Breakouts
The Arts Conference offers a variety of Breakout options all intended to give you the opportunity to customize your experience and find exactly what you need. You are automatically registered for Featured Breakouts when you register for the conference. Attend those Featured Breakouts, or swap out your Featured Breakout for a Skilled Breakout. Move freely between breakout categories as you mix and match among all the options to design the day that best meets your needs. For an additional fee on Thursday, you can opt for a Premium Breakout of either a Point Leader Class, Masters Class or Hands On Experience.
Begin to build your training schedule on Wednesday by making your selection for Breakout A.
Wednesday Breakout Session A 3:15 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.On Thursday, continue to build your training schedule. You will automatically be registered for the Featured Breakout or you can exchange those for a Skill-Based Breakout. For an additional fee, you can opt for a Premium Breakout of either a Point Leader Class, Masters Class or Hands On Experience.
Thursday Sessions B, C, D 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.To Browse all breakout options, click the tabs below to view each breakout category in a way that will best help you determine your choices. Add the classes that interest you to the Schedule cart. When you view your Schedule Cart, you will make your final selection and be prompted to delete the conflicting classes.
Session A | Wednesday 3:15 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Sessions B, C, D | Thursday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Choose from among 120 skill-based breakouts to create your ideal experience.
- Creating Services
- Creative Ideas
- Dance
- Drama
- Life Beyond Sunday
- Teaching
- Worship and Music
- Behind the Scenes Tech Tours
- Tech - Audio
- Tech - Leadership
- Tech - Lighting
- Tech - Live Video
- Tech - Post Video
- Tech - Scenic
| Finding your Voice as a Teacher | ||
| A002 |
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Many of us who prepare messages to teach our congregations are tempted to copy the style and approach of other communicators we deeply respect and admire. In this session, we will explore ways to discover our own unique voice as a teacher, and be inspired to authentically express Scriptural truth through our own God-given personality and life experience.
Nancy Beach
A visionary leader and champion for the power of the arts and artists in the local church, Nancy Beach is known around the world as a leader and mentor of church artists and teachers. Vice President of the Arts for the Willow Creek Association, she is also a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church and the author of An Hour on Sunday and Gifted to Lead.
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| Creative Ideas: Community Christian Church | ||
| A003 |
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Come in and join the Community Christian Church creative team as they share a few great ideas from the past couple years of weekend services. Community is a multisite church in Chicago land providing content for nine locations and several church affiliates across the country. You'll walk away with ideas to steal, and hopefully will take them and make them better in your setting. Bring a few ideas to share of your own, so that Community Christian Church won't leave empty handed. Let's get our Share on!
Eric Bramlett
Eric Bramlett is the Creative Arts Director for Eric Bramlett is the Creative Arts Director for Community Christian Church in Naperville, IL, and has been since 1996. Community Christian Church is a multisite church with locations across Chicagoland and affiliates across the country through the NewThing Network. At Community Christian Church, Eric is responsible for overseeing all large-group experiences from artistic vision through production, for adults, students and kids, and anything else he can think of overseeing. Eric co-authored the book "The Big Idea" with Jon and Dave Ferguson. In addition to his work at Community, Eric has written and staged creative content for NewThing Network, the Exponential Conference, and the Willow Creek Association. Eric's background is in the professional theatre, with degrees in acting and directing. He has continued to be involved in the Chicago Theatre scene, most notably as an Artistic Associate for Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago, a theatre company he has been involved with since its inception in 1995. Eric loves his wife Kristi and their three kids, Sadie, Dillon and Anna. Eric twitters under the stage name "billshazzar." If you don't know what that means, Eric can't help you.
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| Body of Faith | ||
| A004 |
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Human beings are not both body and soul, we are embodied souls. The body is a dimension of our personhood; a dimension of our soul. How do we live more mindfully and fully as embodied souls? How exactly do we honor God with our bodies? What is the importance of fasting, or other spiritual practices that involve the body? What spiritual significance is there to art and other physical expressions of the self? This breakout session will discuss the interwoven dimensions of self, and specifically focus on important intersections between the physical realm and the spiritual realm.
Mindy Caliguire
Mindy Caliguire and her husband, Jeff, planted a church in the Boston area, where she served in a variety of leadership roles for 10 years and launched Soul Care, dedicated to helping people restore health to their souls. She served in the area of spiritual formation at Willow Creek Community Church from 2001 to 2004, concentrating on membership, the ministry of prayer, small group curriculum, and "soul care": for individual staff teams. In 2005, she re-engaged with Soul Care, serving churches and organizations through leadership consulting and retreats. Mindy also serves as the Midwest regional director for the Spiritual Formation Alliance, building partnerships and creating formational events. Whether formally or informally, Mindy mentors leaders, focusing on re-establishing their spiritual vitality as the primary step towards a lifestyle of sustainable ministry and leadership. Mindy's books include Discovering Soul Care and Spiritual Friendship.
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| The Art of Leading a Rockin' Praise Band | ||
| A005 |
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Join Stan Endicott and Consuming Worship's recording band as you learn how to develop, maintain, and rehearse the praise band in your church. Stan will facilitate the breakout as a worship leader, leading a congregation in worship. In this session there will be demonstrations of the full band playing different styles, a close-up look at each instrument in the band, how not to play too busy and how to accompany singers and the congregation.
Stan Endicott
Stan Endicott is Worship Pastor at Mariners Church in Irvine, Calif., a large church known for progressive and culturally compelling approaches to worship, communications and ministry. One year ago, he launched the slingshotgroup.net consulting group to assist churches in the process of finding new worship leaders. Stan is the Worship Principal for the Consuming Worship Company in Kansas City, Missouri, producing new resources for the local church. He is the director of the Saddleback gospel/worship choir at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California.
,p>
Stan's gifts and talents have taken him on a fascinating journey, assisting hundreds of churches around the world. He has produced more than 200 albums for Maranatha Music and directed music productions for dozens of internationally known names and events such as Franklin Graham Ministries and Promise Keepers. Yet, he has never lost sight of his true passion: mentoring, coaching and helping others develop their own unique style to reach others for Christ. Stan has a rare combination of expertise, experience and avant-garde thinking.
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| Who Stole My Church? | ||
| A006 |
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Using his book "Who Stole My Church," Gordon MacDonald will highlight some of the major themes challenging today's church as it seeks to adapt its ministries to 21st century realities. MacDonald's most important question: how do we get the generations to talk to each other? How do we convince the generations that each one has value to add to the life of the community? Finally, MacDonald will use the book to demonstrate what leaders have to do to build trust among people who are resistant or fearful about issues pertaining to change and adaptation. It is essential for participants to have a copy of his book for this session; copies can be purchased on Amazon or at Seeds bookstore on the Willow campus.
Gordon MacDonald
Gordon MacDonald is the Interim President of Denver Seminary as well as an author, speaker, and teacher. He was a pastor for more than forty years, most recently the senior minister at Grace Chapel, Lexington, Massachusetts. When he stepped down from that position, the Grace Chapel congregation honored him with the title, Pastor Emeritus. Other pastorates were in New York City, Southern Illinois and Kansas. For three years MacDonald was president of Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship. Pp>MacDonald has written more than a dozen books and co-authored others with his wife, Gail. Perhaps his best known book has been Ordering Your Private World which won the Gold Medallion and the Platinum Awards from the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association. There are almost a million and a half copies of this book in print, and it has been translated into a dozen or more languages. Among his other books are Secrets of a Generous Life (Published by Tyndale, Fall 2002), The Life God Blesses, Renewing Your Spiritual Passion, When Men Think Private Thoughts and Mid-Course Correction (a book on "deep life-change"). A revision of Ordering Your Private World was released in January '03. He writes regularly for each addition of Leadership Journal and also writes a column ("Out of my Files") which appears on the LeadershipJournal.net website. A Resilient Life, (now also in German, Korean, and Dutch) was released in early 2005 MacDonald's most recent book, Who Stole My Church, appeared in January, 2008. It was nominated as a finalist for The Christian Book Award, by the Evangelical Christian Press Association and received a starred review from Publishers' Weekly. Who Stole My Church has also been named a finalist in the 2008 Christianity Today book awards in the church category.
MacDonald serves as Editor-at-Large with Leadership Journal, a publication of Christianity Today, Inc. Until recently, he was the Chairman of the Board of World Relief Corporation, an NAE-associated relief and development organization. He also speaks frequently at conferences for the Willow Creek Association both here in the US and in other parts of the world. Privately, he engages with company leaders as an executive coach. His academic background includes a prep school graduation from the Stony Brook School, a B.A. from the University of Colorado ('62), and a M. Div from Denver Seminary ('66). Barrington College (later merged with Gordon College) awarded MacDonald an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree in 1979.
Gordon and Gail MacDonald, married 46 years, live on an old farm they call Peace Ledge in Canterbury, N.H. Their great satisfaction is in their two married children and five grandchildren. Beyond that the MacDonalds are hikers, bikers, kayakers, and vigorous readers.
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| A Drama Showcase | ||
| A007 |
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This live performance features members of the Willow Creek Drama Team in a variety of scenes that have been presented in Willow's weekend services. From comic to serious, from presentational to slice-of-life, the breakout will demonstrate how a broad range of material can greatly enhance our Sunday services.
Steve Pederson
Steve Pederson became the Director of Drama at Willow Creek in 1986 after teaching on the college level for 14 years. He leads a drama team of approximately 25 lay people. Team members perform as part of Willow Creek's weekend services, and also frequently contribute to conferences both at home and abroad. Steve has traveled throughout North America and Europe, as well as Australia and New Zealand, teaching and leading workshops for the Willow Creek Association on drama in the church. He has an M.A. in theatre from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. in theatre from the University of Iowa and is the author of Drama Ministry.
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| Designing Services through Creative Partnership: How the Senior Pastor can Work Effectively with the Arts Director | |||
| A008 |
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One of the great challenges facing the Arts Director is working alongside the Sr. Pastor. Much of the time the Teaching Pastor not able to be present in the planning, and simply give a sermon title and a bit of content to the team in order to begin planning. Our experience says the best services seem to be planned when the teaching Pastor is a part of the creative process. Hear from one team how their creative collaboration and mutual respect is bringing great joy in the journey. While at the same time building a team experience that is bringing out the best in all of its creative teammates.
Andrea Minor
Andrea Minor is the Executive Director of Weekend Experiences at The Chapel in Grayslake Illinois. Prior to coming to The Chapel, she was a Creative Arts Director at Calvary Community Church in Southern California. Andrea also served in various leadership roles for 11 years at Willow Creek Community Church, including Area Pastor and Women's Ministry Director. Andrea desires to teach and envision others to find their calling and gifting and to use those gifts in the local church. Creating moments for life change each weekend is her passion. Along with speaking and teaching Andrea serves on the editorial board of Christianity Today's "Gifted for Leadership" publication. She has published several articles on leadership, family, and soul care. She has been married to Rex Minor for 26 wonderful years. They have three grown children: Mallory, Paige, and Trent.
Jeff Griffin
Jeff Griffin's favorite part of being a senior pastor at The Chapel is that he gets to help people fall in love with God through his preaching. Jeff and Scott Chapman started The Chapel in 1994 after meeting at Trinity International University's Evangelical Divinity School. Early on, Jeff served as The Chapel's first worship leader until Scott helped him realize that leading worship was not one of his gifts! As senior pastor, Jeff is responsible for preaching, planning sermon series and shepherding staff members - all responsibilities that fit his passions and giftings. He also serves on the elder board and the weekend experience planning team. Jeff was raised in a strong Christian family in Arlington Heights, Ill. While he was completing his pre-med degree at Wheaton College, he felt God calling him into full-time ministry. So instead of medical school, he enrolled at Trinity International University after graduating from Wheaton. In 1992 Jeff married his high school sweetheart, Jennifer. They have three children: Jorah, Janai and Jake, two of whom are adopted. Jeff enjoys woodworking, skiing and collecting old Christian books, but his true passions are his family and helping people fall in love with God.
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| Building an Arts Team from the Ground Up | ||
| A009 |
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Building an arts team can be an overwhelming task. Where do you find artists? What are you looking for? How do you create an environment that develops their hearts, character and gifts? How do you keep moving forward with limited resources? Learn the keys to developing a plan that will serve your church and create a team that will flourish.
Kyle Dillard
Kyle Dillard is the worship and arts pastor at Lake Forest Church in Huntersville, NC. Lake Forest is a 10-year-old church plant with about 1500 in attendance. Kyle has been at Lake Forest for 7 years, but has been using his worship leading gift for18 years. Before going to Lake Forest, he was a community group worship leader for Passion 99, and former worship leader for Elevate, the middle school ministry at Willow Creek Community Church. He recorded Willow Creek's first worship CD "Walk With You" for Middle School students and continues to enjoy songwriting. He has a passion to see other artists find and develop their unique gifts in the local church. He resides in Huntersville with his wife and two children.
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Music copyright is very complex. Topics addressed in this session will include: types of music rights, protecting your rights as a song writer, the church as music publisher, licensing music for your service or events, creating multimedia with music. Note: Attendees may want to familiarize themselves with Quick Reference Copyright for Service Planners
Cheryl Besenjak
Cheryl Besenjak has worked in copyright for over 25 years in both the publishing industry and the church community. She is the author of Copyright Plain and Simple published by Career Press. She has led copyright seminars across the United States and is currently the Copyright Director at Willow Creek Community Church.
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| Video Showcase: Granger Community Church | ||
| A011 |
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On August 1, 1981 MTV played its fist video announcing to the world that video, in fact, "killed the radio star." Granger Community Church has been trying to create killer video from the middle of a cornfield in Indiana ever since. Come spend some time with Butch Whitmire, Pastor of Creative Arts and Jeff Petersen, Director of Media Production at GCC as they show the videos that impacted Granger's weekend the most and share the stories behind their creation.
