In the last decade, live streaming has shifted from something mega churches do to being commonplace in almost every church size. Churches of fifty to five thousand now see the need for live streaming. The challenge of producing a high-quality live streaming is bigger than, “which camera should I buy in my price range?” It encompasses audio, video, and lighting. Of the three, the one that is least talked about is lighting. Theatrical lighting and lighting for video can seem mysterious and a little more complicated than other aspects of streaming a service.
For this article, I sat down with Nathaniel Smith, the production director for Turning Point Church in McDonough, GA, to discuss what pastors need to know about lighting for live streaming. Here we discuss deciding the goal of the stream, thinking through fixtures, addressing backdrops, and choosing lighting based on cameras.
“...if the goal is to be the digital “front door” of the church, then make sure the experience is the highest quality the church can accomplish.” – Nathaniel Smith, Production Director, Turning Point Church
What is the Goal of Live Streaming?
Before discussing lighting for streaming, the church needs to clarify the goal of the live stream. Nathaniel says, “It's hard to know how much to invest in the quality of a live stream if the goal is vague. If the stream is just for people that attend the church when they are out of town, then investing in minimal lighting may be okay. But if the goal is to be the digital “front door” of the church, then make sure the experience is the highest quality the church can accomplish.” Clarifying the goal of the stream makes it easier to identify the necessity of the need. If the goal of your live stream is for people to experience your church for the first time, then making sure the platform is attractive and evenly lit of utmost importance.
What are the right type of fixtures for front lighting a platform?
Knowing which fixtures are right can be daunting. There are so many options: floods, fresnels, Source Fours, lekos, COB LED lights --- it can all be confusing. Nathaniel’s first advice in this area is to first consider leko lights that give the ability to zoom. He says, “Leko’s tend to dominate the market because they are flexible. There are also so many moving head fixtures that give this capacity too, which is great for covering different parts of the platform without physically moving a light.” Purchasing lighting that can be used in multiple spaces is always helpful because it can be repurposed for something later. In today’s market, almost any light fixture type can be purchased at multiple price points. But remember, you will get what you pay for. If you buy a cheap light that only lasts two or three years, is it really a bargain vs a more expensive light that will list 10 plus years?
A professional will guide you to lighting fixtures that will “play nice” with your camera set up.
Here’s where professional advice can be vital. Lighting designers and AVL integrators have experience with multiple brands they’ve installed in multiple venues. A professional will guide you to lighting fixtures that will “play nice” with your camera set up. Cheap or incompatible lighting fixtures can flicker and cause a major distraction when not paired with the right camera setup. Input from a professional can be the difference between a successful project and a complete waste of money.
Start by making sure light is covering the platform consistently. It’s a little distracting for the live attendee to see the pastor to walk out of the light, but it’s significantly more distracting on camera, which is what your live stream audience sees. Nathaniel adds, “One of the easiest things to misunderstand is overlapping lighting. The light isn’t the exact same brightness in its total beam angle. If the church doesn’t have the budget to pay a light designer to make sure it’s consistent, the church can purchase a foot candle meter and make sure it’s relatively close across the platform.”
This can also get more complicated when lighting for the pastor’s message is set on a specific plane across the platform, but in worship, the singers and musicians are usually at different depths on the stage. Musicians who are behind the singers may not need as much light as those out front, but everyone needs to be lit. Remember that lighting draws the eye’s attention. So the most important people on stage (usually the pastor and the worship singers) need the best and most consistent lighting. But that doesn’t mean you ignore the others. Poor lighting is a distraction, and doesn’t reflect well on your church.
Does Lighting Behind The Pastor Matter?
If the pastor is lit from the front, does what’s behind him really matter? The answer is an emphatic, “Yes.” When there is nothing behind the speaker it can make the video more of a challenge to watch and engage with because the dark abyss behind the speaker can play tricks on our eyes, since there’s nothing there to gauge the depth of the stage. This is why LED screens are so helpful with streaming.
Nathaniel talked about the power of color behind the speaker and how to accomplish it. He says, “If there isn’t a screen behind the pastor, color is so important to make the live stream video come alive. This can be done in a lot of different ways, but one way would be with color batten fixtures or LED strip lights. These types of fixtures look great and make a wall of color with just a little haze.” The backdrop of color doesn’t have to be expensive, but having something makes a huge difference vs a black hole.
How Bright Do My Lights Need To Be?
The question of how bright is bright enough is important and necessary. The answer varies though. It varies on the cameras. The camera that does better in low light will require less overall brightness on stage, but those cameras tend to cost more. However, the less quality a camera is the more bright the lighting will need to be. Nathaniel discussed a recent upgrade at Turning Point that worked better in low light and allowed the room to have a softer atmosphere. He said, "The camera upgrade was expensive, but it allowed us to have more control over the room." It simply depends on the goal, the budget, and the current gear owned by the church.
… finding how to accomplish these goals within each budget is an art,…
Ultimately, lighting for live streaming boils down to knowing the goal, consistency across the stage, purchasing equipment to complement gear the church already has, and making sure what is in the background looks attractive. Every church has a budget and finding how to accomplish these goals within each budget is an art, but it will make a difference in the live streamed experience.
