Images: Behind the Scenes at Willow Creek Community Church
Weekend producer Paul Jansen van Rensburg talks directly to the audio booth during a full rehearsal at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington. At any time during a service, he can talk to booth so they can make any needed adjustments.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Service supervisor Scott Krus of Round Lake grabs earpieces and radios for guest host volunteers right before a service at Willow Creek Church in South Barrington. This allows the hosts to communicate with each other easily during services.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Weekend technical director Chris Thomas works controls during a full rehearsal before services at Willow Creek Church in South Barrington. What is seen on these small monitors is what is being displayed on large projection screens throughout the auditorium during services.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Volunteer guest hosts gather for a quick meeting prior to a Sunday service at Willow Creek. There can be as many as 60 guest hosts per service, helping out in various ways during a service.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Photos taken by the video production team are edited in software to be used in the videos church members see during services on the weekends. Sometimes they use stock imagery, but often shoot their own images to be used in the productions.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Darren Niesley is the video director at Willow Creek and controls each Sunday morning presentation from a video production room in the basement of the church in South Barrington.
John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
Volunteer cameraman Ron Rankovich of Hoffman Estates operates a video camera during a full rehearsal prior to services at Willow Creek. Aimed at the stage, the imagery captured by the cameras are fed to the video control room in the basement of the church, which in turn broadcasts the images onto large screens throughout the auditorium so members attending the service can easily see and get an up close view of the people on stage.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Guest pastor John Ortberg, who is a senior pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in California and a former Willow Creek teaching pastor, waits in a back room for service to begin on Sunday, May 7. Ortberg was the guest pastor for services that day.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Staff audio engineer Ron Cook controls the mixing board during a full rehearsal at Willow Creek Church in South Barrington before the first service of the day.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Video producer/editor Jeff Beaumont works in one of the post production video suites at Willow Creek. The professional video production team creates top notch imagery and videos which are used in conjuction with services every weekend as well as other events.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Detrick Grimes of Arlington Heights sits with fellow volunteer guest hosts in a meeting prior to a Sunday service at Willow Creek Church in South Barrington.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Video producer/editor Jeff Beaumont works in one of the post production video suites.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
A detailed and jam-packed schedule for a Willow Creek service in South Barrington.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Video producer/editor Bjorn Amundsen works in one of the video editing suites at Willow Creek Church in South Barrington.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Scenic designer and scenic manager Glenn Davis shows a photo of a rotating stage being built which he designed for use at last years Christmas services at Willow Creek Church in South Barrington. It was a temporary stage and disassembled after Christmas. Davis and his team of volunteers create what church members see on stage during services.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
A view from backstage during a performance at Willow Creek Church in South Barrington. All stage designs are created by scenic designer and scenic manager Glenn Davis.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Video producer/editor Bjorn Amundsen works in one of the video editing suites at Willow Creek Church in South Barrington.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Executive in charge of video production Jim Sippel shows one section of the the tech core area at Willow Creek. Sippel is also the director of digital asset management and the copyright director.
Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
Darren Niesley is the video director at Willow Creek and controls each Sunday morning presentation from a video production room in the basement of the church in South Barrington.
John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com