UKRAINE July 30 - August 25

WHY I'M GOING:
Gospelink is a missions organization dedicated to advancing the gospel through national preachers. "Gospelink was established for the purpose of advancing the gospel throughout the world. It is our belief that this objective can be best accomplished by assisting national preachers who are actively involved in church planting and discipleship. Through prayer and financial assistance national preachers are empowered, their evangelistic outreach is enhanced, and their church planting efforts are accelerated."

WHAT I'LL BE DOING:
This organization is sending me to Ukraine to interview 5-7 national pastors and then film re-enacted dramatizations of their lives/stories/testimonies.

(Docudrama: A docudrama is a dramatization of actual historical events.)

WHO'S GOING WITH ME:
I'm flying over there and staying with a youth group from a church in Georgia who is going over to do some evangelistic missions work. I won't be working with them during the day, but as I understand it, I'll be staying at the same place with them at night. It's supposed to work out so that a couple of people from the team will be helping me with video work instead of the preaching meetings.

WHERE I'M GOING:
- July 30 - I fly from OKC to GA to meet up with the team. We then fly from GA to Paris, and from Paris to Kiev. The team will be in Ukraine for about 3 weeks and then they are scheduled to come back a week before I do.
- I'm not sure where all I'm going while I'm in Ukraine...stay tuned to find out!
- August 25 - I fly from Kiev to New York, from NY to GA, from GA to OKC.

HOW I'LL BE DOING IT:
I'll be shooting in High Definition on the Panasonic HMC-150 which is a tape-less work flow, and requires hard drives and a computer to store the footage. I also have a 4 piece lighting kit that I am taking with me, so I hope it survives the airline travel and functions well while I'm in Ukraine.

THINGS TO PRAY FOR:
1) That I will be humble and reliant on God's strength to accomplish this task. 1 Thess. 5:24 "Faithful is He that calleth you, Who also will do it."
2) The people who help me will have had some video experience and maybe even know how to use a Mac and even Final Cut Pro! (this would be a huge help to smoothing out the shooting workflow)
3) Protection for the group and equipment as we travel, and that we make all the connections!
4) That despite the language barrier God would enable me to capture the heart of each of the pastor's stories. Also, that He would provide the locations and resources to create compelling dramas that compliment each story.
5) For the technical equipment - that the hard drives and computer function well! Also, their electricity is 220v over there, I have all the necessary adapters and such, but it would be really nice for there not to be any major complications!

Thank you all for praying for me while I'm gone!! It really, really means a lot to me :)

Lord willing, I will be able to post pictures and more updates on the Ukraine Facebook group page as the trip progresses - please consider bookmarking the link and check back often!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=112477526810&ref=mf

 

Bros Color Correction

Just an update on another completed project - I finished the color correction for the short film Bros! Here are a couple of screen shots while I was working on the color correction.

 

Bed and Breakfast Videos

You may recall some pictures I posted a couple of weeks ago while shooting for a recent ReelCast project - Bed & Breakfast promo videos. Well this batch is done, edited and available online for your viewing pleasure :)

There are 4 videos, each 3minutes long. So, take a few minutes to head over and check 'em out, then come back and leave me a comment, I'd really appreciate your feedback! I may be doing some more in the months to come and knowing what people do/don't like would be helpful for future B&B promos.

 

Freedom's Heritage History Books

This is a recent design project from ReelCast Productions. I have been helping design this site over the last month or so for some friends and I'm pleased to announce that it is fully up running! This is a great resource for quality history books!

"Our main purpose in Freedom’s Heritage is to provide home educators, Christian students, and public school students with quality, conservative history books for your family in a convenient, affordable way. Our goal is to provide America’s children with history at-your-fingertips. We strive to ensure that the history books we carry are not humanistic, watered down nor politically correct."

Visit freedomsheritage.com to learn more!

 

"What If" Production Blog

Go behind the scenes of the new Christian film What If by watching the daily Director Updates! They shot the movie in 15 days so there are 15 BTS videos. They cover "what is a dp," "what is a grip/best boy on set," "location complications," "actress interview," and just show lots and lots of video of the set crew! Check it out here!

This is about all I know of the movie, so I can't say that I totally endorse watching the film when it comes out...looks like it might be good though :)

 

Subscribe to ReelCast Blog

First off, I want to say thanks to everyone who frequents this blog! I wouldn't be motivated to keep posting if didn't get feedback and know that people are interested in the information I put here!

