I don’t subscribe to many magazines, only because they just pile up on my desk. Lately, for whatever reason, a small stack has developed, so I took the time to go through them the other day.
One article that caught my attention was about Elton John’s Diving Board Tour, especially since it was one of the last projects that Mark Fisher worked on. I’m a huge fan of Mr. Fisher’s work, more specifically the process of how he worked.
In the article, LD Patrick Woodroffe talked about how the show came together. It started with Sir Elton wanting to take his show on the road, and basically saying, whatever Mark and his team came up with for the production design would be fine. Talk about a blank check!
For many tech people I know, this would be the chance to try all the most cutting-edge things I’ve been dreaming about. To pull out all the stops. Yet, here’s what Patrick said:
“The last thing you’d want to do in creating a rock show is to come up with a big concept that has nothing to do with the person sitting on the stage. It’s always been our view that you start with what’s on the stage and work from there.”
This is some wisdom.
No wonder Elton John trusts the people at Stufish so blindly; they have proven that they only want to create something that fits what he is trying to do. They don’t just want to take his money and do whatever they feel like with it. Their goal is to steward his trust and create something that will enhance the person and the music of Elton John.
For those of us doing production in the local church, it is so easy to get caught up in the latest and greatest. Or doing cool production-y things, for their own sake. What our churches need, is for us to have a similar attitude as the crew working with Mr. John.
What’s happening on our platform? How can we help enhance it? How can we make it the best version of itself?
Is your idea to fill your room with haze going to help make your services better?
Will a louder mix satisfy your own desires to feel the bass, but distract people from why they are in church in the first place?
Do all your crazy dutch angle camera shots help people engage with what’s happening on stage or is it just making them sick?
Taking Patrick’s advice will do at least two things for us, make our services better, and build loads of trust with whoever your version of Elton John may be.
