To folks new to the process, the world of church tech can sometimes seem overly-rigid, even militaristic in structure… However, it’s critical for tech team members to know who does what, and who is calling the shots. As the services become more complex (for instance, we require an absolute minimum of ten tech people to effectively run our weekend services), people need to know who to turn to if something goes wrong – which it inevitably will!
Our structure looks like this:
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER – This person (usually me) hopefully does not have to make many (if any) calls in an actual service. I’m really there to make sure that everything is running as envisioned, and to make any necessary changes. I communicate directly to the Worship Pastor, who leads the Worship Team, and to the:
SHOW PRODUCER – This person actually calls the cues, and communicates directly with all team members, but primarily the Video Director, Soundperson and Lighting Director. These latter two positions are self-contained.
VIDEO PRODUCER – This person (Jason, in the shot below, is one of our Video Producers) calls the shots/cues for the camera people, CG (computer graphics) operator, and video switcher operator.
We time our services out to the second, and focus heavily on practicing transitions. Our Sat. rehearsals consist of a 45 minute band rehearsal, and then 2 full run-through, with everything (except the sermon) run the way it actually will be in the service. We will occasionally “fast-forward” through videos in the 2nd rehearsal… : )
The goal of the whole thing is to do our best in preparing and carrying out the services, while respecting all of the team members involved. Respect doesn’t mean that everyone’s in charge – it means that we are as clear, consistent and compassionate as we can be as we strive towards God-honoring excellence.
NOTE: One rule that we have is that all requests from the band/vocalists funnel through the Worship Pastor – we don’t have band members or vocalists shouting out requests all at once. Again, it’s a matter of respect…
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