Upcoming Schedule

Here is a small update on some big changes. Next week I will be at the regional ATI homeschool conference in Big Sandy TX, and I'm not planning to post any updates during that time. THEN that Friday, I fly up to Michigan to help with the final round of Pendragon shooting!! I'll be there for 3 weeks and shortly after I get back our family is headed to Mexico on a family mission trip/dad's business for about 10 days. (whew) SO - I'll be out of the loop for a while :) While I'm gone there is a whole list of links to Christian films in the sidebar, check 'em out.

Hang with me, I'll be back eventually! There will be updates aplenty then!

Just between you and me, I'll see if maybe I can't squeeze some info out of the guys while I'm up in Michigan ;)

 

JellyFish

When creating a solution or product you have to find a need that you can fill.

Phil Vischer the "Veggie Tales guy" has been hard at work on his next 'big idea.' He has identified 2 very key problems in our culture today:

PROBLEM 1. The distinctions between Christians and world are growing less and less.
-FACT: Children have an average of 5hrs of media input a day (TV, games, internet)
PROBLEM 2. The Christian platform for launching Christian media is dying.
-FACT: Christians filmmakers are needing projects to work on.

This is the basis for what he feels God has called him to work on next and I've got to tell you, I am very excited! I highly encourage you to take the time to read his blog about the problems in our culture (he is dead on), how we as Christian need to step up and how he is working to help us "Christian media creators" to get our work out to the public.

If you have a video camera...Phil has an invitation for you....read on to find out more.....

"Letting go of your ambition, “dying” to your own “big ideas,” doesn’t necessarily mean that God won’t ask you to do something big. It just means, perhaps, that you’re finally humble enough to hold it loosely – to let whatever God has for you next be God’s thing, not yours. Perhaps the willingness to be small, in fact, is a prerequisite to being used by God to do something, well, un-small."

"So one of my founding goals for Jellyfish Labs is that “We will not hype.” We will not “spin.” We will not exaggerate for the purpose of generating headlines. And most (if not all) of our projects will start very small. We will plant seeds, and God will grow them. They will become exactly as “big and impressive” as God wants them to be – in his timing."

"We've talked about the problems - a) that we're failing to teach our kids the Christian faith and what it really means to live the Gospel in front of a watching world, and b) that kids are consuming more media than ever before while the production of Christians kids media is actually in decline. We've talked about the need for some sort of platform for Christian kids media - a "place" that can build teaching relationships with kids on a daily basis while helping the entire Christian creative community develop and launch new content; something with a two-fold ministry - first, to families everywhere as a trusted teacher, second, to the Christian creative community as an enabler, commissioner, buyer, ally.....There really hasn't been a time like this since the first roll-out of cable television in the late seventies - a period that saw the launch of now epic brands like ESPN, CNN and Nickelodeon. We think the world could use a new home for Christian kids media - a new brand. The time to launch it is right about now."

"The point is – it’s time to pull back the curtain. It’s time to open up the lab and invite everyone inside, to poke around, ask questions, and leave Post-it notes all over the place. It’s a new day. It’s a new blog. It’s time for you all to join the movement."

Are you ready?
Read Phil's blog here. Start with reading - Pulling back the curtain Part 1

 

No Greater Love - BLOG

They have started a blog for the film No Greater Love. You can find it here.
"We will take you behind-the-scenes, share lots of NGL inside info, bring along some awesome guest bloggers, and much much more!"

 

Fireproof Blog updates

Fireproof blog has a couple of updates! Check it out!

 

Final Cut Pro ANSWERS

Those of you who use Final Cut will find these article useful and informative. Those of you who do not use Final Cut....well I won't get into that. :)

Answers 1-15
Answers 16-30
Answers 31-45

 

Secrets of Jonathan Sperry

The website for Rich Christiano's new film is now up!

I like the looks of the production values on this one! Looking forward to more info and a trailer.

 

Expelled - Review

Isaac Botkin has a review of the film on his blog here.

 

Come What May - clip

For those of you who haven't seen it yet, there is a clip from Come What May on the Advent Film Group website.

 

Aletheia Stage & Film

Many of you know of Richard Ramsey from the SAICFF in '06. His film "The Oath of Desormeau" won 'Best of Festival' that year. He has also been producing short comedy videos with his brother John (and a few friends.)

The time has come for another big moment in the Ramsey family's life. They will be moving to Kentucky where he will join the staff at "City on a Hill Productions" as a full-time filmmaker.

Congratulations to Richard and I'll be excited to see his future productions! Read the full article on his blog.

