THANK YOU SECTION GOES HERE INDEX

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2 The Ultimate Beginner s Course to Facebook Live and Livestreaming THANK YOU SECTION GOES HERE INDEX Planning Tools Course Introduction. 10 Installation & Setup. 18 Software & Settings. 26 Maximizing Facebook. 48

3 Thanks for purchasing The Ultimate Beginner s Course on Facebook Live and Live Streaming. This is a start-to-finish course on building a broadcast quality live streaming setup on a budget that any church can afford! This written guide is a companion to the main course videos. We encourage you to watch through the videos first to get a solid handle on the planning, hardware setup, and software workflow involved in livestreaming to Facebook. After you ve completed theses videos, this Start-to-Finish workbook will serve as an on-site guide containing all the details that go along with setting up and launching a video live stream for your church services. Finally, don t forget to join our private Facebook group at facebook.com/ultimate-go-live. If you re running into problems, it s a helpful place to ask questions and get answers!

4 PLANNING TOOLS 4 The Ultimate Beginner s Course to Facebook Live and Livestreaming

5 You ve made an investment into this resource, so what should you expect in return? The main goals of this course are: 1. TO HELP YOUR CHURCH MAXIMIZE ITS GOSPEL IMPACT. There has never been a greater opportunity to communicate what really matters. With today s livestream video technology, you can multiply your reach to incredible numbers. 2. TO SAVE YOU HUNDREDS OF HOURS. The authors of this course have combined for over 30 years of web technology and broadcast video experience. We ve done the research and made the mistakes, so you don t have to. We bought the wrong equipment, forgot the cables, wrestled with the software, and put in the time to refine the process into clear, simple terms that you can understand. 3. TO SAVE YOU THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. Tech equipment can be expensive. Buying more tech equipment than you need can be even more expensive. Hiring a tech company to set up your expensive equipment and show you how to use it can be mind-blowing expensive. We ll show you exactly what you need based on the amount of money you have to spend. You ll save hundreds and thousands of dollars! Along with putting together an entire live stream setup, we also want to give you a general understanding of the topic. We ve been working with churches long enough to know that as soon as you start spending money on tech equipment, a lot of questions and opinions come to the table which can easily throw the entire project off course! The key to avoiding this obstacle is to have educated answers. That s what this course will provide. This course will walk you through hardware and software selection and setup, but it will also teach you why we chose each specific process. Your instructor, Allen Taylor, brings 10 years of live television broadcast video experience to the table. This expertise is the foundation upon which he will help you build a solid, efficient live stream setup and workflow for your church. He ll explain not only what you need, but why you need it. 5

6 The Ultimate Beginner s Course to Facebook Live and Livestreaming EQUIPMENT LIST AND BUDGET cameras GEAR WE RECOMMEND ** Equipment used in the course videos Canon Vixia R700 (good) Canon Vixia HF G20** (better) Canon Vixia XA10 (best) Budget Track Want to keep things really simple and low cost? You don t have to break the bank! Here s what you ll need for a basic 1-camera budget setup: 1. Canon Vixia camera $ SDI to HDMI Converter $85 3. HDMI to SDI Converter $85 4. Tripod or Camera Mount $90 5. Video Capture Device $ Cabling & Miscellaneous $100 video converter BlackMagic Design Micro SDI to HDMI converter Total Cost $1,150 video capture BlackMagic Design UltraStudio Mini Recorder (Thunderbolt)** AverMedia PCI-E HD/DVR (PCI) AverMedia ExtremeCap U3 (USB) Video Switch BlackMagic Design ATEM Television Studio Cables You don t have to buy the most expensive cables, but don t buy the cheapest ones either. Look for nice thick cables with gold plated ends. Pro Track If you have a little more to spend, you can upgrade to multiple cameras with a video switcher. This will give you that professional broadcast feel! 1. Canon Vixia cameras (x2) $1, ATEM Television Studio $1, SDI to HDMI Converters (x2) $ HDMI to SDI Converters (x2) $ Tripods or Camera Mounts (x2) $ Video Capture Device $ Cabling & Miscellaneous $200 Total Cost $3,160 6

7 SETUP DIAGRAM HDMI Cable SDI Cable Audio Cable Power Cable Camera(s) Broadcast Computer HDMI / SDI Converter(s) ATEM Switch Power Outlet(s) Description: Use the color lines and icons on the left to create a basic layout of your live stream setup. This should include your stage, chairs and video / sound booth. Tip #1 - Next to the cords write the correct measure of feet. Tip #2 - Put a slash through cord lines when they run vertical. 7

8 The Ultimate Beginner s Course to Facebook Live and Livestreaming EQUIPMENT LIST AND BUDGET Notes Equipment and Software Checklist As you begin to build your list of gear, here are the pieces of hardware and software you ll need to consider. Camera(s) Tripod(s) for Camera Wall or Poll Mount for Camera HDMI Cable (short cables) SDI Cable (long cables) Blackmagic ATEM Switch HDMI to SDI Converter(s) SDI to HDMI Converter(s) Computer Monitor(s) Live Stream Software (OBS) 8

9 Personal Budget and Cost breakdown Once you ve decided which track to use for your live stream project, you can begin to list each item for purchase. This will allow you to keep your expenses under control and create an accurate budget. Item Description Price $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Total expense $ 9

10 COURSE INTRO Before we begin unpacking the technical details of each live stream setup and workflow, there are some baseline issues to consider as we build a foundation for live streaming your church service. We won t go into detail on these, but they are definitely something you ll want to give attention to as you contemplate your live stream setup. Feel free to reach out to our dedicated Facebook group with any specific questions related to this next section! 10 The Ultimate Beginner s Course to Facebook Live and Livestreaming

11 CHEAP vs affordable equipment Cheap is usually a bad idea. Whether hand tools, kitchen appliances, or electronic equipment, when you go for the cheapest, you ll typically save some cash up front, but often pay for it in repairs, poor performance, and inferior results over time. As you will discover in this course, you don t have to spend an absurd amount of money to launch a quality live stream, however, there are some corners that should not be cut in your equipment selection. We will recommend specific pieces of equipment throughout this course. While our goal is to keep things affordable, we won t go cheap. camera considerations When selecting cameras for your setup, there are quite a few options available. Whether your budget is lean or padded, there are three critical features to keep in mind as you contemplate your camera purchases: 1. CLEAN HDMI OUT - Make sure that your camera has an HDMI video out port that will send a clean feed. A clean feed will have only the video picture, and no text overlays such as time and date, battery indicator, lens details, etc. Also, make sure that the camera does not reduce video resolution when sending the HDMI out feed. 2. CLEAN AUDIO - It is important that your camera gives you the ability to bring in exterior audio. This will ensure that you re able to deliver a solid audio-video mix to your audience. You may decide to plug audio directly into the camera, or you may route it through the computer. Just be sure you aren t using the on-board mic for your broadcast. 3. HIGH IMAGE QUALITY - Be sure that your camera choice has highquality image sensors that will capture a high-definition image under lowlight conditions. We ll explain this in greater detail throughout the videos. Available and controlled light Most church sanctuaries were not built with video broadcasting in mind. Therefore, the lighting is often poor, and certainly not optimized for video capture. The main 11

