By my count, last week’s Good Friday and Easter services required:

13 computers (with multiple crashes and reboots required as they were pushed past the max) for such tasks as creating music, collecting and filing assets, editing video, mixing audio, producing graphics, polishing transitions and signing off with QC before export.

15 sermons / preachers

6 hosts for communication, Scripture readings, Creeds, etc.

Also Communion.

As well as some special content for First Service and Families.

9 songs as well as an organ prelude!

>100 artists’ content of audio and video were part of our "choir"

A combination of strategies I choose to utilize in my work as a Creative Director is creating algorithms for human intuition to be maximized as I help coach and reveal beauty to enhance story and experience. This is a key part of the "process architecture" that I put in place for our teams to use in our planning process: A series of questions and process guides to begin with as well as a timeline with both back burner space for peace as well as checkpoints and prototyping deadlines that each can yield an "eureka idea" to add to the plan. It’s a magical thing when both both logic and instinct are allowed to team up as part of the creative process.

I was asked recently about what prototyping looks like in my design process. It varies. It depends a lot on the timeline of the project, but I really do love to bring both my team and the client along with the idea. Even if only for myself, I like to play with the idea in tangible space. Sometimes it’s as low-fi as a sketch and some card-stock that I cut out for shapes that I play around with in a scale model of a stage. Sometimes a 3D rendering is helpful. If possible (especially when designing for a build for multiple locations) it’s great to build as near to a actual size prototype that we can play with in the lighting and context of the actual stage

We wanted to see how the arches and ramps would let us see performers through and atop of the beauty; and get a sense of what the layers of design would feel like from various angles.

The pastors of this old church wanted a way to update the look of their space that for low cost could help give their congregation more than just a fresh coat of paint but see a vision for the future

We wanted to talk about a road into the mountains where the narrater could take the audience on a journey along a dusty road; but that on a cue, the mountains could literally move to reveal a live band that could add to the experience. I began with a sketch; I then moved to playing with the model. Then, we built prototype flats to test how the rolling worked. We learned that putting them on rails was key to the success of everything being in the same exact place for lighting and blocking every move. We also had a main campus to show how the texturing with paint as well as light was so crucial to realism. A bonus that you might notice in the bottom left image is that you can see how I even added a bit of screen material to show what a scrim might be placed in the mid depth to help add to the forced perspective and picturesque scene.

—John Steinbeck

Care well for initial musings; the flow of ideation will pour out as fruitful bounty.

As the Creative Director, I’m responsible for leading us in the tactical now, the strategic near, and the vision of what we’re steering toward.

Now - Every weekend we have another event! I’m responsible for everything that is presented in each of our 3 venues.

Near - We have Production Meetings every Monday. We break the meeting into three parts:

Far - In the winter and spring, we begin mapping out the following year.

A repost originally from 5 years ago:

-Alfred North Whitehead

Please do share your results with me!

My friend sent me this screenshot. I don’t know where he got it from, but I think it’s great! The first thought I had was about some of my favorite films, TV shows, and plays as I'm a huge fan of Aaron Sorkin’s dialogue. Contemplating further, I aspire to put such thought into my writing...