 

Fireproof SCORES!

Fireproof blog has info about the music score for the film! You can also watch a video of them recording the live orchestra - AND if you look hard enough you can see some video every now and then from the movie.

 

Expelled under Attack

Ben Stein, the star of the movie, also makes it clear that no one will shut him up.

“I came to this project unsure what I would find. I am now amazed at the intolerance of many academic elites. I feel that it is my mission to speak out on behalf of targeted dissenters and fight for their freedom of speech and freedom of inquiry.”

Even before its April 18 release nationwide, Ben Stein's movie has triggered heated reactions from both sides of the debate between religion and science.

Atheists are “crashing” EXPELLED screenings and conference calls; critics are slamming it; and leaders are raving about it. EXPELLED screenings for legislators in Florida and Missouri are causing political firestorms and driving “Academic Freedom” bills that challenge Darwinism.

The controversy has made “Expelled” one of the most talked about movies of 2008.

Read the full article here.
If you have seen the film please leave either a comment or link to your review! I would really like to hear what you think!

 

Pendragon Graphics

-Pendragon now has the schedule up for when they need volunteers. I'll be headed up for the majority of May, if you are close to where they will be shooting then I encourage you to sign up!

-They also have some web banners that you can post on forums, on your blog, in your website...anywhere to help promote the film. They have a set of blue ones and also some red ones that have the princess instead of the bad guy. click here

 

Distribution 3 / Prince Caspien

- Scott has part 3 of his Distribution Blog Series up and ready to read :)

- I listed some links earlier to an article in which Doug Phillips gave his critique on the upcoming Prince Caspian film. Thanks to those of you who participated by giving your questions/comments on Scott's blog. Scott has given some answers and I would be interested in hearing thoughts from some more of you. Leave your comments here.

 

Pendragon Blog

Click here to read the update.

 

RED/NAB News!

Ok so what is RED you ask? From what I understand, it's considered the best bang for buck when finding a digital equivalent to film. So then what is NAB? National Association of Broadcasters, where all the leading media brands release huge news on new products (its a very exciting week.)

Well NAB is this week and RED has news!! They have a smaller cheaper camera Scarlet, a bigger more expensive camera Epic RED, and a RED RAY that plays RED media. Read about the announcement here.

Info on Scarlet can be found here. Info on the Epic, here. Visit the RED website HERE.

 

VF, SAICFF, Hollywood and Narnia

Thanks to Scott's Blog I was alerted to an article that Crosswalk did with Doug Phillips. In the article Phillips gave a few comments about the Narnia films and especially Prince Caspien, a very interesting read.

Scott is looking for feedback on the topic, I left him a comment on his blog with a couple of questions of my own. Click here to give your input.

 

Behind the Sun - clip

This is one of my all time favorite films!

"A young Christian returns home to the Middle East. What will his family do if they discover his new faith?" You can see a short scene here.

 

Dialtone Blog

The guys over at Germane Productions have begun a series on their blog about "Lessons Learned (while working on Dialtone.)" So far they have covered the subjects of pre-production and acting/directing. I highly encourage that you take a moment and give it a read.

 

Apple Ads

The've got a few new ones! Click here to watch the videos. My favorite new one is probably "Office Stress!"

 

The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Richard Ramsey has a really good blog post up about a guy named Bobby Henderson who founded The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster to protest the Kansas State Board of Education's decision requiring schools to give Intelligent Design Theory representation along with Evolutionary Theory. Henderson wrote an open letter to the education board sarcastically asserting that the "Pastafarian" belief that a Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe should also receive equal representation in the classroom.

How would you respond to that? Read Richards rebuttal here.

Anybody have thoughts/comments on the subject?

 

No Greater Love

They have updated their website with cast bios, pics and more! It's looking good.

 

Pendragon T-Shirt

They are now offering T-shirts and hooded sweat shirts to anyone who gives a donation over $8! Read more info here.

 

Pilgrim's Progress

They now have an updated website! You can see still pics here. According to this blog, release date is set for June 30.

 

DCFM Update

The DCFM blog has been updated, head over and check it out.

 

Fireproof

They have a new blog post up...head over and check it out.

Here is a BTS post from the set! Read it here.

 

Ben Stein - EXPELLED!

Here is a review from R.C. Sproul Jr. on the documentary Expelled.