12 Notes thing to keep in mind is that it is very important to have even lighting. If the speaker is often walking in and out of shadows, or stepping into hotspots (areas of harsh direct light) on the platform, your video will constantly be alternating between lighting extremes, producing distracting results. You may need to rearrange existing light, or add some additional lighting to reach the goal of a uniform light environment. NUMBER OF CAMERAS The budget track referenced in this course assumes that you are using a one-camera setup. With a multi-cam setup, you ll want to follow the professional track for planning and budgeting. If you do opt for more than one camera, make sure they are the same make and model. This will help to avoid color clashes, resolution conflicts, and other challenges that can accompany video signals from different brands of camera sensors. AUDIO As you re working with the audio portion of the live stream and making decisions about what parts of your service to capture, keep this in mind: unless the instrument, speaker, or singer has a mic, they won t be heard by the live stream audience. The members of your congregation may be able to hear them just fine, but they will not be heard by your live stream audience unless the audio is being captured with a microphone. If you plan on broadcasting your corporate worship time, remember this: unless you have a microphone capturing the vocals of the congregation, every song will sound like a worship leader solo to your live stream audience. You ll need to set up a microphone dedicated to capturing the audience 12

13 (we d recommend a cardioid condenser mic) to avoid awkward live stream audio. If your pastor uses a handheld mic or a pulpit mic and steps away from the mic, there will be awkward audio gaps in the live stream that will be distracting. Consider investing in a wireless lapel or over-the-ear microphone to prevent this from happening. VOLUNTEERS A single-camera setup will require minimal manpower. With preparation, it can often be run by a single volunteer. If multiple cameras are being used, you will want to consider utilizing a trained volunteer for each camera with the technical skills required for any panning, zooming, or other functions that may be required. You will also need someone to run point for the live stream, switching between scenes, troubleshooting issues, and directing the whole process. Finally, consider appointing an individual to monitor comments and questions from Facebook Live viewers. Make sure this individual is polite, knowledgeable, and attentive to accurate spelling and grammar. hardware COMPUTER For the setup outlined in this course, you don t need to break the bank for a computer system. A garage sale PC won t work, but if your setup is 3-5 years old it will probably work just fine. If anything, you may find it necessary to upgrade your computer s RAM and secure an extra hard drive to store local video recordings. If you plan on using a multi-cam setup, it will be helpful if your computer is capable of sending a video signal to 2 monitors. Beyond these necessities, you should be able to focus your financial resources on other areas of your setup. CAPTURE DEVICE A capture device is a piece of hardware that receives a video signal from your camera(s), converts it into an optimized format, and feeds it into your computer s software to push out into a live stream. While you may have an HDMI port on your desktop or laptop computer, understand that those are almost always outputs, not inputs. They are not capable of receiving a video signal into the computer, only sending a video signal out (for use on an additional monitor or similar purpose). 13

14 Notes As you contemplate your hardware needs, consider these capture device options, based on your computer configuration: PCI CARD - This add-on card fits into an open PCI slot on the motherboard of your desktop PC. Once installed, it will provide the necessary HDMI input to allow your PC to receive your camera s video signal. USB3 EXTERNAL - This is an external capture device that connects to your PC or Mac desktop or laptop via high speed USB3 port. This is a good choice if portability is important in your setup. BLACK MAGIC ULTRA STUDIO MINI RECORDER If you are using a Mac with a Thunderbolt port, this external capture device is the recommended choice. It will provide excellent speed and compatibility to your setup! CABLES / DISTANCE As you begin to map out your camera setup, be sure to keep cable lengths in mind. The farther data needs to travel over a cable, the more opportunity there is for data loss. Because of this there are limits to the length of certain types of cables. Depending on the quality of the cable, an HDMI cable can extend from 25 to 50 feet. If you need to run in the foot range, make sure you choose a high quality cable with gold-plated contacts. Cables are a budget item you don t want to cut corners on! SDI cables can be run hundreds of feet, and are much less of a concern. 14

15 SOFTWARE FREE VS PAID PLATFORMS In the not-so-distant past, it was popular and necessary to purchase a subscription to a live streaming service in order to utilize the software necessary to encode and push your video out to your audience. While the hardware setups outlined in this course will work with practically any live streaming service, the workflow is built around YouTube and Facebook Live, simply because they are excellent free platforms that provide fantastic value and performance. As long as those platforms are available, the reasons to pursue other paid services are few. MUSIC LICENSING Consider licensing issues before broadcasting worship services. Many churches assume that because they have a CCL (Christian Copyright License) they are covered. However, a standard CCLI license does not necessarily mean you have permission to broadcast songs. In fact, an additional Streaming License add-on is required for this. Be sure you read and understand the licensing requirements listed here ( before choosing to broadcast a worship service. Another common misconception is that all of the old hymns are out of copyright. This is simply not true! For example, the hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness was written in the 1920s, but is still under copyright until 2018! Make sure you do your research and fulfill the proper licensing requirements. ENCODING SOFTWARE While some students of this course may have a favorite encoding software application, there s really no need to go purchase software. There is a powerful open source (free) software option that is fantastic. It would be worth paying for, yet it won t cost you anything. This course builds on the amazing features of the Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) ( obsproject.com/) available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Be sure to download your copy and start taking advantage of its powerful features! INTERNET CONNECTION Because you will be broadcasting a high-quality video stream, a stable, fast connection to the internet is vital. As you prepare to go live with your broadcast, consider these factors in regard to your internet connection: 15

16 Notes WIRELESS VS WIRED As a general rule, a wired internet connection will provide greater speed and stability over a wireless connection, because it eliminates interferences from walls, other wireless devices, weather, and many other potential obstacles. A wired connection means that your computer is connecting to the internet with a network (LAN) cable rather than a wifi card. This is definitely the preferred method. Consider doing what it takes to run a network cable directly from your router to your computer, and tap into the reliability of a wired internet connection. UPLOAD VS DOWNLOAD SPEED Internet Service Providers usually measure their connection speed offerings with two numbers representing download speed and upload speed such as 10/3 or 25/7. The first number represents your download speed, and the second number indicates your upload speed. Understand that while your high speed internet may be plenty fast enough for general web surfing, you may find your upload speed to simply be inadequate for broadcasting a live stream. For best performance, we recommend an upload speed of at least 5Mbps. You can quickly determine your current download and upload speed by visiting speedtest.net. If you find your connection is too slow, contact your ISP and find out what options are available to achieve greater upload speeds. 16

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18 INSTALLATION & SETUP In this section, we ll walk you through the planning, preparation, and execution of your live stream workflow. Be sure to watch carefully through each video as your instructor has taken the time to describe each piece of equipment in depth and provide visual instruction for each step. 18 The Ultimate Beginner s Course to Facebook Live and Livestreaming