Butch Whitmire
With the substantial focus on creative arts ministries at Granger Community Church – including music, drama and media – Butch Whitmire looks forward to daily adventure. As a member of the Senior Management Team at Granger, he oversees a team that includes an arts staff of 18 and nearly 200 volunteers. Butch combines ten years volunteering with GCC Creative Arts with his career background in sales, marketing, and process management. Butch understands the importance of developing compelling vehicles to bring an unchanging message to an ever-changing audience. Butch and his wife, Christine, have two children, Alex and Audrey.
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| First In, Last Out - The Misunderstood Life of a Technical Artist | ||
| A012 |
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We all buy gear that comes with an owner's manual, explaining how to get the most out of a piece of equipment. Unfortunately, there is no owner's manual on how to be a technical artist in the local church, to help us learn how to deal with the frustrations that all production-type people face. We are a special breed, unlike anyone else in the church and we are often misunderstood and feel completely alone. In this session, we will look at some key principles for becoming the technical artist God created you to be and one that your church desperately needs.
Todd Elliott
Todd is currently a Production Manger at Willow Creek, leading teams of staff and volunteers to do various events including weekend services, holiday productions and the Leadership Summit. After graduating from Auburn University in Industrial Engineering, he joined the staff of Kensington Community Church where he received 11 years of hard core training in audio, video, lighting, leading volunteers, leading staff and growing the production ministry from an 800 person church to that of over 6000. Todd enjoys teaching and writing about the role of the technical artist in the church. He lives on the edge of cornfields with his wife Bissy and their three kids.
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| Creating your Essential Vocal Workout, Pt.1 | ||
| A013 |
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If dedicated athletes follow a strict workout plan to keep themselves in peak condition, why shouldn't dedicated singers? A thirty-minute commitment, three times a week, can make all the difference in unlocking the freedom of true vocal expression! In this first of two hands-on workshops, we'll help you create your own work-out plan, with practical tools tailored specifically to your voice, that will help you remove the areas of vocal tension that limit your strength and flexibility.
Tim Carson
Tim Carson is the founder of Vocal Artistry and the Vocal Artistry Training Series. Tim was on the music staff at Willow Creek Community Church for 12 years and the faculty at Wheaton College's Conservatory of Music where he developed new curriculum for singing modern styles. Tim's former students include Broadway professionals, recording artists and worship leaders around the world. Tim continues to teach at conferences and workshops throughout North America.
www.VocalArtistry.com
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| Church Sound Reinforcement Tips & Tricks - Sponsored in part by Guitar Center | |||
| A014 |
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Are people complaining that the drums are too loud? Is a $1,000 wireless system really better than a $200 system? And what to look for when purchasing sound equipment?
Jason and Dan will discuss these questions and more as they explore practical solutions to everyday church sound reinforcement questions and concerns. If you would like to submit a question to be discussed please email it to: askjasonanddan@willowcreek.com.
Jason Crane
Jason Crane is a 17-year veteran of Guitar Center, the largest music retailer in the world today, where he currently serves as District Manager of 11 Chicagoland area stores. Jason's experience at GC also includes 7 years as Director of the Hi-tech Division of the company encompassing Live Sound, Recording & Software and Keyboards. Jason served as Music Director/Worship Leader of Conejo Valley Community Church in California before moving back to the Midwest where he currently volunteers as a Worship Leader/Musician at Willow Creek.
Dan Scalpone
Dan, a life-long musician and composer, became fascinated with recording at an early age. He studied in sound engineering at Columbia College in Chicago. He honed his skills at Chicago Trax before opening his own facility, Studio 11. Since 1999 he has worked at Guitar Center as our studio specialist, DAW expert and live sound system designer for the Chicagoland area. Dan's extensive experience as a composer and studio owner has made him an invaluable resource to our professional clients. His expertise includes analog recording, MIDI based keyboard systems and various DAW platforms including Pro Tools, Logic, Nuendo and Digital Performer. He also has experience as a FOH engineer and has designed sound systems for many small to medium sized venues. In his role as GC Pro Senior Account Manager for Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, clients have instant access to his talent and knowledge.
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| Mentoring and Coaching Worship Leaders | ||
| A015 |
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What are the hallmarks of a godly worship leader? How can you tell the difference between a potential worship leader and someone who is simply a great musician? As a pastor or arts leader, how do you come alongside your next generation of worship leaders in a way that brings out their best and benefits your congregation? Learn how you as a worship leader can develop and coach other potential leaders and how to hand-off your leadership in a way that honors God and your congregation. Discover insights and answers into these topics and more.
Joe Horness
After 25 years as the Worship Director and a leader on the programming staff at Willow Creek Community Church, Joe has recently moved to Traverse City, Michigan, where he is Associate Pastor and Worship Director at Bay Pointe Community Church. As a nationally known worship leader, Joe has worked closely with artists such as Darlene Zschech, Abraham Laboriel, and Tommy Walker, and has written and recorded numerous familiar worship choruses, including "Awesome, Amazing," "To Know You More," and "Still I Will Worship You." He is co-author of the book, Exploring the Worship Spectrum and of numerous articles on worship and worship leading. As the director of Engaging the Heart Ministries he regularly teaches and consults with churches on the topic of planning and leading effective worship ministries. Joe can be reached at jhorness@gmail.com
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| Lessons Learned from Concerts & Theater | ||
| A016 |
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Learn lessons and tips from some industry professionals from the worlds of concert and theater lighting. Some things can only be learned by doing and these individuals have quite a pool of experience. This will be a panel discussion with time for questions and discussion.
Seth Jackson
Seth Jackson is an industry leader in the live concert industry. His award winning lighting and stage designs are all over the world with artists like Carrie Underwood, Toby Keith , Don Henley, American Idols Live, and Hilary Duff.
A passionate communicator and innovative teacher, Seth is one of the lead communicators of Eagle Point Community Church. He is also the Parnelli (touring industry's Oscar) award winner as set designer of the year for both 2007 and 2008 for his work with Toby Keith.
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| How to Build Great Student Bands: The Heart and then the Voice | ||
| A017 |
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The idea of having a great band filled with students leading their peers in soaring beautiful worship is a vision dancing in the head of every good Youth Pastor and Worship Leader. However when most of the student 'musicians' can only play a lick from the latest Fall Out Boy and seem to stand in the corner sullenly during every worship time, things begin to seem a little less than ideal. This session will focus on how to grow students skills, hearts, and confidence while not ruining the entire youth group's ears in the process.
Luke MacDonald
Luke MacDonald loves to worship Jesus Christ in a loud way. Connecting students with Jesus Christ is what gets him up in the morning (in addition to coffee & and alarm clock). He was worship leader for the Jr High and High School Groups at Harvest Bible Chapel for 5 years before becoming the High School Pastor in 2008. He still leads worship weekly for the church's weekend services and 20's ministry Connect. His album "Joining In" was released in 2007 and is available on iTunes or at www.myspace.com/lukemacdonald
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| Scenic 101 | ||
| A018 |
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Learn to work through the basic principles of scenic design using soft goods. Apply the questions of quality, quantity, and "fit" to your own church setting. In addition, we will have a Picture Party - a visual tour of many design photos from the past year: of both Willow Creek and your church services. Please send your jpeg photos asap to weygandt@willowcreek.org. All photos will be included in a photo-CD distributed only to registered attendees of this breakout.
John Weygandt
John has served as a scenic and lighting designer at Willow Creek since 1991. Prior to Willow, he taught theatre design at Pomona and Earlham Colleges for nine years. He has an MFA in Theatre Design from The University of Iowa, where he studied under Dr. David Thayer. John supervises, shepherds, and teaches the New Community volunteer lighting team and "HangTime" team as together they support and enhance Willow Creek worship services.
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| Acting: Moment to Moment | ||
| B051 |
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Actors can play a scene that has well developed characters, clearly defined actions, and is emotionally truthful, yet still fall short in performance. How does the actor bring the spontaneity of the moment to the well-rehearsed scene? This breakout will focus on engaging your ability to listen, trusting your sense of truth, and following your impulses, as a way of discovering what it means to be in the moment - bringing a greater energy and life to your acting.
Deanna Armentrout
Deanna's role in Promiseland has varied for the 14 years she has been on staff. She began in Promiseland as the teacher for 2nd & 3rd grade. Transitioning then to Drama Director for 10 years, she confidently passed that baton on to Brooke Sanford, who now passionately leads the team. Deanna's new role is Artistic Development. Her focus is training staff and volunteers in the areas of upfront communication, acting, and directing. She has 17 combined years of acting experience in university, professional, children's, and improvisational theatre. She received her BFA from the University Detroit and her MFA in performance from the University of Texas at Austin. During her graduate training, she taught both acting and training the speaking voice. Deanna and her husband, Rod, serve on the main stage Drama Team where they have volunteered for the past 16 years. She has led acting, directing, and voice workshops for Willow, as well as outside arts conferences. She is committed to developing people's gifts that creatively and effectively communicate truth which will prepare hearts to hear God's Word. The on-going production in her life is her wonderful son, Erik, and beautiful daughter, Anya!
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| Following Well Leads to Leading Well | ||
| B052 |
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Whether we are leading teams, families or ourselves, a key component is who we choose to follow. We learn how to lead and live from others. Where do you look for a mentor? How do you make your life available so others can speak into you? Come explore how to improve your leadership and your ministry by becoming a follower.
Kyle Dillard
Kyle Dillard is the worship and arts pastor at Lake Forest Church in Huntersville, NC. Lake Forest is a 10-year-old church plant with about 1500 in attendance. Kyle has been at Lake Forest for 7 years, but has been using his worship leading gift for18 years. Before going to Lake Forest, he was a community group worship leader for Passion 99, and former worship leader for Elevate, the middle school ministry at Willow Creek Community Church. He recorded Willow Creek's first worship CD "Walk With You" for Middle School students and continues to enjoy songwriting. He has a passion to see other artists find and develop their unique gifts in the local church. He resides in Huntersville with his wife and two children.
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| Great Rehearsals = Great Bands | ||
| B053 |
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Come to a rehearsal of the Consuming Worship Band as they demonstrate how to have great rehearsals. Learn how to find the best possible songs, determine the arrangements, prepare the charts, identify what instruments are needed for a particular "set list", and have great spiritual moments in the rehearsal, all the way to the final run-through, before the worship service begins. If you want to have a great band, learn how to have great rehearsals!
Stan Endicott
Stan Endicott is Worship Pastor at Mariners Church in Irvine, Calif., a large church known for progressive and culturally compelling approaches to worship, communications and ministry. One year ago, he launched the slingshotgroup.net consulting group to assist churches in the process of finding new worship leaders. Stan is the Worship Principal for the Consuming Worship Company in Kansas City, Missouri, producing new resources for the local church. He is the director of the Saddleback gospel/worship choir at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California.
,p>
Stan's gifts and talents have taken him on a fascinating journey, assisting hundreds of churches around the world. He has produced more than 200 albums for Maranatha Music and directed music productions for dozens of internationally known names and events such as Franklin Graham Ministries and Promise Keepers. Yet, he has never lost sight of his true passion: mentoring, coaching and helping others develop their own unique style to reach others for Christ. Stan has a rare combination of expertise, experience and avant-garde thinking.
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| Creating Videos that Tell a Story | ||
| B054 |
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A memorable story is able to capture the attention, imagination and sometimes the heart. Our culture is inundated with messages and images. So how do we use video to tell memorable stories? Whether you are creating a drama video, a music video or a video to highlight an event in your church, you are telling a story. Learn how to break through the clutter and what works best for your video.
Max Paul Franklin
In June of 1972, Max Paul Franklin left Viet Nam as an Air Force combat cameraman to start IMS Productions. Since then he has filmed kings, presidents and CEO's of major corporations. He's also filmed the stories of some of the poorest of the poor. His journeys as a cameraman/storyteller have taken him to over 70 countries, from the beautiful and mysterious rain forests of South America to the, war-torn battlegrounds of Rwanda, Sudan and Iraq.
As a storyteller, he's produced award winning television commercials, documentaries, and corporate films throughout the world. He's best known for the video series Edge TV, a discussion starter for teens to have a "safe place to talk about unsafe things". His clients include nearly every major Christian organization in America.
Raised in India, as the son of medical missionaries, Franklin, best known for his transparent in-depth interviews considers himself an international nomad and "recovering missionary's kid". For 37 years, he's built his company on lifetime relationships. He describes his motivation in life as a desire to share hope with everyone he meets.
Movies move people, and that's what he does best. "I want to help people dig deeper, find truth, and develop hope to live life completely." His audience may laugh, cry, or get angry, but he wants to encourage people to get in touch with their heart, their passions and their feelings!!!
Franklin has a BA from Southern Nazarene University.
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| Live Video Directing 101 | |||
| B055 |
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Come hear about the concepts and philosophies that helped to shape the foundation of the Willow Creek Live Video Ministry. Included in this session will be case studies that focus on framing concepts and directing styles for music (both performance and worship) and drama. Learn from the successes and failures as the ministry has grown over the last 20 years.
Scott Lambert
Scott started out at Willow as a volunteer member of the 16 person video team in 1988. He was then brought on staff in 1990 as the first person whose sole focus would be video. With a degree in Electronic Engineering, he was able to improve and maintain the video systems of Willow. The years of directing multi-camera events and services for the church groomed him into the director he is today. With an emphasis on team building, he now leads the Live Video Ministry which has grown to over 100 volunteers.
Darren Niesley
Darren is the live video director for Willow's weekend services and conferences. For a typical weekend service, this involves leading a crew of 12 to 14 volunteers, running a system with 8 cameras, multiple CG systems and video servers. In addition to his work at Willow, Darren draws on experience from working in television broadcast, corporate events, and commercial videos.
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| Foundations of a Drama Ministry | ||
| B056 |
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Why is drama ministry a necessary element in today's church? What does drama do best? What should drama avoid trying to do? These and other questions will be discussed in this breakout which will present foundational values at the heart of effective drama ministry. If you have never attended a Willow drama breakout in the past, this is a great session for you to attend.
