The WHM Blog

I’m always on the lookout for new backgrounds to add to my media library that are “evergreen” – meaning they can be used in a number of services and are not tied to a specific season or style. Our producers are always cranking out these kinds of motion and still backgrounds, so be sure you’re always checking the Just Added sort at WHM.

Here are a few that caught my eye recently, and that I’ll be using at my church in the near future.

Heavenly Particles 03 by Centerline New Media – Really nice depth and movement in this spacey motion. Would be great for songs like Tomlin’s Our God or Paul Baloche’s Hosanna (Praise is Rising) or any song dealing with the majesty of God.

Worn Out Sunshine by Church Motion Graphics – Looking for something that’s bright, but not too bright? You found it. Great for early in the set and pairs well with songs like Forever Reign from Hillsong and Mighty to Save.

Come Alive by Floodgate Productions – The opposite of Worn Out Sunshine, this is great for when you want something dark, but not too dark. I love the idea of light bursting through the darkness. Great for songs like Shout to the Lord and Tomlin’s Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) that shift in energy levels throughout the song.

Roses Orange-Loop by Igniter Media – When you’re looking for something that’s bright and full of life, this is a great choice. Great for songs early in your set like 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) by Matt Redman and Blessed Be Your Name.

Seven Star Mountain 5 by Playback Media – Add a little extra depth to your background with this gorgeous mountain scene. (And No, I did not just pick this because I’m already ready for my trip to the Rockies this summer). I love using nature-themed backgrounds for songs about God’s greatness like How Great Thou Art, How Great is Our God, and Benton Brown’s Everlasting God.

Rainy Night 2 by Graceway Media – I’m a sucker for motions like this. Watching rain fall on the glass at night is something we can all relate to, and using that image in worship draws the congregation into that shared experience. This is great for more reflective songs like The Stand and It is Well.

What are some of your favorite backgrounds, and what songs do you use them with?

Dale and Luke enjoy some donuts (or do they?) and discuss a few of their favorite new mini-movies.

Check out the videos here:

Redeemed: Skit Guys

Some People: RomanMedia

Mighty: Journey Box Media

You’ve come to trust WorshipHouse Media as THE place to find media for your service, but what about BEFORE your service? Yes, we have a number of incredible countdowns (hundreds to be exact), but what if you’re looking for something a little different?

Enter Steve the Screen. This new pre-service video (with countdown timer) is one of the most unique products we’ve seen in a while. Steve, the personality that’s been trapped inside your screen all these years, greets the congregation and provides them with a number of things to grab, and hold, their attention in the lead up to your service.

Check it out here. It just may be the thing your church has been looking for!

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock* for the last week or so, you’ve probably heard that Chris Tomlin has a brand new record out, called Burning Lights. In typical Tomlin-style, there’s a great mix of upbeat shout-able tunes and slower worship tracks. He’s teamed up with heavyweights like LeCrae, Kari Jobe, Christy Nockels, and Phil Wickham. The album is really great, and we highly recommend it.

AND… on the same day the album hit stores, WorshipTogether released three new Worship Tracks from the album, ready for your church to use this Sunday. Check out all three here.

*Any offense to those who hide under rocks is completely unintentional.

Okay so Thanksgiving is sneaking up on me, but I’m glad I was asked to write this blog post because now I get to look through and pick my favorite Thanksgiving mini movies for you all, and after watching these amazing videos I am prompted to sit and soak in how incredibly good God has been to me in this last year (and always, really). I am truly thankful. Some really wonderful things have happened, and also some really difficult and sad things. God has been unbelievably faithful through all of it. It’s honestly difficult to even find the right words except maybe awe, and wow…

So here are my four favorite Thanksgiving mini movies. I’m really excited to share them with you.

Today We Thank You – Centerline New Media - This video is so upbeat and fun. I absolutely love the music Centerline used for this, it inspires worship for me. So does the whole design. These guys have such a sweet eye for colors and typography, I’d really encourage you to sit and look through all of their content, and just thank God for His creativity.

