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Parable: a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels
Projector: a machine for projecting motion pictures on a screen via a beam of light
(Source: Oxford Dictionaries)
A combined definition of the two would read like this: “a machine for projecting a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels, via a beam of light.” And that sums up the important but sometimes misunderstood (and misapplied) role of the projector in the house-of-worship environment.
“Look at the projector as part of the message rather than as an effect." Mike Morin, Manager of Strategic Sales Development, Hitachi
“The projector is such a critical element of AV in a church, because it can be used to really help communicate the message, or it can easily overpower the message,” observes Mike Morin, manager of strategic sales development at projector maker Hitachi. Thus, says Morin, the first instinct in the application of projection should be to avoid its potential for visual pyrotechnics and look for ways to use projection to support a pulpit message. That, he recommends, should be the goal of a church’s media team or worship pastor: to coordinate projected images and video in concert with the planned sermon for a service “Look at the projector as part of the message rather than as an effect,” he says.
AV systems specifiers should keep the mission of the projector in mind when they consider their technical recommendations ... narrative purpose needs to be [considered].
AV systems specifiers should keep the mission of the projector in mind when they consider their technical recommendations. Yes, issues such as placement (the ideal distance is double the width of the screen) and brightness (for most sanctuary applications that seat up to 200, 5,000 lumens is sufficient) and resolution (1024 X 768 is fine for graphics like song lyrics, but IMAG and wide-screen content works better with 1280 X 1080 or higher). But narrative purpose needs to be kept in mind.
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Money, maintenance & more
Then there are the economics. Morin points out that laser-illuminated projectors may cost more initially but will save money in most cases over time, by reducing the costs of maintenance and operation. He recommends that churches analyze how they use their projectors to determine whether to invest in laser- or traditional lamp-based illumination. A typical lamp may last 2,000 hours; used three or four time a week it provide several years’ worth of service, but if the projector is used nearly every day and for extended periods during the day, a laser may be the more efficient way to go. “You also have to factor in the need to periodically rent a lift to replace a lamp in a ceiling-hung projector,” he says.
Rich McPherson, senior product manager for projectors at NEC, agrees, noting that pastors often make the projector the center of attention in an AV strategy, and that consultants often go along. “There’s so much more that projectors can accomplish in terms of supporting the message and keeping it the center of attention,” he emphasizes. “Projectors have the ability to put edge-blended images across walls and other surfaces, and it can do so even in environments with high ambient light.”
“Projection has an immersive capacity that video walls simply cannot match." Rich McPherson, Senior Product Manager for Projectors, NEC
That’s in addition to the more quotidian tasks that projectors are assigned, like image magnification of presenters. In fact, says McPherson, multiple projectors can create entire supportive environments, using techniques to carve out key physical elements when projection-mapping an interior space, an approach that can also be used to let projection work in conjunction with LED video walls. Video walls have their place in visual media infrastructures, he acknowledges, but asserts that projection’s flexibility, particularly in terms of scalability — a videowall has specific boundaries while projection can cover spaces small to large by simply changing lenses — makes it the preeminent image platform. “Projection has an immersive capacity that video walls simply cannot match,” he says.
The real bottom line ...
Both Morin and McPherson enumerate the various practical benefits of projection, but they also agree on the bottom line of its use: use it to support the narrative, not overwhelm it. “It’s just one piece of a larger plan to communicate a message,” says Morin. “Today, we have to think about wireless microphones, multiple cameras, video, lighting. But at the end of the day, all of that, including projection, has to support that message.” Adds McPherson, “Don’t let the technology get in the way of what a pastor is trying to tell us.”
