What Have I Been Up to Lately?

So my July has been somewhat busy, which translates to not having time/forgetting to make journal entries every week. However, my main focus of this entire month has been one task: learning how to create the sermon podcasts that Rockharbor archives and posts on their website every week (Click here for an example).

Every sermon given at Rockharbor is recorded (both visual and audio) directly onto a hard disk recorder that is located in the media booth at the back of the main sanctuary. The recorder is then taken to a computer located in the broadcast room off to the side of the sanctuary. From this point on, my job is to take these raw video and audio streams and convert them into production quality videos and mp3's. I start by dragging all the files I need onto the computer desktop. Next, I use a program called Final Cut Pro to put the sermon's video and audio together. This process is known as rendering. The video and audio data are recorded as two separate elements and need to be syncranized in order to create a movie that plays back with sound. After rendering the sermon "movie," I need to edit the piece for any unwanted footage (i.e. music, announcements, congregation-specific instructions). Finally I need to create a fade-in and fade-out for the movie.

After this initial editing process in finished, I am able to export this new Final Cut Pro project to two different destinations. The first of these is the exportation of the movie for use of a DVD archive of the sermon. For this, I simply convert the movie to Quicktime format and drop this file into a ready-made Rockharbor template in the iMovie program. From there, I simply type in the appropriate date and burn the DVD.

Now, the second route is a little more complicated. I need to take the audio only and prepare it for the website's podcast. I start by exporting the audio as an AIFF file onto the computer's desktop. For the podcast, I need to use the recording program Garage Band. Every podcast includes five separate tracks: 1) a voice introduction stating the sermon title, pastor, book, and sermon series; 2) background music for the introduction; 3) a voice conclusion giving contact information about the church; 4) concluding background music, and finally 5) the sermon itself. Every week, it is my job to record a female voice who reads a specifically scripted introduction to that week's sermon. After all these elements are compiled and correctly arranged, I upload an AAC version of the entire session into iTunes. Finally, I convert this AAC file to mp3 for the website and burn the original AAC version onto a disc for archives.

As one can see, this is a pretty complicated task that takes at least two hours to complete. However, I find it admirable that a church like Rockharbor is willing to be that diligent and thorough in archiving their pastors' sermons. I know that on some occasions when pastors need breaks from teaching, the church will use a video archive in his place. The weekly podcasts Rockharbor posts on their website also serve as a vehicle for the Lord's teaching outside of the building. I have heard stories on more than one occasion of people across the world, such as the Middle East or Southeast Asia, faithfully gathering and listening to the podcasts as their only source of pastoral teaching. Every week, the podcast receives somewhere around 100,000 listeners from around the world. When put in that perspective, something simple as making an mp3 in garage band becomes a very noble responsibility. So besides from knowing how to find my way around production tools a little better, I can appreciate the fact that my work as a humble intern has spiritual implications that reach across the world.