Creating A Church Overview Video (Part 2)
Overview videos attract people to your church because it shows instead of tells. It's easy to say we love people. But it is powerful to show it with smiles, hugs and compassion ministries.
This is Part 2 of “Creating a Church Overview.” Find Part 1 here.
How
1. One To Two Minutes Long
Movie trailers on average are about two minutes long and they draw an audience to see a film. And movie teasers are even less. Around 20-30 seconds. So if movie studios feel confident that people are gonna come see their multi million dollar film with a 1-2 minute trailer, then you should be confident that your 1-2 minute overview will help you reach more first time visitors. Many people falsely believe that more is more. The opposite is true here. More is less. The longer you push beyond that 1-2 minute mark the less likely first time visitors will want to attend your church.
2. Keep The Target Audience Wide
You want this video to speak and appeal to church and unchurched folks. This will attract as many first time visitors as possible. Remember, first time visitors are people new to church and people new to the area. So keep the target audience wide.
That being said, you will still need to write the script with a particular target audience in mind. So who do you write for unchurched or churched folks? The answer is easy, unchurched folks. And the reason is because if you write a script for unchurched folks, churched folks will still understand what you’re saying. But the opposite isn’t true. The best way to write a script for unchurched folks is to keep the language as secular instead of sacred as possible. So instead of saying “our worship team will lead us to the throne room of God through praise” say “our band will start things off by playing a number of high-energy songs.”
3. Talent Should Represent The Church And Be Warm
Hopefully your lead pastor is great on film. But sometimes lead pastors know how to communicate from the stage but not on the camera. If this is the case then consider someone else to be the talent for the video. If you have a drama ministry this might be one of your actors. If you have talented people hosting your services or presenting your announcements then consider them. In other words, don’t just use your lead pastor because they are your lead pastor. Use whoever will come off as warm and welcoming to first time visitors.
4. Location For Talent
The location should be a big, open and relational area. Something like your lobby or coffee bar. A big area gets your talent off the wall and makes them visually stand out. An open area makes the space feel inviting and not claustrophobic. A relational area communicates that you are all about people. The worst location for talent would be your office or auditorium. Shooting your lead pastor in an office with a bookshelf full of commentaries and concordances makes them feel like a distant egg head sitting in an ivory tower. Not the most attractional feeling for a first time visitor.
Shooting in an auditorium conveys that the church is only about what happens during the service. Services are important, but they aren’t the be all and end all. Also you will probably have plenty of b-roll from your services in the video so people will already understand its importance. Lastly the recording location for the talent should be indoors. Mainly because it is a more controlled environment and your producer won’t have to worry about background noise or changing cloud coverage.
5. B-Roll
Start visually strong with killer b-roll. First time visitors will form the majority of their opinions about you, your church and your God within the first fifteen seconds. They will form these opinions by what you say but more so by what you show. In other words, if your church doesn’t look compelling within the first fifteen seconds, you are starting to lose people.
So whatever your best b-roll is, try to stick it into the first fifteen seconds. That’s the gorgeous drone shot of your location, the smiling greeter shaking a hand, kids happily playing in their environment, a room full of worshippers engaged in the music and your lead communicator with their most dynamic body language. Cram all your best shots into the first fifteen seconds to draw people into the rest of the video.
6. Basic Info Only
What would you say to a neighbor when inviting them to church? Whatever this is, include it in the video. But try to cut out anything extra. So include the 5 w’s of storytelling but be ruthless with removing the rest. This can be a difficult process especially if the lead pastor is vetting the script. They will naturally want it to be longer. But they are not objective. They will want everything about the church in the video because all of it is important to them. But not all of it is important to the viewer. So take a machete to the script and cut out the fluff.
7. If You Can’t Show It Don’t Say It
When writing your script ask yourself what people will be seeing. And if you can’t visualize it then consider removing it from the script. You can see an example of this principle in action in an overview script here for the Online Campus at my church TLCC. Notice how each section has visual support. And here is the finished product.
8. More People Than Place
You may have a beautiful facility. Your lawn is freshly cut. Your foyer has been recently remodeled. Your auditorium has the most up to date technology. If this is your church, that’s great, God bless you. But if this is you then avoid the temptation to showcase or show off your place. Remember that first time visitors (in fact everybody) is more interested in your people than your place. So show the people. Does this mean that you avoid showing the space? No. You will get a chance to show it during the b-roll. It just means that people should be in the foreground and the place should be in the background.