These are Isaac Botkins statements regarding the film: I saw the film last month, and thought it was tremendous. Not only is it very well made from a technical aspect, it also has a very tight script that ties a lot of elements together effortlessly. And it's very funny in places, as well. I went into the film fairly cautiously, since I'm not really a fan of the ID (Intelligent Design) movement, particularly the basic thesis that we can exclude God's word from discussion and use solely autonomous reason.

Interestingly, the film isn't really about ID at all. It's main focus is the tyranny of ideas that exists within academia and the scientific community. Stein spends more time on the failings of Darwinist theories and their logical conclusions, like eugenics and Nazism, which is, I think, a good strategic move. Also, the interviews that they managed to get are pure gold, and it's obvious that no Michael Moore-style tricksy editing was required.

 

Widow's Might - Website

Temporary website up...check it out. Check out his blog too.

 

Fireproof on Facebook

For all the frequent Facebookers, click here to find out more about Fireproof.

 

Distribution for your Movie

Why do so many Christian filmmakers never breakeven, much less turn a profit? Why do most Christian filmmakers wait until the movie is finished before they try to set up distribution connections? Do we still need traditional movie distributors? Is it true that independent filmmakers can market their movies without any help from a distributor?

Scott Eash is covering the topic of distribution on his blog. Here is Part 1 - Part 2 and there is more to come.

 

Take Action

Free Fireproof desktops, buddy icons and web banners!! Click here.

 

Shekinah Springs Studio

Shekinah Springs Studio
Caleb and Daniel Morris ~ Composers

Our ultimate purpose in writing music is to glorify God. We want to write music for films that accomplish this goal. Music is a powerful element of film and can be used to communicate a message to the audience in a very compelling way. We want to use this powerful element of music to compliment and uplift Christian films that exalt the Lord Jesus Christ and hold up a standard of solid biblical truth.

MUSIC SAMPLES:
Seek and Find - "Despair"
Seek and Find - "The Truth"
Twas the Week Before Christmas - "Earning Money"
Twas the Week Before Christmas - "The Gift"
Joel's Journey - "Trusting God"
Out West - "Sunrise"
Out West - "Ready to Ride"
Out West - "The Race"
"Advent of a Hero"
"Our Flag"
"Onward!"

Click here to read an interview with Caleb and Daniel about the process they use to write music.

All music samples are © 2007-2008 Shekinah Springs Studio. All rights reserved.

 

Video Copilot

This place has the resources that will help drive your productions forward, Video Copilot.

I have been on the search for sound FX that are used in trailers. This company has an album that actually sounds pretty good. I haven't bought it...yet, so I can't say for sure how good it is. You can read more about it and hear some examples here.

 

Friends for Life

This one looks interesting. Click here to visit the website. Here is a link to still pics from the film.

 

Come What May

AFG has a poster out for the film Come What May. Read about it on their blog.

 

Direct Note Access

D.N.A. - ever wish you could tweak the notes in a live recording AFTER its been recorded? Click here to watch a video about this amazing new technology.

 

Treasure Blind

A new film from Oklahoma Christian filmmakers. It looks interesting, visit the website here.

If veteran Tulsa cabbie Cliff Edwards would look in his life's rearview, he'd see a string of wrecked relationships and missed opportunities. But, Cliff's not looking back if he can help it. He's too busy trying to track down a legendary stash of Civil War gold. What he digs up instead is the very past he's tried to bury. He thought he was ready to give anything to find real treasure. But, that was before he discovered what it would cost him.

 

Fireproof Update!

Check the blog.

Last week, the folks from Sherwood Pictures were on FamilyLife Today, the flagship radio program from FamilyLife ministries. It was a chance for Alex Kendrick, Stephen Kendrick, and Kirk Cameron to share with Dennis Rainey and Bob Lepine a little about the story and the vision of FIREPROOF.

Here is the link to the original interview. This is a link to a podcast that has an "audio scene" from the film and only includes a portion of the original podcast.

 

No Greater Love

No Greater Love is the heartwarming story about a second chance at first love. Jeff, a divorced father, faces the challenge of a fledgling business and sole custody of a precocious ten-year old. But when new love blossoms and a stellar business deal looms on the horizon things seem to be going great. That is, until a chance encounter with his estranged wife changes everything. Years later he finds he's never really lost his love for her. Faced with a lifetime of emotion, Jeff learns to forgive and meets the love of his life... again.

Here is another upcoming Christian film. You might recognize the main actor from Smuggler's Ransom that was at SAICFF last year. Check out their website to see a short behind the scene video.

 

Dialtone

Germane Productions has a couple of new blog posts about their film Dialtone! I'm really looking forward to this one. :)