Steve Pederson
Steve Pederson became the Director of Drama at Willow Creek in 1986 after teaching on the college level for 14 years. He leads a drama team of approximately 25 lay people. Team members perform as part of Willow Creek's weekend services, and also frequently contribute to conferences both at home and abroad. Steve has traveled throughout North America and Europe, as well as Australia and New Zealand, teaching and leading workshops for the Willow Creek Association on drama in the church. He has an M.A. in theatre from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. in theatre from the University of Iowa and is the author of Drama Ministry.
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| The Attack of the Never-Ending Brainstorming Meetings | ||
| B057 |
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Brainstorm meetings. They should've named it "brain-sprinkle" meetings. On some days, they can overflow with innovation, and on others you feel like you'd sooner have a root canal than one good idea. So, is there an actual strategy for getting the good ideas faster? Do toys at the meeting really help? Should you really be thinking out of the box in the first place? Join Tony Biaggne as he offers some tips on what you can do to cultivate the best ideas for your weekend services in a shorter amount of time.
Tony Biaggne
Church shouldn't be boring. That simple philosophy has kept Tony Biaggne busy for more than two years as Director of Creative Communications at Windsor Crossing in St. Louis, Missouri. From overall church branding to experiential moments during its four weekend services, Tony caters to ideas that are deeply personal, profoundly relational, and totally un-boring. Prior to Windsor, Tony worked for seven years in advertising as a copywriter and creative strategist, producing campaigns for national brands including Miller Brewing, Sony Entertainment, Starbucks, and Energizer. Recently, Tony has been a contributor to Advent Conspiracy, an international movement designed to restore the scandal of Christmas by worshipping Jesus through compassion instead of consumption. He has also written a feature-length animated screenplay, http://www.stitchedmovie.com/.
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| BTS: After Effects & 3D Studio Max in Production | ||
| B058 |
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A project-based discussion and demonstration of the workflows and techniques involved when integrating 3D software into your editing pipeline. The software used in this discussion will be Adobe After Effects and Autodesk 3D Studio Max, though the techniques can be carried to other packages. Topics covered will include camera tracking, generating mattes, compositing, and rendering in addition to many others demonstrated through multiple projects.
Ryan Trommer
Ryan Trommer has been a Motion Graphics Artist serving in video post-production at Willow Creek for 4 years. His primary responsibility is creating and implementing original motion graphics content for weekend services and events. Beyond motion graphics, Ryan is passionate about continually learning whatever he can get his hands on from scuba to DIY microprocessor electronics.
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| BTS: Tapeless HD Workflow | ||
| B059 |
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Having worked solely in the digital age using cutting edge tools in the commercial marketplace and having access to tape and tapeless high definition processes since their inception, Dean will discuss current HD process and give you a hands-on opportunity to efficient tapeless workflow in Final Cut Studio 2 using Panasonic P2 technologies.
Dean Pickering
Dean Pickering has been in the video industry for over 13 years as an editor and motion graphics artist. Following God's call to ministry in 2007, Dean joined the video staff at Willow Creek Community Church, where is also volunteers as a musician.
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Take an inside look at Willow Creek Community Church's entry into the tape-less workflow of the RED camera. Shooting a series of videos for their Christmas program in the ultra high-res 4K RAW format introduced an enormous challenge and complicated workflow. If you have an interest in high-end film production process, discover the lessons Willow's video ministry learned.
Randy Warren
Randy Warren has been attending Willow Creek since 1989. Serving as a video volunteer in the early 90s, he was hired in 1996 to create videos for Promiseland and other ministries. He is currently one of the four staff Producer/Editors and is most passionate about storytelling through directing shoots on location and in the studio.
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| BTS: Audio for Video Editors | ||
| B061 |
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Learn basic and advanced techniques that video editors use to improve the quality of their soundtracks.
Jeff Beaumont
Jeff Beaumont spent more than a decade working as a recording engineer before transitioning into video production. Beginning in 1990 he worked as an editor and producer/director with clients such as Tenneco, Kraft, and Ace Hardware. Known for his ability to marry strong images with a powerful soundtrack, Jeff joined the Willow Creek staff three years ago, where his role within Video Production allows him to combine his experience and giftedness in both video and audio.
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A look into Digital Asset Management workflow and strategy. Needing to get multiple assets (images, video, audio) to multiple channels like the web, on-screen, or print effectively and efficiently is challenging but can be done if proper tools, knowledge, and energy is behind the project. For those interested in an enterprise-wide Digital Asset Management system and implemented a process and what we learned along the way.
Greg Sanderson
Greg Sanderson has been with Willow Creek Community Church for five years. He originally served as a video director, but has more recently taken a new role as the Digital Asset Manager. He manages the church digital asset pertaining to video, audio, image, and other media that needs to be archived, transcoded, retrieved, and distributed to a variety of channels the church uses as means of communicating the message.
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| Got Space? | ||
| B063 |
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Is the carpet getting you down? Does the piano get in your way? Are stairs a challenge? Then this class is for you. Come learn some ideas of how to deal with the obstacles many of us face in our churches when dancing for a service. Please wear attire that allows you to freely move.
Amy Cook
Amy C. Cook began her dance training at the age of 9 at the Dance Theatre of Elgin. In September 1997, Amy joined Cerqua-Rivera Art Experience under the direction of Wilfredo Rivera. She worked with such choreographers as Greg Begley, Nana Shineflug, Harrison McEldowney & Kenny Ingram. In June of 2000, Amy began dancing with the Chicago Arts Project under the direction of Jay Franke. Amy joined the Willow Creek Dance Ministry in February of 2003. The pieces "Draw Me, Lord" & "Hold me now" were some of Amy's first solo choreography projects for WCDM as well as "Imagine Christmas in 2006". Amy is proud to be a founding member of Groundwork Dance (est. 2006) & would like to thank all of the members for their constant encouragement, support & unconditional love.
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| BTS: A Stage Manager's World @ Willow | ||
| B065 |
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Come see behind the stage where the stage team organizes wireless mics, preps props and leads people from the green room to the stage.
Christy Anderson
Christy started serving as a volunteer at Willow Creek as a young girl, coming with her parents to participate on the stage team. She currently is on staff directing everything that happens on Willow's main stage, leading volunteers to handle everything from stage managing to battery testing, prop moves to handing mics up from the front row.
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| BTS: General Production Tour | ||||
| B066 |
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If you want to see it all, this is the tour. From the booth to the stage down to the rehearsal rooms and through the video suite you'll walk and get a view of our production world here at Willow.
Matt Wilkerson
Matt began working at Willow Creek in 2001 as the Technical Director for Axis, a ministry to 20-somethings. He then moved on to lead in the areas of set and lighting design for weekend services, conferences and special events. Matt is currently serving as the Technical Director for Willow Creek's weekend services. Prior to coming to Willow, Matt served as a volunteer in lighting and as a technical director at a church in Columbia, MO.
Joanne Botten
Joanne is one of the Production Managers on the Willow production staff. She served as a production volunteer at Willow starting in the mid-80's and joined the staff in 2001. She leads the production process for various services, events and conferences and manages the team of staff that handle the events outside of the main service. In her spare time she's a CPA.
Mark Stanger
Mark has been involved in production for over 14 years. After working at a live production company for 2+ years doing mostly corporate events, Mark came on board at Willow as the technical director for Promiseland, Willow's children's ministry. With Mark's video focus, he helped to design and install video systems in many of the Promiseland large group rooms. He is currently a member of the Systems Team at Willow Creek, leading a team of volunteers to take care of the mid-week classes: 16 events all happening at the same time.
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| BTS: Willow Audio Engineers | |||||
| B067 |
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Spend time with the audio staff in each of the audio areas in the auditorium... Front of House in the booth, Monitor Engineer position on stage, Band set up & cabling on stage and the Patch Room backstage. The time will be divided up into 4 areas with a rotation every 20 minutes.
Scott Ragsdale
Scott has been serving as an Audio Engineer with the Willow Creek Community Church Audio Team for the past seven years. He has been involved in many different aspects of audio for 25+ years. Mix clients have included Joyce Meyer Ministries (10,000 + seating US arenas), Delirious?, Darlene Zschech – Hillsong, CeCe Winans, Matt Redman, David Crowder Band, Lincoln Brewster & Charlie Hall. Last year Scott was invited to speak on the 2007 AES New York Panel - Live Sound Seminar / Digital Consoles, by Robert Scovill. Music is the only thing that made sense to him, and luckily it became his JOB!
Nathan Miller
Nathan's experience in the audio industry began at age 14. Over the years he has honed his craft through a variety of experiences, including city festivals, clubs and the local church in southeast Florida, building a wealth of knowledge involving in-ear monitoring and practical wireless application. Nathan began serving at Willow Creek in 2002. He is currently on staff serving as Willow's main Monitor Engineer. Nathan has a Bachelors of Science degree in Telecommunications.
Ron Cook
After graduating from Columbia College in Chicago, Ron began working for T.C. Furlong mixing audio for various large scale events. Ron has been a member of the Willow staff for 7 years, focusing mainly on the mid-week, Worship @ Willow and leading audio volunteers in Elevate, Willow Creek's ministry to middle school students. Ron lives in the northwest suburbs with his wife Julie and their three boys.
Jeff Pelletier
Jeff serves as the Audio Systems Engineer for the main auditorium at Willow Creek Community Church. In this role, his responsibilities include systems design, sound system optimization, documentation, training and installation. He also serves as an engineer on call (EOC) for any of the multitude of services that Willow has, serving any technical issues that arise and need troubleshooting. Over 12 years ago, Jeff started his tenure as the technical director for Impact, the high school ministry and then the TD for Promiseland, the children's ministry. This was followed by years of serving monitor and FOH mix duties for both weekend and midweek services. Jeff studied live sound engineering at Columbia College of Chicago from 1993-1997, has attended Meyer Sound's SIM training and recently received BSS Soundweb certification. Also part musician, Jeff is passionate about music, combining both science and art, to bring excellence to further the Kingdom. Jeff lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife, Kimberly.
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| BTS: Willow Systems Team | ||
| B068 |
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This tour is for the people who R & D, install & support the guts of production systems. Dave is at the core of how Willow systems operates campus-wide. You'll see & hear about our audio for recording (known as Oprah), lobby information systems shown on displays, how we monitor Classes@Willow video & audio recordings, what an Engineer on Call does and much more.
Dave Cooke
Dave Cooke is the chief video engineer for Willow Creek, and has been on staff at Willow in video and production since 1990. Dave started doing production in youth ministry way back in 1978 in California. He has worked professionally in video production in Los Angeles and Chicago, but has devoted himself to using his gifts in the production ministry. Dave currently leads a staff of system engineers on the Willow production staff and oversees the many technical projects that Willow develops. Most notably, Dave was the point leader in the design of the video system installed in Willow's new 7200 seat auditorium. The video system design at Willow is very complex, but Dave and his team of engineers keep it running smooth for every service and event on the Willow campuses. Dave has also has designed a number of other smaller video venues for other Willow venues and other churches. He enjoys the challenge of keeping up with the ever-changing technology in the video industry and applying this to the needs of Willow's current and future technology needs.
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| The Science of Arts Team Leadership & Ministry | ||
| B069 |
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Who would have thought you learned everything you needed to know to lead your arts team ministry in high school science class? Please join Butch Whitmire from Granger Community Church in his "lab" as he has some fun discussing and demonstrating new perspectives on some old scientific theories. Learn among other things, the ways artists are like gas, how Newton was really thinking about artists after the apple incident, and how to create explosive service impact through Einstein's "Theory of Relativity." Safety glasses recommended but not necessary.
Butch Whitmire
With the substantial focus on creative arts ministries at Granger Community Church – including music, drama and media – Butch Whitmire looks forward to daily adventure. As a member of the Senior Management Team at Granger, he oversees a team that includes an arts staff of 18 and nearly 200 volunteers. Butch combines ten years volunteering with GCC Creative Arts with his career background in sales, marketing, and process management. Butch understands the importance of developing compelling vehicles to bring an unchanging message to an ever-changing audience. Butch and his wife, Christine, have two children, Alex and Audrey.
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| Creating your Essential Vocal Workout, Pt.2 | ||
| B070 |
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Whether you're enhancing your vocal workout plan from the previous session, or joining us for the first time, this workshop will help you expand your vocal range. Come learn how a specific set of practical tools and vocal exercises, tailored to your voice, can help you unleash the limits of your range.
Tim Carson
Tim Carson is the founder of Vocal Artistry and the Vocal Artistry Training Series. Tim was on the music staff at Willow Creek Community Church for 12 years and the faculty at Wheaton College's Conservatory of Music where he developed new curriculum for singing modern styles. Tim's former students include Broadway professionals, recording artists and worship leaders around the world. Tim continues to teach at conferences and workshops throughout North America.
www.VocalArtistry.com
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| Worship and Justice: A Message to an Emerging Generation | ||
| B071 |
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How should the new generation of artists react to what is happening in the world around them? Through Joel Houston's global travel and worship experiences, he saw the need to address these issues and birthed "I Heart"; a movement that inspires this generation to rise up and change the world around them. Join Joel as he shares his heart on worship and justice and how they go hand in hand.
Joel Houston
Joel Houston is the Creative Director of Hillsong Church and a world renowned songwriter and worship leader. As well as overseeing the creative team, Joel also travels the globe with Hillsong United bringing a message of worship and justice to an emerging generation. Through this, he has birthed 'I heart'; a movement that inspires this generation to rise up and change the world around them.
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| Approaching FOH | ||
| B072 |
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There is much more to being an audio engineer than just mixing, it begins well before we ever set foot behind a console and continues well afterwards. World renowned Front of House engineer, Robert Scovill will guide us through the successful ways he approaches the role of the Front of House engineer.
