by The MO Guys on March 17th, 2010 | 32 views |
The premiere way to create countdown videos on the Macintosh is now available at Midnight Oil!
Countdown Maker makes it easy to create a countdown video in minutes on your Mac. With Countdown Maker it is easy to drop in a video or image background that you or someone else created, customize your text, add a few effects, and click export.
Features include making countdown videos for any length, up to 60 minutes with the option of showing or hiding milliseconds and leading zeros. Any font on your computer can be used for your countdown. Size, color, and spacing can all be adjusted. The position and angle of your countdown text can be changed to look well with a background image or video. Screen safe guides can be toggled on and off. You can change the background color, or add your own video or image as the background. Full alpha support is available for any imported background. Easily export your countdown to a high quality H.264 QuickTime movie. Full alpha support is available if the background is transparent for importing into FinalCut Pro or any other editor of your choice.
Requirements include a Macintosh computer with Mac OS 10.4, 10.5, or 10.6 and a G4, G5, or Intel processor. At only $49, it pays for itself within a few completed videos! Learn more about countdown maker here.
by Jason on March 15th, 2010 | 57 views |
In our book Design Matters: Creating Powerful Imagery for Worship, we look at several rules for good composition. One of those rules deals with leading the eye through a finished composition in an orderly and interesting fashion.
Today I ran across this article that did a great job of illustrating different ways the eyes can be lead through a photograph by way of good composition. Of course the rules apply to graphics as well.
Check out the article.
by Phil Cooke on March 3rd, 2010 | 437 views |
This is the second in a series of special posts written by friends of Midnight Oil. These guest bloggers bring unique insights into the interface of image and ministry. We hope you learn from their experiences and find useful applications to your own context.
Yesterday I had an interesting experience in the Dallas airport that made me realize just how much everyone in your organization needs to live your brand. I’ve always been fascinated by Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks, not only for his vision, but the way he designed the stores as a 3rd place (after home and work). The design, attributes, and products in a typical store were carefully developed, and his desire to reflect a great coffee experience is notable. But yesterday, I was reminded that with thousands of employees, just how hard it must be for Starbucks (and other big companies) to train employees to live out the brand on a day to day basis.
Read the rest of this entry »
by Stephen Proctor on March 3rd, 2010 | 85 views |
This is the first in a series of special posts written by friends of Midnight Oil. These guest bloggers bring unique insights into the interface of image and ministry. We hope you learn from their experiences and find useful applications to your own context.
As I’ve been on the road having conversations with pastors, worship leaders & techies who are all trying to figure out how creativity works in worship, I have had a growing burden to gain a clearer understanding of what true, biblical worship is. I have much to learn and more scripture to dig into than i can comprehend. Here are some of the main things that have stuck with me, and here are some questions I’m asking myself in hopes of finding the answer to “What is Visual Worship?”.
Read the rest of this entry »
by Jason on February 23rd, 2010 | 323 views |
There’s no doubt that we live in a visual culture, and that culture has become less and less interested in the institutional church. While we have the most powerful story to tell, the way in which we tell it is often the least powerful way for the time in which we live.
Quite often, the reading of scripture in worship is the least engaging moment of all. Rather than approaching scripture as story, scripture is often shared in a dry, emotionless way or done as a broken, monotone, congregational reading. With screens so prevalent in worship now, the most common approach to scripture in worship is to just put the text on the screen and hope that people read along. Are any of those methods really very effective for our visual culture? Probably not.
Read the rest of this entry »