9. Keep It Evergreen
Video is the most expensive form of communication. Much more than a photo, podcast, webpage, email or graphic. So you want to get the best ROI from this investment. An easy way to do this is by giving the video a long shelf life. That means avoiding seasonal locations and clothing. If you shoot in the summer outdoors with the lead pastor in shorts, the video is gonna feel odd viewing in the winter. It also means avoiding references to time. Don’t mention it is your ten year anniversary and that next year you are planning to launch a new campus. All of that will date the video quickly.
10. End With An Action Step
Another way to get the biggest bang for your buck is ending with an action step. Generally speaking, this action step will be an invitation to attend a service. But often we only imply it and never state it. Ending with a call to action ensures you get the largest impact from this big investment.
Stay tuned for Part 3 of “Creating a Church Overview Video,” publishing later this month.
Sign Up for Product Updates
For over twenty years Ben has created & captured moving and memorable moments for individuals, non-profits & corporations across the globe. He has served on the executive team of multiple megachurches and currently serves as the Executive Pastor at Zarephath Christian Church in New Jersey. Ben also consults for churches, teaches at universities and speaks at conferences about leadership, communication and creativity. For more information visit www.benstapley.com.
This is Part 2 of “Creating a Church Overview.” Find Part 1 here.
How
1. One To Two Minutes Long
Movie trailers on average are about two minutes long and they draw an audience to see a film. And movie teasers are even less. Around 20-30 seconds. So if movie studios feel confident that people are gonna come see their multi million dollar film with a 1-2 minute trailer, then you should be confident that your 1-2 minute overview will help you reach more first time visitors. Many people falsely believe that more is more. The opposite is true here. More is less. The longer you push beyond that 1-2 minute mark the less likely first time visitors will want to attend your church.
2. Keep The Target Audience Wide
You want this video to speak and appeal to church and unchurched folks. This will attract as many first time visitors as possible. Remember, first time visitors are people new to church and people new to the area. So keep the target audience wide.
That being said, you will still need to write the script with a particular target audience in mind. So who do you write for unchurched or churched folks? The answer is easy, unchurched folks. And the reason is because if you write a script for unchurched folks, churched folks will still understand what you’re saying. But the opposite isn’t true. The best way to write a script for unchurched folks is to keep the language as secular instead of sacred as possible. So instead of saying “our worship team will lead us to the throne room of God through praise” say “our band will start things off by playing a number of high-energy songs.”
3. Talent Should Represent The Church And Be Warm
Hopefully your lead pastor is great on film. But sometimes lead pastors know how to communicate from the stage but not on the camera. If this is the case then consider someone else to be the talent for the video. If you have a drama ministry this might be one of your actors. If you have talented people hosting your services or presenting your announcements then consider them. In other words, don’t just use your lead pastor because they are your lead pastor. Use whoever will come off as warm and welcoming to first time visitors.
4. Location For Talent
The location should be a big, open and relational area. Something like your lobby or coffee bar. A big area gets your talent off the wall and makes them visually stand out. An open area makes the space feel inviting and not claustrophobic. A relational area communicates that you are all about people. The worst location for talent would be your office or auditorium. Shooting your lead pastor in an office with a bookshelf full of commentaries and concordances makes them feel like a distant egg head sitting in an ivory tower. Not the most attractional feeling for a first time visitor.
Shooting in an auditorium conveys that the church is only about what happens during the service. Services are important, but they aren’t the be all and end all. Also you will probably have plenty of b-roll from your services in the video so people will already understand its importance. Lastly the recording location for the talent should be indoors. Mainly because it is a more controlled environment and your producer won’t have to worry about background noise or changing cloud coverage.
5. B-Roll
Start visually strong with killer b-roll. First time visitors will form the majority of their opinions about you, your church and your God within the first fifteen seconds. They will form these opinions by what you say but more so by what you show. In other words, if your church doesn’t look compelling within the first fifteen seconds, you are starting to lose people.
So whatever your best b-roll is, try to stick it into the first fifteen seconds. That’s the gorgeous drone shot of your location, the smiling greeter shaking a hand, kids happily playing in their environment, a room full of worshippers engaged in the music and your lead communicator with their most dynamic body language. Cram all your best shots into the first fifteen seconds to draw people into the rest of the video.