19 Before we jump into the nuts and bolts of the setup, lets take a couple of minutes to address a couple of questions that may come up during this portion of the course: Why aren t we implementing 4k video into our workflow? Isn t it a good idea to future-proof your equipment? 4k (which typically refers to a video that is 3840 pixels wide by 2,160 pixels high) is the latest and greatest video resolution, and it s a big buzz term now in the technology sector. Here s the short answer: Nobody is watching your live stream in 4k. The technology price point is still out of reach for most consumers, so they simply don t have the devices to display 4k video. In addition, the cost of 4k video production equipment is still very high. As technology advances, the price points will drop and 4k will make more sense. By the time viewers are actually watching your live stream on 4k devices, the price point of 4k production hardware will have dropped significantly. For this reason, we recommend that you don t overspend on 4k equipment right now. Do I really need to have a volunteer to man each camera in my multi-cam setup? No, you don t. However, consider this: While a static (unmanned) camera can work fine, specifically when volunteers are limited, you can create much greater production value with your shots if you are able to put a trained volunteer behind the tripod to be able to pan, zoom, and make logical framing decisions. Perhaps you can start static, but plan to add volunteers as they become available - it will be worth the effort! fill out your diagram As part of this workbook, we ve included a diagram sheet that you can use to sketch out the specifics of your live stream setup. As we prepare to make hardware decisions and calculate our budget expenses, this diagram will be critical in compiling an accurate equipment list. Make sure to print a hard copy of the worksheet and note the following on your diagram: 1. Location of PA equipment and live stream computer 2. Location of camera(s) 3. Location of available power outlets 19

20 Notes 4. Distance between camera(s) and computer (for cable runs) As we mention in the video, it s a great idea to use a few different colored pens or markers to lay out your diagram so that you can clearly define all of the equipment you ll need to complete your setup. Even if your setup is very simple, it s highly recommended that you don t skip this step, as it can save you a lot of frustration later on in the project. If you have questions or concerns about your completed diagram, shoot a quick picture of it and post your questions on the Facebook Group. The pros here at Church Hacks can quickly get you the answers you need! Set up your computer Once you ve diagramed the layout for your equipment and made your purchases, you re ready to set up the computer. As you begin to make your hardware connections, here are are the steps you ll want to take: 1. INSTALL YOUR CAPTURE DEVICE. If you re installing a PCI capture card, you ll need to open up the desktop PC and plug the card into the motherboard. If you re using an external USB3 or Thunderbolt device, simply plug it in to the appropriate port and attach the power supply (if required) PLUG IN YOUR AUDIO SOURCE. You ll want to run a line from one of your sound board s auxiliary out ports to your computer s audio line in port. Typically this would be done with a cable that has a 1/4 male TSR plug on one end (sound board) and a 1/8 male TSR plug on the other end (computer line in). Make sure that the full audio mix is being

21 sent through the auxiliary port. 3. SET UP YOUR MONITORS. If you are using a single camera, there is really no need to use more than one monitor. However, if you are using the multi-cam setup with an ATEM switch, you ll want to add a second and monitor to your setup. This will allow you to have a dedicated display to use for the ATEM controls. Your first monitor will display your computer signal (if using a laptop, of course the screen is built in) and the second monitor will connect directly to the ATEM and display a multi-view of each camera angle. 4. CONNECT YOUR NETWORK CABLE. As we mentioned earlier, a wired internet connection will bring much more speed and stability than the typical wireless signal can provide. We highly recommend a hard-wired internet connection for your live stream broadcast! Once all of your connections have been made, power on your computer and verify that your capture device is recognized, your displays are up and running, your sound board audio is coming through, and your internet connection is live. Set up your ATEM switch If you are utilizing the single-cam budget track, you won t be using an ATEM switch. However, for pro-track setups that include multiple cameras, we recommend the ATEM switch by Black Magic Design. The ATEM setup can be a little tricky, but the flexibility and stellar performance is well worth the investment of time and money. Here s how to set it up: 1. THE VERY FIRST THING YOU LL WANT TO DO IS TO POWER ON YOUR ATEM TO MAKE SURE IT S WORKING. Plug the included power adapter into a power source, then connect it to the ATEM and switch the power button on. 2. PLUG IN A VIDEO SOURCE. This may be an SDI connection or an HDMI connection, but either way, make sure you connect at least one video source into the switch. 3. CONNECT A USB CABLE. The ATEM doesn t come with a USB cable, but they are readily available at most stores. You ll need this to connect the switch to a computer in order to configure your setup. 21

22 Notes 4. CONNECT A NETWORK CABLE. You ll need this to control the ATEM over your local network after it s configured. It may be tempting to connect one end of the network cable to the switch and the other end to your computer, but don t do it. Both your computer and the ATEM switch should have their own network connection back to the router. 5. CONNECT YOUR MONITOR. The ATEM switch is, in and of itself, a small computer. Therefore, we need to have a display monitor connected to it in order to effectively manage its performance. Find the Multi View HDMI (or SDI) port on the ATEM and plug the monitor into it. 6. CONNECT YOUR ATEM TO YOUR COMPUTER S CAPTURE DEVICE. We ve got to have a way to get the mixed video signal from the ATEM into the computer to broadcast over the internet, and that s where the Program port on the ATEM comes in. You can choose either HDMI or SDI for the Program port connection. Typically you would run an HDMI cable from the Program port to your capture device, and a USB or Thunderbolt cable from your device to your computer (if your capture device is external). 22 Set up your camera(s) At this point, you should be ready to set up your cameras in the locations indicated on your diagram. Cameras may be tripod-mounted or pole-mounted according to the needs of your setup. Either method will work for static (unmanned) cameras, but if you have volunteers lined up to man the cameras, you ll definitely want to be using a tripod for maximum flexibility. Make sure that you consider the accessibil-

23 ity of power outlets in relation to your camera setup, as you will not want to rely on battery power during a live stream event. You ll definitely need an electrical power source for each camera! When selecting tripods for your live stream setup, it s important to keep the following points in mind: 1. DON T BUY THE CHEAPEST TRIPOD YOU CAN FIND. Someone will bump into it or trip over a cable, and the last thing you want is your valuable camera to hit the floor. Pick up a nice sturdy tripod that will protect your investment. 2. MAKE SURE THE TRIPOD WILL ALLOW THE CAMERA TO BE RAISED HIGH ENOUGH THAT PEOPLE WILL BE ABLE TO WALK UNDER IT. If the camera is too low, you will continually have people s heads passing through your frame, which can be distracting to everyone. 3. CHOOSE TRIPOD LOCATIONS THAT ARE OUT OF THE WAY OF HEAVY FOOT TRAFFIC. You will be running at least two cables from the camera, so be sure to minimize the dangers of tangling or tripping by keeping your distance from the main walkways. Run your cables Once your cameras are set, you ll want to make your cable runs from each camera to the computer or ATEM switch. If your camera is within 25 feet of the computer, you ll be able to make the run with a single HDMI cable. However, if the cable run exceeds 25 feet, it will probably be necessary to convert the HDMI signal from your camera to an SDI signal which allows for much greater distances. In this scenario, you ll run a short HDMI cable from your camera to an HDMI-to-SDI converter box. You ll then be able to run a long SDI cable from the box to the computer or ATEM switch. In a single camera setup, unless you re using the Ultra Studio Mini Recorder on your Mac, you ll need to run the SDI cable into a second converter box to convert the signal back to HDMI to connect to the computer. If you re using the multi-cam ATEM setup, you can plug the SDI cable directly into the switch. Remember that each of your converter boxes will also need to be powered, so be sure to allow adequate electric outlet access to supply both the camera and converter box. 23

