FIRST IN LAST OUT
PREPARING FOR FAILURE | Todd Elliott
A few years back , I volunteered to provide production support for an event at one of my kid ’ s schools . For me , it doesn ’ t matter where I ’ m doing production or for whom , I want to do great work . I don ’ t want people thinking about production , but about the content of the program . I want to be as invisible as possible .
And there were a couple of problems right off the bat . The gear at this school is suspect at best . I never know which mics will work or which lights turn on with which switches . Going in , I knew I was in for a challenge . The second issue was that the people presenting at the event wanted to use wireless headsets , even though they were just standing at a podium the whole time . Knowing what I do about the system that exists , I spent quite a bit of time trying to talk people into using a wired handheld mic , since it would give us the highest chance of success . No luck . You can probably imagine where this is going .
Mic after mic failed . Either because of RF interference , a bad connector , or the flimsy headset mic falling off someone ’ s head . Fortunately , I had set up a wired mic by the podium just in case .
This example speaks to a few things :
WE TALKED ABOUT IT BEFORE THE EVENT I knew that the gear was questionable at best , so I spoke up . Not to complain , but just to explain what could happen . After the decision maker decided to respectfully not take my advice , we used the wireless mics .
PREPARE FOR FAILURE When they failed , I didn ’ t make a big deal out of it and I definitely didn ’ t say “ I told you this would happen !” I prepared for the chance that they might not work , and then I didn ’ t carry the weight of responsibility whether it worked or not . I ’ d spoken up and someone else made the decision . I will always do my absolute best to make it work , but if it doesn ’ t , someone else made the decision and carries some of the responsibility for the distraction that was caused .
Because production is a mystery to most non-tech people , to some degree , only you know if you are doing everything you can to make sure things go well . In most of these situations , it is easy to just blame the gear . It is still your job to do your very best to prepare for every possible eventuality .
Here are some questions I ask before every weekend service , production event , or school program : 1 . Are you planning properly ? 2 . Do you have a “ Plan B ” in case “ Plan A ” doesn ’ t work ? 3 . Are you bringing up potential issues before they happen or only after they fail ?
Todd Elliott 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 .