Silent Night
Diocesan-Wide Virtual Choir
The Diocese of Nebraska invites the singers among us to consider participating in a diocesan-wide virtual choir! Together, we will sing the classic hymn “Silent Night” to be shared on Christmas Eve. On this page are instructions for how to participate and links to five base-track videos: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass, and All. To join us, you will need to record and upload a video of yourself singing along to this base-track. You may select ONE part to sing for your recording and use the corresponding video to listen to as you record.
Instructions for recording are listed below. After you have recorded your video, please upload it to this shared Google Drive Folder.
How to Record Your Virtual Video
Camera Set-up
1. Set your phone, computer, or other camera to 1080p or 1080i if possible. 720 is the lowest that looks good and anything larger is more file than is necessary.
2. If you’re using a phone, be sure to record with your phone in landscape (horizontal or wide) position.
3. Remember to look at the camera and not just the screen.
4. Try to set the camera between chest and eye level as you record so we avoid unpleasant shots up the nose.
5. Please do not hold the camera while recording. It needs to be stationary.
What to Wear
1. If you have access to and wish to wear vestments, you may. Otherwise, wear a solid-colored shirt. T-shirts are acceptable, but nothing with words.
Choosing a Background
1. Find someplace quiet indoors. Other people and pets are obvious distractions to avoid, but also be aware of things like road noise, air conditioners, fans, birds chirping. The quieter the better.
2. Watch your backgrounds. We’ve all hear the horror stories of selfies gone wrong due to unplanned items in the background. We’re not looking for blank walls, but anything distracting should be avoided.
3. Position yourself in the screen from the waist up. Something like this:
Recording Your Video
1. Pull up the base track video with your chosen part on a separate device (another phone or computer)
2. Listen to the base track video with earbuds in. We can suggest taking one earbud out to not feel so stuffy as you sing, but please try to muffle the free earbud so the video’s audio doesn’t come through in your recording.
3. Sing your heart out. Smile!
4. When the song ends, please hold still for two full seconds.
Submit Your Video
1. Using a browser on your video recording device to go to https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1LrLxRLTMrLR53cugV3r3F0beHTQg-67Y?usp=sharing
2. In the top, left-hand corner of the screen, click on the button that says "New" (on smart phones this button may be a plus sign on the bottom right of your screen)
3. In the drop-down menu, select "New File Upload" or "Upload"
4. Select your newly recorded video, it may take a few moments to upload
If you have any questions about how to participate, please contact our Director of Communications, Abby Zimmerman, at azimmerman@dioneb.org.
