Live Event Production

Music

As a young teenager who already had a solid background in music I regularly went to conferences and concerts at Bibelschule Brake in Germany. Bobby Batdorf, their music director at the time, took a liking to me and informally mentored me in some of the things involved in producing those events. His work got me started in musical arranging, and he taught me how to run a rehearsal efficiently.

Pastor Wolfram Krebs at Erlöserkirche Gelsenkirchen provided me with a playground to try it on my own. When I started putting together concerts there I learned how to schedule rehearsals and other pre-production work effectively and scope the demands on people’s time according to the requirements of the event without wasting it or having unreasonable expectations of those involved.

Logistics and Oversight

As a (rather important) side effect of taking responsibility for events in their entirety I developed the ability to hold the big picture including promo, expenses, venue logistics, production staffing, gear rentals etc., while tracking details and managing them directly when the need arose - steering the ship without falling into the trap of micro-managing.

Audio

Audio and recording was a natural interest, so much so that I ended up going to audio school. It gave me the professional side of sound reinforcement, tracking and post mixing (see Sound), all of it was crucial to my later roles as Technical Director.

Video

Similarly, volunteering on a video team that was providing IMAG for large events in Germany laid the foundation for skills in broadcast production (see Broadcast), which also became a crucial asset in my work as a TD.

Lighting

Though theatrical lighting design was never a primary interest I ended up getting some experience in this area as well - it is impossible to fulfill the responsibilities of a TD without having at least a working knowledge of the principles and equipment involved and being comfortable programming scenes oneself when it is not possible to delegate, and when showing a keen volunteer the basics.

Volunteer Development

Training production volunteers in all areas, coaching musicians, and arranging to the skill in the room (see Arranging) — in short: investing in people — proved to be perhaps the most important and rewarding part of being either a TD or a Worship Pastor.

In some cases, teens who volunteered with us at Tenth Church ended up choosing a career in the production world. One example is Kate Horodyski who got involved at age 14. She started with lyrics slides and progressed to becoming a volunteer video director. After my departure she was hired as a staff video director. She also ended up going to film school. Joshua Chan, an audio volunteer, progressed from helping with sound setup for the youth group to being contracted to mix the main Sunday services.

Systems and Processes

Additionally, systems (design and maintenance) as well as process optimization always were at the core of the job, both during my time as Worship Pastor (and de facto TD) and then Technical Director; at King Road Church, at The Centre for Performing Arts (Westside Church), and across five venues at Tenth Church.

Sometimes systems work included custom software and electronics projects - see the Electronics page for more.