Ever feel like you can't get ahead? Like, you finish Christmas and Easter is standing right there ready to smack you in the face. I wrote my pastor, my congressman and the pope trying to get some more separation. No one responded, I also had an excellent idea in there about spreading the daylight savings time change out in the spring over four weeks. Just move the clocks ahead 15 minutes each Sunday instead of an hour. Alas, it appears we must live with it. So what are some things you can do when you're burned out and yet have to prepare for another run? I've done it many times and have some ideas that have helped me.
First, as a technical director, you should think of yourself as a project manager. You have a deadline, resources, and the desired result. From a technical end, your job is to put the plan together to make that all happen, and that is my first piece of advice: Make a plan. I was a Seat-of-My-Pants plan guy for a long time, and the stress was incredible. As the weekend services became more involved productions, that model became unusable.
Hello There, Plan
What does a plan look like? Well, I don't know exactly; that is different for each of us. My personality needs things written out—with an easy action step or my ADD kicks in. I love whiteboards with lists and dates on them. You could go as simple as just a calendar with dates on it—whatever helps you be organized and stay ahead is what you need to do.
Using this time wisely is key. While it may seem like down time or the calm before the storm, this is the perfect time to prepare and to get ahead. In this, the age of digital, you can begin to lay out your services ahead of time on your consoles. You may not know every element that will be a part of the service yet, but you know the key elements, and by getting the template in there and starting the creative juices flowing now—and giving them time to ruminate—it will help reduce stress the week when it's crunch time. Starting early allows you plenty of time to try things out and really dial in looks, sounds, effects, and whatever else may happen.
Make sure your equipment is serviced. While you'll never know exactly when a projector lamp is going to blow or a moving light is going to break, preventative maintenance can go a long way in making sure that doesn't happen during one of the busiest times of the year. Don't forget new filters, too; they're everywhere, and they love dust, and that can wear out your gear that much faster. Also, test your battery backups. I've been caught in a brown out with a dead UPS once (I'm lying, it was more than once). Those things do not last forever, and while they continue to pass power, usually when plugged in, on battery they do nothing, and you look silly.
Finally, use this time to invest in your team. All too often we talk about the technical aspects of what you can do. But there is a managerial and spiritual element, as well. Your team has come through Christmas, high fives and late nights were shared, I am sure. Don't lose the momentum of the holiday rush. I would encourage you to debrief your team. What worked for them, what would they improve for next year and, see where I am going here, you can start thinking of that for Easter. Also, use the adrenaline and hopefully attendance rush of Christmas to grow your team. How you do that is different in every church, but begin thinking of it now—so you have time to train people and get them plugged in. That way you're not scrambling for people at the eleventh hour come Easter.
Rise to the Occasion
I could go on for another few pages, but those are some general ideas I have learned over my years as a production director. I learned a long time ago that these seasons would be stressful, and there is a certain amount of that stress that I love and thrive on. That is why I got into live production in the first place. But I can't allow that stress to overwhelm, and with planning and communication, it doesn't have to. There will always be last minute changes, and things happen that no one anticipates, but when everything else is going on the way it's planned, we can handle a surprise, like a projector exploding on Christmas Eve or a volunteer getting sick. Plan. Communicate. Execute. It will all work out. Happy Easter!
