Video

35.   www.animoto.com (Demonstration)– You no longer have an excuse to put together boring slide presentations. Animoto has been around for a few years now, and it provides an awesome, cheap way to display photos and videos. Create an account, give Animoto your photos, videos, music and any captions, and let it do the rest.

36.   www.videoblocks.com – If you need high quality stock video for cheap, this is where I’d suggest you look. Their library would work equally well for promotional videos and video backgrounds on presentations. They even have quite a few After Effects templates if you want to make your work look really cool. VideoBlocks offers free trial periods all. the. time. So you could very likely get all the media you want without paying a dime.

37.   www.audioblocks.com – This is the sister site to videoblocks.com, and offers stock music and stock sound effects. The selection is decent, and just like videoblocks, you can often get music for free if you wait for their trial periods to come around.

38.   www.archive.org – If you are looking for old vintage film clips to use in your next video project, this is a great place to check out. Archive.org is a huge repository of audio and video files that have been released into the public domain. I often use this site for finding old historical and public service announcement PSA’s.

39.   www.freesound.org (Demonstration)– If you need sound effects, this website has got you covered. There are thousands of different sound effects for just about any project you can think of. If you get creative, you could even create a game using sound effects from this site (think “Guess the Animal” or “Which Sound Doesn’t Fit?”).

40.   www.youtube.com/my_live_events - Want to create a live stream of an event going on at church? Want to allow families on the road or those who can’t travel from home to still take part in your church service? Youtube’s relatively new live streaming feature fits this bill perfectly. With a camera, a computer, a Youtube account and an internet connection, you can broadcast your next event or church service for free to anyone who tunes in online.

41.   DVD-to-Video Conversion – I’m not advocating illegal copying of videos for the reason of selling or distributing them. This is more for the intent of showing a video clip in your ministry. First, I’d recommend using MakeMKV to pull the DVD files off the DVD. Second, use the program HandBrake to convert your MKV files to more manageable MP4 files. From there, you can easily include a video clip without having to rely on finding the right spot on a DVD.

42.   gracewaymedia.com/Free (Slide 13) – Graceway Media gets used by tons of churches, but it’s still worth mentioning here. Graceway produces really excellent video backgrounds, video introductions, sermon intros and much more. On top of that, Graceway creates matching design packages, allowing you to produce whole presentations based around a central theme. If you aren’t much of a designer or video editor, but want to look sharp anyway, Graceway is an excellent option.

43.   GoPro Cameras (Possible Demo)– GoPro cameras are little tiny cameras that you can mount just about anywhere. They are rugged and can take quite a beating, but are still great at shooting high quality video and stills. In your children’s ministry, you could strap a GoPro onto one of your kids during a big group game to grab some video, or shoot a time lapse during a children’s ministry event. A new GoPro just came out this past week, so if you go looking for older generations on ebay, you could snag a really great deal (i.e. less than $100).

44.   www.videomaker.com – This is a one-stop destination for anything video education related. This site includes video production how to tips, equipment reviews and film critiques. The guys running the site know their stuff, and they have the gift of communicating what they know in an informative, helpful way. This site will help you get better at video.

45.   www.swank.com – Some of my favorite times with other Christians have been when we have watched movies together. Swank.com is a film public performance licensor. Basically, if you want to show a movie at your church or church event, you can purchase licensing for a very reasonable price, and show the movie without worrying about whether you are within your rights to do so or not. Swank’s library is not exhaustive, but tends to lean more heavily towards family friendly and children’s movies. It’s definitely worth checking out for your next church event.