Christmas in July
It might only be July, but it’s never too early to start thinking about Christmas.
Did you know? According to a recent Gallup poll, 62% of all Americans attend some type of Christmas service. That’s 22% more than attend on a usual Sunday. As thoughts of Christmas approach, do you have the right system to handle the extra ears and eyes in your congregation that the season brings?
With increased attendance, Christmas is a great time to connect with people whom you don’t see regularly or maybe for the first time, but it can also pose a few problems, mainly audience overflow. You need to be prepared, and have the audio and video capabilities to ensure that these people can experience your message even if they aren’t in the main worship space. You’ll want to have the means to produce a truly special service you are envisioning, and to give you a quick start at your Christmas planning, we have identified three essential areas for you to focus on.
1. Audio Accommodations
Christmas is a special time, and your service is a reflection of that. Often, a holiday service will have unique components that require special audio solutions. Take, for instance, the classic Christmas pageant. Do you have enough lapel mics to make sure that every actor can be heard? You don’t want to stretch your old sound system to the brink in front of a packed house. After all, during the holiday service the people in your audience might be there for the first time, and you want them to experience the beauty of the season, not the crackles and pops of bad sound or wonder what is being said on stage.
You’ll want to make sure that your overflow audience can hear your service as well. You generally have two options; you can either rent a sound system for the occasion, or have one installed permanently in your flexible space to accommodate that crowd. Whatever the situation, Audio-Video Group can help you find an audio solution and prepare for the season!
2. Video Accommodations
You’ll want your service to shine when it comes to the visual aspects as well. Make sure that you have the right screens so that your holiday crowd will be able to see what’s going on onstage without straining their necks. And Christmas just might be the time to upgrade to video capabilities, in case you want to record your pageant or any other holiday performance for later use. This also makes accommodating your overflow audience easily with video and audio presentations. You want to make sure that everybody is a part of your Christmas celebration. Audio-Video Group can help you with your video system, so that you can make your special service a memorable one.
3. Lighting Accommodations
You’ve put a lot of time into getting your Christmas service just right, so make sure to take the final step and optimize your lighting. Consider renting additional lighting if you’re presenting a pageant, or even just to cultivate a holiday mood. If you’re recording the service, you’ll want to pay special attention to make sure that stage lighting is evenly distributed, so that you can achieve high video quality for your viewing audience. Read our article on lighting right to get the technical details, but you don’t need to be a technical whiz to know if the lighting is not very good in your sanctuary or stage.
Whatever you do, don’t wait till the night before Christmas to prepare for a packed house. Your holiday message is important, and AVG is ready, even in July, to help you get it right. Contact us at 301.668.4448 or visit our website, www.audiovideogroup.com today to find out how we can help.