October 2009
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Cover Story
UpperRoom Does It Again
By Steve Hewitt
If you're a reader of Christian Computing Magazine, you know that for some time, we've been following a small company in Texas who is doing big things. UpperRoom Technologies in San Antonio has its roots at Oak Hills Church where Max Lucado teaches, and on CCMag’s July cover we highlighted Groups Interactive, a feature-rich small group management tool. Developed first by volunteers at Oak Hills, it has become one of the premier small group tools on the market, in use from Arizona to Florida to Massachusetts.
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Editorial
Our First Annual Christian Video Awards!
By Steve Hewitt
Dust of your cameras and check your lighting because we’re about to do something exciting! We’re going to have a special contest to recognize all of the great videos that you have either been watching or helping to create this last year. And, this contest is not just for those that produce videos for sale, but for everyone that creates videos for ministry. In fact, the thought that we needed a contest to recognize all types of Christian videos came to me when I was watching a video created by the church I attend, designed to only be viewed by our congregation. It was used to promote an upcoming woman’s retreat. As I watched the video, I was impressed. And I realized two things. First, other churches must also be doing a great job of creating videos for their announcements, and there needed to be a way to give them some recognition for the work they are doing. And, second, many churches needed the opportunity to see what can be done to help promote their church’s ministries by creating their own videos.
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Article
Confessions of a Shopaholic
By Martin Baggs
Last summer, with my son on a school trip to Central America for three weeks, the girls got to pick the film for a Saturday night family movie. What did they pick? A chick flick. Surrounded by the four fabulous females in my life, we watched this movie about shopping, the only all-female sport. Surprisingly, this rom-com was bright and funny and enjoyable. Director P.J. Hogan, with a good credit rating from directing Muriel's Wedding and My Best Friend's Wedding, fills this adaptation of Sophie Kinsella's book of the same name with top-name acting talent and it more or less pays off.
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Article
‘Yule Tide Treasure
By Stewart H. Redwine
The 2010 Holiday Season is almost upon us and the demands are growing higher as SermonSpice.com and other sites provide downloadable sermon content. That means more video producers competing to put out the very best holiday themed content for pastors to download. Can you feel it? That is the pressure of a free market. SermonSpice.com provides you, the video producer, with an immediate indicator of exactly how good your videos are. If you are ever in doubt as to whether your videos are any good, just take a look at your sales numbers.
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Greg's Toolkit
Interview of Mark Fogarty
By Gregory Fish
I'm pleased to bring Mark Fogarty from Muddy River Media to the toolkit this month. I'm sure you'll find his insights useful and his ministry to be an early Christmas blessing. He has an unusual title- that of “media missionary”. I had found his site a while back and thought it was an awesome and revolutionary concept. Time went by and then Mark found one of my music tracks on Revostock.com to use in a Muddy River video. He did some digging and saw that I too am in the Christian media industry, and thus began our friendship and collaboration.
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Special Feature
2009 Christian Video Awards
By Steve Hewitt
We are preparing to launch a project that promises to be both exciting and rewarding; one that we believe will be an eagerly awaited annual event for many for years to come! Christian Computing Magazine is proud to announce the first annual Christian Video Awards for 2009. This contest will not only be for those that produce videos for churches to purchase, download and show at their church, but will include categories for churches who create their own videos as well as individuals who video their testimonies. And even better news is that we already have raised some great prize money and awards!
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Article
Reflections on X-Men Origins: Wolverine
By Mark Carroll
Lines from Wolverine…or my oldest brother Ricky? Could be both. Ricky Leon was a large and mischievous young lad, and with his fiery red hair and freckled pale skin, displayed the O’Carroll Irish heritage more than any in my generation.
I’ll never forget walking home at night from a 7th grade function through the mean streets of New York City (well, actually the tiny town of Woodland, Washington – but it seemed a lot bigger and nastier back then) when I was accosted by a group of high school thugs. Backing me up against the brick wall of the Presbyterian Church, they snarled, “What are you doing out this late by yourself, you little runt? Hahahahaaaaaaa….”
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Article
Organizing & Producing Your Own On-Screen Content – Pt. 2: “VIDEO”
By Jay M. Delp
Last month in Part 1 of this micro mini series on producing your own media for ministry we looked at shooting your own “still” images. Here in Part 2 we shall focus on producing and presenting your own “moving” images (a.k.a. video). Since space will not allow us to delve into the myriad of technologies and techniques related to producing your own videos, (gear, editing, lighting, audio, graphics, interviews, staff, compression, etc.) this article will focus on some general concepts (and inspiration) for advancing your ministries’ video production capabilities and vision. And just so you know, I’ll be mainly addressing some primary video production considerations and ideas which hopefully benefit most ministries but perhaps target those ministries at or near the beginning of the development of their in-house video production visions, goals and gear.
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