Jake Moore - Interview

In this interview, I had the great opportunity to talk to Jake Moore. He's the Live Visuals Director at Praise Church, and you may also know him from his wedding photography and videography work through his website https://www.jakemoorefilms.com/. In our talk, Jake and I discussed the world of Church Production, how it's moved forward, the importance of grounded faith in church leadership, and his development as a follower of Christ. Jake and I have been working together for a number of years now, so asking him for an interview was absolutely a must. Enjoy.

There is a lot of discourse between worship leaders about the purpose of high production value versus just 1 person with an acoustic guitar and every variation between, do you see an inherent value in the environment you lead in? 

Whenever you have just one or the other, it can get stagnant. I think people have very “consumer” mindset, that’s just how we are as human beings. So, I think there are benefits to both, but there should be margin to change things up and be dynamic. The whole purpose of production is to speak the language of the culture and break down walls. I think you can break down certain walls with a very low production value, no special lights, one musician with an acoustic guitar, etc. I think there are other walls that can be broken down with the help of crazy lights, huge LED screens, and stuff like that. So, I think there’s value to all of it. The level of worship doesn’t depend on the stuff that you have. Production elements are just a gift from God, they’re not necessary to have a worship set. 

I will say, in this world of tech and stuff, it can get to a point where you’re just wishing for the next thing, and that can make you miss out on being in the now. 

What’s one thing you think worship/church teams focus on too much and what’s one thing they don’t focus on enough?

Coming from the media world into the production view — I think we spend too much time with the mundane and tedious stuff. We spend a lot of time doing those tiny things that don’t make much of a difference. To me, the biggest thing I’ve noticed is leaders with a priority list that is out of order. Kinda going back to what we were talking about before, it is so easy to get lost in focusing on the future. I think it’s easy for church leaders to focus so much on goals and the future that they miss out on the now. 

You work a lot with live visuals, can you point to a live event/any form of cinematography that really stands out in your mind?

Yeah, I’ll just tell you my influences to do you one better. I’m very technically influenced by Bethel. I’m going to say that with the clarification of the inspiration being only technical. I look at their stuff a lot for creative elements. I think they do a great job. One thing I have noticed about Bethel is their crazy amount of resources. They still do what they do on a relatively small budget though. I admire that, because it can be hard to stick to budgets in the church world. I look to them a lot. I also like to look outside of the church world for influences. What you can see happen a lot is churches will only take inspiration from other churches so they eventually all look the same. For instance, you have Lakewood Church, which is super corporate. Then you have Hope City, which I would say is on a similar spectrum to Elevation, as far as that corporate style with a twist of creativity, just speaking about camera movements and whatnot. That’s what I love about Bethel’s camera style, because they’re on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. They have shaky, super dynamic shots. But when I look outside the church world for inspiration, my inspiration comes from things like live music videos. The same goes for lighting as well. A lot of my lighting and visual influence actually doesn’t come from other churches now that I think about it. 

What are your thoughts on Cable Cameras like they have at football games for churches?

I won’t say I haven’t looked at those. There’s obviously a certain level you have to be at to afford one of those beasts. It’s a tough balance sometimes, cuz with camera work you don’t want to be too distracting, but you can’t let that caution limit your creativity. When we first started using a roaming camera on the stage (shoutout to our Ninja Cam and SteadiCam Operators) some people said it was distracting, but here we are now and no one really notices. I think there’s a threshold where something becomes too distracting so people won’t learn to ignore it. That’s why we don’t do Steadi or Ninja shots during the message, only during worship. I think Cable Cams can be a great tool, in the right hands.  

I know you’re never one to shout about your own greatness, but I still wanna ask: is there a videography/photography job of yours that you’re particularly proud of?

One of the weddings I’ve done for a couple named McKenzie and Jake was awesome. They were a dream to work with. Amazing venue, amazing time. They were so easygoing and I got to do so much creative work with my shots. From Color Grading to Shot Styles, even like some Film Grain and Lens Flare. I’d say that’s one of my most favorite projects I’ve ever worked on. 

So I know you have also seen Hillsong perform live, when you see a massive worship band like that, is there anything you take away from that experience?