24 Notes Power on Once you ve double-checked all of your cables, begin powering on your equipment to verify that everything is functioning properly. At this point, you can begin setting up your software and fine-tuning your settings for optimal results. 24

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26 SOFTWARE & SETTINGS Now that we ve placed our cameras and equipment, run our connections, and powered everything on, we can jump into the equipment software settings. These will allow us to get everything tweaked for optimal performance to ensure that our live stream broadcast will look great and communicate our message clearly and effectively. 26 The Ultimate Beginner s Course to Facebook Live and Livestreaming

27 Camera Software For home videos and casual recording, a video camera is often ready to go right out of the box using automatic settings. However, for the specific application of capturing and broadcasting a church service, there are several things to consider, and some important manual adjustments to make. Here are some of the problems that are often encountered when attempting to use automatic settings to capture a church service: AUTOMATIC FOCUS: The camera decides what portion of the frame it should focus on and what portion of the picture will be out of focus. This is fine until the speaker steps out of the frame and the camera decides to adjust focus on the wall. If the speaker steps in and out of the frame often, it can create a mess as the camera tries to compensate and decide what part of the frame is important to focus on. AUTOMATIC WHITE BALANCE: The camera decides what portion of the picture is white, and tries to create the best color settings accordingly. In other scenarios this may work fine, but in an awkwardly lit environment it can create havoc for the camera. If the lights go out for a special video presentation and then come back on, the camera will try to compensate and reconfigure the white balance resulting in a different temperature (warm yellow or cool blue) than prior to the lights going out. AUTOMATIC EXPOSURE: The camera tries to control the amount of light it allows into the sensors, and attempts to create the best picture based on its logic. Again, this can result in a wide lighting variance between shots, as the camera doesn t always get it right. If your stage lighting changes during the service, or people are walking in and out of the frame, the camera often cannot keep up and make the proper exposure decisions. We highly recommend the Canon VIXIA series camera used in the course video training. It has a great mix of professional features at a nice price point. If you decide to purchase this camera, you ll be able to follow along exactly. However, if you opt for a 27

28 Notes different model, the same principles will apply, but the menu and controls may be accessed differently. On our camera, we ll select the Functions option, which will allow us to adjust the camera software settings. Then, we ll want to move the camera from Auto mode to Manual mode, which is represented by a capital M. This should not be confused with manual focus or manual exposure - it simply indicates that we have full control over all functions of the camera, allowing us to specify how we want it to perform. Along with Manual mode, you will se some other mode options, which may be helpful to understand: TV (SHUTTER PRIORITY MODE): This mode allows you to control the shutter speed of the camera manually, and forces the camera to adjust the other settings automatically based on your speed choice. The longer your shutter stays open, the more light is allowed to enter the camera sensors, resulting in greater light exposure of the picture. So the slower your shutter speed, the more exposed your image will be. However, the slower your shutter speed the more blur you will introduce. We don t suggest changing the shutter speed. 28 AV (APERTURE PRIORITY MODE): This option allows you to control the aperture of your camera manually, and forces the camera to adjust the rest of the settings accordingly. The aperture of a camera is measured by how wide the iris of the camera is open, which controls how much light is allowed into the sensor. Think of it as a tunnel. The wider the tunnel, the more light can can enter resulting in a brighter environment. As the tunnel

29 narrows, the picture will darken. The aperture of a camera is often referred to as its F Stop value, and is often displayed with the letter F and a numeric value such as F8, or F-2.0. As the iris widens, allowing more light in, the F-Stop value decreases. As the iris narrows, allowing less light in, the F-Stop value increases. So, a lens setting with an aperture value of F1.8 will result in much higher light volume than a setting with an aperture value of F5.6. As a general rule, aperture is the preferred method of controlling light in photography and videography. APERTURE SETTING In the manual mode of your camera, lets take a look at the aperture setting. Since we will be shooting indoors with limited lighting, we will want to make sure our aperture is opened as wide as possible. Select an F-Stop with the lowest possible value, in this case it is F2.0. SHUTTER SPEED For the shutter speed, it is generally best to set it at exactly double your frame rate. Most likely you will be capturing video at or 30 Frames Per Second (FPS), so your shutter speed will need to be 1/60 of a second (30fps x 2 = 60). GAIN SETTINGS The gain control allows you to digitally enhance your image by adding exposure to it. (Your camera may use ISO, the same principles will apply.) The setback is that the higher you raise the gain, the more degraded your image will become. Higher gain settings will introduce grain or mudiness into your image resulting in a lower quality picture. It is always best to make sure your camera subject is well lit so that you don t have to increase the gain to achieve a quality picture. If the subject is properly lit, you will be able to leave the gain setting at a lower value and thus achieve a cleaner image. WHITE BALANCE The white balance controls the temperature or color balance of the camera, and is represented by a Kelvin number, usually displayed with the letter K and a numeric value such as 2400 K or 3700 K. The lower the number, the cooler or more blue your whites will appear. The higher the number, the warmer or more yellow your whites will appear. The best way to set this properly is to take your camera into the environment in which you ll be recording, and make sure all the room lighting is set as it will be during the live session. Then, have someone hold a piece of blank white paper a few feet in front of your camera. Zoom your 29

30 Notes camera in until the paper fills the entire viewfinder. Then, adjust your white balance up or down until the paper appears a natural white. If it looks blue, raise the temperature value. If it looks yellow, lower the temperature value until you get it just right. Once you ve done this on one camera, you won t have to do it on the others. Simply set them to the same K value as the camera on which you ran the test. It is very important that all of your cameras are set to the same K value, or it can create color inconsistencies when you switch camera angles. FOCUS SETTINGS Make sure your camera is set to Manual Focus (MF). Then, turn the focus ring on the lens left or right to adjust the focus until your subject is nice and sharp. Once you find the proper setting, it s best to leave it at that value moving forward to maintain consistency with your camera angle. Again, the danger of trying to use Automatic Focus is that the camera can be easily confused and leave you with a blurry picture at the worst possible time. MICROPHONE LEVEL If you re running your audio directly into your computer, you don t have to worry about the camera audio settings, because they will be controlled elsewhere. However, if you opt to run your audio through your camera, make sure to change the mic level from Auto to Manual. This will prevent the camera s microphone from attempting to change the mic level based on its own logic. If the pastor is speaking very quietly, the camera will increase the mic level to try to compensate. Then, if the pastor suddenly gets loud, the camera will try to turn the mic level down, but it won t be fast enough resulting in a blown-out signal. In a preaching environment where the audio fluctuates dramatically, it s always best to find a 30

