76 pastors. 7 team members. 1 week. 1 united heart. Because God is Over All.
by Sister Hannah Lee
Putting this video together in less than a week was a mammoth task for a team of seven .
The start of the marathon
Less than a week before Broadcast Life Conference began, Pastor Gary put together a team to discuss the possibility of a finale item. Inspired by the home videos circulating around during this period, it seemed fitting for Trinity's pastors to sing our very own song of faith over the church. And so begun the marathon to put together the grand finale to Broadcast Life Conference - Trinity's Pastors singing Over All together, from their own homes.
It was a race against time. Huddled together over Zoom, the team quickly made and executed the plan. What followed was a flurry of events - an urgent briefing for all 76 pastors, getting them to quickly record themselves and send the recordings in, rushing out music arrangements, and then lining up to frame every pastor in the video.
Will we make it?
The journey was not without its challenges. Many technical difficulties surfaced - files could not be downloaded, videos could not be rendered, computer crashed, and hardware limitations from sub-optimal video editing hardware when working from home.
The editors spent sleepless nights trying to overcome the technical challenges. But they were troopers to the end - determined to push through the editing marathon to the final moments.
The runway was short but the team, with a unified vision to bless Trinitarians, pressed on. It came down to the nail biting moments just before the item was due on Friday night.
At 6.30pm our video editor informed us that it would take 50 minutes for the editing system to process all the edits. We were really cutting it close! The team got together to pray. As we prayed, the processing time swiftly dropped from 50 minutes, to 40, 30, and finally to 20 minutes! The process was completed in less than half the time!
But the battle wasn’t finished. Final adjustments still had to be made to ensure the music is in sync with the video. The editor started to find errors -- video missing, music missing and synchronization was off. It seemed like we weren't going to make it. But by faith, the team persevered, and finally right at the start of the evening's broadcast at 8.30pm, a complete video was sent to the Broadcast team to be used for the finale item.
The Finale
Watching the final video being played onscreen was an surreal experience. The Broadcast Life Conference has been a heart-warming experience where Trinitarians got up close and personal with the pastors. Ending the conference with Trinity's original composition, sung by our very own pastors and declaring our God is Over All, is the best way to cap it off.
This marathon was worth it.
Inspiration or Perspiration?
Here are some creative responses from pastors when briefed about the song (anonymity has been observed for obvious reasons).
"I feel so vulnerable to have to send you my singing. Can you promise me you will burn it after you are done with it and no one ever gets hold of it? The husband said you will hate the song after you hear me sing. Ha ha!"
“I can mime right?”
“I am dying of laughter. I am practicing the song and I feel like I am killing the chicken to reach the notes.
Then the image of killing a chicken or cow flew in.”
“I didn't know I croak so bad. Like slaughtering chicken. 🐣 chicken 🐓!”
“Recorded so many times!😅😅😅”
“Oh oh, I trust that this video will be deleted after whatever is done?!?! I have no courage to send in my awful recording! Ha ha.”
“Have uploaded the video. Hope it’s ok. Though I had closed all my windows, there was still some traffic noise in the beginning. But once I started singing, the noise seemed minimal. Recorded three times, but the noise is still present.”
“My husband said he is deaf n dead after my singing. Can’t be interviewed. My kids said they are under Gag Order.”
“Pastor Gary said it would take us just 10 mins to do it. But I think I spent more than an hour on it. Many many takes, ok?! Ha ha! I recorded till I started sweating, even though room was air-conditioned. Felt like it was easier to run 10 km than to sing one song!”
“Expectation: Recording will just take 10mins
Reality:
10 mins - our worship leaders
15 mins - those with good voices
1 hr - the rest of us”
“It was easier to just mute the mic (so that no one will ever hear the bad singing, and I won't need to risk being laughed at). But I decided not to take the easy way out, as I truly want to contribute a voice to the video!! ❤️”
"How vulnerable we feel but yet we will do it! My family was just laughing as they were trying to spot me in the video cos they knew how many times I recorded and how they were tortured by me."
Over All
What Trinitarians Say
"What a wonderful surprise treat to hear you pastors sing, thank you!!" 😊👏❤️👍 - Chan Siong Yu "Thank u pastors! Pastors can sing so well! Thanks for all the efforts and love u have shown. The songs are so uplifting to my spirit. Amen! We can overcome this together ❤️" - Gladyes Lee
"A BIG Thank You to all the Pastors + Staff who make this Life Conference possible. Thank you on behalf of Living Streams - The members wanted me to appreciate all of you for the hard work behind the scene. And they love the Over All item!!" 😊😍
Missed Broadcast Life Conference or want to watch it all again? Head to TrinityBroadcast.tv.
Reflect & Respond
How does knowing that you are not alone but among a community that loves and cares encourage you?
How have you been blessed by the knowledge that God is Over All?
Who can you share this encouragement and blessing with?