In my last post, I talked about the conversation my team has been having about production support as a baseline for acceptability. In my mind, this is just the beginning of what God has called us to do and be as technical artists. I believe that the full version of who were are and what we should be bringing to our churches involves production [insert word meaning “to enhance”].
I would define production [enhancement] as taking an idea and transforming it into something amazing by adding technical art. For someone who has agonized and worked long hours on a particular idea, this can sound like I want to make it into something completely unrecognizable. In fact, since production will be a part of any idea we do regardless, it means I am interested in making the most of an idea by using every technical device at our disposal.
As I mentioned in the last post, production support is objective and relatively easy to define. Production [enhancement] is an art form, and like any other art form is subjective and requires more from us. It interweaves production with the content, creating an inseparable connection between them. It propels the content of our services away from great art on stage with good production support, and towards an encounter with God. For my team, this is our mission statement:
“To create life changing moments through the fusion of the technical and performing arts.”
This requires us to work in collaboration with the other artists who are producing our services. It requires high levels of trust between the artists on stage and the artists in the production booth.
When I think about it, if I have a creative idea, I know that I want to have control over it and to make sure that my vision becomes a reality. Giving it over to another person or a team of people to potentially make it into something else sounds a little scary.
From a tech person’s standpoint, when you are presented with an idea, do you treat it with care and respect? Can we be trusted with someone’s creative idea? Will we enhance it or turn it into something completely unrecognizable?
