Video’s in General

I am not so vain as to enjoy time in front of the camera, but I do feel a responsibility to learn a bit more about the medium of video, especially since streaming video might become a part of the new normal for churches like ours.

The first video I posted on frieschurch.org, was made using a six-year-old mirrorless camera with an internal mike. The video was hard to get in focus–manually, and the sound was terrible. Then I bought a $12.00 wired mike. It worked great and yielded much better sound. Then I found out just this morning, quite by accident, that the wired mike has a battery and its battery had run down. Oops. This morning’s video was made using the internal mike. That will be the case until a new battery can be procured.

I also bought a newer, though still used and several years old version of my mirrorless camera. The autofocus is wonderful, and the quality of the video is better. However, I am still bewildered by the various video options, especially things like recording speed. Again, I am trying to learn against the day our church may need to know.

I am also trying to learn what viewers can stand. The average viewer will watch a video for about 3 and 1/2 minutes. Some viewers drop out very early, after less than a minute. About half of all viewers will watch a video to the end. I wonder if live streaming will result in better retention of viewers? Or will it be about the same?

Last week’s video has had only 8 views. The video I published first has garnered more than 250 views. The Easter video has had about 130 views. What does all this mean? I think it may be “video fatigue. ” Indeed, I suspect all of us are longing for real human interaction.

If you have an opinion, email me at frieschurch6@gmail.org.