FIRST IN LAST OUT
WHAT CAN I LEARN FROM THIS PERSON ? | Todd Elliott
I should probably just do a blog post from each of the episodes of an older Netflix show titled , Abstract . It is so good . If you haven ’ t watched it yet , I can ’ t recommend it any higher , especially if you ’ re a technical artist in the local church . There is so much great content from all the artists featured .
One of the episodes is about the portrait photographer Platon . He has produced some of the most iconic portraits in recent history … Check his collection of world leaders on his website . Over the course of the episode , he talks about what it is like to capture a photo of such powerful people . He said he starts his process with the question : “ What can I learn from this person ?”
This is an interesting approach for someone who has a lot to think about technically … Is the lighting right ? Will the subject be easy to work with ? Which lens should I use ? The list could go on and on .
But for him to capture the essence of someone on film , he needs to get past all the technical details and get to the heart of the person . After watching this episode and thinking about how this question could help me do my job better as a technical artist , here are a few things I plan to implement in the context of pulling off weekend services in combination with our pastor and the rest of our worship team :
Platon researches his subjects before they arrive .
How much do you really know about the people you work with ? How many kids do they have ? What matters most to them ? How did they end up playing guitar in a church ?
For Platon , most of the people he is photographing have biographies written about them or at least have extensive Wikipedia pages to dig into . For us , we need to be a little more creative . What can you learn about your fellow teammates before Sunday morning ? Can you take them to coffee ? Can you buy them lunch ? All in an attempt to understand their perspective and their world .
Asking people questions about their lives and not just asking how many keyboards they ’ re planning to bring this week helps to break down barriers between the stage and the booth .
If Platon can find out what matters to this person , he might be able to interpret them the best through photography .
Whether it is your senior pastor ’ s message or a scripture reading , a prelude , or a worship song , how can we learn everything we can about the person on the other side of the camera / microphone / light / graphic to help us use technology in amplifying their heart ?
On a bad day , production can ruin the message . If we miss a cue or we cause a distraction , we ’ ve pulled people away from the main message . On a good day , the technical arts can take a message or a song and create a moment that will help move people . If technology is disconnected from the heart of what ’ s happening , we ’ ll do our best based on our own knowledge and opinions , but this can lead to misinterpretation and distraction .
By understanding the heart behind something can really help us interpret it as close to the artist ’ s intent . That is only going to happen if we really seek to understand by asking questions and trying to learn from the other .
Platon asks questions during the photoshoot based on what he knows about them . The conversation revolves around who they are and what makes them tick . Not what he needs from them .
Especially on Sunday mornings , it is really easy to only talk about the task at hand and not even consider that there are people involved to make the service happen . As technical artists , it is easy for us to get hyper-focused on doing our job flawlessly , so we care less about the people and more about what they are doing for us .
Thinking about Platon , he needs to get everything just right for his photos to turn out . But he also knows that he needs the other person to show up . As a result , he is talking minimally about what he needs from them and trying to engage them in ways that help them be themselves .
How can we get the tasks done , but also engage with people more fully along the way ? How can we break down the barriers that can exist between the booth and the stage so that we call all bring our very best ?
Like Platon , we shouldn ’ t expect to get everything we need from the people on the other side of our technology without putting in the work to learn from them .
Todd Elliott Todd is a writer , speaker , technical artist in the local church and founder of FILO , which stands for First In , Last Out . FILO was born out of his own need as a technical artist in the local church to be in community with other church tech people , to learn new ways of doing things and to be inspired that what he did mattered . The more FILO-type people he met , the more convinced he was that these are things we all need . That ’ s why FILO exists : to equip , encourage and inspire technical artists in the local church to become the best version of ourselves . 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 .
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114 October 2023 Subscribe for Free ...