When working to improve your church's video, there are sometimes “low-hanging fruit” that can make a huge difference. Not all upgrades require a five- or six-figure budget. Sometimes it's just a bunch of small things that make a big difference.
Let's start with people and responsibilities. Is your live-stream an add-on to what you already do? Is it just another item on the checklist or is it its own ministry with dedicated people.
At first, the difference may seem subtle, but it's important. It's a matter of priorities.
If live-streaming is something that's thrown on top of the responsibilities of an, already busy, video director, it may normally be okay. What happens when something bad happens to the live-stream on a weekend? The video director doesn't have time to abandon the IMAG (image magnification) and his/her other responsibilities to troubleshoot it. It's likely that “just this week” the stream will suffer.
Now, imagine the other possibility. A dedicated person starts and runs the live-stream, but something goes wrong. That person can then drop everything else (because that's is their primary responsibility). If it takes 10 minutes to get the live-stream up and running again, the whole service doesn't suffer for the sake of those watching via the live-stream.
Make sure you pay attention to the live-stream, too. If you start streaming at the beginning of service and turn it off at the end, something could go wrong in the middle and you may not know. It's possible that there's an intermittent problem that doesn't show when you're looking, but that's the only time it doesn't. If you have someone watch the whole live-stream, you could pick up problems that those online don't complain about.
If your live-stream is just video, adding in a chat room, moderated by mature Christians can really start to build a sense of community. Perhaps you could have them “take notes” in the chat or pose questions that create conversation in the online congregation. Don't let the chat become a free-for-all, but guide it toward helping people grow.
Something else you can do is to watch your live-stream (or even a recording of it) with the sound down, paper in hand. Look for things that you can improve. Come up with what's possible to fix right now, but feel free to dream about the future as well.
Maybe you think a 40-foot boom crane would really tie the production together, and you may be right, but if you currently only have a single camera and don't have a video switcher, you've got to prioritize.
One easy fix, that's not too expensive, especially for basic systems is to upgrade and/or adjust camera support. Often churches start off with low-quality tripods. Upgrading them may give you a remarkably more stable shot for just a couple of hundred dollars (if you're using smaller cameras).
The best camera support is worthless if it's not properly adjusted, so make sure you do that as well. Tilt the camera forward or back and let go. If the camera continues to tilt, you need to slide the plate the opposite direction. If the drag is set too heavy, starting a movement might require pressure which will cause jerky movements.
If you don't have controls for zoom and focus on the camera pan bars, this is another small fix that will make a huge difference. They'll give the camera ops the ability to do complex movements quickly with less effort.
Whenever possible, light the video for the camera, not the eye. Our eyes are marvels created by God, Himself. Our approximations (cameras) are just that. They need more light to record the image that your eye naturally sees. For some churches, just the addition of more light will make a mediocre live-stream amazing
While you're at it, work on the sound. The mix might sound awesome in the same room it was mixed in, but unless you're taking obvious steps, I doubt it sounds as good online. That's just the nature of the beast. You should be creating a mix especially for the live-stream. You can also add in a little bit of audio from an ambient mic to capture a sense of being there.
Also remember what's being sent to the IMAG isn't the best thing for an online live video stream. It doesn't capture the context of the event like a specialized feed does. The best way to solve this problem is with a dedicated feed switched with the online congregation in mind. If you have no other choice, add in contextual shots like establishing and wide shots to the IMAG feed. Sometimes a few shots between elements won't distract from the IMAG feed, but will draw the online congregation into the room.
This isn't possible without enough cameras, though. That's why you shouldn't settle for a single camera for live-streaming. One camera is fine to get started, but don't settle there. Each camera you add up to at least four or five will give you exponentially more choices. With one, the camera op is on for the duration of the live-stream. With two, each can take mini-breaks to stretch and refocus. You can also quickly move from one shot to the next. More cameras will make for a more visually interesting live-stream.
Directors should learn how to communicate with camera ops effectively. If you're describing each shot, instead of referring to it by short-hand, you're wasting time that could be used calling for another shot. If each camera has a good shot in reserve at all times, you will be more likely to get exactly what you need when you need it.
Sometimes the improvements aren't solutions to technical problems, but philosophical ones.
Often, churches get convinced of what should work and then are perplexed when it doesn't. Context is everything here. Perhaps the giga-church in your town uses a set of equipment and processes to live-stream, but you can't do it the same way for some reason. Maybe it requires more people, a bigger budget, or something else that just won't work at your church. No matter what it is, look for ways to tweak things so that they work in your situation. And don't be surprised if what works at the church up the street doesn't yield the exact same results at your church.
Pay attention to what works and do more of that. When you find that doing things a certain way leads to more engagement, more community, or even a better use of your time, do more of that. Sometimes the difference between okay and awesome is nurturing what's going well.
These are a few of the differences between poor and better live-streams. Of course, there are others too.
To pick up the subtleties, try to learn from others, not just other churches. If you want to really improve your live-stream, watch what the best in the industry are doing. Look at how they craft shots and stitch them together to form a cohesive whole. Some of these people work in churches, but unfortunately, many do not. It's okay to study the structure the art and abilities of those outside the church to improve art within your own church.
