Created for Move . Shot by Stewart H. Redwine.

The 23rd Psalm is one of the most well known chapters of scripture.

This creative stop motion animation video combines unique imagery with the familiar and comforting verses from the 23rd Psalm.

The nearly 1,000 still images needed to create this video were all captured using a DSLR over a period of 5 weeks.

Created by Stewart H. Redwine.

Painter Eric Samuel Timm is Painting Hope. Painting Hope strives to make a positive difference in the lives of young people, the communities they live in, and the world we share.

Eric Samuel Timm – (paintinghope.com)

If you can ignore the brief detour the Internet provided for shorter content, as we waited for connection speeds and video compression to improve, you must keep in mind that every American has been part of an enormous classical conditioning experiment. We have learned how to view, appreciate, and enjoy watching TV and movies much more than shorter content. I’m not talking about the types of programs we watch, but rather the way they are delivered to us. Whether we know it or not, we expect a television show to be 30-60 minutes in duration, with commercial breaks. We expect a feature film to be somewhere between one and a half and three hours in length. Keep this learned behavior in mind when you create content for people in American culture. To some extent, the medium is the message. And please don’t fool yourself into thinking your media-saturated congregation can immediately create context when you fade to black and roll a video immediately following the announcements. They have no clue what they are watching unless you tell them. Most important, no one knows when the video will end.

A few years ago, when I was on staff at a church, I would observe the congregation as they watched the videos I produced. It typically took them 15-30 seconds to get into a video, and it took just as long for them accept it was longer than a television commercial. It dawned on me that the audience had no idea what kind of content they were watching. Of course they knew they weren’t watching something as long as a movie or TV show, but beyond that, they were at a loss. It was then that I began to encourage the pastors to clearly communicate to the congregation exactly what they were about to see and, after the video played, to follow-up with some direct application. For some reason, everyone I tried to convince of this approach seemed averse to holding the congregation’s hand through a viewing experience. I suppose their thinking was that the congregation was made up of people who consume great quantities of media and were therefore equipped to figure out what was happening onscreen. But I don’t believe that’s the case. To use a cooking metaphor, your congregation has been marinated in motion pictures and television programming for the past 60 years. Only recently have people been basted with a light Internet sauce, which cooks off rather quickly once heat is applied.

Studies have revealed multi-tasking and their accompanying short attention spans aren’t helping productivity, so living in a fast-paced modern world is not a good enough excuse, in and of itself, to use short films in church. I believe when people come to church they’re in search of an opportunity to slow down and unplug from iPhones, Facebook, and all things tweetable. Technological connectivity has created the “Global Village” Marshall McLuhan predicted, but in the process, we have lost the experience of the council fire.

For example, it is much easier for my wife and I to watch back-to-back episodes of The Office than to take the time to relate deeply to one another. I find myself looking forward to my time with Jim and Pam, yet romance with my wife is muddled with bills, babies, and the balancing act between work and home. Come bedtime, I just want the credits to roll. The people on the screen aren’t real, but I respond to them. Emotion that is delivered to me in a way that doesn’t require as much work on my part. I have to instigate conversations with other people, but screenwriters are willing to do the work for me. They create an experience that allows me to respond emotionally. Responding to a flesh and blood human, and all their emotional baggage, takes much more effort. Whether we like it or not, it’s hard to open up, but good cinema can inspire us toward that end. From the Greek word kinesis, meaning motion, cinema can move the human heart to a place of feeling very quickly.

The Deidox film series (www.deidox.com) is one high quality option church leaders can use to emotionally connect with their congregations on powerful topics. “For our Deidox films, the ideal situation is when one of our short films is paired with pastoral teaching,” says director Brent Gudgel. “This allows the congregation to be moved emotionally by a short film and then guided by the knowledge and perspective that a pastor best provides. Short films should be looked at as tools to help the pastor communicate to his congregation. When a pastor’s sermon is paired with an effective short film it takes what the pastor is teaching and helps the congregation apply it to their own lives, hopefully outside of the church walls.”

Cinema has the power to move your congregation into an emotional place where they may respond on a deeper level to your message. Great content is readily available, and the library of redemptive media continues to grow. That’s why I encourage you to show short films at your church. And when you do, let me suggest five tactics for getting the most out of those films:

1. Pray that viewing the short film benefits you and your congregation.

2. Tell the congregation how long the video is, and let them know how you plan to proceed when the video ends.

3. Explain to your congregation what they are about to see (you could even put a description in your bulletin). Remember, they didn’t choose this short film; you chose it for them.