6. Basic Info Only
What would you say to a neighbor when inviting them to church? Whatever this is, include it in the video. But try to cut out anything extra. So include the 5 w’s of storytelling but be ruthless with removing the rest. This can be a difficult process especially if the lead pastor is vetting the script. They will naturally want it to be longer. But they are not objective. They will want everything about the church in the video because all of it is important to them. But not all of it is important to the viewer. So take a machete to the script and cut out the fluff.
7. If You Can’t Show It Don’t Say It
When writing your script ask yourself what people will be seeing. And if you can’t visualize it then consider removing it from the script. You can see an example of this principle in action in an overview script here for the Online Campus at my church TLCC. Notice how each section has visual support. And here is the finished product.
8. More People Than Place
You may have a beautiful facility. Your lawn is freshly cut. Your foyer has been recently remodeled. Your auditorium has the most up to date technology. If this is your church, that’s great, God bless you. But if this is you then avoid the temptation to showcase or show off your place. Remember that first time visitors (in fact everybody) is more interested in your people than your place. So show the people. Does this mean that you avoid showing the space? No. You will get a chance to show it during the b-roll. It just means that people should be in the foreground and the place should be in the background.
9. Keep It Evergreen
Video is the most expensive form of communication. Much more than a photo, podcast, webpage, email or graphic. So you want to get the best ROI from this investment. An easy way to do this is by giving the video a long shelf life. That means avoiding seasonal locations and clothing. If you shoot in the summer outdoors with the lead pastor in shorts, the video is gonna feel odd viewing in the winter. It also means avoiding references to time. Don’t mention it is your ten year anniversary and that next year you are planning to launch a new campus. All of that will date the video quickly.
10. End With An Action Step
Another way to get the biggest bang for your buck is ending with an action step. Generally speaking, this action step will be an invitation to attend a service. But often we only imply it and never state it. Ending with a call to action ensures you get the largest impact from this big investment.
Stay tuned for Part 3 of “Creating a Church Overview Video,” publishing later this month.
podcast transcript
For over twenty years Ben has created & captured moving and memorable moments for individuals, non-profits & corporations across the globe. He has served on the executive team of multiple megachurches and currently serves as the Executive Pastor at Zarephath Christian Church in New Jersey. Ben also consults for churches, teaches at universities and speaks at conferences about leadership, communication and creativity. For more information visit www.benstapley.com.
This is Part 2 of “Creating a Church Overview.” Find Part 1 here.
How
1. One To Two Minutes Long
Movie trailers on average are about two minutes long and they draw an audience to see a film. And movie teasers are even less. Around 20-30 seconds. So if movie studios feel confident that people are gonna come see their multi million dollar film with a 1-2 minute trailer, then you should be confident that your 1-2 minute overview will help you reach more first time visitors. Many people falsely believe that more is more. The opposite is true here. More is less. The longer you push beyond that 1-2 minute mark the less likely first time visitors will want to attend your church.
2. Keep The Target Audience Wide
You want this video to speak and appeal to church and unchurched folks. This will attract as many first time visitors as possible. Remember, first time visitors are people new to church and people new to the area. So keep the target audience wide.
That being said, you will still need to write the script with a particular target audience in mind. So who do you write for unchurched or churched folks? The answer is easy, unchurched folks. And the reason is because if you write a script for unchurched folks, churched folks will still understand what you’re saying. But the opposite isn’t true. The best way to write a script for unchurched folks is to keep the language as secular instead of sacred as possible. So instead of saying “our worship team will lead us to the throne room of God through praise” say “our band will start things off by playing a number of high-energy songs.”
3. Talent Should Represent The Church And Be Warm
Hopefully your lead pastor is great on film. But sometimes lead pastors know how to communicate from the stage but not on the camera. If this is the case then consider someone else to be the talent for the video. If you have a drama ministry this might be one of your actors. If you have talented people hosting your services or presenting your announcements then consider them. In other words, don’t just use your lead pastor because they are your lead pastor. Use whoever will come off as warm and welcoming to first time visitors.
4. Location For Talent
The location should be a big, open and relational area. Something like your lobby or coffee bar. A big area gets your talent off the wall and makes them visually stand out. An open area makes the space feel inviting and not claustrophobic. A relational area communicates that you are all about people. The worst location for talent would be your office or auditorium. Shooting your lead pastor in an office with a bookshelf full of commentaries and concordances makes them feel like a distant egg head sitting in an ivory tower. Not the most attractional feeling for a first time visitor.
