.mp4 to .avi…

Thanks to Joshua for bringing this question to the blog.  I know that many of you may be using Flip video cameras or something similar.  If so, then you may have already ran into some frustrations when trying to edit those files in a video editing program on Windows.  If you use a Mac, then editing .mp4 is a bit easier.  You can utilize iMovie or Final Cut to edit.  However, Windows is a different story.  One option is to purchase a pro license of Quicktime.  It’s only $29.95, and it allows you to save a .mp4 file as a regular .mov.  The .mov is much more common to editors.   Some editors, though, may not work well with .mov.  I found a free program today that worked great for me.  It’s called Pazera.  You can download the file at http://download.cnet.com/Pazera-Free-MP4-to-AVI-Converter/3000-2194_4-10784027.html.  The program was fairly easy to figure out, and I was able to convert a .mp4 file to a .avi (divx codec) with no problems.  The original file was about 220MB, and it opened and played inside Windows Media Player.  Hope this is a workable solution to a common problem.  Leave a comment and let me know if it works for you.

NACMC Workshop Notes…

Here are the notes for the class that I taught at the North American Children’s Ministry Conference last week.  I spoke on how to implement technology, specifically software, into your children’s ministry on a budget.  I gave options for really large budgets, medium budgets, small budgets, and no budgets.  It’s exciting how much free (and legal) software there is out there.  If you would like to hear the workshop, go to 4kids.ag.org, and you can purchase a CD of the session.  After they’ve had some time to sell it, I’ll try to see if I can get permission to post it on the blog.  Enjoy the notes, and remember to use anti-virus software before clicking on any links.  You can’t be too careful when searching online.

NACMC 2010_TechnologyOnBudget Workshop Presentation

NACMC 2010

I’m excited to present a class tomorrow at the North American Children’s Ministry Conference.  It’s a presentation on how to use technology in children’s ministry on a budget.  Money has often been the obstacle in many a children’s pastor’s path toward using creative technology.  However, things are changing.  There are so many more options now.  Numerous open source software options now exist.  Open source basically means that a bunch of talented programmers have put their efforts into creating a program that is made available to the public free of charge.  There are some high quality open source programs available.  Also, there are a number of programs, like Adobe and Microsoft Office, that have non-profit discounts.  I’ll try to post my notes from the class tomorrow.

Sorry…

Sorry I’ve haven’t posted in a while. I’m going to make it a goal to begin blogging regularly again. Thanks to everyone who has kept up with the blog, and keep sending in your ideas and suggestions for blog posts.

Back from camp…

Well, we just got back yesterday from a fun week at Kid’s Camp.  This was our first opportunity to be the camp speakers.  I was excited about the opportunity, and we brought a great team with us from the church.  It was fun to get away from some of administrative tasks of children’s ministry and just focus on being creative.  We were blessed by the reaction of the kids to the lessons we had created it was really an awesome experience.  I thought I would post some of the videos we created while at the camp.  The theme that the camp committee came up with was Survivor.  So, we used that to make a reality spoof.  The show was called “The Ultimate Reality Endurance Competition About the One Person Who Can Last Until the End.”  I know it’s a mouthful, but the creators of the show didn’t want to be sued by Mark Burnett.  It turned out to be a really fun set of services.  Yet, the most important thing is God used these services to make a huge impact in a lot of kid’s lives.  I used some of the products from www.videocopilot.net to enhance these videos.  I plan to blog about this site soon.  I think it may be my new favorite site.  Here are some of our vides.

Tweeting a missions trip…

We recently took 11 5th – 8th grade students from our church on a missions trip to Nashville, TN.  The kids worked on various service projects in connection with a great ministry there in Nashville.  While on the trip, I decided to beta test an idea.  I began twittering the missions trip.  Whenever we started a new task or headed out on a fun activity I would send a tweet to let everyone know what we were doing.  I used my cell phone to send the tweets because it wasn’t always convenient to get online.  Twitter allows you to send updates via text message.  I had previously set up my twitter to update my facebook status as well.  That allowed me to reach more parents.  When we returned, I got a lot of positive feedback.  One parent said that she really enjoyed receiving the updates.  My plan for next year’s missions’ trip is to make this an advertised feature of the trip.  I think it’s a great way to keep those at home connected with what’s going on in the missions’ field.  This would also work for kid’s camps, activities, and more.  So let’s start tweeting.

