The following is the actual true to life, no kidding, honest scenario, that took place on the evening of 2/23/2002. Really, don't read any further if you are on any medication or are pregnant! ~ Consider yourself duly warned.

They (the amazing Tech Staff referred to in the previous TechTip) couldn't stop showing the worship lyrics to get the disc ready for playback. Both things had to happen on the same computer simultaneously while the rest of the crew was involved in video taping the service, also happening simultaneously. Then at the moment of play back, one person had to freeze the PowerPoint presentation, another had to switch the video input so the clip could be seen, while the first person in the chain started the disc. After viewing the clip, the screen was frozen, the audio and video were switched back, and PowerPoint, was reset in rapid succession to allow the preacher access to his PowerPoint slides in a timely fashion. Simple, huh? Alas and Alack (weren't they those Greek twins from Greek Mythology?) it could have been. The alternative was one person would switch the projector input and press "Play" on the DVD player. After viewing the clip, that same person would then press "Stop" and switch the projectors back to PowerPoint. Wheh! Fun ride eh? Wanna go again?

While this is focused on DVD's and the events of 2/23, the issue is universal. Your Technical Staff is tremendously talented (another shameless plug) and can do almost anything, but at some point YOU have some responsibility to know what you are working with technically. (What - something else to do?!) If you don't know, it is incumbent upon you to seek the expertise of your technical staff in a timely fashion in order to insure that what you want to be accomplished will be accomplished. Unless you have as much Hands-on experience as your Technical Staff does, please do not assume that you know what you have or what we can do. You may have done or used something at home, in some other place or in another facility but that means little or nothing 5 minutes before a scheduled event.

So dear friends, as our gallant Tech Staff rides off into the sunset, we bid them fondue and breathlessly await the next time we receive another TECH TIP.

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