Awkward Small Groups Promo Video
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Behind The Scenes:
How We Made This Video
Pitching The Idea
I’m not going to lie, the only reason this video exists and has been seen by tens of thousands of churchgoers across America is probably because the Small Groups pastor responsible for approving the idea was on vacation when it needed to be approved.
Comedy, especially in church is very subjective.
As you’ve probably experienced at your church, sometimes the congregation can be a warm audience ready to burst out laughing at the slightest joke, but countless other times we’ve all had to sit through something that someone(?) apparently thought was funny, but fell way flat.
That said, funny church videos are often avoided because of the cringe factor if it doesn’t land right - it’s always safer to stick to the serious stuff.
Luckily, me and my friend and co-creator David Schulz got to pitch a series of comedic ideas to the small groups coordinators instead of the vacationing pastor :) and after we all nearly fell out of our chairs laughing throughout the meeting we had enough approval to get started on the productions.
Casting The Actors
Since we were actually filming two different commercials we tapped both the church’s Comedy Ministry (yes, the church had a comedy ministry!) and a local network of actors through a couple of my friends.
We had everyone who was interested send in audition videos, reviewed them as a team, and picked the two actors that made us laugh the most for the Awkward Small Groups Promo: Annie Willett and Volt Francisco.
It might feel like a lot of extra effort and it might feel uncomfortable if you’ve never done it, but holding auditions (in person or virtual) is ALWAYS worth the effort - especially when casting for comedy. If you’re not laughing in the audition, on set when you’re shooting, and in post-production when you’re editing, your congregation isn’t going to be laughing on Sunday.
Casting The Background Extras
From a production standpoint one the best (and cheapest) ways to add production value to your videos is having background extras in the scene.
Take a look at Christian movies (or even YouTube videos) that just feel a little off and you’ll notice there’s hardly anyone else around besides the main actors. You may not notice it right away or be able to put your finger on it, but your subconscious knows there should be other people in the scene and it’s telling your brain that something isn’t right.
Typically, this is because of budgetary restrictions that the backgrounds aren’t filled with people, but luckily for us we were making small groups promos, so we had access to a large pool of small group attendees.
A handful of church members (most of whom I think came from the same small group) volunteered to come and sit in my scorching hot house with no AC for four hours to pretend to be talking amongst themselves. I say “pretend to be talking” because they can’t actually be talking when we’re recording or it will ruin the audio - so they’re literally miming their fake conversations while we’re filming.
They did amazing and their generosity TOTALLY took this promo to the next level!
Something as simple as seeing people in the background of every shot helps the audience get drawn further into the performance of the lead actors.
If you want to take your church’s videos to the next level (comedy or not) try your hardest to get volunteers to be background extras and it will add so much production value.
The Video Camera & Lighting Gear
We shot this video on my very first DSLR - the Canon 7D and a set of Canon prime lenses:
Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 L
Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 L
I also wanted it to have a hand-held feel ala The Office so I stabilized the camera with our redrockMicro Shoulder Mount (pictured below with the Canon C100 in its place).
Mind you, this was a VERY low budget production, using a blend of my own personal gear and some of the church’s, so for the main key light I created a very cheap, but very effective solution.
To create a nice, flattering key light, I used a 300W Soft White Incandescent light bulb, a hanging light socket (that could handle that much wattage), and a nylon Chinese lantern that was always hanging juuuuust above the video frame in between the two lead characters.
I think the whole contraption cost about $50 total - MUCH cheaper than any other light on the market. If you try to build one yourself I recommend the nylon lanterns and not the paper ones because they will last way longer (also the bigger the better). Also, make sure the light socket you buy has a max wattage capacity that can handle your lightbulb.
By hanging the lantern overhead it made it feel like it was a light coming from a normal ceiling fan fixture. This is my favorite kind of lighting - naturalistic with just a touch of extra flattering-ness.
To light the backgrounds I bounced an Arri 650W Fresnel light into the ceiling of the kitchen & living room.
Sound Equipment & Music
On the shoot day we captured audio separately using the Oktava MK-012-01 condenser microphone with the hypercardioid capsule recording into a Zoom H4N Recorder.
When we played the promotional video at the church for a couple of weeks in a row it originally had Michael W. Smith’s Friends as the music being played inside the apartment, but for copyright reasons we replaced it with my friend T.J. Hill’s original song Heaven Is A Barbeque for posting the video online.
Not quite as iconic, but still funny and totally works for the scene.
I hope you enjoyed the video and that your congregation gets a good chuckle if you play it at your church!
