Fork In The Road Music » Funny

Video Tips- One Way to Capture Audio

Russell Martin — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:08:37 +0000

Video is something I have just started doing at our church. Even though it is new to us as a way to communicate, we are already seeing some awesome results. We started out doing all of our youth updates as a video and have had some fun with that.

To start off with though, all the videos have been kind of funny and light. That changed this past week when our pastor wanted me to video the testimony of one of our members. When doing the funny, light videos it was good to hear what was being said, but with background music and other elements in the video sound quality could be compromised a bit. With the testimony, however, I knew that we had to get the best sound possible.

First you should know we are using two Everio Hard Disk cameras, set up in two locations with different angles. Its a good consumer level camera with a decent microphone. We have not invested in higher quality equipment, extra microphones or any thing else up to this point because we are just getting started and want to build slowly. But I did need to find a way to capture good audio. When telling a testimony, we really need to hear the story.

This is when I got the idea to just use the church sound system. We used the wireless lapel mic as our input. I then captured the audio three different ways. First it was captured by one of the two cameras I had set up; Second it was captured by sending it from the board, to a wireless earphone pack, to the second camera’s microphone input; and third it was captured by a CD recorder running on the sound board. We recorded the interview and I used my computer later to sync up the video, and audio from the different sources.

The best thing would be to purchase a good microphone for the video camera, and I hope that is in our future. However, this way gave great results and did not cost us anything.

Do you use video in your church? If so how? Is it effective? What is your setup?

A Wednesday Funny

Russell Martin — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 06:02:22 +0000

Working at any job I used to think the worst days were Mondays. But I have learned that Wednesdays are the days I tend to dread more. Yesterday my friend Russ Bowlin sent the entire staff this video. Apparently his goal was to inspire, and encourage us all this tough point of the week. I can tell you, I was inspired.

Hopefully Wednesday videos will become a weekly tradition. To read some of Russ’s slightly more serious thoughts you can follow his blog at http://russbowlin.blogspot.com/ or catch him on twitter @russbo

This Makes Me Laugh Everytime

Russell Martin — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 06:00:47 +0000

We were sitting in our living room watching the Polar Express on tv. The part came up where one of the characters was having his beard pulled and he sounded like a Caribou. 3 of our dogs could care less.. but one dog was at least a little curious.

Curious Dog from russell martin on Vimeo.

This is not the first time she has reacted to a sound in that curious manner just the first time we could catch it on video. I’m not sure why but it just makes us laugh each time she does it. So waht simple things make you laugh?

A Thankgiving Funny

Russell Martin — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:58:25 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone.

This funny was sent to me by Miranda.

Last year at Thanksgiving, my mom went to my sister’s house for the traditional feast. Knowing how gullible my sister is, my mom decided to play a trick. She told my sister that she needed something from the store.

When my sister left, my mom took the turkey out of the oven, removed the stuffing, stuffed a Cornish hen, and inserted it into the turkey, and re-stuffed the turkey. She then placed the bird(s) back in the oven.

When it was time for dinner, my sister pulled the turkey out of the oven and proceeded to remove the stuffing. When her serving spoon hit something, she reached in and pulled out the little bird.

With a look of total shock on her face, my mother exclaimed, “Patricia, you’ve cooked a pregnant bird!”

At the reality of this horrifying news, my sister started to cry. It took the family two hours to convince her that turkeys lay eggs!

Guest Post- Logan Armatys- How to Survive Summer with a Band

Russell Martin — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 01:48:03 +0000

With an amazing summer coming to an end, I feel the need to write about the most important thing we, as a band, have learned from the experience of traveling together weeks and months at a time. It is our greatest adversary…patience.

So how do you hit the road with your best friends …the amazing musicians with diverse personalities that we as worship leaders can relate to, without wanting to kill them in their sleep? (Metaphorically speaking of course) Well here are some “guidelines” to help you on your quest to lead others to the cross without being hindered by complications/feelings within the band, as well as help make your experience on the road a little bit easier.

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10.Never eat at Whataburger more than five days at a time, as it will cause upset stomachs and crankiness with other band mates (not to mention the likelihood of unsanitary living conditions later on)

9. Try and laugh at each other’s jokes even when they’re not funny. This will create a confidence boost for the “unfunny” one in the group, and show that a good sense of humor is encouraged.

8. Go to bed before 3:00 am so you’re not showing up to morning devotional in your pajamas with your eyes half open. This is also very dangerous as it may also cause quick irritability toward others in the band later in the day.

7. Don’t be a backseat driver for the one in control of the vehicle. This can have a reverse effect which causes the driver to have a strong desire to intentionally lose control and make you cry “mama.” (A Garmin GPS system can be a lifesaver, and is strongly recommended)

6. Don’t forget your instrument.

5. Never steal the bass players bedding, or he is likely to construct a fort with everyone’s mattress.

4. Don’t stay up attempting to have pillow talk. You will be ignored and interrupted by other pointless conversations that wade throughout the night.

3. Show everyone in the band that you truly appreciate their gifts and talents as musicians. More importantly, that you appreciate and value their friendship, love, and support. ENCOURAGEMENT IS KEY!

2. Lay down any ego and pride you may have and know that without the person next to you, the purpose of the band as a whole can not be accomplished.

1. Pray as a band each time before taking the stage, and keep in mind the fact that this could be the day a student acknowledges Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior for the very first time.

Now of course, small internal conflicts are inevitable. But I hope that by following these guidelines you can learn to be a little more patient with one another, and always remember that God has given YOU the gifts, talents, and capability to further His kingdom through the wonderful creation of music, which has been given to us to bless His heart and make His name known.

Logan Armatys is part of the band “So Be It”. Listen to their music and find out more about their ministry by visiting their myspace page. Www.myspace.com/sobeitiscool