Robert Scovill
Robert Scovill is a noted concert sound and recording engineer with over 3,000 live event mixing credits. Throughout his 29 year career he has worked with Tom Petty, Matchbox Twenty, Prince, Rush and Def Leppard. He works as a producer for events in a variety of venues including churches. Robert has also served as a technical consultant for leading manufacturers such as Servo Drive, Neumann, Electrovoice, Audio Technica, and Alesis. He currently works as Market Manager for Live Sound Products for Digidesign. As the owner of Eldon's Boy Productions Inc. and MusiCanvas Recording in Scottsdale, AZ, he offers full service mixing facility and mobile recording services. Robert has served as producer and creative director for audio, lighting and media departments at the Mountain Valley Community Church also in Scottsdale.
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| Conducting an Effective Tech Rehearsal | |||
| B073 |
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For most weekend services, there is usually not enough time to rehearse everything fully, causing the people involved to be filled with anxiety. How do you manage this precious time effectively? How do you juggle schedules of staff and volunteers and how do you deal with the pressure of the approaching service? Your response to these situations can influence how well your team functions, both good and bad. In this breakout, learn methods to help you leverage each element of a rehearsal so that artists (both programming and production) feel confident and secure. When you lead an effective tech rehearsal, artists can concentrate on who God created them to be and freely participate in what he as called them to do.
Todd Elliott
Todd is currently a Production Manger at Willow Creek, leading teams of staff and volunteers to do various events including weekend services, holiday productions and the Leadership Summit. After graduating from Auburn University in Industrial Engineering, he joined the staff of Kensington Community Church where he received 11 years of hard core training in audio, video, lighting, leading volunteers, leading staff and growing the production ministry from an 800 person church to that of over 6000. Todd enjoys teaching and writing about the role of the technical artist in the church. He lives on the edge of cornfields with his wife Bissy and their three kids.
Chuck Spong
In August of 2008, Chuck became Executive Pastor of the Arts at Winston-Salem First in North Carolina. Building on a strong arts heritage while stoking the fires of "new songs" (and other artistic expressions!) being created in their hearts and souls, the artists of WSF are passionately pursuing the activity of God within both their community of faith as well as the wider Winston-Salem arts community. The WSF artists are exploring how their art and an intimate relationship with Christ intersect: how does my spiritual journey as a Christ-follower impact my art? How do the themes of compassion and social justice so vibrant at WSF impact my art? And how do I see my life and what I'm doing in light of eternity? Before WSF, Chuck was on staff for eight years at Willow Creek Community Church. He served primarily as a producer of weekend services and The Leadership Summit while also leading a creative team of writers, directors, video editors and producers generating and developing ideas for weekends, conferences, and other ministries of the church. Prior to coming to Willow in 2000, he helped plant a WCA church in Orlando, serving as the executive pastor and programming director. Chuck graduated from Evangel University with a bachelor's in music education and from the Hartt School of Music with a master's in music theory. He lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with his wife, Sara, and four children.
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| Lighting for Music | ||
| B074 |
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Lighting and music go very well together if done right. This breakout will examine how to enhance a musical performance and make it an experience. In this session you will work with an industry expert to explore skill development, song preparation, and execution. Learn how to "live with the music" in order to effectively light a musical element.
Seth Jackson
Seth Jackson's life can best be summed up in one word; journey. Growing up in a small suburb outside of St. Louis, it seemed impossible that his big dreams for the music business were even possible, but God had a plan. Today, Seth is an industry leader in the live concert industry. His award winning lighting and stage designs are all over the world with artists like Carrie Underwood, Toby Keith , Don Henley and Hilary Duff. Ask Seth about his passion, however, and you will hear none of those names. His heartbeat is to see people, students in particular, live their lives as an act of worship. A passionate communicator and innovative teacher, Seth is one of the lead communicators of Eagle Point Community Church. He is the co-founder and director of Encounter Events, as well as Sixty Music, a record label created to serve as an outlet for the Encounter family of lead worshipers, and Visionering, Inc., a music and touring management company. He is a songwriter and the author of two books, Destiny: A Generation Seeking God, and Mercy Rains.
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| Planning my Teaching for Life-Changing Impact | ||
| B075 |
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Discover a proven planning process that will increase the impact of your teaching, allow you to better motivate your audience and incorporate the arts at a higher level, all while lowering your teaching preparation stress and increasing the harmony between you and your worship arts team.
Nelson Searcy
Nelson Searcy is the founder and lead pastor of The Journey Church of the City, an innovative, multicultural church located in New York City. Founded in 2002, The Journey has grown to over 1,200 people in weekly attendance and more than 1,400 involved in weekly small groups during its first six years. A multi-site church with locations across the metro New York City, The Journey continues to grow and innovate and serve the people of NYC.
Nelson is the author of the books Launch: Starting a New Church From Scratch, Fusion: Integrating Newcomers into the Life of Your Church and Activate: A Completely New Approach to Small Groups.
Nelson is an experienced church planter, coach and church growth strategist. Before moving to New York, he served as the Director of the Purpose Driven Community at Saddleback Church. He is also the founder of http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/, the Church Leadership Training ministry
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What if you could grow your worship arts team by 50% or more in one day?
Every worship leader is called to not only lead music, but to raise volunteers. In this 90-minute breakout, you will learn the proven auditions strategy that has grown The Journey's Worship Arts Team from two to two hundred volunteers in only 5 years.
Jason has taught these universal principles to worship leaders in churches across the country that have implemented this plan and seen their worship arts ministries grow by 50% or more in one day.
This breakout will give you a plan for not only maximizing the number of volunteers on your team, but also strengthening their commitment to your church, your team, and their own personal growth.
Discover nuts-and-bolts principles on:
- The importance of seasons for your team and how creating them will draw more volunteers, while caring for those already on your team
- How to create a thriving auditions strategy that honors God and empowers volunteers to serve in their area of greatest gifting
- How to create a leadership development system that grows your volunteers' commitment to the church, the team, and their own personal growth
- And much more!
Jason Hatley
In 2002, Jason was a part of the launch team of The Journey Church, overseeing the programming of their worship services. He serves as the pastor of worship arts and has built from scratch The Journey's worship arts team, a group of over 200 artists and technicians who develop and implement the creative and technical elements at weekly Sunday services. Jason has been a worship leader for 12 years. He invests in worship pastors around the country through interactive coaching networks, seminars, and worship planning resources. He has been a featured breakout speaker at the Willow Creek Arts Conference, The Purpose Drive Worship Conference, as well as seminars around the country. He has a B.M. in Sacred Music Performance from Appalachian State University.
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| Creative Ideas: Willow Creek Community Church | ||
| B077 |
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Creativity abounds when artists put their heads together! Come prepared to share some of your best ideas and also see a wide variety of creative ideas used in the Weekend services at Willow Creek. This breakout will give you specific ideas, from the simple to the complex, to take home and use in your local settings.
Willow Creek Creative Team
Willow's Creative Content Team is comprised of a wide variety of individuals with experience in both the professional industry and church ministry. From Emmy Award winning lighters to full multi-media producers to highly skilled editors and technically sophisticated post-production, this team has shown that no project is too big; even on a 110' by 22' screen.
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| Essentials for Set Construction | ||
| B078 |
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This breakout is an introduction to all the fundamentals of set construction. You will examine construction techniques used for several kinds of scenery: soft and hard flats, curve walls, stairs, ramps, door units, flying objects and more. In this session you will also examine scenic materials, hardware, and rigging techniques.
Glenn Davis
Glenn has over twenty years of design and construction experience in a wide variety of arenas. His knowledge, skill and experience has made a positive contribution wherever he has served. Glenn joined the Willow Creek Programming staff full time in 2005, where he serves as the prop and set construction manager.
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Get a close look at the GrandMa & other lighting control systems in the booth. You will also get time with our systems backstage and higher! Each tour will be split in half with 35 minutes in the booth and 35 minutes with the systems allowing time in between to transit (it's a big place). You must be over the age of 18 to participate in the catwalk portion of this tour.
Chris Thomas
Details coming soon
Bill Stoerp
Starting as a volunteer in Axis, a ministry to 20-somethings, Bill came on staff to serve as the Technical Director for Willow Dupage, a regional campus of Willow Creek. He then joined the production staff to handle Elevate, the ministry to middle school students at the Willow Creek, South Barrington Campus. He currently serves as the Lighting Systems Engineer on the Systems team, taking care of the extensive lighting system in Willow's main auditorium.
Dan Larson
Dan began serving at Willow as a volunteer in the lighting/scenic area back in the mid 90's. In 1998, he joined the production staff serving in many capacities including Lighting Director, Technical Director, and currently the Lighting/Scenic Ministry Director. Dan has been the Lighting Director/Designer for the Leadership Summit and Willow's "Imagine Christmas," both of which were broadcast video events. Also, with the construction of a new auditorium, Dan was integral in designing, specifying, testing, and installing our lighting system.
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| Dramatic Structure: Secrets of the Short Form | ||
| C101 |
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Telling a compelling story in the five to eight minute short scene can be a daunting challenge, and dramatic structure is one key to unlocking the riches of the short scene or sketch. How is writing a short dramatic scene different from writing the full-length two-hour play or screenplay? Come get practical tools for writing truthful, challenging, and relevant short scenes to be used in the local church in both training and performance.
Jeff Berryman
Jeff Berryman is a writer, actor, director, and teacher who lives in Seattle, Washington. He taught theatre at Abilene Christian University from 1990 to 1996, and since then has been writing and performing, mostly one-man shows. He wrote a novel, Leaving Ruin, which he has adapted and performs as a solo work. Other solo shows include, "When Comes the Way", "Set Loose from the World", "The Little Guy", and "Postmodern Art". He is a frequent performer and teacher in the acting studio of Taproot Theatre and continues to teach a course each January at Abilene Christian University on The Intersection of Christianity and the Arts. He is currently working on his second novel.
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| Video Showcase: Community Christian Church | ||
| C102 |
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How would MacGyver make Weekend Services videos? Community Christian Church is a multisite church in Chicago land, providing content for nine locations and several church affiliates across the country. Community has been making short-form videos for adults, students, and kids that fit with the Big Idea of their weekend services for years now, sometimes with just a chewing gum wrapper and duct tape. See several examples, and get a first hand account of some of the adventures and learnings that came from getting out there and trying to tell stories with scripts, music, and cameras. And a banana peel.
Eric Bramlett
Eric Bramlett is the Creative Arts Director for Eric Bramlett is the Creative Arts Director for Community Christian Church in Naperville, IL, and has been since 1996. Community Christian Church is a multisite church with locations across Chicagoland and affiliates across the country through the NewThing Network. At Community Christian Church, Eric is responsible for overseeing all large-group experiences from artistic vision through production, for adults, students and kids, and anything else he can think of overseeing. Eric co-authored the book "The Big Idea" with Jon and Dave Ferguson. In addition to his work at Community, Eric has written and staged creative content for NewThing Network, the Exponential Conference, and the Willow Creek Association. Eric's background is in the professional theatre, with degrees in acting and directing. He has continued to be involved in the Chicago Theatre scene, most notably as an Artistic Associate for Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago, a theatre company he has been involved with since its inception in 1995. Eric loves his wife Kristi and their three kids, Sadie, Dillon and Anna. Eric twitters under the stage name "billshazzar." If you don't know what that means, Eric can't help you.
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| Beauty out of Failure | ||
| C103 |
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Beauty out of Failure is a breakout for any artist who has ever made a mistake or thinks they might make one in the future. (Is that you?) Dealing with personal failure, the failures of the people we lead and the people we follow is a part of the ministry life that we just don't talk about much. If you're interested in discovering how God can bring beauty out of failure for the sake of His glory and revolutionize the culture, community, and creativity of your ministry in the process, this breakout is for you.
Sam Middlebrook
Sam Middlebrook is Shannon's husband and Levi and Max's dad. He is also the Worship Arts Pastor at Christ the King Church in Bellingham, WA. Sam is passionate about developing worship ministries and seeing a generation of equipped worship musicians and worship leaders emerge in the local church. He is the founder of DevelopingWorship.com, an online gathering place for worship leaders from over forty countries. Sam loves to talk about Jesus, worship, mentoring, his kids, football, sushi, and the color orange.
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| Live Video Directing 201 | ||
| C104 |
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This session is designed for people who are directing multi-camera coverage of live events. Topics of discussion will include: engaging the audience, methods for improving the pre-production process, and strategies for flawless execution. Real-world recordings of a director's preparation and communications during live events will be used to illustrate the principals being taught. In addition, we will answer the question "How can I be a good director when members of my crew are under-qualified?"
Darren Niesley
Darren is the live video director for Willow's weekend services and conferences. For a typical weekend service, this involves leading a crew of 12 to 14 volunteers, running a system with 8 cameras, multiple CG systems and video servers. In addition to his work at Willow, Darren draws on experience from working in television broadcast, corporate events, and commercial videos.
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| Creativity: Where do You Find It? How do You Lead Others to It? | ||
| C105 |
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Join us as we disprove three common misconceptions about creativity – only certain people have it, it's not regularly available and there is no way to cultivate. Everyone is creative. The challenge is how to ignite the right creativity for the right moment. Come with an open & creative mind as we explore how to assemble a creative team and lead them to creativity.
Stan Endicott
Stan Endicott is Worship Pastor at Mariners Church in Irvine, Calif., a large church known for progressive and culturally compelling approaches to worship, communications and ministry. One year ago, he launched the slingshotgroup.net consulting group to assist churches in the process of finding new worship leaders. Stan is the Worship Principal for the Consuming Worship Company in Kansas City, Missouri, producing new resources for the local church. He is the director of the Saddleback gospel/worship choir at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California.
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Stan's gifts and talents have taken him on a fascinating journey, assisting hundreds of churches around the world. He has produced more than 200 albums for Maranatha Music and directed music productions for dozens of internationally known names and events such as Franklin Graham Ministries and Promise Keepers. Yet, he has never lost sight of his true passion: mentoring, coaching and helping others develop their own unique style to reach others for Christ. Stan has a rare combination of expertise, experience and avant-garde thinking.
