Tips for Online Worship
5 Quick Tips for Online Worship
- Portrait or Landscape? Smartphones have great cameras, but make sure you pay attention to how the phone is being held. While it is natural to hold your phone in portrait orientation (up and down), filming videos for a variety of platforms means it is best to hold your phone in landscape orientation (horizontally).
- I’m ready for my close-up. Online viewers connect to a speaker when the camera is held closer to the subject. You want your face and upper torso to fill the screen. It is nice to see the whole sanctuary or your living room for a moment, but focus on placing the camera closer to the speaker or musician.
- Hold steady, Freddy. A tripod or mic stand is your friend. There are a variety of mounts and cases to hold cameras or phones. A shaky, hand-held view works for a few moments of footage, but can be very distracting for a full worship service or even a sermon.
- Check, Check, Mic Check. The microphones on phones do a good job picking up a speaker in a smaller room. However, a simple inexpensive USB microphone can make a huge difference in the quality of sound. There are adapters to connect these mics to smartphones and they can connect to computers with ease.
- Diversify Your Voices. Just like in any Sunday morning service, it is a joy to hear from a variety of voices. Even with social distancing, there are safe ways to include others in leading worship. Consider having members read scripture, offer prayers, and share their musical talents. These could be pre-recorded and added into a service or shared live depending on your platform and setup.
Have these tips yielded any questions? Looking for equipment or software recommendations for your church’s unique situation? Stumped with how to get technology to work for you in this challenging time? Rev. John Reiter is available to help consult with your church about how to connect with your members and larger community. He can be reached at john@ptby.com .