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3…2…1…ACTION!

By Karen
6/5/2013

Why does the film industry make about $35 Billion per year in the United States alone each year?  It's obvious, people LOVE movies!  There's no medium that can quite capture the essence and impact of your event like a well-edited video.  With today's technology, you don't need fancy movie equipment (even your phone shoots video now!) or expensive video editing programs (try Lightworks www.lwks.com) to create a great video to promote your event.  It's also free and easy to share your video with everyone you know, and they know, and they know...heck, the whole world!

I can guarantee the time spent shooting your video and editing it will not only be worth it, but can be fun as well!  In the spring, one of the churches that booked a camp with our Lake Williamson property came to shoot a video to promote their upcoming event.  I don't know that our staff has ever had more fun romping around our campus with this energetic group of youth leaders.  Though it was a chilly April day, they were determined to shoot a video that made it look like it was summer to get the campers excited.  They shot video all over the property, pretending to zip line into the lake, rush down the giant water slide and even lay out on the beach in just a bathing suit and sunglasses as if it were not 50 degrees, but 90.

The Crossing Church Camp Promo from Christian Retreats Network on Vimeo.
Video courtesy of The Crossing (www.thecrossing.net)

The video came out terrific and the result was camp registration that so far exceeded their expectations (2.5x their expected attendance), that we literally ran out of room and they had to start an extensive waiting list!  Since this was the first time this church was coming to Lake Williamson, they didn't have the opportunity to shoot a video earlier to promote their camp, but I can only imagine where their registration numbers would have been if they had shot the video back in 2012.

So when you're packing for your summer camp or retreat this year, don't forget your phone, video camera, DSLR, iPad, tablet...whatever you have with video capabilities and shoot away!

Do you use videos to promote your event?  Share your experience!



Christian Retreats Network /

Based at Lake Williamson / PO Box 620 / Carlinville, IL 62626

info@christianretreatsnetwork.org