tool I use, but the learning curve is steep.

Davinci Resolve is a free pro level video editor. It will do everything you need and more. However, it is somewhat complicated. This is the tool I use, but the learning curve is steep. Simple paid option: Screenflow was originally designed for creating screen sharing videos, but it has evolved into a capable video editor. Again, it’s only available on a Mac. For Windows, look into its more expensive competitor Camtasia.

Screenflow was originally designed for creating screen sharing videos, but it has evolved into a capable video editor. Again, it’s only available on a Mac. For Windows, look into its more expensive competitor Camtasia. Fully featured paid options: Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro are the industry standard editing tools, but they are expensive and have a similar learning curve to Davinci Resolve.

Each of these options will work; it’s just a matter of how powerful a tool you need and how much work you’re willing to put into learning the programs. Each option will have ample YouTube tutorial videos and will help you deal with exporting via wizards within the program.