There’s certainly something special to experiencing worship done by a team that has been working together for years. I really do admire how locked-in they are. They know each other so well as leaders that they can play off of each other that much better. Because, you could have a worship leader that’s so connected to the Spirit and the moment, but when that’s the case for the whole team and not just the one, it’s so awesome. It’s not just one person leading you. It’s not just Taya or Joel or JD, it’s the whole team. It’s super awesome to worship with a team that is THAT locked-in with each other. 

In your time with Praise, especially with their huge events, is there a Winter Retreat/Summer Camp story that stands out in your memory?

Being behind the scenes for most of my time at Praise, I don’t really get to talk to students during camp or retreat, unfortunately. However, Summer Camp 2019 there was a student who decided to give his life to Christ at lunch. I think it was Caleb Perkins and Ryan Stanley that led him through that process. I don’t think the student’s dad was in the picture, so they called his grandpa on speaker so the student could deliver the news and you could hear the grandpa was in tears. It was one of the sweetest moments I’ve ever seen. I think the most beautiful salvations are the ones that happen during random moments outside of some kind of service or worship high. Also, someone was telling me about their experience at Winter Retreat 2019 and how all of the worship elements with the lights and everything really spoke to them. That’s why we do what we do. That’s why we do the crazy lights and stuff. That speaks to the younger generation especially. 

What do you think are the main misconceptions about the Broadcast Team?

I’ve actually been thinking about this for a long time, thank you for asking. I think that people believe they have to reach a certain level to volunteer with us. It’s a similar mindset to people who believe they have to clean up their lives before they let God in, but it’s exactly the opposite. I think people walk in and do what I did. When I first came to Praise and saw all the cool production stuff, I thought, “all of these people are professionals” I was completely wrong. I think that’s the perception. Like, who would have experience running a broadcast camera or a steadicam? It’s so unique, so the common perception is that you have to have so much prior experience. The truth is, anyone, regardless of who you are, as long as you can work your iPhone camera, you can run a camera. If you can see, you can be on Broadcast in some capacity. 

What’s the most memorable church experience you’ve had?

That’s tough, cuz there’s so many. (thinks for a few moments) I’m having a really hard time coming up with just one. I think the best Sundays for me have been our Baptism Sundays. Because, we do so much planning and preparing and programming, but we’re a bit more loose on a Baptism Sunday. That paired with all the public life-change we get to see is so amazing. It’s super awesome to see God move so much. Like the Baptism Sunday we did right before COVID, we had Taryn Crew get baptized. Anna and I were in a small group with Kaitlan and Brandt, and we prayed for her for probably a year and a half. So being able to see that come to fruition was so amazing. You can see the domino effect. The phenomenon that life change affects life change affects life change. Like, you have Kingdom Gen which started life change in Abigail Hebert, who influenced Carly Counts, who influenced Taryn, and I’m sure Taryn’s salvation and baptism will influence others and so on. And two of those names were on pavers, so that’s super cool to see God’s faithfulness in their stories. 

What book, other than the Bible, do you think has helped you the most?

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. I love that book so much. I think that’s the most in-depth I’ve ever gotten into a book other than the Scriptures. The opening chapter, or somewhere near the beginning, Stephen Covey says, “You’re at a funeral, people are saying things, and you notice that this is your funeral, what are these people saying about you?” It makes you wonder how much of a difference you’re actually making. It’s crazy because Covey isn’t even a Christian, I don’t think. but his writing ends up so in line with the Bible and he probably didn’t even know it. 

What is the greatest struggle in your life that you’ve overcome, and how did you overcome it?

I am a huge perfectionist, and I used to be very prideful about that. I had a major character flaw, and I still struggle with it, but it used to be a lot worse. It was more prevalent when I was growing up. I think part of that has to do with my Dad teaching me work ethic when I was very young. Like, I started helping him work the farm when I was 8 years old, that’s not normal. My Dad taught me many skills at a young age, and I’m grateful for that, but I think I let that fuel pride in my heart about all the awesome things I could do. I had this complex of thinking I was so much better than other people my age. 

So during your time with the Creative team and other background parts of ministry, is there anything you learned from the Behind the Scenes part of church leadership?