31 manual level that picks up low volume sounds but does not distort high volume sounds. Wrap-Up Once you ve correctly adjusted these settings, there s really no need to play with the cameras from week to week. Just make sure they re powered on, and you ll be ready to live stream. There s no need to push Record on the cameras, as you won t be storing video files on-camera. Rather, you ll simply be using them to send video signals to your other broadcast equipment. ATEM Settings Now that we ve made the necessary adjustments to the camera software, let s jump into the ATEM switch software. If you re on the Budget Track this section is not necessary, as that setup does not include the ATEM. However, if you re still undecided on which setup to use, this video may be helpful as it will help you understand the powerful features and capabilities of the ATEM Television Studio. NETWORK SETUP The ATEM switch software is fairly complex to set up, but once it s configured properly, it s well worth the extra effort! Now, let s get started with the network setup. 1. FIRST INSTALL THE SOFTWARE. Your ATEM comes with an SD card containing the software you ll need. Insert the SD card into your computer s card reader, and install the software. (Note: Make sure your computer is connected to the Program port on your ATEM. This will allow you to monitor the input signal.) 2. CONNECT THE ATEM TO YOUR COMPUTER VIA USB. This step is necessary, as the network settings will not be accurate right out of the box, and will need to be configured. 3. LAUNCH THE ATEM SOFTWARE CONTROL APP ON YOUR COMPUTER. Once this app loads, you will probably see a message stating No Device Connected. This is normal, as additional setup is required. 4. LAUNCH THE ATEM SETUP APP, WHICH WILL DISPLAY THE CURRENT NETWORK SETTINGS OF THE ATEM. No action is required within that particular 31

32 Notes app just yet, but make sure that it is open. 5. NEXT, WE WILL CONFIGURE THE SETTINGS OF THE ATEM FOR PROPER CONNECTION OVER YOUR NETWORK. While the same thing will be accomplished on both Mac and PC, the controls for each will look different. The next steps will walk you through both, so simply refer to the appropriate method for your particular computer: MAC NETWORK SETUP Click the Apple icon in the top left corner of your screen, and choose System Preferences > Network. You will see a number of connections in the list on the left, each with a red, yellow, or green dot indicating no connection, problem connection, or good connection respectively. Make sure your Mac is connected to your network s router with a network cable. If this is the case, and your local network is working properly, you should see a green dot next to the connection titled Ethernet. Click on the Ethernet option in the list, and you ll see several network settings appear on the right. Make note of the Router and Subnet Mask numbers, as you ll need to make sure the corresponding numbers on your ATEM switch are the same. With the System Preferences window still open, jump back into the ATEM Setup app, and check out the numbers. The Gateway and Subnet Mask IP numbers should be the same as the Router and Subnet Mask numbers in System Preferences. PC NETWORK SETUP In Windows 7, open Network Connections by selecting the 32

33 Start button, and then selecting Control Panel. In the search box, type adapter, and then, under Network and Sharing Center, select View network connections. In Windows 8.1, select the Start button, start typing view network connections, and then select View network connections in the list. In Windows 10, in the search box on the taskbar, type view network connections, and then select View network connections at the top of the list. Right-click the device that is called Local Area Connection or Ethernet, and then select Properties from the submenu. If you re prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. Select the Networking tab. Under This connection uses the following items, select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), and click the properties button. Make note of the Gateway and Subnet Mask numbers, as you ll need to make sure the corresponding numbers on your ATEM switch are the same. With the Network Settings window still open, jump back into the ATEM Setup app, and check out the numbers. The Gateway and Subnet Mask IP numbers should be the same as the Router and Subnet Mask numbers in your Windows Network settings. The numbers that you will need to change in the ATEM Setup will be the last set of digits in the IP Address field. Find out what the last digit group of your computer s IP Address is in Mac System Preferences or Windows Network Settings, and change the last digit group of the of the ATEM IP Address to a random number that is within 10 to 20 higher or lower than your computer s IP. For example, if your computer s IP Address is , change your ATEM IP Address to (10 higher). Or, if the computer IP is you could change the ATEM IP to (18 lower). ATEM Software Now that the ATEM network settings are configured, we can get to the fun part! Let s take a look at the ATEM Software Control application. This program allows us to control our differ- 33

34 Notes ent camera angles, transitions, and other video elements, and create a final mix to send out to our live stream. Make sure that you have a computer monitor connected to the Multiview port of the ATEM. This is the screen you will use to manage your video mix. Now let s get into an overview of the various ATEM Software Control features. MULTIVIEW LAYOUT PREVIEW & PROGRAM WINDOWS The preview window shows you what is about to go live. Think of it as the in queue or up next video content. The program window shows you what is currently live to your video feed, and this is what your audience will be seeing. CAMERA WINDOWS The ATEM has 8 video inputs, but only 6 can be used at once. The bottom 2 rows of the Software Control include the 6 camera feed previews. You will probably only use 2 or 3 of these, but understand that it can handle up to 6 simultaneously. MEDIA WINDOWS The bottom 2 rows also include 2 media windows on the right side. These windows allow you to include video elements such as lower thirds or additional overlays in your mix. Control Layout PROGRAM BUTTONS The top row of buttons are the Program controls. As these buttons are clicked, they will send the selected video input directly to the Program window. In other words, whatever you choose from this group will immediately go live, and the 34

35 currently selected input button will display as red. PREVIEW BUTTONS It is not recommended that you switch camera sources directly in the Program bar, but rather that you use the Preview buttons to send new sources to queue. This will allow you to add transitions such as fades or wipes, and will give a smoother appearance to your broadcast. TRANSITION BUTTONS In the right column of buttons, you ll see a set titled Transition Style. A transition is simply a quick effect that is applied as one video source is replaced with another video source. The most common transition for a live stream is a fade. This is where the original video source gradually disappears at the same time the new video source gradually appears. This generally happens pretty quickly (one second or less) but gives a nice smooth appearance to your video mix. There are other transitions available such as wipes or dips that can be experimented with, but for most situations we recommend keeping the transitions pretty simple. When you click a button in the Transition Style group, it will turn yellow indicating that the style is active. Then, when you click the Auto button in the row below it, the transition will immediately be applied between the preview and program video sources. The software will replace the program source with the preview source and apply your chosen style to the transition. To control the length of the transition, adjust the Rate value in the right hand palette under Transitions. This value is listed in seconds with a value of 1.00 second being the recommended rate. STILL GRAPHICS & LOWER THIRDS A Lower Third is a graphic that appears over your video feed on the bottom portion of the screen. This can be used to identify the speaker, display scripture verses, or make announcements. We recommend using PNG files with transparency for lower thirds. For other graphics that will cover the entire screen such as announcement slides, a JPG image will work just fine. Creation of these graphics is beyond the scope of this course, but if you need direction, feel free to reach out to the Facebook group for help. To set up your graphics or lower thirds, click the Media icon on the bottom row of the Software Control app. This will bring up a grid-style collection of graphic placeholders. Simply 35

36 Notes drag your lower third PNG files or full-screen JPG files from your computer and drop them onto the placeholder areas and the software will load your graphics into the program. Whatever graphics you drag into the #1 and #2 position will be available to use in the mix, and the rest of them will remain in the collection ready to place into those positions at a later time. To prepare your lower thirds for use in your mix, you ll need to adjust some settings in the right column of the Software Control app under the category Upstream Key 1 on the Luma tab. You ll see 2 settings called Fill Source and Key Source. You ll want to choose Media Player 1 as the Fill Source, and Media Player 1 Key as the Key Source. The Key Source specifies what portion of the video will be covered by a graphic, and the Fill Source specifies the actual piece of media that will fill that space. wrap-up The ATEM Television Studio has far more features and options that we haven t covered, but we ve talked about everything you ll need to get a solid live stream launched with multiple cameras, transitions, graphics, and lower thirds. While you may want to explore other features of the ATEM, just know that we ve covered the essentials for creating a beautiful broadcast! Broadcast Software 36 INTRODUCTION Whether you ve chosen to utilize the budget track or the pro track, the broadcasting software we recommend is called Open Broadcaster Software, or OBS. This is a free, open source program that is compatible with both Windows and