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| Activating a Script | ||
| C106 |
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The essence of drama is action. The challenge that faces actors and directors is to discover the action of a scene and then to communicate it clearly on stage. In this breakout we will work with actors on a script. We will begin with an analysis of the text and then translate the action we discover into blocking that is motivated, believable and tells the story of the scene. Attention will be paid to capturing the rise and fall of action, how discoveries inform movement choices, and variety in rhythm. This workshop would be helpful to both directors and actors alike.
Steve Pederson
Steve Pederson became the Director of Drama at Willow Creek in 1986 after teaching on the college level for 14 years. He leads a drama team of approximately 25 lay people. Team members perform as part of Willow Creek's weekend services, and also frequently contribute to conferences both at home and abroad. Steve has traveled throughout North America and Europe, as well as Australia and New Zealand, teaching and leading workshops for the Willow Creek Association on drama in the church. He has an M.A. in theatre from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. in theatre from the University of Iowa and is the author of Drama Ministry.
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| Video Field Production on an 'Indie' Budget, Pt. 1 of 2 | ||
| C107 |
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A small budget, either for capital purchase or a one-time rental, shouldn't impede your ability to produce good quality creative content. This breakout is designed for both artists and technicians looking for extremely low-cost video field production solutions, ideas and recommendations—with case studies from real-world situations. We'll contrast "professional" equipment and techniques with affordable DV cameras, lighting, and audio equipment. Part 1 of a 2 part class.
Dave Schwarz
Dave Schwarz owns D A V Productions—a Las Vegas-based production company which produces live events as well as film and video for corporate and broadcast clients. Dave serves in many different capacities for Willow Creek Community Church and the Willow Creek Association, including several international production trips per year. He plays a role in the production of the Global Leadership Summit and is currently consulting with the WCA management team in a range of video production processes.
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| Worship Here on Earth as it is in Heaven | ||
| C108 |
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Worship is one of the main activities in heaven, but have you ever wondered what it's going to be like? It might surprise you. Join us as we explore five facets of heavenly worship and discuss how we can worship every Sunday like we're already there.
Rory Noland
Rory Noland is the director of Heart of the Artist Ministries, an organization dedicated to serving artists in the church. Rory is the author of The Heart of the Artist: A Character-Building Guide For You and Your Ministry Team, Thriving as an Artist in the Church: Hope and Help For You and Your Ministry Team, and his latest book The Worshiping Artist: Equipping You and Your Ministry Team to Lead Others in Worship all published by Zondervan. Rory leads worship for the Transforming Center, a ministry that cares for the souls of pastors, and he also serves as Pastor of Worship at Harvest Bible Chapel in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.
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| Imitation to Innovation: Finding your Unique Voice as a Worship Leader | ||
| C109 |
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In this session, you'll look at the development of a worship leader in the areas of theology, discipleship, art, and leadership. Discover how growing in each of those areas will prepare you for what you are uniquely gifted to do as a worship leader and how to unleash your own voice as a worship leader.
Matt Lundgren
Matt Lundgren likes long walks on the beach and curling up in front of a roaring fire. His spiritual gifts are super-spelling and the ability to tap only two aspirin out of a bottle at one time. After receiving his M.Div. from North Park Theological Seminary, Matt began at Willow Creek leading worship at Axis, Willow Creek's 20-something ministry and is now the Worship Director and Executive Director of Music at Willow Creek. When he is not leading worship, he is practicing his TiVo remote control skills – at which he feels he is in a class of his own.
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| BTS: After Effects & 3D Studio Max in Production | ||
| C110 |
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A project-based discussion and demonstration of the workflows and techniques involved when integrating 3D software into your editing pipeline. The software used in this discussion will be Adobe After Effects and Autodesk 3D Studio Max, though the techniques can be carried to other packages. Topics covered will include camera tracking, generating mattes, compositing, and rendering in addition to many others demonstrated through multiple projects.
Ryan Trommer
Ryan Trommer has been a Motion Graphics Artist serving in video post-production at Willow Creek for 4 years. His primary responsibility is creating and implementing original motion graphics content for weekend services and events. Beyond motion graphics, Ryan is passionate about continually learning whatever he can get his hands on from scuba to DIY microprocessor electronics.
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| BTS: Tapeless HD Workflow | ||
| C111 |
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Having worked solely in the digital age using cutting edge tools in the commercial marketplace and having access to tape and tapeless high definition processes since their inception, Dean will discuss current HD process and give you a hands-on opportunity to efficient tapeless workflow in Final Cut Studio 2 using Panasonic P2 technologies.
Dean Pickering
Dean Pickering has been in the video industry for over 13 years as an editor and motion graphics artist. Following God's call to ministry in 2007, Dean joined the video staff at Willow Creek Community Church, where is also volunteers as a musician.
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| BTS: RED Camera Workflow | ||
| C112 |
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Take an inside look at Willow Creek Community Church's entry into the tape-less workflow of the RED camera. Shooting a series of videos for their Christmas program in the ultra high-res 4K RAW format introduced an enormous challenge and complicated workflow. If you have an interest in high-end film production process, discover the lessons Willow's video ministry learned.
Randy Warren
Randy Warren has been attending Willow Creek since 1989. Serving as a video volunteer in the early 90s, he was hired in 1996 to create videos for Promiseland and other ministries. He is currently one of the four staff Producer/Editors and is most passionate about storytelling through directing shoots on location and in the studio.
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| BTS: Audio for Video Editors | ||
| C113 |
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Learn basic and advanced techniques that video editors use to improve the quality of their soundtracks.
Jeff Beaumont
Jeff Beaumont spent more than a decade working as a recording engineer before transitioning into video production. Beginning in 1990 he worked as an editor and producer/director with clients such as Tenneco, Kraft, and Ace Hardware. Known for his ability to marry strong images with a powerful soundtrack, Jeff joined the Willow Creek staff three years ago, where his role within Video Production allows him to combine his experience and giftedness in both video and audio.
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| BTS: Digital Asset Management | ||
| C114 |
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A look into Digital Asset Management workflow and strategy. Needing to get multiple assets (images, video, audio) to multiple channels like the web, on-screen, or print effectively and efficiently is challenging but can be done if proper tools, knowledge, and energy is behind the project. For those interested in an enterprise-wide Digital Asset Management system and implemented a process and what we learned along the way.
Greg Sanderson
Greg Sanderson has been with Willow Creek Community Church for five years. He originally served as a video director, but has more recently taken a new role as the Digital Asset Manager. He manages the church digital asset pertaining to video, audio, image, and other media that needs to be archived, transcoded, retrieved, and distributed to a variety of channels the church uses as means of communicating the message.
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This class provides insight into the simple nuances of body language and how it can strengthen and deepen the expression of your movement. You will be learning choreography applying concepts we'll be discussing during the class, as well as learning to create and develop your own movement designed to communicate more clearly.
Amy Steingard
Amy Steingard (Charlotte, NC) is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she earned degrees in both communications and exercise physiology. She has had the privilege to train at the North Carolina School of the Arts, the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and on scholarship at Steps on Broadway in New York. Amy has previously worked with At Marah Dance Theatre, Melissa Thodos & Dancers, Ziemba Morrow Movement, and most recently, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, where she performed the work of Chicago notables Harrison McEldowny, Eddy Ocampo, and Dmitri Peskov to name a few. Currently, she is Co-Director and a founding member of Groundwork Dance Company and enjoys staying active in the Chicago dance community working with various independent choreographers. Stretching her own choreographic wings, Amy has set work for Groundwork Dance Co., Lake Zurich Orchesis, and Galaxy Dance Company. Amy also loves sharing her passion for dance through teaching, and is currently on faculty at Wheaton College, as well as various studios throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.
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| BTS: A Stage Manager's World @ Willow | ||
| C116 |
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Come see behind the stage where the stage team organizes wireless mics, preps props and leads people from the green room to the stage.
Christy Anderson
Christy started serving as a volunteer at Willow Creek as a young girl, coming with her parents to participate on the stage team. She currently is on staff directing everything that happens on Willow's main stage, leading volunteers to handle everything from stage managing to battery testing, prop moves to handing mics up from the front row.
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| BTS: General Production Tour | ||||
| C117 |
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If you want to see it all, this is the tour. From the booth to the stage down to the rehearsal rooms and through the video suite you'll walk and get a view of our production world here at Willow.
Matt Wilkerson
Matt began working at Willow Creek in 2001 as the Technical Director for Axis, a ministry to 20-somethings. He then moved on to lead in the areas of set and lighting design for weekend services, conferences and special events. Matt is currently serving as the Technical Director for Willow Creek's weekend services. Prior to coming to Willow, Matt served as a volunteer in lighting and as a technical director at a church in Columbia, MO.
Joanne Botten
Joanne is one of the Production Managers on the Willow production staff. She served as a production volunteer at Willow starting in the mid-80's and joined the staff in 2001. She leads the production process for various services, events and conferences and manages the team of staff that handle the events outside of the main service. In her spare time she's a CPA.
Mark Stanger
Mark has been involved in production for over 14 years. After working at a live production company for 2+ years doing mostly corporate events, Mark came on board at Willow as the technical director for Promiseland, Willow's children's ministry. With Mark's video focus, he helped to design and install video systems in many of the Promiseland large group rooms. He is currently a member of the Systems Team at Willow Creek, leading a team of volunteers to take care of the mid-week classes: 16 events all happening at the same time.
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| BTS: Willow Audio Engineers | |||||
| C118 |
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Spend time with the audio staff in each of the audio areas in the auditorium... Front of House in the booth, Monitor Engineer position on stage, Band set up & cabling on stage and the Patch Room backstage. The time will be divided up into 4 areas with a rotation every 20 minutes.
Ron Cook
After graduating from Columbia College in Chicago, Ron began working for T.C. Furlong mixing audio for various large scale events. Ron has been a member of the Willow staff for 7 years, focusing mainly on the mid-week, Worship @ Willow and leading audio volunteers in Elevate, Willow Creek's ministry to middle school students. Ron lives in the northwest suburbs with his wife Julie and their three boys.
Nathan Miller
Nathan's experience in the audio industry began at age 14. Over the years he has honed his craft through a variety of experiences, including city festivals, clubs and the local church in southeast Florida, building a wealth of knowledge involving in-ear monitoring and practical wireless application. Nathan began serving at Willow Creek in 2002. He is currently on staff serving as Willow's main Monitor Engineer. Nathan has a Bachelors of Science degree in Telecommunications.
Scott Ragsdale
Scott has been serving as an Audio Engineer with the Willow Creek Community Church Audio Team for the past seven years. He has been involved in many different aspects of audio for 25+ years. Mix clients have included Joyce Meyer Ministries (10,000 + seating US arenas), Delirious?, Darlene Zschech – Hillsong, CeCe Winans, Matt Redman, David Crowder Band, Lincoln Brewster & Charlie Hall. Last year Scott was invited to speak on the 2007 AES New York Panel - Live Sound Seminar / Digital Consoles, by Robert Scovill. Music is the only thing that made sense to him, and luckily it became his JOB!
Jeff Pelletier
Jeff serves as the Audio Systems Engineer for the main auditorium at Willow Creek Community Church. In this role, his responsibilities include systems design, sound system optimization, documentation, training and installation. He also serves as an engineer on call (EOC) for any of the multitude of services that Willow has, serving any technical issues that arise and need troubleshooting. Over 12 years ago, Jeff started his tenure as the technical director for Impact, the high school ministry and then the TD for Promiseland, the children's ministry. This was followed by years of serving monitor and FOH mix duties for both weekend and midweek services. Jeff studied live sound engineering at Columbia College of Chicago from 1993-1997, has attended Meyer Sound's SIM training and recently received BSS Soundweb certification. Also part musician, Jeff is passionate about music, combining both science and art, to bring excellence to further the Kingdom. Jeff lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife, Kimberly.
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| How Can A Classically Trained Singer Sound Cool? | ||
| C119 |
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You've worked hard to develop your voice through years of classical training and choral singing, and yet, when it comes to singing contemporary songs, it's just not working! The good news is that this is "fixable". In this hands-on workshop, learn the tools that have allowed thousands of classically trained singers to unlock the mystery of modern vocal styles, and gain practical tools to express songs with cutting-edge relevance and authenticity. This is also a great session for leaders of classically trained/choral singers.
Tim Carson
Tim Carson is the founder of Vocal Artistry and the Vocal Artistry Training Series. Tim was on the music staff at Willow Creek Community Church for 12 years and the faculty at Wheaton College's Conservatory of Music where he developed new curriculum for singing modern styles. Tim's former students include Broadway professionals, recording artists and worship leaders around the world. Tim continues to teach at conferences and workshops throughout North America.
www.VocalArtistry.com
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| Engaging the Heart: Building a Great Picture of God | ||
| C120 |
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C.S. Lewis writes that worship is, at it's essence, responding to something we love. If we long to lead great worship, we need to learn to paint people great picture of God to which their hearts can respond. This session will look at what is really at the heart of what we are called to do when we lead worship, and will outline very practical steps for painting people a picture God that enables their hearts to truly engage.
Joe Horness
After 25 years as the Worship Director and a leader on the programming staff at Willow Creek Community Church, Joe has recently moved to Traverse City, Michigan, where he is Associate Pastor and Worship Director at Bay Pointe Community Church. As a nationally known worship leader, Joe has worked closely with artists such as Darlene Zschech, Abraham Laboriel, and Tommy Walker, and has written and recorded numerous familiar worship choruses, including "Awesome, Amazing," "To Know You More," and "Still I Will Worship You." He is co-author of the book, Exploring the Worship Spectrum and of numerous articles on worship and worship leading. As the director of Engaging the Heart Ministries he regularly teaches and consults with churches on the topic of planning and leading effective worship ministries. Joe can be reached at jhorness@gmail.com
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| Wireless Immunity in an HD World | ||
| C121 |
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Wireless mics and wireless technology are becoming increasingly imperative to most productions, including your weekend service. This breakout will combine theory and practical experience with wireless microphones and in ear monitors in a contemporary worship setting. You'll discuss frequency coordination, antenna placement, battery management, and what to do about the DTV transition and upcoming white spaces devices. Time for Q & A will be provided.