Type is important…

Sometimes in the rush to get the most realistic 3D images, or the latest and greatest graphics for our projects we forget about typography.  Using the right fonts, spacing, etc. can make a big difference in your design.  Sometimes the font is all you will need to make work pop.  Think about some of the most recognizable logos.  Many of them are just the company’s name.  Their font becomes part of their brand.  Microsoft, CNN, and Coca-Cola come to mind.  Think through your font selection, consider the message that it sends.  A grungy font will send the message that your ministry or event skews toward youth or anti-establishment mentality which can work in the right situation.  A serif (such as Times New Roman) or script font often gives the sense of traditionalism.  Ensure that the font is not working against you and sending a mixed message.  Consider the following examples.  As you can see, the font doesn’t match the tone of the ministry.  Now, that doesn’t mean we have to go for kiddie fonts only as children’s pastors.  A techno, or space font might fit the bill for you.  Just be sure that your fonts are sending mixed messages.  Sometimes it can be worth paying for a font, but the majority of the time you can find the perfect font by searching on the Internet.  One of my favorite sources for fonts is www.dafont.com.  This site is chocked full of free fonts that you can download and begin using.  The fonts will come in a zip folder.  Installing fonts is easy.  If you’re using Vista, simply right click on the font file (after you’ve unzipped the folder) and choose Install Font.  If you’re using XP, then you will need to open you C:/ drive in windows explorer and navigate to the windows folder and then open the fonts folder.  Simply drag the new font into that folder. Once you’ve chosen the right font, work with the spacing.  How far should the individual characters be spaced?  Should the type be centered, offset, right justified.  Consider too the size of the text.  If you have two words, making one larger may give the design extra excitement.  This may require a lot of trial and error, but it’s worth the effort.  Typography can be one of the greatest assets we have in graphic design if used properly.  As children’s pastors it is especially useful because it is low cost, but adds to the perception of professionalism.

VBS Videos…

I wanted to upload a few of the videos that we created for this year’s VBS. I know that the storyline may not make sense, but we tried some new techniques that you may enjoy seeing.  Basically, the theme was Spies and the storyline revolved around me (Agent Sam Steele) infiltrating the evil No Organization’s HQ to stop them from unleashing the evil “No Ray.”  This device would change all of the kids’ minds toward evil.  We did all of the filming in front of green screens and used After Effects, Vue 7, and Poser to create the backgrounds.  After Effects has really helped us increase the quality of our green screen work.  Vue 7 was a new addition to our programs.  It’s a 3D program that can create stunning virtual landscapes.  It was used in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as well as Pirates of the Caribbean 2.  We used it to create the background with the leaves and sky.  The interior shot was done in Poser 6.  It’s a really interesting 3D program that is mostly used for character animation.  Trust me, there were many more things we wanted to do to polish these videos, but we simply ran out of time.  The Vue 7 backgrounds took  about six hours to render an eight second animation, and that was with four computers rendering the scene at the same time.  We’ll take what we’ve learned this year and begin applying it to next year. 

The hologram was created by using one of our actors in front of a green screen and applying various effects in After Effects.  The tutorial was found on www.creativecow.net.  The effects for “The No Ray Instructional Video” also came from a tutorial I saw on Creative Cow.  This is a fantastic site for free tutorials that can help you achieve Hollywood-style effects.  I usually try to provide free alternatives, but if you can afford the Adobe Production Suite (about $600 for the non-profit rate), then I highly recommend it.  It includes Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, and more.  We used Premiere to edit together all of our effects shots.  Hopefully, you’ll see some things that will help you as you create your own videos.  If you would like detailed tutorials, leave me a comment and I’ll try to put some up.

 

VBS Update

Well, last week’s VBS kept me hopping for the past several weeks. We were really blessed. We had 323 kids during the week, and 175 different kids responded to the altar call (we took out duplicates, and those that we knew had already received Christ). That was a great number for us. We finished the week with a two services on Sunday. On that day, we have a VBS Celebration service. We finish the VBS storyline during that service and we do all of the songs from VBS. We also give away our big prizes (this year was a Nintendo DSi), and we give away a prize to every kid. We gave away a imprinted pair of sunglasses. We had 556 in attendance that day. That’s the largest attendance we’ve had since I’ve been at the church. It was a big challenge creating our own VBS from the ground up, but God blessed us and I am glad that we accepted the challenge.

It’s been a while…

Sorry I have posted recently. We’re right in the middle of our VBS (Vacation Bible School). For our church, this is one of the largest church events of the year. We are so excitied about what God has done thus far. I’ll be posting some of the videos and graphics that we’ve created for this year’s VBS. Have a great day!