37 Mac operating systems. The purpose of the Broadcaster Software is to receive your mixed video signal from your ATEM switch (pro track) or camera (budget track), encode it for streaming, and push it out to your internet platform (Facebook, YouTube, etc.) If you have not already done so, visit to download and install your copy of OBS. OVERVIEW In simplest terms, what we are going to do with OBS is receive a video signal and an audio signal, synchronize them, and push them to the internet for live stream. There will be some extras that we add as well, but the audio/video mix is the core function of OBS. Let s take some time to examine the different elements of the OBS dashboard, and get familiar with their functions. PREVIEW WINDOW - On the top left of the dashboard, you ll find the preview window. This shows you a preview of your video mix before it goes live. PROGRAM WINDOW - The top right section is the program window. This shows you what is being seen by the audience on the live platform. TRANSITIONS - these are listed just to the right of the preview window, and they indicate what type of video transition (fade, wipe, etc) will be applied when sending the preview video to the program feed. SCENES - The bottom left window in OBS lists your scenes. A scene is simply a collection of audio and video sources. This could be your ATEM switch feed (pro track) or a single camera feed (budget track). It could also include elements such as still slides, special video presentations, or other illustration graphics. SOURCES - To the right of the scenes window, you will find the sources window. This is where you will define the various sources that you will use to build each scene. Each scene can include any number of sources, but every scene must include an audio source. If the sound for your broadcast is coming directly from your sound board, that source should be listed here. If your sound is routed through your camera, it will be included in the camera source. Sources can be used in more than one scene, so as you build your various scenes, make sure that an audio source is always included. MIXER - To the right of the sources window, you ll find the mixer controls. This is where you can modify the gain levels of each audio source. Many times you will 37

38 Notes have more than one audio source coming in to the computer. You ll want to make sure that you turn volume all the way down on any audio sources that you are not wanting to include into your mix. For example, if you have an audio feed coming in from your sound board and another one coming in with your camera, you ll want to turn the volume of the camera audio off and utilize the audio feed from the sound board for each scene. BUTTONS - In the bottom right corner of the OBS dashboard, you ll find a stack of buttons. These control the following functions: START STREAMING - Obviously this will begin sending your encoded video out to the broadcasting platform that you set up. START RECORDING - This will begin saving a video file of your program feed to your computer s hard drive. If your computer is fast enough to encode a live stream version and save a local version at the same time, this is an option to consider, as it will allow you to save a high quality uncompressed copy of your service video to your computer for archiving. STUDIO MODE - This toggles the dashboard view between two views: one with a preview window, and one without a preview window. If you are not switching scenes at all with your broadcast, there may be no need for a preview window, but usually you will want to see the preview and program windows side by side. SETTINGS - This button allows you to modify the 38

39 following settings: Options: Choose your language and theme colors (we use the dark theme in this course). Stream: Control the platform-specific stream configuration Output: For streaming, we recommend a video bitrate of 3,500, an encoder setting of Software (x264), and an audio bitrate of 128. For recording locally, we recommend a same as stream bitrate and the MP4 recording format. Audio: We suggest leaving these settings just as they are unless you re confident with what they are and have a definite reason for changing them. Video: The base resolution is the resolution in which your OBS dashboard windows are displayed, and we recommend 1920x1080. The output resolution should be scaled to 1280x720, which is what Facebook currently recommends. The downscale filter can be left alone, and the FPS setting should remain at Hotkeys: This allows you to create keyboard shortcuts for common commands in OBS. As you become familiar with the software, this can become a very helpful feature to come back to. Advanced: If you understand what these settings are, you ll also know what to do with them. If you don t understand them, we highly recommend leaving them just as they are! Building a scene With a good handle on the OBS dashboard and settings, lets jump into building a scene. Click the + icon at the bottom of the Scenes window to add a new scene. Give the scene a name that will help you identify it. At this point you will have an empty scene that needs to be filled with sources in order to serve a purpose. With the name of your new scene selected, click the + icon under the sources window, and you will be presented with a long list of options. While we won t thoroughly explain all of these as they may vary between setups, here are brief descriptions of what you may see here: IMAGE - This option allows you to choose an existing JPG or PNG image from your 39

40 Notes computer to use as a media source. AUDIO INPUTS - As previously explained, each scene needs to have an audio source to ensure that your audio will be continuously heard as you switch between scenes. Determine which audio source works best for you, and add that source to each scene. BLACK MAGIC DEVICE - if you re using the BlackMagic branded ATEM switch or capture device, you may see this option. We recommend that you do not use this source as your video feed, but rather use the Video Capture Device source father on down the list. BROWSER SOURCE - This allows you to capture an open web browser window to add to your scene. DISPLAY CAPTURE - This allows you to include another attached monitor to your scene. SCENE - This allows you to embed an existing scene within a scene. TEXT - With the text source, you can type out lines of text that will overlay your other sources. This can be great for adding quick lower third text or other titles. It could also be used to type out scripture verses for use during a sermon. VIDEO SOURCE - This is the option you will use to bring your camera or ATEM feed into the OBS software. WINDOW CAPTURE - This is similar to display capture, but allows you to capture a specific program window that is open on your screen rather 40

41 than the entire display. ADDING AN IMAGE SOURCE Now, let s choose the Image source from the dropdown list. You will see the option to define a new image or use an existing image. One of the many helpful features of OBS is that it allows you to add a media source once, and reuse it in mutiple scenes. As you add unique media elements, they will become available in the use existing area. For now, let s select create new. Define the source with a name, then click OK. This will prompt you to browse your computer for the new image file. Choose any image from your computer as a test file. In the video example, we chose a PNG image with a transparent background to use as a lower third. You can begin adding additional sources to your scene by clicking the + icon in the sources window. In our video example, we chose to add a video capture device to the scene, bringing our camera feed into the preview window. As you add new sources to the scene, they can be moved and resized in the preview window, and the stacking order can be rearranged in the sources window by dragging and dropping the list items, or clicking the ^ and v arrow buttons at the bottom of the sources window. You can also hide or reveal any source in your scene by clicking the small eyeball icon to the left of the source name. As we mentioned earlier in the cours, you will want to make sure you have an audio source added to each scene that you use with OBS. By now, we re assuming that you have an active audio feed coming into your computer from your sound board and that you ve tested it for functionality. At this point, you can click the + icon in the sources window, and choose audio input device from the dropdown list. Then, you ll be prompted to associate a device with your source. IMPORTANT NOTE: OBS may identify more than one audio device. Your laptop mic, camera mic, and sound board feed may all be listed. Be sure to note which one is the sound board input, choose it, and give it a proper name label. 41