Mark Gilbert
Mark Gilbert is an audio guy. In his early life, he played violin. Remarkably, he never got beat up at the bus stop for this. In college and beyond, he played an oddly tuned guitar (and bass), because it was cooler, and more importantly, louder (and shook things). He also started early in sound – doing broadcast audio for his church at the age of 12. OK, It was four knobs, but everyone has to start somewhere. He was born an Engineer – taking things apart to see how they worked, and successfully putting them back together on more than one occasion. Only once did this result in a near death experience. After a musical career that lasted several years, and brought adulation from dozens of modestly excited fans, it became obvious (even to him) that he was perhaps more useful behind the mixing board than in front of it. His paying occupation is as a Technology Director for Shure Incorporated, where they actually trust him to come up with ideas for future products. He's been there 26 years, working on lots of different things. His passion finds him spending many weekends running sound at Willow Creek Community Church for a variety of services. He also does wireless frequency coordination there, has taught at arts conferences, and helped with overseas conferences (he's mixed in 3 different languages). In his spare time (like he really has any), he's a better golfer than most of his friends, but nowhere near good enough to join the tour. Hence, he's keeping the audio day job.
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| Communicating in a post-Christian Culture | ||
| C122 |
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More and more intelligent people sit in our faith environments and know next to nothing about the Bible. They attend church on average once a month. They have many assumptions about God, the Bible and life. How do we connect the message of the Bible in such a distracted culture? How do we take into account the assumptions people enter church with? What is the best way to get the message across? We'll explore these questions and consider the growing challenge facing all communicators in a post-Christian culture.
Jud Wilhite
Jud Wilhite lives in the Las Vegas area where he serves as the senior pastor of Central Christian Church. Thousands attend services at Central’s campuses each weekend, along with a global community who attend online (centralonlinecampus.com). Jud is the author of several books, including Eyes Wide Open: See and Live the Real You and Deadly Viper Character Assassins with Mike Foster. The Wilhite’s have two children and a slobbery bulldog.
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| Lighting 101 | ||
| C123 |
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In this breakout we will evaluate the current situation of your church lighting and identify the next steps for improving your stage lighting system. We will examine the components of a basic lighting system: fixtures, placement, color and control. To help get you started, we will emphasize costs, tips and techniques.
John Weygandt
John has served as a scenic and lighting designer at Willow Creek since 1991. Prior to Willow, he taught theatre design at Pomona and Earlham Colleges for nine years. He has an MFA in Theatre Design from The University of Iowa, where he studied under Dr. David Thayer. John supervises, shepherds, and teaches the New Community volunteer lighting team and "HangTime" team as together they support and enhance Willow Creek worship services.
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| Creative Ideas: Windsor Crossing | ||
| C124 |
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"Snag" with Tony Biaggne. What is Snag? It goes a little like this: You're at your laptop/coffeehouse/phone, and someone forwards/blabs/texts you an amazing idea they saw/recorded/Tivo'd from some church/concert/movie...and you think, "Wow, I'd like to snag that for our church." This is one of those chances. Join Tony Biaggne from Windsor Crossing (St. Louis) as he shares a few snaggable ideas he's worked on in the past year. Plus, snag a few websites, video games, magazines and art shows responsible for inspiring these ideas.
Tony Biaggne
Church shouldn't be boring. That simple philosophy has kept Tony Biaggne busy for more than two years as Director of Creative Communications at Windsor Crossing in St. Louis, Missouri. From overall church branding to experiential moments during its four weekend services, Tony caters to ideas that are deeply personal, profoundly relational, and totally un-boring. Prior to Windsor, Tony worked for seven years in advertising as a copywriter and creative strategist, producing campaigns for national brands including Miller Brewing, Sony Entertainment, Starbucks, and Energizer. Recently, Tony has been a contributor to Advent Conspiracy, an international movement designed to restore the scandal of Christmas by worshipping Jesus through compassion instead of consumption. He has also written a feature-length animated screenplay, http://www.stitchedmovie.com/.
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Are 3/4 of the students staring blankly back at you? Did the drummer forget that amazing dramatic pause you practiced 15 times? Does the Youth Pastor keep asking you to be the perfect mix of David Crowder & Chris Tomlin... with a vocal and acoustic guitar only? The job of leading worship for students can be and is a difficult one. In this session we will discuss how to rehearse a band, song selection, engaging a crowd, interfacing with speaker/pastors, and all of the nuts & bolts of leading students in worship that differ from children, adults, or the elderly.
Luke MacDonald
Luke MacDonald loves to worship Jesus Christ in a loud way. Connecting students with Jesus Christ is what gets him up in the morning (in addition to coffee & and alarm clock). He was worship leader for the Jr High and High School Groups at Harvest Bible Chapel for 5 years before becoming the High School Pastor in 2008. He still leads worship weekly for the church's weekend services and 20's ministry Connect. His album "Joining In" was released in 2007 and is available on iTunes or at www.myspace.com/lukemacdonald
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| Songwriting of a Broken Man: A Dialogue with Charlie Hall | |||
| C126 |
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Join Charlie Hall and Joel Johns as they discuss Charlie's personal journey in songwriting and how personal life experiences can turn to worship through song.
Charlie Hall
Charlie Hall has been traveling for almost 15 years, from OKC to Kuala Lumpur, enthralling friends and strangers with his goatee and his songs. With a musical journey that has crisscrossed all kinds of rock music, folk music, and electronic music, he carries a songwriting sense that aims to capture dense images of life with God, in compositions that can be carried with the listener. He aims to tell the old story of the Gospel in an ever-shifting world, without resorting to easy truisms, or lazy language. His new collection of songs, The Bright Sadness, echoes a journey pressed to the chest of God, joyful and sorrowful at once, with God's heart clear and pulsing in each note and word. It wraps liturgy with the unexpected, and daily mundanity with daily surprise.
Joel Johns
Joel Johns is a Worship Leader at Willow Creek Community Church focused mainly on Mid-week worship. Joel has and energetic and passionate style of worship coupled with a deep desire to continually seek culturally relevant methods to reach people far from God.
He graduated from Baylor University in 2000 with a degree in Religion. In June of 2005, Joel, and his wife, Tiffany Ann, journeyed from the great state of Texas, to northern Illinois to join the regional team at Willow Creek McHenry County as Worship Leader and in January 2009, Joel joined the worship staff in South Barrington. In August, 2006, the Johns' family expanded with the addition of son, Christian. Joel brings with him and amazing heart for worship and 16 years of prior experience.
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| Advance Scenic - Behind the Scenes | ||
| C127 |
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Come explore the behind the scenes process of set design. Take a look at what worked and what didn't and walk through the steps from brainstorming through the completed scenic design. You'll discover how to make rough concepts, find references/research, work in scale, build a model, and make material construction choices in relation to set construction, rigging, and more. Learn about the adventure Willow Creek's stage team has been on and find out, "How did they do that?"
Don Krause
After attending the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Don started his career as an Art Director and Illustrator in the advertising industry. He spent over 25 years in advertising as an Art Director and Creative Director creating print and TV ads for many national brands. Don used his gifts as a volunteer at Willow for many years, designing and helping to build sets for Promiseland and the auditorium. He joined Willow as Scenic Designer in 2004 and now uses his talent as a conceptual thinker and visual artist to design, construct and rig sets for the main stage as well as leading a crew of wonderful volunteers. Don has a keen interest and passion for fine art and has participated in numerous juried art exhibitions in the community and at Willow Creek. His work has been shown in local galleries and can currently be seen around the Willow campus.
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| Being an Actor's Director | ||
| D151 |
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Actors, like all of us, constantly struggle with fear and insecurity. How do you balance the need to challenge them toward growth with the need to create safety and trust? How do you help the less talented actor achieve their full potential? How do you coax actors past their first choices toward the deeper places where transforming performances lie? Come join us as we talk about process, creating a safe space and the language of directing.
Jeff Berryman
Jeff Berryman is a writer, actor, director, and teacher who lives in Seattle, Washington. He taught theatre at Abilene Christian University from 1990 to 1996, and since then has been writing and performing, mostly one-man shows. He wrote a novel, Leaving Ruin, which he has adapted and performs as a solo work. Other solo shows include, "When Comes the Way", "Set Loose from the World", "The Little Guy", and "Postmodern Art". He is a frequent performer and teacher in the acting studio of Taproot Theatre and continues to teach a course each January at Abilene Christian University on The Intersection of Christianity and the Arts. He is currently working on his second novel.
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| Court Jester: The Role of Comedy in the Church | ||
| D152 |
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Every church needs a court jester, and the role of comedy is becoming increasingly important in the arts-intensive church. But what are the rules? Are there rules? Should we make up rules? Eric Bramlett serves as the resident court jester at Community Christian Church, and this workshop will explore his learnings through that experience and challenge us all to cultivate a comedic sensibility that has the potential to bring true "Isaac" to our weekend services.
Eric Bramlett
Eric Bramlett is the Creative Arts Director for Eric Bramlett is the Creative Arts Director for Community Christian Church in Naperville, IL, and has been since 1996. Community Christian Church is a multisite church with locations across Chicagoland and affiliates across the country through the NewThing Network. At Community Christian Church, Eric is responsible for overseeing all large-group experiences from artistic vision through production, for adults, students and kids, and anything else he can think of overseeing. Eric co-authored the book "The Big Idea" with Jon and Dave Ferguson. In addition to his work at Community, Eric has written and staged creative content for NewThing Network, the Exponential Conference, and the Willow Creek Association. Eric's background is in the professional theatre, with degrees in acting and directing. He has continued to be involved in the Chicago Theatre scene, most notably as an Artistic Associate for Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago, a theatre company he has been involved with since its inception in 1995. Eric loves his wife Kristi and their three kids, Sadie, Dillon and Anna. Eric twitters under the stage name "billshazzar." If you don't know what that means, Eric can't help you.
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| Collective Soul | ||
| D153 |
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Every team functions on two levels at once: The WHAT of the ministry, and the HOW. Often, we attend only to the what, and ignore the implications of the how. Both are important for Holy Spirit-directed, Holy Spirit-empowered leadership, however, and this workshop will focus on the 'how' of leading a team so that they can function optimally from a place of soul health… and collective soul health. Learn some basic concepts and specific steps you can take to lead your team to accomplish your mission in a life-giving way.
Mindy Caliguire
Mindy Caliguire and her husband, Jeff, planted a church in the Boston area, where she served in a variety of leadership roles for 10 years and launched Soul Care, dedicated to helping people restore health to their souls. She served in the area of spiritual formation at Willow Creek Community Church from 2001 to 2004, concentrating on membership, the ministry of prayer, small group curriculum, and "soul care": for individual staff teams. In 2005, she re-engaged with Soul Care, serving churches and organizations through leadership consulting and retreats. Mindy also serves as the Midwest regional director for the Spiritual Formation Alliance, building partnerships and creating formational events. Whether formally or informally, Mindy mentors leaders, focusing on re-establishing their spiritual vitality as the primary step towards a lifestyle of sustainable ministry and leadership. Mindy's books include Discovering Soul Care and Spiritual Friendship.
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The effectiveness of drama ministry hinges upon the quality of the script. What are you looking for in a script? What do you want to avoid? How do you move a script from one with potential to one that can be executed? If you're a director or writer hoping to better understand that process, this breakout is for you. Walk through an actual editing process for a script here at Willow Creek. See the author's first draft and the rounds of changes, all the while making hands-on choices that move the piece toward a final, executable script.
Mark Demel
Mark Demel is a painter/actor/playwright/director/cartoonist and sand artist who hails from the Midwest. He shared his gifts as a member of Willow Creek's staff for fifteen years before switching to free-lance creative consultant and traveling sand artist. He still is passionate about creating moments that help people in their spiritual journey, primarily by illustrating truths about who we are and who God is. He makes his home in Elgin, Illinois, with his wife and three children.
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| Choirs & Worship - A Biblical Concept | ||
| D155 |
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"When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the LORD and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, "Give thanks to the LORD, for His loving-kindness is everlasting."" 2 Chronicles 20:21 () What does the Bible say about the importance of singing together? Why is singing together such an important aspect of the worship experience? What are we missing by not having a choir in our worship services? Learn how 'singing' as a group, choir, brings power, hope, beauty and celebration. In this class, you will have the opportunity to participate in a "choir" experience.
Stan Endicott
Stan Endicott is Worship Pastor at Mariners Church in Irvine, Calif., a large church known for progressive and culturally compelling approaches to worship, communications and ministry. One year ago, he launched the slingshotgroup.net consulting group to assist churches in the process of finding new worship leaders. Stan is the Worship Principal for the Consuming Worship Company in Kansas City, Missouri, producing new resources for the local church. He is the director of the Saddleback gospel/worship choir at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California.
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Stan's gifts and talents have taken him on a fascinating journey, assisting hundreds of churches around the world. He has produced more than 200 albums for Maranatha Music and directed music productions for dozens of internationally known names and events such as Franklin Graham Ministries and Promise Keepers. Yet, he has never lost sight of his true passion: mentoring, coaching and helping others develop their own unique style to reach others for Christ. Stan has a rare combination of expertise, experience and avant-garde thinking.
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| Inspiring your Church to Worship! | ||
| D156 |
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Inspiring Your Church to Worship! is a breakout session for anyone who is willing to be curious about what it means to inspire and be inspired. Using what the Bible says about the "love languages" of God as a guideline, participants will be encouraged to inspire their churches and ministries in the act of corporate worship.
Sam Middlebrook
Sam Middlebrook is Shannon's husband and Levi and Max's dad. He is also the Worship Arts Pastor at Christ the King Church in Bellingham, WA. Sam is passionate about developing worship ministries and seeing a generation of equipped worship musicians and worship leaders emerge in the local church. He is the founder of DevelopingWorship.com, an online gathering place for worship leaders from over forty countries. Sam loves to talk about Jesus, worship, mentoring, his kids, football, sushi, and the color orange.
