Wood Chipper Meets Jr. High Student

Creative and Different!

I had never quite seen a wood chipper used like this before! Last Friday, I had the privilege of speaking to almost 1,000 jr. highers at Fresno's ALL NIGHT RAGER, an event put on by Fresno Youth for Christ and area churches. They really put on a good show with computer driven game shows projected with a VPU, and a live video feed from the parking lot.

Several great ideas worth noting:

1. For this all night event they chose to use church and school buses to transport everyone around town. But as a grand prize, 6 kids got to ride in a limo. The limo was parked out front as everyone arrived. They featured it several times on the live video feed and they used it as a great draw for kids to participate in the up front games.

2. The live video feed was very effective because it allowed them to do something they could only do outside (the wood chipper) and show it to the large group seated inside. Read further down on how you can do a live feed even if you don't have a big budget!

3. The wood chipper game! Most experienced youth workers only need to hear two words: WOOD CHIPPER- and they begin to think of 100 ideas of what they could do with one. I had to admit, I had never thought of using one before (even after seeing Fargo!) but the possibilities are endless! They played a game called “You pick it, We chip it.” I never quite figured out what the title had to do with the game, but the kids didn't care. RAGER staff brought kids in front of the audience, put them in some protective rain gear, and sent them outside to the wood chipper. The audience watched them exit the side door where the video feed immediately picked them up. The objective was to see who could get the messiest. The staff brought the contestants in front of the chipper, a few at a time, and began throwing items in the chipper which, in turn, sprayed all over the contestants. Fresno used eggs, watermelon, lettuce and other messy items (no live animals!) The one thing I noticed is the obvious fact that “the more stuff you have to shred- the better the show!” The kids loved it and I'm sure the youth network in Fresno would say that the event was a success.

Live Video Feed's

Using a Live Feed on a Limited Budget

How do you do a live video feed without killing your budget and what would you use one for?

The first live video feed I did was when I was young and I helped run a jr. high event where we did a game, “Bobbing for Bananas!” This doesn't sound like a big deal . . . unless you're in a church with a baptistry that you've filled with milk and the bananas are sunk at the bottom 4 feet down! (I was young- so don't email me if you're offended by this!) We had a camera at the entrance to the baptistry, interviewing each “bobber” as they disappeared into the 50 gallon tank for what seemed like minutes before emerging with a banana in their mouth.

This was the easiest of all feeds. We went to radio shack and bought a couple hundred feet of coaxial cable. We put a RCA jack on each end (converting it to an RCA cable) and plugged one end to a video camera's VIDEO OUT and the other end to a VCR's VIDEO IN. It's as simple as it sounds. Have the VCR go into your TV or VPU and you've got VIDEO. NOTE: This is only the VIDEO- you will still need a wireless mike hooked to your sound system for your audio.

Kid's love to see themselves and their friends on the big screen. Use the live feed for fun results! And keep sending me your best ideas so I can share the wealth!