Creative Answers to Projection Needs
By Adam Bottiglia(Note: The "Hydra" feature discussed in this article is now a part of Presentation Manager Professional).
If your church multimedia staff has control issues, don·t let them read this.
Many
churches
are moving to a multi-projector environment. This advance has created a
world of creative opportunity for those who dare to use
it. However, most software is not designed to take advantage of a
two or three projector setup. While many churches have already taken
the leap from PowerPoint® to church-specific multimedia packages,
some have found that even these are not enough.In order to take advantage of multiple screens, it is necessary to control them separately. It is possible to do this using multiple computers with several operators. However, this can get expensive and difficult to coordinate. It would be better to have one operator at one computer controlling everything. Creative Lifestyles· Presentation Manager Hydra software has made this possible. The advantages of this setup have been applied in various ways by various churches around the world.
Some churches have found it helpful to give their choirs and worship teams their own display. With two different displays a choir can see their song lyrics displayed in the back of the sanctuary while the congregation views a series of images or movies. A worship leader can be sent messages and lyrics without changing the projection to the congregation. In this way a more intimate connection is made between the worship team and the multimedia staff, allowing for better flow in the service.
Other churches are putting the live video on one screen, and the text on another. The pastor can be shown live on one projector and his sermon outline can be shown on another. Other churches like to video and project the congregation during worship. In the past, they would need to display the text over the people or in a small box on the bottom of the projector screen. Now one screen can be entirely devoted to the live image and another to the song lyrics.
The ability to control two projectors opens up many other possibilities as well. Pastor Cid Carneiro from Toyota Apoio Mission Church in Japan is currently installing a multi-projector setup in order to meet the needs of his multilingual community. ·We will use two [projectors] to display Bible [passages] and songs with separated Latin Languages (Portuguese and Spanish · our major group) with translation into Japanese.· In multi-language congregations, the sermon notes can be shown and translated on a separate screen. A song can be sung in multiple languages without the complications of mixing languages on one projector. For multilingual congregations like Toyota Apoio, the ability to control their projectors separatly allows them to meet a basic need in their ministry.
© Christian Sound and Song Magazine. Used by permission.
© Creative Lifestyles, Inc. 2006, 2007, 2008