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| Establishing a Drama Team for the Long Haul | ||
| D157 |
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I'm committed to the idea of a drama team, but how do I find good people? Can I have a strong drama team even if the people lack experience? How do I keep a team motivated and growing? How do I raise the bar of excellence? What is the secret to keeping people committed to a team for the long haul? These and other questions will be answered in this breakout which focuses on attracting, training and maintaining a drama team. Join us to hear of lessons learned over twenty plus years of drama ministry.
Steve Pederson
Steve Pederson became the Director of Drama at Willow Creek in 1986 after teaching on the college level for 14 years. He leads a drama team of approximately 25 lay people. Team members perform as part of Willow Creek's weekend services, and also frequently contribute to conferences both at home and abroad. Steve has traveled throughout North America and Europe, as well as Australia and New Zealand, teaching and leading workshops for the Willow Creek Association on drama in the church. He has an M.A. in theatre from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. in theatre from the University of Iowa and is the author of Drama Ministry.
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| Video Post Production on an 'Indie' Budget, Pt. 2 of 2 | ||
| D158 |
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Using extensive case studies (and watching "before" and "after" footage), we'll study the process & techniques used in editing a variety of low-cost, quick-turnaround "Indie"-style videos. This breakout will focus on economizing the post-production process, while maximizing the visual impact of a project through shot selection, use of simple graphics, music, color grading & plug-in effects. Part 2 of a 2 part class.
Dave Schwarz
Dave Schwarz owns D A V Productions—a Las Vegas-based production company which produces live events as well as film and video for corporate and broadcast clients. Dave serves in many different capacities for Willow Creek Community Church and the Willow Creek Association, including several international production trips per year. He plays a role in the production of the Global Leadership Summit and is currently consulting with the WCA management team in a range of video production processes.
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Every church has a "worship language". At times this language may be exclusive to the demographics around the church. In this session we'll look at how to increase our worship language to reflect the greater Kingdom of God.
Matt Lundgren
Matt Lundgren likes long walks on the beach and curling up in front of a roaring fire. His spiritual gifts are super-spelling and the ability to tap only two aspirin out of a bottle at one time. After receiving his M.Div. from North Park Theological Seminary, Matt began at Willow Creek leading worship at Axis, Willow Creek's 20-something ministry and is now the Worship Director and Executive Director of Music at Willow Creek. When he is not leading worship, he is practicing his TiVo remote control skills – at which he feels he is in a class of his own.
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| BTS: Live Video Control Room | |||
| D160 |
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Walk downstairs to the Video Suite and see where the Video Director leads the video crew for services. You'll see the switcher, monitor wall, graphics station, operations & other areas that complete our live video system. Scott & Darren will take questions & demonstrate answers.
Darren Niesley
Darren is the live video director for Willow's weekend services and conferences. For a typical weekend service, this involves leading a crew of 12 to 14 volunteers, running a system with 8 cameras, multiple CG systems and video servers. In addition to his work at Willow, Darren draws on experience from working in television broadcast, corporate events, and commercial videos.
Scott Lambert
Scott started out at Willow as a volunteer member of the 16 person video team in 1988. He was then brought on staff in 1990 as the first person whose sole focus would be video. With a degree in Electronic Engineering, he was able to improve and maintain the video systems of Willow. The years of directing multi-camera events and services for the church groomed him into the director he is today. With an emphasis on team building, he now leads the Live Video Ministry which has grown to over 100 volunteers.
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Instead of journaling during your quiet time, what if you were to dance your quiet time? Explore communicating with God by dancing your thoughts and feelings before Him. You will also experience prayer in a unique and profound way with each other. Please wear attire that allows you to freely move.
Rachel Lundstrom
Rachel Lundstrom is the Co-Director and a founding member of Groundwork Dance. She served as the Director of Dance Ministry at Willow Creek from 2004-2007 and the leader of the Impact Dance Ministry from 1999-2007. She has had the opportunity to perform with the Westmont School of Performing Arts in which she toured throughout Europe and the Dance Theatre of Elgin Performing Company. Rachel graduated with a degree in Visual Communications from Northern Illinois University.
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| BTS: A Stage Manager's World @ Willow | ||
| D162 |
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Come see behind the stage where the stage team organizes wireless mics, preps props and leads people from the green room to the stage.
Christy Anderson
Christy started serving as a volunteer at Willow Creek as a young girl, coming with her parents to participate on the stage team. She currently is on staff directing everything that happens on Willow's main stage, leading volunteers to handle everything from stage managing to battery testing, prop moves to handing mics up from the front row.
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| BTS: General Production Tour | ||||
| D163 |
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If you want to see it all, this is the tour. From the booth to the stage down to the rehearsal rooms and through the video suite you'll walk and get a view of our production world here at Willow.
Matt Wilkerson
Matt began working at Willow Creek in 2001 as the Technical Director for Axis, a ministry to 20-somethings. He then moved on to lead in the areas of set and lighting design for weekend services, conferences and special events. Matt is currently serving as the Technical Director for Willow Creek's weekend services. Prior to coming to Willow, Matt served as a volunteer in lighting and as a technical director at a church in Columbia, MO.
Joanne Botten
Joanne is one of the Production Managers on the Willow production staff. She served as a production volunteer at Willow starting in the mid-80's and joined the staff in 2001. She leads the production process for various services, events and conferences and manages the team of staff that handle the events outside of the main service. In her spare time she's a CPA.
Mark Stanger
Mark has been involved in production for over 14 years. After working at a live production company for 2+ years doing mostly corporate events, Mark came on board at Willow as the technical director for Promiseland, Willow's children's ministry. With Mark's video focus, he helped to design and install video systems in many of the Promiseland large group rooms. He is currently a member of the Systems Team at Willow Creek, leading a team of volunteers to take care of the mid-week classes: 16 events all happening at the same time.
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| Of Course We Have Issues...We're Singers | ||
| D165 |
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Many talented singers are hindered by obstacles that have little to do with their vocal ability or even their commitment to training and development. Issues like confidence, trust, control and "voices that whisper inside our head" can stifle our potential and limit the impact we can have. In this practical workshop, you'll learn how singers, (and many top-performers from other professions) overcome the internal barriers that keep them from bringing their best to what they do. We'll also discuss how you, as an arts leader, can set up a safe environment where singers can feel secure and yet challenged to not settle for anything less than their best.
Tim Carson
Tim Carson is the founder of Vocal Artistry and the Vocal Artistry Training Series. Tim was on the music staff at Willow Creek Community Church for 12 years and the faculty at Wheaton College's Conservatory of Music where he developed new curriculum for singing modern styles. Tim's former students include Broadway professionals, recording artists and worship leaders around the world. Tim continues to teach at conferences and workshops throughout North America.
www.VocalArtistry.com
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| Preaching and Teaching in Stereo | ||
| D166 |
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How do we connect a literary text with older and younger generations in a post-literate culture? In this track we'll explore how we can communicate in stereo, using both left brain and right brain ideas, to connect multiple generations with the message of the Bible. We'll explore the power of mixing oral and literate communication theories, stories and straightforward truth, to communicate in stereo.
Jud Wilhite
Jud Wilhite lives in the Las Vegas area where he serves as the senior pastor of Central Christian Church. Thousands attend services at Central’s campuses each weekend, along with a global community who attend online (centralonlinecampus.com). Jud is the author of several books, including Eyes Wide Open: See and Live the Real You and Deadly Viper Character Assassins with Mike Foster. The Wilhite’s have two children and a slobbery bulldog.
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| The Heart Coming Alive: Bringing Your Life to Worship | ||
| D167 |
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The human heart carries in it many feelings and experiences, both beautiful and painful. A life of worship is best incubated when we allow these experiences to be brought into our interaction with, and adoration of God, privately and in community. Join Charlie Hall in a discussion about leading people on a journey to discover their life's meaning: to worship.
Charlie Hall
Charlie Hall has been traveling for almost 15 years, from OKC to Kuala Lumpur, enthralling friends and strangers with his goatee and his songs. With a musical journey that has crisscrossed all kinds of rock music, folk music, and electronic music, he carries a songwriting sense that aims to capture dense images of life with God, in compositions that can be carried with the listener. He aims to tell the old story of the Gospel in an ever-shifting world, without resorting to easy truisms, or lazy language. His new collection of songs, The Bright Sadness, echoes a journey pressed to the chest of God, joyful and sorrowful at once, with God's heart clear and pulsing in each note and word. It wraps liturgy with the unexpected, and daily mundanity with daily surprise.
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| Designing a Live Video System | ||
| D168 |
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Video is becoming more and more important in the church today. In this breakout you will discover how to put together a video system for playback, design live video shoots, and determine screen placement and projector locations. If you are beginning to look at incorporating video into your service, or wondering how to improve the one you have, this breakout is for you.
Dave Cooke
Dave Cooke is the chief video engineer for Willow Creek, and has been on staff at Willow in video and production since 1990. Dave started doing production in youth ministry way back in 1978 in California. He has worked professionally in video production in Los Angeles and Chicago, but has devoted himself to using his gifts in the production ministry. Dave currently leads a staff of system engineers on the Willow production staff and oversees the many technical projects that Willow develops. Most notably, Dave was the point leader in the design of the video system installed in Willow's new 7200 seat auditorium. The video system design at Willow is very complex, but Dave and his team of engineers keep it running smooth for every service and event on the Willow campuses. Dave has also has designed a number of other smaller video venues for other Willow venues and other churches. He enjoys the challenge of keeping up with the ever-changing technology in the video industry and applying this to the needs of Willow's current and future technology needs.
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| Lighting for Live Video | ||
| D170 |
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If you use live video as a part of your worship experience, for broadcast, recording, or for IMAG (Image Magnification), you already know the difficulty of creating lighting that is appealing for video. This workshop will cover techniques for lighting a stage for both live and video audiences. We will discuss how the Video Director and the Lighting Designer collaborate together on events.
Bob Peterson
Chicago's Robert (Bob) Peterson has been involved in Lighting Design for concerts, live performance and the television industry for 30+ years. His body of work has been seen world-wide, here is a sampling of projects:
- TV series include: Soundstage on PBS, Nashville Star, Live at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for MTV, CMT All Access Live, The Grand Ole Opry Live, MTV Live, Live by Request on A@E, Can You Duet, and CMT's Crossroads
- Network specials: Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney
- Comedy specials: Comic Relief 2006 New Orleans, Chris Rock, Ron White, Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, Jeff Dunham
Bob's website is Realworldlighting.tv.
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| Video Showcase: Willow Creek Community Church | ||
| D171 |
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For years, Willow has used video, animation and motion graphics to enhance worship, provoke thought, tell stories and inform the congregation on what is going on within the walls of Willow and around the world. Join their Creative Content Team as they sift through their work over the past year to find those that best reflect the highlights along with a few low-lights or lessons learned. Filming of Willow's Christmas Eve service was captured with a RED camera, one of the most innovative technologies in the industry. See what they produced and what they learned.
Willow Creek Creative Team
Willow's Creative Content Team is comprised of a wide variety of individuals with experience in both the professional industry and church ministry. From Emmy Award winning lighters to full multi-media producers to highly skilled editors and technically sophisticated post-production, this team has shown that no project is too big; even on a 110' by 22' screen.
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| Creative Ideas: Christmas Services | |||
| D172 |
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What would it look like if a whole community celebrated Christmas together? What would be the outcome if all the artists of the community came together to throw a party for their city? How would it look if the arts were used to create a space for people to experience Christ and the community that is His church? Join Chuck Spong, Executive Pastor of the Arts at Winston-Salem First, as he describes what happened in 2008 when his church used the message of Christmas to reach their community.
In addition to Chuck, Kim Do, the Producer for Willow Creek Community's 2008 Christmas program, will present "Light", a visually stunning experience featuring video, music and dance. Our eyes are drawn to light, a candles warm glow in a darkened room; the faintest illumination in a pitch-black path; colorful Christmas lights on a cold winter night. But there is another Light that draws people...a Light that came into the world one Christmas night, and it has been spreading rays of love ever since. Hear how Kim & Willow's creative team used the message of Christ coming to impact the people in their community.
Chuck Spong
In August of 2008, Chuck became Executive Pastor of the Arts at Winston-Salem First in North Carolina. Building on a strong arts heritage while stoking the fires of "new songs" (and other artistic expressions!) being created in their hearts and souls, the artists of WSF are passionately pursuing the activity of God within both their community of faith as well as the wider Winston-Salem arts community. The WSF artists are exploring how their art and an intimate relationship with Christ intersect: how does my spiritual journey as a Christ-follower impact my art? How do the themes of compassion and social justice so vibrant at WSF impact my art? And how do I see my life and what I'm doing in light of eternity? Before WSF, Chuck was on staff for eight years at Willow Creek Community Church. He served primarily as a producer of weekend services and The Leadership Summit while also leading a creative team of writers, directors, video editors and producers generating and developing ideas for weekends, conferences, and other ministries of the church. Prior to coming to Willow in 2000, he helped plant a WCA church in Orlando, serving as the executive pastor and programming director. Chuck graduated from Evangel University with a bachelor's in music education and from the Hartt School of Music with a master's in music theory. He lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with his wife, Sara, and four children.
Kim Do
Kim Do has worked as a Producer for Willow Creek's weekend programming team since April 2007. Her previous career experience includes marketing, advertising sales and church administration. Over the last ten years, Kim has led and participated in various volunteer activities that have expressed art in the church through music, dance and drama; she is passionate about facilitating the use of the arts to carry the message of Christ.
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This breakout offers the opportunity to find out how the scenic set team conquers the visual stage challenges at Willow Creek. Learn first hand by watching step-by-step faux painting techniques for wood grain, marble, bricks, and more. Discover how canvas, polystyrene, and gator foam work well in specifics situations, and see the effects of carving or building with polystyrene. You'll pick up some light, manageable set solutions that have a heavy impact.