42 Notes You may see a device called built-in input in your devices options. That is likely the sound board input you will want to choose. Be sure to look at the mixer window to see if there are multiple audio inputs listed. If there are, you ll want to adjust the volume so that the speaker is the primary source of audio. ADDING A VIDEO FILE SOURCE You ll probably want to add a video file source to one or more scenes. This might be an intro video, a special presentation, or an anouncement video. To do this, click the + icon in the sources window, and choose media source as the type. This will allow you to browse your computer for a video file, give it a name, and add it to the scene. Beneath the browse window, you ll see several checkbox options. Let s take a look at these: Loop - this option will replay your video from the beginning as soon as it ends. This might be useful for pre-service video or similar situation. Restart playback when source becomes active - this option forces the video file to start from the beginning as soon as it is pushed to the program window. This is usually a good idea unless you need your video to play from a specific point in the timeline. Use hardware decoding - this ensures that your computer s hardware is doing the encoding work rather than the software. Keep this option checked. Hide source when playback ends - this is also a good idea to use, as it will automatically toggle the visibility of the video source off after it plays. This can help ensure that a one-time play video does 42

43 not accidentally get pushed back into the program window. Once you ve selected any options you may want, you can click to add the video file source into your scene. Understand that when you import a video file source, the audio included in the video file will come into OBS as well. Once you ve added the video file source, you ll see its audio in the mixer window. Make sure you turn down the volume of your sound board source for that particular scene, as you will ony want the audio that is part of your video file to be pushed to your live stream. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you import a video file that is smaller than your 1080p canvas size, it will not fill the entire canvas. You will need to go into the media source settings by clicking the gear icon and clear the Restart playback checkbox. This will allow you to resize the video source on the canvas, at which point you can go back to settings and re-enable that option. Wrap up If you are running your live stream setup on the pro track, you ll be doing all of your video angles and camera switching with the ATEM television studio control software. The only function OBS will have is to add any auxiliary videos such as intro scenes or special presentation videos. On the budget track, everything will be done within OBS since there is not a hardware switch controlling multiple cameras. Facebook live setup With your OBS software configured properly, you re ready to connect your live stream software to the Facebook live or YouTube live platform. To do this, you ll need to be an administrator on your church Facebook page. Don t opt to stream the service using your personal account - it won t give the professional and official feel that you need to have. Log in to the church Facebook page and find the Publishing Tools. Once you ve clicked tht, you ll see a Videos button in the left sidebar. Choose that option, and you ll see a list 43

44 Notes of all the videos you ve posted to your church Facebook page thus far. Just above the list of videos to the right, you ll see a couple of buttons labeled +Live and a +Upload. Click the +Live button to launch a window called Create Live Video. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are using a desktop or laptop computer that does not have a webcam built in or attached to it, you may not see the +Live button. If that is the case, you ll need to access these settings a different way by clicking this link: In the Create Live Video window, you ll see several pieces of information. One item is the Stream Key. This is a long code that enables communication between OBS and Facebook to deliver your video content. This stream key will be different for every broadcast you publish, so you ll need to do this action each week. Copy the stream key that Facebook provides (Command+C on Mac, Ctrl+C on PC), then jump over into OBS and click the Settings button from the buttons list in the lower right corner, then choose the Stream option from the left menu. Make sure the Service is set to Facebook live, the Server is set to default. Delete whatever information may be in the Stream Key area, and paste your new key in its place (Command+V on Mac, Ctrl+V on PC). You can click the Show button to reveal and verify what you just pasted. Once this is complete, jump back to the Facebook window and click the Next button. This will present you with some additional options to address. Choose the Advanced tab, 44

45 and you will see a few checkboxes including: Prohibit embedding - if you want to embed the finished Facebook live video into your website after the broadcast ends, you ll want to leave this box unchecked. However, know that this will also allow anyone else to embed the video into any other website as well. Unpublish after live video ends - if you want Facebook to delete your live video after it ends, check this box. If you want the recording to continually be available on your Facebook page, leave this box unchecked. This video is a continuous live video - this option will not apply to your church service live stream, so leave it unchecked. Now that we ve looked at the Advanced options, lets jump back to the Basic tab. Here you ll see several items including a preview window that says Offline. Once we start our video stream from OBS, we ll be able to see a preview of the live feed in this window. Let s move back to OBS and click the Start Streaming button in the buttons list. This will start communicating the video feed to Facebook via the streaming key we defined earlier. In a few moments, you ll see a preview of your live stream feed appear in the Facebook window. Note that while your live stream is now in Facebook, it is not yet being seen by viewers because it is in Preview mode. You ll see a Go Live button just underneath the preview video to the right. Once you click this, your stream will go live to your Facebook page for viewers to see. Before you push your video live to Facebook, you ll want to add a Title (usually the sermon title). You ll also see an area at the top of the window asking What s on your mind? This is where you can put any other information that you want to post along with your live stream. We typically use this to include information pertinent to the current sermon series. Youtube live setup OBS can be configured to stream live to YouTube rather than Facebook. As you re deciding which platform to stream to, consider this: Facebook will have a much higher social value than YouTube. While viewers can certainly post a link to the YouTube video on Facebook, or send a link via or some other method, they will not come across your live video in their 45

46 Notes daily Facebook feed as they are connecting with friends and family. If you value that factor (and we think you should), we definitely recommend using Facebook over YouTube. In any case, here s how to connect OBS to YouTube live: Log in to your YouTube account, and find the menu option called Video Manager. This is the area that you will need to access in order to get a valid stream key for OBS. You ll find the YouTube stream key at the bottom of the Video Manager window. Click the show button to reveal the key, then copy and paste it into the OBS stream settings area. In OBS, make sure that YouTube is selected as the streaming service rather than Facebook live. The rest of the process works very similar to Facebook live with this critical exception: once you click the start streaming button in OBS, you will instantly be live on YouTube, as it does not allow for a preview of the video like Facebook does. Keep this in mind if you choose the YouTube platform, and adjust your workflow accordingly. 46

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48 MAXIMIZING FACEBOOK There are many ways to invite others to church. Whether it s printed material that is part of a direct mail campaign or a digital medium such as an campaign, many options are available. However, consider this: nothing trumps a good old fashioned personal invitation. That s what makes Facebook so exciting for the church - there s never been a more accessible platform to engage friends and family in a personal way. This section will equip you with the knowledge you need to achieve maximum impact with Facebook and Facebook live! 48 The Ultimate Beginner s Course to Facebook Live and Livestreaming

