Chad Vegas is in charge of all live video at Transformation Church (TC), and he consults with the entire creative video team. Vegas is a sought-after speaker and teacher of technical arts, as well, and has a trademark Worship First/Capture Second philosophy. We took Five Minutes to learn more.
CPM: How were you first introduced to technical arts?
Vegas: I'm a pastor's kid, so growing up it was just a part of my life. I started playing drums when I was five and by seven years old, I was on the worship team. My family had to set up and break down our own gear for practices and on tour. We were in Hawaii and there wasn't much to do in the land of video production, so it amazes me where God has taken me to become the man I am today.
CPM: What led you to use your technical skills for the church?
Vegas: Over 25 years ago, I was a web designer for my church in Las Vegas and they needed someone to edit video announcements. It was then [that] I started to have an interest in film and live video production. Countless late nights went into learning my craft. Even though school was an option, I chose to go the experience route, working at a production studio in Las Vegas. I returned to my church as the media director and later went to Redding, California, to be a part of Bethel Church.
CPM: When was your trademark Worship First/Capture Second philosophy born?
Vegas: I had just taken over as live broadcast director for Bethel Church/Bethel Music and I knew that I wanted to change the way live video was done. My new production manager, Drake Kelch, and the video engineer, Jesse Maitland, felt the same. So, we decided to shoot things more cinematically, wanting people at home to feel what was happening in the room. We wanted to find a way to break the wall down between the production and the room. After a lot of prayer and trying to figure it out, one of my cam ops, while getting crowd shots, stopped to pray for someone. The leadership took a photo and sent it to me. Immediately, God showed me this was it. In order for people to feel His presence in a more tangible way through the lens, we not only have to focus on shooting more cinematic, but [we must] also worship through our craft. I told my team that whatever we did from here on out, we would worship first and capture second.
“It has to be a safe environment to fail. Always wanting things to be excellent, but never seeking perfection. Perfection is religion but excellence is Kingdom.”
CPM: How do you use this philosophy to teach other technical leaders?
Vegas: It starts with training. We train weekly with the worship team during rehearsals, we show footage of the types of movement and framing we're looking for. We'll sometimes have an evening to watch the previous Sunday service. It has to be a safe environment to fail. Always wanting things to be excellent, but never seeking perfection. Perfection is religion but excellence is Kingdom. Next intentionality. We spend time together as a team for team nights where we just have fun and break bread, and team nights for worship and prayer. Lastly: time. It will take time to get them to a place where their craft becomes second hand and they can now focus on worship first and capturing second.