Don Krause
After attending the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Don started his career as an Art Director and Illustrator in the advertising industry. He spent over 25 years in advertising as an Art Director and Creative Director creating print and TV ads for many national brands. Don used his gifts as a volunteer at Willow for many years, designing and helping to build sets for Promiseland and the auditorium. He joined Willow as Scenic Designer in 2004 and now uses his talent as a conceptual thinker and visual artist to design, construct and rig sets for the main stage as well as leading a crew of wonderful volunteers. Don has a keen interest and passion for fine art and has participated in numerous juried art exhibitions in the community and at Willow Creek. His work has been shown in local galleries and can currently be seen around the Willow campus.
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| BTS: Willow Lighting Team | ||||
| D174 |
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Get a close look at the GrandMa & other lighting control systems in the booth. You will also get time with our systems backstage and higher! Each tour will be split in half with 35 minutes in the booth and 35 minutes with the systems allowing time in between to transit (it's a big place). You must be over the age of 18 to participate in the catwalk portion of this tour.
Chris Thomas
Details coming soon
Dan Larson
Dan began serving at Willow as a volunteer in the lighting/scenic area back in the mid 90's. In 1998, he joined the production staff serving in many capacities including Lighting Director, Technical Director, and currently the Lighting/Scenic Ministry Director. Dan has been the Lighting Director/Designer for the Leadership Summit and Willow's "Imagine Christmas," both of which were broadcast video events. Also, with the construction of a new auditorium, Dan was integral in designing, specifying, testing, and installing our lighting system.
Bill Stoerp
Starting as a volunteer in Axis, a ministry to 20-somethings, Bill came on staff to serve as the Technical Director for Willow Dupage, a regional campus of Willow Creek. He then joined the production staff to handle Elevate, the ministry to middle school students at the Willow Creek, South Barrington Campus. He currently serves as the Lighting Systems Engineer on the Systems team, taking care of the extensive lighting system in Willow's main auditorium.
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| Hands-On Lighting for a Video Shoot | ||
| HOAM400 |
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Great lighting makes for great images that can change the overall impact of a video. From lighting the talent, to lighting the background, this breakout will teach you the fundamentals to great lighting for video. Whether you are lighting an interview, shooting on green screen or "person on the street' videos; whichever video format you chose to shoot on, this session will have you lighting your videos at the next level.
Jim Sippel
As a two-time Emmy Award winning lighting director at WCFC Channel 38 Chicago (TLN), Jim has 29 years experience in the entertainment industry. He has worked with many different clients including NBC Sports, MSNBC, WTTW (PBS) Chicago, National Geographic, and The Weather Channel show "Atmospheres". Jim is currently on staff as video operations manager at Willow. He joined Willow in 2000 to team-produce the Telly award winning Promiseland Video Curriculum.
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| Behind Closed Doors: Arts Leaders Explore Their Greatest Challenges | ||
| PLAM200 |
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The role of a worship/creative arts leader brings huge challenges, many of which are not discussed openly. In this session, Nancy Beach brings her experience as a veteran arts leader to help explore these issues in a safe environment, with an agenda partially set by the attendees themselves. Come for a time of honesty, shared experience, and encouragement to keep you leading with passion, skill, and grace.
Nancy Beach
A visionary leader and champion for the power of the arts and artists in the local church, Nancy Beach is known around the world as a leader and mentor of church artists and teachers. Vice President of the Arts for the Willow Creek Association, she is also a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church and the author of An Hour on Sunday and Gifted to Lead.
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| The Art and Practice of Discernment | ||
| PLAM203 |
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The ability to discern and do the will of God both personally and in community is at the heart of spiritual leadership and yet many Christian leaders have little experience with discernment as a spiritual practice. This seminar will provide teaching and experience with the habit and practice of discernment as it relates to your personal life and your leadership. This seminar provides teaching, training and experiences that will help you:
- Understand the nature and function of spiritual leadership
- Recognize and respond to the presence of God in your personal life and in your church or organization
- Enter into the practice of discernment when facing important decisions
- Explore a step-by-step process of discerning the will of God
Ruth Haley Barton
Ruth Haley Barton is co-founder and president of The Transforming Center (www.thetransformingcenter.org), a ministry dedicated to caring for the souls of pastors, ministry leaders and the congregations they serve. A teacher, spiritual director, and retreat leader, Ruth is the author of several books including Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry, Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation, and Invitation to Solitude and Silence.
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| Leading for Creativity, Innovation and Change | ||
| PLAM204 |
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How does a leader help create an environment where these three things become the norm? What difference might it make in our churches, if these three words deeply described what people found when they attended? Explore these questions and come away with practical steps for leading your team.
Nancy Ortberg
Nancy Ortberg served as a teaching pastor for eight years at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. During that time she lead Network, a ministry that helps people identify their spiritual gifts and find a place of service in the church, and Axis, a weekly gathering for the eighteen-to twenty-something generation. She is a founding partner of Teamworx2, a business and leadership consulting firm that provides fast-paced, practical, and compelling sessions to leaders and their teams. Teamworx2 works with businesses, schools, nonprofits, and churches to address issues of organizational effectiveness and teamwork. Nancy is a gifted communicator who is passionate about helping people connect what they believe with their everyday lives. A highly sought-after speaker, Nancy has been a featured presenter at the Catalyst and Orange conferences, and has been a regular contributor to Rev! Magazine. Nancy is the author of Looking for God: An Unexpected Journey Through Tattoos, Tofu, & Pronouns and releasing in August 2008, Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands, Lessons in Non-linear Leadership. She and her husband, John, live in the Bay Area and have three children: Laura, Mallory, and Johnny.
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| Gifted to Lead: The Art of Leading as a Woman in the Church | ||
| PLPM210 |
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Designed especially for women with spiritual gifts and abilities in leadership, this session will inspire women to fully embrace their gifts, to find their unique leadership style and voice, and to create a rhythm of life that will enable them to flourish.
Nancy Beach
A visionary leader and champion for the power of the arts and artists in the local church, Nancy Beach is known around the world as a leader and mentor of church artists and teachers. Vice President of the Arts for the Willow Creek Association, she is also a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church and the author of An Hour on Sunday and Gifted to Lead.
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| Spiritual Rhythms in the Life of a Leader | ||
| PLPM213 |
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One of the greatest challenges facing leaders today is how to sustain themselves in ministry over the long haul. As one ministry leader put it, "I find myself doing the work of God at such a pace that it has nearly eliminated the work of God in my own life, I love my church and my ministry, but each day I love them a little less. I want to get back to a place where I know I'm in the center of God's will and doing what I was called to do in the way I was called to do it." In this seminar we will explore how we as leaders can establish the spiritual rhythms that are the key to vibrancy in ministry: rhythms of work and rest, solitude and community, silence and word, prayer and action.
Ruth Haley Barton
Ruth Haley Barton is co-founder and president of The Transforming Center (www.thetransformingcenter.org), a ministry dedicated to caring for the souls of pastors, ministry leaders and the congregations they serve. A teacher, spiritual director, and retreat leader, Ruth is the author of several books including Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry, Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation, and Invitation to Solitude and Silence.
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| Leadership Strategies for Pastors and Arts Leaders: How To Maximize Yourself, Your Team, and Your Services | |||
| PLPM214 |
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Every Pastor and Worship Leader face the challenges of planning creative worship services, working seamlessly with one another, and developing the leadership skills to lead their ministries effectively both now and in the future.
Overcoming these three challenges can empower you to build a thriving Sunday worship experience.
Join Nelson Searcy (Lead Pastor, The Journey Church in NYC) and Jason Hatley (Pastor of Worship Arts) as they teach proven lessons that on how to overcome the Top 3 challenges that Pastor and Worship Leader face, including how to:
- Develop a personal leadership growth plan that will help you lead at an optimum level
- Maximize the Pastor/Worship Pastor working relationship
- Create a worship planning system that will empower you to plan farther ahead, and create more impactful services than ever before, while reducing the stress of week to week thinking
- And much more!
Jason Hatley
In 2002, Jason was a part of the launch team of The Journey Church, overseeing the programming of their worship services. He serves as the pastor of worship arts and has built from scratch The Journey's worship arts team, a group of over 200 artists and technicians who develop and implement the creative and technical elements at weekly Sunday services. Jason has been a worship leader for 12 years. He invests in worship pastors around the country through interactive coaching networks, seminars, and worship planning resources. He has been a featured breakout speaker at the Willow Creek Arts Conference, The Purpose Drive Worship Conference, as well as seminars around the country. He has a B.M. in Sacred Music Performance from Appalachian State University.
Nelson Searcy
Nelson Searcy is the founder and lead pastor of The Journey Church of the City, an innovative, multicultural church located in New York City. Founded in 2002, The Journey has grown to over 1,200 people in weekly attendance and more than 1,400 involved in weekly small groups during its first six years. A multi-site church with locations across the metro New York City, The Journey continues to grow and innovate and serve the people of NYC.
Nelson is the author of the books Launch: Starting a New Church From Scratch, Fusion: Integrating Newcomers into the Life of Your Church and Activate: A Completely New Approach to Small Groups.
Nelson is an experienced church planter, coach and church growth strategist. Before moving to New York, he served as the Director of the Purpose Driven Community at Saddleback Church. He is also the founder of http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/, the Church Leadership Training ministry
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We've all been there. The vision and impact of our production is in jeopardy because our willing and hard-working actors are landing short of the mark. What do I do now? Where is my attention and energy best spent? This interactive workshop will be a hands-on lab in coaxing actors toward their best work while chasing the overall vision of the scene. Through the live rehearsal of a dramatic scene, participants will be given the opportunity to observe directors at work, give feedback, ask questions, and perhaps even direct.
Jeff Berryman
Jeff Berryman is a writer, actor, director, and teacher who lives in Seattle, Washington. He taught theatre at Abilene Christian University from 1990 to 1996, and since then has been writing and performing, mostly one-man shows. He wrote a novel, Leaving Ruin, which he has adapted and performs as a solo work. Other solo shows include, "When Comes the Way", "Set Loose from the World", "The Little Guy", and "Postmodern Art". He is a frequent performer and teacher in the acting studio of Taproot Theatre and continues to teach a course each January at Abilene Christian University on The Intersection of Christianity and the Arts. He is currently working on his second novel.
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| Telling Compelling Stories: Conducting Great Interviews for Video & Live Services | ||
| MCPM311 |
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In this session, you'll discover techniques to build a safe place for people to share their "story". You will learn that your interview is only as transparent as you are willing to be. You will participate in actual interview sessions, both as an interviewer or interviewee. You will learn ways to light your subject with and without lighting instruments. You will find ways to help people speak from their heart instead of their head. Learn three things that will sabotage any interview. Learn the principles that apply to "live service" interviews. You will see the contrast of an interview of a young woman who miscarried her baby two weeks before Mother's Day…first talking from her "head" and then from the "heart". Big difference!
Max Paul Franklin
In June of 1972, Max Paul Franklin left Viet Nam as an Air Force combat cameraman to start IMS Productions. Since then he has filmed kings, presidents and CEO's of major corporations. He's also filmed the stories of some of the poorest of the poor. His journeys as a cameraman/storyteller have taken him to over 70 countries, from the beautiful and mysterious rain forests of South America to the, war-torn battlegrounds of Rwanda, Sudan and Iraq.
As a storyteller, he's produced award winning television commercials, documentaries, and corporate films throughout the world. He's best known for the video series Edge TV, a discussion starter for teens to have a "safe place to talk about unsafe things". His clients include nearly every major Christian organization in America.
Raised in India, as the son of medical missionaries, Franklin, best known for his transparent in-depth interviews considers himself an international nomad and "recovering missionary's kid". For 37 years, he's built his company on lifetime relationships. He describes his motivation in life as a desire to share hope with everyone he meets.
Movies move people, and that's what he does best. "I want to help people dig deeper, find truth, and develop hope to live life completely." His audience may laugh, cry, or get angry, but he wants to encourage people to get in touch with their heart, their passions and their feelings!!!
Franklin has a BA from Southern Nazarene University.
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| Building a Great Mix | ||
| MCPM312 |
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In this master class, Robert Scovill will walk through the key steps that contribute to a great mix. We will dive into setting up the console, structuring input lists, gain structure, EQ, and many other aspects. We will be able to see and hear how Robert builds his mix, with a visual of the console and a "band" to mix to. This will be an invaluable session for anyone looking to add some practical mixing tools.
Robert Scovill
Robert Scovill is a noted concert sound and recording engineer with over 3,000 live event mixing credits. Throughout his 29 year career he has worked with Tom Petty, Matchbox Twenty, Prince, Rush and Def Leppard. He works as a producer for events in a variety of venues including churches. Robert has also served as a technical consultant for leading manufacturers such as Servo Drive, Neumann, Electrovoice, Audio Technica, and Alesis. He currently works as Market Manager for Live Sound Products for Digidesign. As the owner of Eldon's Boy Productions Inc. and MusiCanvas Recording in Scottsdale, AZ, he offers full service mixing facility and mobile recording services. Robert has served as producer and creative director for audio, lighting and media departments at the Mountain Valley Community Church also in Scottsdale.
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| The Reality of Set Design | ||
| MCPM313 |
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The environment we place around a presentation or performance is critical to helping communicate the message we are trying to share. A great set design requires planning, precision, and the right balance so it supports the message, not upstage it. This class will focus on the process of preparing a design, how to present your ideas, where to look for resources, and how to get from concept to final product. It will include a discussion of the various software available to the design world. In addition, we will be looking at all sorts of materials and techniques that can help you get a great design on any budget. This class is geared to people currently involved in set design and ready to take their knowledge of materials and design to a master's level.
Seth Jackson
Seth Jackson is an industry leader in the live concert industry. His award winning lighting and stage designs are all over the world with artists like Carrie Underwood, Toby Keith , Don Henley, American Idols Live, and Hilary Duff.
A passionate communicator and innovative teacher, Seth is one of the lead communicators of Eagle Point Community Church. He is also the Parnelli (touring industry's Oscar) award winner as set designer of the year for both 2007 and 2008 for his work with Toby Keith.
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