So, What Is “Multimedia” Anyway?
By Chuck Ebert

Some would say the multimedia is a video on a projector screen. Others, a light show with sound blaring at all ends. Some people would even say that multimedia is an extension of creativity put forth to harmonize all the attributes of audio and video into a worship experience. Those people would be right.

Multimedia has become a forefront in houses of worship all across the world. It is a medium that, if used properly, can relate a message with conviction, passion and/or even worshipful silence by just seeing a picture that “paints those thousand words.”

So, what does multimedia encompass and what are the advantages of having multimedia?

Multimedia encompasses sound (musicians, board operators, stage technicians, PA), lights (technical operators, lighting directors, par cans), and video (video programmers, camera operators, computers, projectors) and brings them all together into a blended harmony of a worship experience.

Not all of these tools listed above are necessary to have a meaningful worship experience with multimedia. The secret lies in people. People create the music. People create the video. People make the worship experience happen. Having the properly trained people that know how to work together as a team will make your multimedia presentation a worship experience.

The most important people participating in the worship experience, however, are not pastors, worship leaders, or even the technicians; it’s the audience. That's why every seat in the house is so very important. Your multimedia presentation has got to convey the message to the people with audible intelligibility and visual integrity, and leave them with something that they want to come back to again and again. Make multimedia your calling card for a return visit, over and over again. Having the right multimedia system for your application, properly set up and using trained operators, is invaluable to the worship experience.

How do we avoid the pitfalls of multimedia? What good is a message preached if no one can hear? What good are words to a song on a video screen if no one can read them? Having the congregation understand the message you are trying to convey to them—whether it be through song, spoken word or a combination of both—is why you have a multimedia system in the first place.

There are three main ingredients to a multimedia presentation: audio, video, and lighting. Here is the recipe. Mix a great sound with a heaping of video, add lighting, stir well and serve at room temperature for best results.

The Audio Ingredient
Sound used to be an afterthought in the worship experience, but now it is the forefront of multimedia today. If you have just a few simple basic “herbs and spices,” you can make your sound system the best it can be.

Having the right sound system for your application is by far one of the most important parts of a multimedia presentation. Getting the wrong one will cost you more than just gear; it will cost you a loss of people in the worship experience.

Before you purchase an audio system from anyone, do your homework. Explore your needs with a professional sound consultant unaffiliated with trying to sell you a system for your worship center. This can save you thousands of dollars, and you'll get the right sound system for your application.

Also, get your operators trained. What good is your multimedia system if someone doesn't know how to properly operate a sound console?

Set it and forget it does not apply to an audio system, and feedback is not your friend. Having a properly tuned (equalized) room is vital, no matter what type of sound system you have or are currently using. I would say that 98% of the time, distortion ruins a sound system, not volume. Improperly wired, improperly set up, and improperly operated are the biggest causes of audio meltdown. Being a professional multimedia consultant, I have seen my share of catastrophes waiting to happen.

The Video Ingredient
Having the right video system and understanding the pitfalls of them can be a multimedia nightmare. Once again, before you just go out and buy a projector, do your homework. This is a key ingredient in your worship experience. You need the proper projectors to match the distance of throw as well as the correct lenses. Otherwise, you're going to get a grainy picture not centered with words that are hard to read.

This brings us to the next point. Who’s running the computer anyway? What software are you going to be using? Does the operator understand how to use the video system, or is it on a “learn as you go basis?”

There are many different manufactures of computers, software, interfaces, etc., but putting the right ones together for your application is vital to your multimedia experience. The vivid images available today (moving backgrounds, videos, etc.) can be very powerful tools used to get your point across to your congregation. Having a computer that doesn't crash in the middle of a presentation leaving you hanging is priceless. Video projection can make a worship experience moving, stirring, fun, and even exciting if it is done properly. If your operator cannot run the software, you need to get them trained. This is fast becoming a market of need, and some operators are becoming paid staff members overnight.

The Lighting Ingredient
Add a par can here and a par can there, splash with a dash of moving lights, blend with video, and there you have it! A soufflé of color and splendor to delight the masses!

Lighting is a vital part of the multimedia experience. The ability to fade the lights down or change colors at the opportune moment can create mood, evoke emotion, and make a presentation all the more meaningful. It can be as simple as lowering the brightness or firing off a barrage of colors with moving lights trailing everywhere. The point is, if used correctly, you have another ingredient to add to the blended mix of a multimedia presentation.

As for gear in the lighting world, there are numerous manufactures and many different options that can fit your application. Finding the right equipment, like the previous ingredients, requires knowledge of what will and won't work for you. More important than the “whirring lights and flashing signs” is having a trained operator or an LD (Lighting Director). They are worth their weight. This person should have the vision to see where to place the lights at any given moment in a service and be able to make adjustments on the fly.

Multimedia has become an integral portion of the worship experience. All the ingredients are absolutely dependent on each other to make a great recipe for success, but, still, the most important ingredient of all is the human one.

As the owner of AXON Entertainment, Inc., www.axonentertainment.com, Grammy-award-winning producer/master sound engineer Chuck Ebert, “The Sound Doctor,” brings more than 20 years of professional audio/video experience to the company.