-St. Francis of Assisi

Genius simplicity to remove the "logistical middle-man" of copy/paste - publishing's only step is adding a tag! Take a post from concept to completion (even edit after the fact) in the place you do it anyway - Evernote!

Last week I took a three day trip to Chicago for the Story Conference. As per normal, I choose to travel light. A few people commented on my setup so I figured I’d take a photo and share about the contents I carried on my back.

• The end goal of the services that happens in the space.
  

• The vibe/feeling you want to help communicate.

• Who is the target demographic?

• Who in the audience will be reached regardless of the branding, environment, and artistry? These are not people to design for. Do not be influenced by them.

• Who might only be opened up to the communication by the environment you present? This is who you must go after.

• How might you use resources you already have available to support your vision?

• What alternative ideas might convey such themes with increased beauty/power/depth?

• What ideas might work well because of how clear the symbolism might be?

• What of those ideas would be so cliché that it would actually turn off the artist in the audience?

• What metaphors can you weave into the design to add depth of beauty (and meaning) ...even if only for you?

• How long do you want to live in the look? A series? A season? A weekend? Indefinitely?

• How will you light the set? How will you light the art and communication? Will the lighting on both feel unified?

• Make sure to design scenic elements that will be enhanced with the lighting tools available. Also, design scenic with consideration of who is designing/operating lights. Try to play to their strengths.

• It needs to look good in the room, to be certain. Are you broadcasting ever - stream, IMAG, record for later release?

• Lighting for video requires thinking beyond what looks good to the naked eye; and lighting for both video and still having everything look good in the room requires some real finesse…

• Think through positioning of each person who will be on stage. Where they stand/sit/dance should feel like it connects with the scenic elements and help visually connect the guests with the communication on stage. Break the 4th wall.

• What scenic and/or lighting might be considered in the room? In the lobby? Before and after the event with advertising, social media, etc. How does the branding transcend the stage experience?

• Think through everything that people might see. Certainly do not let anything be a distraction; also push into every opportunity to help enhance the story...

I have fielded texts and DMs asking my opinion. I copy/pasted the following from one such reply.

Short answer is SIZE and stewardship of resources. What's the purpose you want to accomplish with a "pocketable" device? It should be a tool for you to be a good friend. It should remind you to be where you want to be and it should keep you connected to your extended circles. It should take good photos. It should not be a barrier between you and your loved ones. It should also not cause you to spend more for a phone bill than is prudent. A larger screen will only lure you into looking at it more. At the expense of who you might be across the table from. At the expense of your data bill. I also question how well the camera lens will fare as it squeezes in and out of pockets and countertops when it sticks out so obnoxiously. I also use my phone instead of my DSLR whenI want to travel light - the big phone seems counterintuitive... One more issue, if you're going to spend $700 (and you do spend that entire cost with the initial fee and *monthly charges for the next two years; you better make sure it is worth abandoning what you currently have in your hand…

*We save $25/month on each of our phones that are out of contract. $300/year is a steep cost for something that’s not going to truly be beneficial.

What do you think? Am I missing something crucial to the decision of what to do with this choice?

Tell a story. Be an artisan. Craft the magical.

Give good notes; be a good coach. Do not "play small." Give the gift of honest and constructive criticism - it is a real gift if your team trusts that you are for them.
Being full of hope, bring your full self to any and every situation. Know your unique talents and steward them well.

Use your creative mind as a gift to the team. When at your best, you'll ask helpful, focusing questions that will guide us toward a better future.

Always take a chance on better, even if it seems threatening. Break paradigms - dare to bend the implications of what people think they know.

Ideate where we might go as we consider "hopeful, unknown, future possibilities."

Tomorrow is not rooted in the past unless you are lazy in your vision. May we call each other to the higher standard. Let us reach for the stars.

May we be known by love. May ours be a collective voice of hope. May we realize our potential to create a beautiful future.

Do not hesitate to step up where others shrink in fear. Charge as a warrior in the service of joy. Never cease speaking up and offering your very best work. Be relentless in generously sharing the gift you uniquely can be - to your ecclesial community and the world beyond.

I read this prayer this morning and have found encouragement in it. I've been contemplating it as my morning moves along.

Here are a few photos (that help me consider those thoughts and remember perspective) from last week's camping trip with some dear friends of ours.

If we don't constantly call our teams to the higher vision, we will slowly deteriorate into mediocrity.

Simplify and minimize - external order creates internal possibility

A couple years ago I was introduced to a talented young man at a conference. Like a lot of us in this community, Don wears many hats in his responsibilities preparing for and supporting weekend services at his church. He’s a bit of a jack-of-all-trades and has a particular aptitude and curiosity for creating beauty and helping communicate through the discipline of scenic design. This I’m sure is a big part of why we were connected. Anyway, it has been great to get to know him as we get together for coffee a few times per year. In spite of being in significantly different life stages, our conversation always flows beautifully and is rich in mutual encouragement. Not only does neither of us like to settle for a mediocre cup of coffee; but we segue that thought into dialogue of our passion for preparing a quality storytelling environment for our guests.

During one of our meetings, we were discussing everything that goes into a stage design. The next day, Don emailed to ask me if I wouldn’t mind typing some of the things out so he could chew on them further. I sent him a stream of thoughts that covered what I remembered us musing about along with a few other ideas to consider... The next time we got together, he shared the document that his leadership team uses as a guide every time they plan an event. He had reworked my thoughts into a list and he was excited to share with me stories of the fruit of our coffee meetings.

I was humbled and honored to have been useful. I hadn’t really thought about it since sending the email. For him to have taken the time to separate them into bullet points and create a document from them that was used as it was really struck me. We all want to be helpful. I think that is perhaps the most common trait of production artists. Yes, we’re all a bit geeky, but mostly we want to help people. It was a real gift to me for him to thank me in the way he did.

When I started writing this post, I thought the story about my coffee with Don was simply setting up the list that I’m including. Perhaps the list is a helpful tool. If so, cool; here's the link: egwolfe.com/post/thoughts-to-remember-when-creating-a-space-for-worship

However, I realize the greater challenge comes in at least one of the following:

Realize the genius you have to offer someone else and share it. I think that far too often, we fail to realize the unconscious competency we have in our unique areas of expertise. Especially those among us who have been working in our craft for a long time have wisdom to share in how to we make the most of our situations. It is a crime to not share the ideas we have. These "simple" ideas will likely be a profound blessing.

I encourage you to seek out (or at least seize the opportunity when it presents itself) the person you can meet with to either pour into or draw insight from. We all have busy schedules; and the thought of taking an afternoon to do something that doesn't directly accomplish a task on our todo list is difficult to justify. In the short term, perhaps so; but in the bigger picture, the mutual sharpening from the new friendship will pay off in unseen dividends.

Ask the Lord to show you who you should meet with. Commit to the building the relationship. Share with a posture of open hands and receive with an open mind.