TOP 5 CHURCH AUDIO TIPS – #2
Originally posted for @UA Media Church Tools – UA Media Church Tools is a mission initiative of Urban Arcade Media & Design – inspired by the sudden shift from in-person church services to primary online content delivery. Providing expert advice, consultation and content.
For Small to Medium-Sized Churches…
There are several ways you can record your worship set for your Online Church Service. Each option requires varying degrees of volunteer time, commitment and technical resources, but all have the potential for great results.
EASY
[two minutes of behind the scenes for every 1 minute of video]
Just use a smartphone. (with external mic if in the budget)
Pros: This option is easy, requires minimal technical knowledge and is replicable for whomever is leading worship from their home that weekend.
Cons: It won’t be the highest quality and many smartphones have poor built in microphones…but it will work.
Tip: I recommend giving your worship leaders some simple guidelines ie: phone too close may cause distortion as you overdrive the mic. Make sure the phone is filming horizontal video and not the dreaded “vertical video”. Check your recording by listening back on headphones…are the lyrics clear, is there any distractive noises, does the recording sound distant? etc.
INTERMEDIATE
[ten to twenty minutes of behind the scenes for every 1 minute of video]
For larger band setups, record the direct feed of the 2-bus output (“Main Mix”) from the console.
Pros: This option is relatively simple and requires minimal setup that is different from what your volunteers would do anyway on a “normal” weekend. It also reduces the post-production time as the sound mixing of the video is already done! Even better if this gets automatically embedded with the video when filming!
Cons: Requires your worship band to be present in the church building (be Covid-19 safe!) and reduces flexibility if you want to change something later.
Tip: For slightly more control, setup a post-fade aux send with the faders set to unity gain, so you can make slight adjustments as necessary (such as MC/Pastor mics up 6dB, FX returns down 6dB). Makes sure to listen on good-quality, isolating headphones.
HARD:
[twenty to thirty minutes of behind the scenes for every 1 minute of video].
Full multi-tracked recording and post mix through a DAW (Logic Pro X, Reaper, Studio One or ProTools). The individual channels can be fed from the FoH console inputs (via Dante/MADI/USB, etc).
Pros: Using a DAW opens up the option of using plugins in real time (such as pitch correction for awkward vocals) and is an affordable option for smaller to medium churches where dedicated broadcast facilities are not an option. It also facilitates the opportunity to “perfect” the sound and balance of the mix and edit out any performance mistakes.
Cons: A good DAW mix relies heavily on the ability of the mix engineer. This option is not recommended for most volunteers. High drain on time and resources which can be a premium for small to medium churches.
Tip: YouTube is your friend! There are many great tutorials to learn from.
