Photo courtesy of The Life Christian Church, West Orange, NJ.
Easter season is here. Every church is getting prepared for the changes they want to make, the events they will host, and for some, the new platform design they will unveil at the Easter service.
For many, stage design can seem intimidating, especially if someone hasn’t been in charge of the process before. But It doesn’t have to be that way. Below, CP shares tips from two prominent production directors at churches that are consistently redesigning their stages. The first is Nathaniel Smith, production director at Turning Point Church in McDonough, Georgia. The second, Production Director Andrew Jones at Clawson First Assembly in Lufkin, Texas.
Tip #1: Start By Knowing What You Already Have
When it comes to organization, Turning Point Church’s Nathanial Smith says, “It is so easy to forget exactly how many fixtures you have. Or you may think that you need more DMX cables when starting a project. But there is something about taking the time … and counting every fixture and cable before starting to design the new stage. It is amazing how often we forget exactly what we have because we haven’t used it lately.”
We can easily get distracted by a cool backdrop, and to miss the importance of lighting the people out front.
Smith continues, “When we go through this process, we may even find older pieces of gear that haven't been used in a while; these pieces can potentially be repurposed in a new design. One easy way to do this is simply to make a Google spreadsheet of every fixture, with its DMX number and required channel count, serial number, and when the lamp was put in the fixture (if that is applicable) so you can know when to replace the them.”
You can also make a list of all of the cables, clamps, truss, and anything else you own that can make a stage design work, he suggests, saying, “When you do this, it will be easier to know exactly what you have and what you need for a new design. Some designs may require new equipment, but some may simply require rearranging what you have.”
Tip #2: Don’t Underestimate Backlighting
“Hitting subjects from the back with lighting can make a huge difference in a worship environment, especially when we are talking about set designing for services that are being live streamed,” says Andrew Jones from Clawson First Assembly.
“The sad part is that while it’s cool to have the LED walls, it really does take a lot of the creativity out of the stage design process.” - Nathaniel Smith, Production Director, Turning Point Church
“The definition difference, both in the room and on camera, is really surprising. Some people have LED walls behind their worship team or speakers, and the brightness of the screen does the job nicely. But well-placed lights behind the subjects does the job, as well.”
In essence, it can be easy to get distracted by a cool backdrop, or how to hang your moving heads, and to miss the importance of lighting the people who will be in front. Asking how to give the most definition to the people in front of the design is a great question that will make the quality of the project stand out substantially.
Tip #3: Don’t Let Money Keep You From Being Creative
“When it comes to stage design, it feels like churches are divided into two groups: Those who have LED walls and those who don’t,” says Smith. “The sad part is that while it’s cool to have the LED walls, it really does take a lot of the creativity out of the stage design process.”
Smith cites some of the really cool stage designs that came from trips to Home Depot, or ordering a thousand Styrofoam balls and cutting them in half to create a backdrop. “While it was cheaper, it was definitely more creative. I love my LED walls, but I do miss some of the creativity before we bought them.”
While many make the argument that the lack of money is what holds creativity back, according to these two production directors, it may just be the opposite. As scripture says, “don’t despise small beginnings.”
Jones shares a similar sentiment: “For the most part, our entire stage design is an insane amount of LED tape used in different ways. For a while, our church had a desire to look good but didn’t quite buy into production from a financial perspective. So we had to do a lot with a little. Creativity was all we had. Now that we have proven how much we can accomplish, the church believes in production enough to invest more in stage designs, and spend more money on things like fixtures and other things needed. But we commit to not just spend money, but be as creative as possible.”
The value of holding onto creativity is so important in stage design. While many make the argument that the lack of money is what might hold creativity back, according to these two production directors, it may just be the opposite. As scripture says, “don’t despise small beginnings.”
Tip #4: Clean Before Your Start
“I know this sounds obvious, but it needs to be said: Take all of your lights down, roll all of your cables, disconnect all of the clamps, sweep your stage, wipe everything down, clean your fog machine if you have one, and make the platform perfect before you start putting everything back up,” Smith advises. The process of stage designing is so much more efficient when the design begins with a clean slate.
He adds, “It may seem like a waste of time, but the time spent moving things out of the way will actually be significantly longer than starting with a clean slate.” Getting clutter out of the way is always a safer move, too.
Tip #5” Don’t Build Alone
Smith shares that he began to learn production basics during set designs at his church. “When I think back to my first days serving as a lighting tech, in youth group, I learned the most during stage set design projects,” he says. “Someone was willing to invite me along, teach me some stuff, and now I use what I learned from those experiences every day. You don’t know where those serving on your team might be in a couple [of] years, [so] take them along the journey of the project, teach them how things work, and let them learn.”
When those who are veterans in the production world intentionally invite people who are just learning, they might be training their future right hand-person, their replacement, or someone that may go on to do bigger things in the future. Regardless, we should always be sharing our gifts with other people.
As the creative juices start flowing for this Easter’s services, remember that you are making a difference. You are creating new environments that will engage people through all of their senses in worship—in a completely new way.