49 overview While broadcasting your church services on Facebook live can have several different purposes, we want to encourage you to see it primarily s an outreach tool. Whether we like it or not, social media has become a massive part of society, and Facebook is the gigantic leader in the social media game. People don t just use Facebook to stay in touch with friends any more. Facebook has become the place people go to get their news, shop, play games, and consume all sorts of other media. As we get started in this section, here are a few initial points we d like to make: 1. FACEBOOK IS NOT JUST A FAD. This social media giant is going nowhere but up. It s not going away or fading from people s lives. Moving forward, the choice will be narrowed down to this: engage people on Facebook, or miss perhaps the biggest outreach opportunity in modern history. That may sound alarmist, but all the data points to a permanent new category of society called social media. 2. YOU MUST CONSIDER THE EXPERIENCE OF A LIVE VIEWER. Remember that an individual viewing your live broadcast has no way to jump back to an earlier point in the broadcast. They are entering a live event in progress. You must plan for this and plan to engage accordingly. 3. THERE IS NO WAY TO EDIT YOUR LIVE VIDEO ONCE IT S OUT. Whatever happens during your live video is permanent. Facebook does not currently provide a way to edit live broadcasts after the fact. So, anything you want included in your broadcast must be baked in from the beginning. Now, let s address a few dont s before we move further into this section. 1. DON T GET DISCOURAGED BY SHORT VIDEO AVERAGE VIEW TIMES. You may look at your stats and see that viewers on average have spent very little time watching your live stream. This occurs in part because people are thumbing through their feed, and your live stream may jump quickly onto their screen. They ll check it out for a brief time and then continue browsing. Think of it as a great first step to familiarizing that person with your church. Now they re familiar with who you are, and what your service 49

50 Notes looks like, and they haven t even stepped through your doors yet. That s a win! 2. DON T DELETE YOUR LIVE VIDEOS AFTER THEY RE FINISHED. If you do, you ll hurt your analytics down the road. Along with the video itself, you ll also lose any comments and shares that were attached to it, impacting your relevance in the Facebook algorithms. Best practice is to leave your broadcasts on your page permanently. 3. DON T TRY TO GET YOUR CHURCH WEBSITE TO PERFECTLY ALIGN WITH YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE. While you may love to be well organized and have everything in its place at all times, you can really lose the personal touch and organic feel of your Facebook page if you try to force it into a structured box. We recommend allowing your website and Facebook page to be their own separate ecosystems. They may complement each other, but they are different animals. Your website may be neatly organized, but allow your Facebook page to be more spontaneous and messy. 50 landing pages We ve mentioned the huge outreach potential that Facebook live holds for your church. One of the big bridges that can span the gap between social media and your church is . There has to be a really easy way for your church to gather addresses from your social media visitors so that you can engage them on your own terms. What do we mean by this? Why not just get them to like your Facebook page and then communicate with them right from your page? Facebook only shows the content on your page to about 3 to 5% of your fans. As engagement (likes and

51 shares) increases on any given post, that percentage will increase, but any content you post that has little interaction will have little visibility. If you have 100 people that like your page, only 3 to 5 of them are going to see your post organically in their feed. Facebook wants to deliver its members content that is relevant and popular, so your Sunday potluck anouncement probably isn t going to fit the popularity bill. If you re counting on Facebook to deliver your anouncement to all of your fans, you ll be disappointed. This is where comes in. If you can collect an address from your Facebook visitors, you can put relevant information right into their inbox whenever you want to. We recommend creating a single web page that is designed for this purpose. The page should be clean and simple, and contain the following elements: 1. A BIG CALL TO ACTION. If you want to get an address, you have to ask for it. Don t be hesitant to offer a free gift in exchange for their address. This would obviously need to be a digital gift such as an electronic gift card, ebook, or similar resource. 2. A FACEBOOK LIKE BUTTON. This is an important reminder for your landing page visitors to become a fan of your church Facebook page by giving it a like. When a person likes your page, they are telling Facebook that it has permission to include your Facebook content in their news feed. This is a good thing! 3. CHURCH LOCATION AND SERVICE TIMES. This is core information that church visitors are looking for. Make sure you include it on your page. 4. TESTIMONIALS FROM MEMBERS. Have a few of your members from different life stages write (or better yet, video) a brief testimony of how your church has positively impacted their lives. Include these on the page along with a photo of the members. This is a great personal touch! Scheduling facebook live If you ve ever gone live on Facebook with your smartphone, you know it s really easy to do. Just hit the Live button, give it a title, and you re up and running. However, your church service live stream needs a little more planning and preparation than that. We recommend getting set up for your live stream event before Sunday. In fact, it s a great idea to jump into your church Facebook page on Friday to initiate your Sunday stream and take advantage of the Facebook Log in to your church Facebook page and click Publishing Tools. Then, find 51

52 Notes the Videos section on the left and click that option. Here you ll find a button to to the top right of your videos list called +Live. Click that button to launch the Create Live Video window (see section 2 Facebook Live Settings if you don t see the +Live button). You ll see a number of details to define in this window, so go ahead and enter a description in the What s on your mind? field. More details are better, so let viewers know what the topic is and encourage them to tune in. Next, put your sermon title and speaker s name into the Title field. Finally, specify a few tags (think keywords) that might be related to the subject matter of the sermon. This will help Facebook connect your broadcast to people who are looking for this type of content. Now, you obviously don t want to go live on Friday. However, Facebook provides a way for you to post a Friday anouncement for your Sunday broadcast to help build anticipation and momentum over the weekend. Just to the right of the Go Live button, you ll see a small arrow icon. Click that, and then click the option called Schedule Live. This will launch an additional window where we can tell Facebook about our event. Specify the date and time of your broadcast here. One of the fantastic benefits of this feature is that Facebook will include a get reminder button on your Friday post. When someone clicks that button, Facebook will then alert them 5 or 10 minutes before your event starts on Sunday, reminding them that you are about to go live. 52 There are some very important points to keep in mind as you use this feature. First, understand that once you schedule your live event for a certain time, Facebook is going to go live exactly at that time with whatever is in your Face-

53 book preview window. If nothing is there at the scheduled time, your stream key will be deleted, and the live stream event that people requested reminders for will be canceled. This is bad. To keep this from happening, we recommend having some sort of looping video or at the very least an event starting soon graphic queued up well before your broadcast is set to go live. This way, even if your pastor or speaker is not right on time with the message, at least there will be something for Facebook to stream in order to keep on schedule. the live experience You ve decided to utilize Facebook live. You ve purchased this course, completed the training, acquired and set up your equipment, configured the software, tested and retested everything, promoted your event, and finally the day has come. It s time to go live on Facebook! Congratulations on taking a step outside of your comfort zone and leveraging this opportunity for the sake of the gospel in your community. Let s take the last part of this written guide to walk through your Sunday workflow as you anticipate the live stream. Since you ve already scheduled your event to start broadcasting on Sunday at a set time, there s really no reason to wait until the last minute to start streaming. We recommend that you arrive to on location about an hour before your event is scheduled to go live. Do a thorough equipment check, test your OBS settings, make sure your scenes are in order, and your audio is clear. Once you re confident that all is well, pull up your scheduled event from the Facebook live window, copy the stream key into OBS, and click the start streaming button in OBS. Remember, your event will be going live automatically from the Facebook live preview window, so there will be no need to click the Go Live button. Once your event goes live, it would be great idea to make a post on your church Facebook page welcoming visitors to the live event, and encouraging them to visit your landing page to claim their free gift (include a link to the landing page in your post). Then, you should pin this post to the top of your page so that it is the first thing your page visitors see. It s also really important to have a designated individual who will be your live stream service host. It will be this person s job to interact with any comments that are left on the live stream post, answer questions, and even post sermon quotes live during the service to help spark conversation and engagement. This could be a staff member or another individual who 53

54 Notes you feel would have the tact and discernment necessary for the job. The service host should interact with visitors under their personal Facebook account rather than the church Facebook account. This gives the interactions a much more personal touch! 54

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