Just wanted to remind everyone that you can put in your email address in the white box over in the sidebar and you will be notified anytime I put up a new blog post. It's a great way to stay informed and up-to-date! (and to those of you who are wondering...no, I don't sell/share the email list with other people or groups)

 

Fireproof Official Soundtrack

"Starting on July 14, you will be able to hear the entire soundtrack—songs from your favorite artists, plus the score! Take a look at all of the songs on the FIREPROOF Original Motion Picture Soundtrack!"

Click here to see a complete listing of the music tracks, listen to samples and find where you can buy the soundtrack!

 

Pendragon Promotionals

Wow...they have been busy for sure! New Pendragon wallpapers for your computer, new web banners, behind the scenes pictures and a lot of new interviews with the Burns!!
Click here to visit the Pendragon Movie Website!

 

Final Cut Studio 3

Full Version $999 - Upgrade for $299
Read all about it here!

 

Ethan Ledden: Director of Photography

Ethan was the director of photography for Pendragon and The Penny! He has a full HD camera setup with a 35mm adapter and lenses. I'd highly recommend checking out this snazzy website and be sure to watch the demo reel!

 

The Journey Begins!

I'm back home from the Journey! What an incredibly awesome week! It's hard to put into words what a Journey to the Heart is like...it isn't about a program or rules or curriculum, it's about your heart connecting with God's heart. If spend time seeking God and allow Him cleanse your heart...there's just nothing like it in the world!

So now...the real journey begins!

 

Journey to the Heart

The next event for me is a "Journey to the Heart" from July 11 - 21. I'm very excited about this opportunity and would appreciate your prayers while I am gone! I won't be updating my blog while I'm gone so be sure to check back on the 22 or 23 for updates and pictures from the trip!

"For a week you will explore various types of heart conditions and identify the attitudes of the heart that please God. You will follow a syllabus and schedule that are based on 40 years of youth ministry, enjoying times of group discussion, personal time with God, rich fellowship, prayer, singing, journaling, and walks through the woods. You and your team of ten to twelve will stay in a beautiful home on the lake or a section in the conference center lodge."

More info can be found here.

 

B&B 1 & 2

Sunday afternoon Caleb and I drove down to Smithville TX to the first Bed and Breakfast "The Katy House." Smithville is an old historic train town from when the Katy trains used run. The town is also in the Guinness world book of records for baking the world's largest gingerbread man.
We got to stay in "The Conductor's Quarters" room which apparently use to be actual conductor's quarters. The Katy House has the oldest existing Katy Caboose in the backyard and the couple there are in the process of restoring it! We starting shooting Monday morning and finished up around noon. After lunch we headed to Livingston to film at "McCardell Cottage."
Mon. evening we spent several hours visiting with Ms. Beverly Miller laughing, crying and talking about God's goodness in our lives. I could never describe what an encouragement it has been to be here and visit with such an amazing lady! She loves the color red and drives a bright red convertible mustang, doesn't like straight lines for landscaping, is very resourceful, loves her family, owns two horses and has an amazing heart for God! She keeps us laughing with her joyful enthusiastic spirit...she's quite a lady!

This is the room we did the interview in at McCardell Cottage.

This is me and my camera scoping out shots outside :)

We filmed McCardell Cottage starting Tues. morning and we'll finish up Wed. morning by filming her cooking breakfast.

More pictures will be coming later this week! This is going to be one unforgettable trip!
Thanks to Caleb for taking the pictures.

 

Inn Videos

This week I will be traveling in TX, interviewing bed and breakfasts for InnVideos.tv

"Have you ever wished you could visit a Bed and Breakfast Inn and get to know the innkeeper before you actually stayed a single night?

[on the website] click the search tab and simply select the state you are planning to visit and find the town or city that is just right for you. From there you will be able to visit each inn without leaving the comfort of your keyboard.

That’s why we say Find. Watch. Stay."

These are the inns I will be interviewing:
The Katy House
McCardell Cottage
Village Street
Hale House Inn
Delta Street Inn

 

Peach Festival 2009

June 27th our family was working a booth at the yearly Peach Festival. We have been selling homemade peach ice cream at the Stratford Peach Festival since 2006, this year we sold 40 gallons in 5.5 hrs!! You can see more pictures here.

 

Heartland Music Previews

A while back I posted about doing the graphic design for these CDs - they now have mp3 previews on the Heartland Website! Each year, our family looks forward to new CDs from these groups!

Here are previews for a several of my favorite songs this year:
- God is Even Greater
- The Greatest Thing My Eyes Have Seen
- By the Way of the Cross