Comment here on Technical Experience & Breakouts...



Share your thoughts, your questions, and your reactions.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I thought that the brakout was informative, but the instructors need to remember that most of the people here to learn are volunteers at their church and not full time staff members. We need to be addressed as volunterrs, on volunteer time tables.

Anonymous said...

Loved the round table discussion. One of the sessions ended up being about something completely different than I thought it would be. It was good, but not what I was looking for.

Dave said...

I loved all of the breakouts I attended today, all for one major reason-- networking. A lot of the content and discussion was good, but I liked just getting to talk to people who are in the same boat I am.

on the other side of things...

generally speaking, like others, I would like to hear more discussion for small volunteer-based churches. One of the leaders referred to Willow as "Disneyland". and it seems like some of the people have forgotten that not all churches have the resources they do.

Anonymous said...

I went to Hands-on Lighting for Video Shoots, and Beyond the Basics: Lighting for Video Shoots, both by Jim Sippel. The amazing thing was that there was professional gear for everyone to work with. I think there were 10 full setups for groups to use and really get a feel for. Jim was able to explain the gear and how to use it very well. Also, the professional volunteers were able to do more one on one explanations of the gear, and help with any questions that we had. Overall I learned a lot.

Kris Hatcher said...

I really enjoyed the overall experience. However, as has already been said, I think that there needs to be a track geared toward the small, volunteer-based (read completely untrained) ministries. However, I really was amazed by the potential out there for our lighting department.

Anonymous said...

I thought the breakouts were great with alot of useful information for the worship setting. I was a little disappointed witht he digital audio track and expected a little more for that one in terms of the different aspects of the digital board at hand. The instructor spent too much time trying to get his powerpoint to work and we did not have enough time for the rest of it. Other than that, all of the other ones that I attended were great. Really opened my eyes and heart to how important my part is in the ministry.

Anonymous said...

I have just been put in charge as Volunteer director of our lights in the church I attend. I have had some very simple hands on with lighting but nothing with moving lights other than to change the color. I came to the conference in hopes of learning how to run lights and different techniques, and I think I found that today. The hardest breakout for me was the programming moving lights, being new I did not comprehend any of it, plus the teacher got off track with questions and never finished the presentation. My favorite breakout thought was Lighting for music, great speaker and really talked about all kinds of lighting rigs. He really encouraged people that had the basic system. He said that is probably the best way to learn lights, experiment with color see what you can do with shadow, and really listen to the song and break it down. He gave great reference material that we can use back at our churches too. I learned a lot that I will be using back at my home church.

Tom Broad said...

I loved the emphasis placed on technical arts this year. The Renaissance was a great site with plenty of room to breathe. I do wish lunchtime was a bit shorter. I felt it was a bit long and made it a bit of a long day there for having only three breakouts.

Overall, this year was great. We were here two years ago, and this year is a 200% improvement. I am now a part-time staff Audio Engineer at a large church, yet I was still able to learn a lot with several great things to take back and implement immediately. Today, I was approached by a Willow intern who asked me for feedback on the conference - positive or negative. I really like the fact that we are staying so open to feedback and improvement -- it's great.

Last but not least, this time has been great for replenishment and also for great worship and let-loose times, which we in Arts need more often than once every few years. This year has definitely had plenty of time for relaxation and just plain enjoyment. Thanks to all partners for continuing to make these experiences better.

Anonymous said...

I registered too late, and totally missed out on the technical sessions. I am a filmmaker, but know nothing about stage and music lighting. I want to learn. Any resources or websites that anybody can point me toward? And would you think that the audio CD for some of these sessions would be useful? I don't know how I'd learn anything from just an audio CD, so I'm kind of surprised they even sell CDs for some of these sessions. But I'm open to anything, I need help.

Anonymous said...

Overall all the breakout sessions were informative. However it would have been better if a clearer description of the breakout sessions were available. Some of the breakout sessions expected topic did not match the actual topic taught in the session. Even though the expected and actual topic did not match the material in the course is relavent to learn all the technical aspects needed for Sunday Services today.

-TP said...

The breakouts were fantastic. Too short, but long enough to learn a little, grab a few jewels, network with a couple people, and go on to the next one.

I especially want to thank Jeff Pellitier. He was at two of the four breakout sessions I attneded (audio system design and in-ear monitors) and I thought he did a great job. I was impressed that he took time answer some of the questions I had after the session, and that goes a long way with me.

Anonymous said...

The technical breakouts were good, but I wasn't able to get the ones I wanted because of a late signup. I was impressed.. I mean in awe of the graghics during the main sessions. Maybe you could have some breakouts related to graphics or presentation next year

Anonymous said...

I agree with Kris Hatcher, Dave, & Anonymous. Next year, how about some "Volunteer-Based, Small Church, Negligible Budget" lighting, audio, and tech team breakouts? We, in particular, need to learn how to get the most out of what limited equipment (and people) we have!

Also, could some of the most popular breakouts be offered in more than one time slot? As a first-time attendee, I didn't realize that many breakouts would fill so quickly. The few days that I delayed after getting my Willow confirmation meant that I missed out on all of my first choices, and had to settle for second, third and fourth choices. (My own fault, I realize, but the fact that certain sessions filled so quickly should tell you something!)

All in all, a good experience, but could have been much, much better. . .

Tim Urner said...

I agree with Kimberly. I left 1/2 way through the moving lights breakout. he spent all of his time talking about a $25,000 piece of equipment most everyone in the room would never see. I liked the digital audio breakout, I guess he got the bugs worked out by number 3

Lori Finnegan said...

thanks so much for the great comments...we can make improvements for next year and we'll work to offer classes more geared toward smaller churches and smaller budgets...

About those nasty descriptions... :-) we have to get those descriptions in by the end of the year, and most of the speakers don't start to prepare their sessions until much later than that...so, when they finally get into it, sometimes the description doesn't fit what they feel they can teach about. It's always something that we're working on.

Thanks for all your great input!