Shooting in an auditorium conveys that the church is only about what happens during the service. Services are important, but they aren’t the be all and end all. Also you will probably have plenty of b-roll from your services in the video so people will already understand its importance. Lastly the recording location for the talent should be indoors. Mainly because it is a more controlled environment and your producer won’t have to worry about background noise or changing cloud coverage.
5. B-Roll
Start visually strong with killer b-roll. First time visitors will form the majority of their opinions about you, your church and your God within the first fifteen seconds. They will form these opinions by what you say but more so by what you show. In other words, if your church doesn’t look compelling within the first fifteen seconds, you are starting to lose people.
So whatever your best b-roll is, try to stick it into the first fifteen seconds. That’s the gorgeous drone shot of your location, the smiling greeter shaking a hand, kids happily playing in their environment, a room full of worshippers engaged in the music and your lead communicator with their most dynamic body language. Cram all your best shots into the first fifteen seconds to draw people into the rest of the video.
6. Basic Info Only
What would you say to a neighbor when inviting them to church? Whatever this is, include it in the video. But try to cut out anything extra. So include the 5 w’s of storytelling but be ruthless with removing the rest. This can be a difficult process especially if the lead pastor is vetting the script. They will naturally want it to be longer. But they are not objective. They will want everything about the church in the video because all of it is important to them. But not all of it is important to the viewer. So take a machete to the script and cut out the fluff.
7. If You Can’t Show It Don’t Say It
When writing your script ask yourself what people will be seeing. And if you can’t visualize it then consider removing it from the script. You can see an example of this principle in action in an overview script here for the Online Campus at my church TLCC. Notice how each section has visual support. And here is the finished product.
8. More People Than Place
You may have a beautiful facility. Your lawn is freshly cut. Your foyer has been recently remodeled. Your auditorium has the most up to date technology. If this is your church, that’s great, God bless you. But if this is you then avoid the temptation to showcase or show off your place. Remember that first time visitors (in fact everybody) is more interested in your people than your place. So show the people. Does this mean that you avoid showing the space? No. You will get a chance to show it during the b-roll. It just means that people should be in the foreground and the place should be in the background.
9. Keep It Evergreen
Video is the most expensive form of communication. Much more than a photo, podcast, webpage, email or graphic. So you want to get the best ROI from this investment. An easy way to do this is by giving the video a long shelf life. That means avoiding seasonal locations and clothing. If you shoot in the summer outdoors with the lead pastor in shorts, the video is gonna feel odd viewing in the winter. It also means avoiding references to time. Don’t mention it is your ten year anniversary and that next year you are planning to launch a new campus. All of that will date the video quickly.
10. End With An Action Step
Another way to get the biggest bang for your buck is ending with an action step. Generally speaking, this action step will be an invitation to attend a service. But often we only imply it and never state it. Ending with a call to action ensures you get the largest impact from this big investment.
Stay tuned for Part 3 of “Creating a Church Overview Video,” publishing later this month.
VIDEO transcript
This is Part 2 of “Creating a Church Overview.” Find Part 1 here.
How
1. One To Two Minutes Long
Movie trailers on average are about two minutes long and they draw an audience to see a film. And movie teasers are even less. Around 20-30 seconds. So if movie studios feel confident that people are gonna come see their multi million dollar film with a 1-2 minute trailer, then you should be confident that your 1-2 minute overview will help you reach more first time visitors. Many people falsely believe that more is more. The opposite is true here. More is less. The longer you push beyond that 1-2 minute mark the less likely first time visitors will want to attend your church.
2. Keep The Target Audience Wide
You want this video to speak and appeal to church and unchurched folks. This will attract as many first time visitors as possible. Remember, first time visitors are people new to church and people new to the area. So keep the target audience wide.
That being said, you will still need to write the script with a particular target audience in mind. So who do you write for unchurched or churched folks? The answer is easy, unchurched folks. And the reason is because if you write a script for unchurched folks, churched folks will still understand what you’re saying. But the opposite isn’t true. The best way to write a script for unchurched folks is to keep the language as secular instead of sacred as possible. So instead of saying “our worship team will lead us to the throne room of God through praise” say “our band will start things off by playing a number of high-energy songs.”