Bless the Lord (O My Soul) – Sundaes – I love the look of this mini movie. My husband and I just took a trip to Arkansas and we loved all the foliage. It was beautiful! So is this video. I think this can be really impactful for Thanksgiving, but can also be used any time where you want your church to just rest in God’s goodness and glory.

I Choose Thankful – Journey Box Media – This is a best selling Thanksgiving video from Journey Box. I am thankful for this video. If I have learned anything this year it is that I can be thankful when times are good and also when times are hard, because God is always good. If I can’t count on anything else, I can count on that. This beautiful video challenges us to give thanks to God in all circumstances.

Thanksgiving 2012 – Floodgate Productions - I really need you to just watch this mini movie here, before you leave the page. Floodgate nailed it. I love the quote at the beginning of the video:

“The grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay, but by experience; and that makes all the difference.” – Thomas Merton

I hope you love these mini movies as much as I do, and that they inspire you to worship and be thankful, because our God is so, so good!

You can find more seasonal content in our Thanksgiving Seasonal Store.

I’ll admit it. I get pretty uneasy at the thought of being locked in a tiny space. Which phobia was that? Right. Claustrophobia. What about the ever-popular arachnophobia, fear of spiders? There’s some that are pretty out-there, too, like octophobia – fear of the figure 8, and papyrophobia – fear of paper.

Then there are the fears that don’t seem so extreme, like fear of failure, fear of being alone, fear of judgement. We might not call them phobias, but they can be just as crippling. And while it’s normal and wise to understand that there is danger in the world, and that you will encounter problems in life, God doesn’t want us to be paralyzed by fear and anxiety. 2 Timothy 1:7 says:

“For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline.”

Fear of God is different. It is an awe and reverence that drives us to surrender to our beautiful and perfect Creator. This includes surrendering all our unhealthy fears that rob us of true joy and freedom in Christ.

The new video “Fear” by Central Films offers up this choice – fear God, or fear everything else! Check it out below, and find all of Central Films’ videos here.

Hey friends,

We’ve got some great new Spanish content on the site from some of our top producers!

Like Life With God or Prayer Intro by Dan Stevers? Check out the new Spanish versions below!

La Vida Con Dios

Oracion

We also now have the Spanish version of one of my favorite videos, Distraction by Journey Box Media. Check it out:

Get these and other Spanish mini movies here.

The following is a guest post from worshipVJ. He tells us the story of how his new stills collection, The Stations of the Cross, came to be.

I’ve always been into cathedrals and the idea of a worship space telling a story through various aspects, such as architecture, stained glass & art. And recently, I have come to appreciate more ancient & liturgical approaches to curating worship environments. There’s just something very powerful about immersing ourselves in imagery that aims our gaze towards God. I try to do this when VJ-ing, and Environmental Projection really helps to achieve the same effect.

Last May, I was invited to teach on visual worship at a workshop gathering in Warsaw, Poland. I took advantage of my time there and visited many cathedrals and even an old Jewish synagogue…many of which were destroyed during WWII and rebuilt in recent decades. One of the cathedrals I visited had the Stations of the Cross etched into the walls that surrounded the space. I loved its simplistic style of art; it was modern yet still had an organic feel to it. So I whipped out my iPhone and took some straight-on shots of each station grouping.

Months later, I found myself in Hong Kong and in a situation where I wanted to use these Stations as projected images. I’m not much of a Photoshop expert, but I went in and magic-wanded my way around the photos and adapted each picture for projection. I also made triple-wide versions and spread each Station out, so that each screen (or wall) had a different position of Jesus carrying the cross. And I decided to keep the images black & white with no color…as the journey towards crucifixion stripped Jesus of all color and life.

Stations of the Cross leads you on Christ’s visual journey of crucifixion and resurrection. These images are meant to be VJ’d in chronological order and can be spread throughout a song, an entire worship gathering or even over an entire season of worship, such as Lent. There are single-wides available, as well as triple-wide versions for multi-screen situations. The “Stations” also work really well for Environmental Projection!