That’s a big question, I’ve learned a TON of stuff. I actually served at another church before Praise, and a lot of people may not know that. There was a lot of disagreement there. What I have learned that is very valuable, is that I am there to serve my volunteers. I’m not there to yell at them or make them feel lesser, I’m there to serve them. Also, learning to be able to defend the “why behind the what” has been very valuable. If you’re gonna make decisions in such a technical world, it can be very easy to ask, “Why do we need those lights?” or “Why do we need more cameras?” or “Why do we need Haze?”. It’s very easy for people to go against basically everything I do at Praise. Even beyond that, with the other church I served at, there was a “Why do we need drums?” conversation, and I didn’t know how to defend myself in that situation. Being able to explain how that can elevate your sound and how that can allow people to come alongside your team and give their all with the gifts God has blessed them with would have been great to know then. 

Do you think there’s a genre of music that Contemporary Worship Music could take some notes from?

Hmmm, good question. I really enjoy Hillsong Young & Free and the direction they’re going. I don't dare call it pop, cuz that’s just too generic. It’s like indie-pop I think. I think Christian music has created it’s own genre musically. I love the progression. I see a lot of churches like Elevation, Mosaic MSC, etc. doing new things. 

So, I remember from our short period of drum lessons, you would often reference the work of other drummers you were either inspired by or at least you admired them, so I wanna hit you with a few prominent drummers and I just wanna get your snap reaction to them.

Brendan Tan (Young & Free) 

Brendan Tan is a beast at what he does. I think he is one of the cleanest drummers I’ve ever heard. What stands out to me is his cymbal choice, he loves giant-freaking-cymbals. Young & Free is taking things to the next level with everything they do. He very heavily influences my drumming. 

Simon Kobler (UNITED) 

Simon is one of the most consistent drummers I’ve heard. He’s very dynamically consistent. He’s super clean and unique. He’s almost reserved in a way. He’s able to play things that I never would have imagined. Like, “Another in the Fire” has a bunch of cool drum parts that I assume he writes. 

Vincent Baynard (Elevation) 

Elevation, I have to say, they're pretty conservative on the drum side. Like, we play “My Testimony” a lot, and it’s really chill. He’s a very passionate player. Recordings and live can be very different a lot of the time. He knows when to go for it and when to not. He’s somehow cookie-cutter in a good way. 

Theo Katzman (Vulfpeck) 

Pocket. Not just because of the song, but Theo can just drop it in the pocket, stay in the pocket, never leave the pocket. There’s some discordance among drummers if the pocket is a real thing, but I think it is. The difference between a seasoned and bland drummer is being able to drop into a groove well in my opinion. 

Aaron Gillespie (Underoath) 

I think I know of him because of you. I cannot play like he plays. Metal chops are different. Especially because he doesn't or at least rarely uses a double-kick. His speed on a single kick is one I won’t even attempt to approach. I can’t.

David Whitworth (Bethel) 

Kinda like what we were talking about earlier, they do a lot of stuff on the fly, so his adaptability is crazy. It can’t be taught. Not in a negative way, but their ability to do things on the fly is nuts. 

Paul Whittinghill (Passion) 

I saw Passion live and they are very much in the genre of Christian music if that makes sense. He doesn’t go very crazy, they don’t take too many risks. They stick with their sound. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, that’s what fits them. 

When you’re programming lights for a song, has there ever been a color you have just hated and not wanted to use?

Green. I don’t like using Green. I typically stay away from fully saturated primaries. Most of our fixtures are RGBWA (Capable of using Red, Green, Blue, White, and Amber), and being able to add in that White is so useful. I’ve worked with RGB lights, and I will never go back if I don’t have to. 

There seems to be a lot of disagreement between churches on the purpose of spontaneous worship, do you see a greater value in either planned or spontaneous worship services/elements? If so, what?

I’m very passionate about this, I think spontaneity can be an excuse for laziness. To say, “We’re not going to plan and just allow God to move in this” can be an excuse to not be excellent in your preparation. At Praise, we spend a lot of time planning and we have margin and we allow God to move. We spend a lot of time in prayer. God moves in our programming and planning. It’s not like God only moves in the service. To say “We’re not going to plan so that we can allow God to move” is putting God in a box, I think. You’re essentially saying that God isn’t moving in your planning. I think there’s an important balance. I wish we could do a little bit more of the spontaneous stuff occasionally. 

-END-

Thanks so much for reading this interview! If you enjoyed it, consider checking out some of my other interviews. I publish every other Monday. Hope you have a great rest of your day!