3. Talent Should Represent The Church And Be Warm
Hopefully your lead pastor is great on film. But sometimes lead pastors know how to communicate from the stage but not on the camera. If this is the case then consider someone else to be the talent for the video. If you have a drama ministry this might be one of your actors. If you have talented people hosting your services or presenting your announcements then consider them. In other words, don’t just use your lead pastor because they are your lead pastor. Use whoever will come off as warm and welcoming to first time visitors.
4. Location For Talent
The location should be a big, open and relational area. Something like your lobby or coffee bar. A big area gets your talent off the wall and makes them visually stand out. An open area makes the space feel inviting and not claustrophobic. A relational area communicates that you are all about people. The worst location for talent would be your office or auditorium. Shooting your lead pastor in an office with a bookshelf full of commentaries and concordances makes them feel like a distant egg head sitting in an ivory tower. Not the most attractional feeling for a first time visitor.
Shooting in an auditorium conveys that the church is only about what happens during the service. Services are important, but they aren’t the be all and end all. Also you will probably have plenty of b-roll from your services in the video so people will already understand its importance. Lastly the recording location for the talent should be indoors. Mainly because it is a more controlled environment and your producer won’t have to worry about background noise or changing cloud coverage.
5. B-Roll
Start visually strong with killer b-roll. First time visitors will form the majority of their opinions about you, your church and your God within the first fifteen seconds. They will form these opinions by what you say but more so by what you show. In other words, if your church doesn’t look compelling within the first fifteen seconds, you are starting to lose people.
So whatever your best b-roll is, try to stick it into the first fifteen seconds. That’s the gorgeous drone shot of your location, the smiling greeter shaking a hand, kids happily playing in their environment, a room full of worshippers engaged in the music and your lead communicator with their most dynamic body language. Cram all your best shots into the first fifteen seconds to draw people into the rest of the video.
6. Basic Info Only
What would you say to a neighbor when inviting them to church? Whatever this is, include it in the video. But try to cut out anything extra. So include the 5 w’s of storytelling but be ruthless with removing the rest. This can be a difficult process especially if the lead pastor is vetting the script. They will naturally want it to be longer. But they are not objective. They will want everything about the church in the video because all of it is important to them. But not all of it is important to the viewer. So take a machete to the script and cut out the fluff.
7. If You Can’t Show It Don’t Say It
When writing your script ask yourself what people will be seeing. And if you can’t visualize it then consider removing it from the script. You can see an example of this principle in action in an overview script here for the Online Campus at my church TLCC. Notice how each section has visual support. And here is the finished product.
8. More People Than Place
You may have a beautiful facility. Your lawn is freshly cut. Your foyer has been recently remodeled. Your auditorium has the most up to date technology. If this is your church, that’s great, God bless you. But if this is you then avoid the temptation to showcase or show off your place. Remember that first time visitors (in fact everybody) is more interested in your people than your place. So show the people. Does this mean that you avoid showing the space? No. You will get a chance to show it during the b-roll. It just means that people should be in the foreground and the place should be in the background.
9. Keep It Evergreen
Video is the most expensive form of communication. Much more than a photo, podcast, webpage, email or graphic. So you want to get the best ROI from this investment. An easy way to do this is by giving the video a long shelf life. That means avoiding seasonal locations and clothing. If you shoot in the summer outdoors with the lead pastor in shorts, the video is gonna feel odd viewing in the winter. It also means avoiding references to time. Don’t mention it is your ten year anniversary and that next year you are planning to launch a new campus. All of that will date the video quickly.
10. End With An Action Step
Another way to get the biggest bang for your buck is ending with an action step. Generally speaking, this action step will be an invitation to attend a service. But often we only imply it and never state it. Ending with a call to action ensures you get the largest impact from this big investment.
Stay tuned for Part 3 of “Creating a Church Overview Video,” publishing later this month.
Sign Up for Product Updates
For over twenty years Ben has created & captured moving and memorable moments for individuals, non-profits & corporations across the globe. He has served on the executive team of multiple megachurches and currently serves as the Executive Pastor at Zarephath Christian Church in New Jersey. Ben also consults for churches, teaches at universities and speaks at conferences about leadership, communication and creativity. For more information visit www.benstapley.com.
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