FIRST IN LAST OUT
MORE OR LESS COWBELL … | Todd Elliott
It ’ s my favorite time of year . I have the privilege to work with an amazing team to pull off the Global Leadership Summit , which is broadcast around North America to close to 100,000 people live , and then rebroadcast throughout the rest of this year to another 100,000 in cities around the globe .
As we ramp up to this event , we are working hard to solve every potential problem we can think of . Whether that ’ s getting the scenic design exactly right , or making sure all the audio tracks are working , or checking all the camera shots ; we are trying to take care of as much stuff today so that when we are in the event , we can focus on new issues that might come up .
Once we have everything hooked up and working , we then start broadcasting live to all the satellite sites . This is the first time all the sites have their projectors and screens set up and the first time we are sending live content to them . One of the tests we run is the audio / video sync test , making sure that the audio and the video are arriving at the same time .
This is where the cowbell comes in . I have a love / hate relationship with the cowbell .
I hate the cowbell because I have to sit on stage and start banging on this thing until all the sites tell me they ’ ve had enough until every site says the sound of the cowbell and the visual of the cowbell match . Do you know how long that can be ? Do you know how difficult it is to remain passionate about playing the cowbell over that amount of time ? I know that Will Ferrell makes it look so easy , but believe me , it isn ’ t . There ’ s nothing I hate more than playing that stupid cowbell .
On the other hand , I love it because it is the way we are making sure everything works . It is one more detail that we are taking care of before we hit the actual event . It is a way that we are making sure the event is distraction-free before we ’ ve distracted someone .
I love the cowbell because it is a small example of what I believe in , that the technical arts have the power to transform people ’ s lives . Not through playing a cowbell specifically , but what playing the cowbell represents : creating a distraction-free environment where people can focus on the content instead of the production .
I don ’ t care how much I hate playing the cowbell , if it means that we are doing everything we can to make our event the best it can be , I ’ m in .
Todd Elliott Todd Elliott is a
writer , speaker , technical artist in the local church and founder of FILO . Formerly the Technical Arts Director at Willow Creek Community Church , he started FILO in 2015 to help other technical artists become more effective so that the local church can be more effective . In his free time he enjoys being inspired by Winston Churchill speeches and visiting the gravesites of U . S . presidents . Residing near Chicago , he and his wife Bissy have three kids and a dog ... none of whom are into production . filo . org
WHAT IS FILO ? FILO ( First In Last Out ) is for technical artists who serve the local church , designed to provide skill development , community and inspiration to equip technical artists to become effective contributors to their local church .
When we ’ re more effective , the church is more effective . Whether volunteer or staff , FILO aims to provide skill development , community and inspiration to help equip technical artists to become effective contributors to their local church . FILO is a combination of the FILO Conference , FILO Blog , FILO Podcast , and personalized FILO Coaching .
FILO ’ s flagship event is coming up soon : FILO 2022 Chicago . A conference for church technical artists by church technical artists . Head to
FILO . org / filo2022chicago for more information .