4. After the video plays, allow 30 seconds for them to think about the video and read a Scripture passage related to the video.

5. Explain what you just watched. Consider asking the audience for feedback or questions.

Think of short films as more than just programming or content for your service: They’re a cultural vehicle waiting to be driven. Tom Rice is the filmmaker behind Soul Refinery (formerly eight20eight) and the church media resource site www.evangelize.com. His work in Hollywood ranges from writing on reality shows such as American Idol and Survivor to directing and producing feature films with Oscar-winning actors. I asked him for his thoughts on using short films in church, and he reminded me of Christianity’s deep history as a leader in the arts. “Throughout history, the church has used and commissioned various forms of art to inspire and impact the masses,” Rice says. “From the cathedral architecture in France and England to the Renaissance artists in Italy, visual images have been used to show and tell. A well-made video with the right message can quickly penetrate a person’s mind, stay there for quite a while, and cause both believers and non-believers to reflect, think, discuss, and grow stronger in Christ.”

Centuries ago, cathedral builders regularly used stained glass as a way to visually and emotionally connect the congregations of those ancient churches with the stories of the Bible. Today, short films present us with a similar opportunity. Let’s make the most of it.

(this article is also available at CollideMagazine.com)

Fortunately, all these variables slid into place so seamlessly you would have thought we had the whole shoot pre-produced to the second. Even the downtown airport re-routing local air traffic over our location didn’t keep us from getting everything we needed within our allotted four-hour window. The video came together because we worked together; we collaborated. When collaboration works it is one of the most energizing and rewarding experiences in life. Nine times out of ten collaboration falls because of one simple and sinister word, pride.

You must choose to collaborate and I can’t think of any better way to say it than this, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4) Every time you start work on a new video you need to ask yourself, what is the desired outcome of the project? Think about that question for a few seconds in light of whatever project you are currently working on. Is your desired outcome that everyone who views your video recognize what a great filmmaker you are? Or is it that no matter what else happens, you won’t use another looping music bed? Or will you only be satisfied if the images you capture are in the purest form? Or will you only use slow motion if you capture in 60p, because you are a purest and there is no way you will ever allow 24p footage to be slowed down in Final Cut? These are all understandable desired outcomes but what if the only concern you had was how well the video you were creating fit into the larger whole?

Very few of the video producers I know are creating work that will exist in a vacuum. More likely than not, the video you are currently working on is part of a larger publicity campaign, sermon series, or promotional piece. Even if you are generating original work for sale on SermonSpice.com, it will be purchased based on how well it fits into a pastor’s existing sermon. A clear definition of your desired outcome will help you in collaborating with others. John Schimke, my producing partner for 36 Parables (http://www.36parables.com), says it this way, “Serve the story”. If you are having trouble figuring out what your desired outcome is for a given video ask yourself, “What is the story you are telling?”

But maybe you don’t know the desired outcome for a video because you just found out about it 5 minutes ago and it has to be done tomorrow. Let’s face it; many of you are in a tough spot. When you are the video producer, everyone in the organization looks to you as a wizard of some sort, the go to person who can save the day time and time again with mystical creative talents. The problem is, you’re not the one preaching on Sunday mornings, directing the event your video will premiere at, or creating the larger promotional context for your work. So when the pastor calls you Friday afternoon with a new creative direction for the Sunday morning video, you have got to come up with something magical in a matter of minutes. Or maybe you work at a ministry where at any moment several different departments may have video needs they need solved ASAP.

And this is where choosing humility becomes rather difficult. Pride can well up very easily in your heart when you feel like you have to solve everyone else’s problems but don’t have any part in the greater creative decisions being made concerning the context and presentation of the video. When the 11th hour creative decision comes your way pride may tempt you to tell whoever is making the demands why their idea won’t work simply because you feel put upon. However, your success as a creative team member does not come from defeating those who inconvenience or disagree with you. You are most effective when you are focused on being the very best you can be, which leaves very little room for monitoring others’ performance.

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.  James 1:19-20

When you are quick to listen you equip yourself to best serve those who need your video production expertise. Make sure you ask questions about the context and presentation of the video.

- Find out what elements it will be preceded and followed by
- Hear creative ideas without raising technical issues too soon
- Listen for the desired outcome and insure everything in your control serves that end

If you do these things and remain grounded in humility and listening to others, I guarantee your collaboration will begin to click, as the poet W.B. Yeats puts it, like a well-made box.

Of course, nothing will every change the fact that when you are working with others, opinions will abound. Put another way, the clearest way to accelerate collaboration is Stephen Covey’s 5th Habit from his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “seek first to understand, then to be understood”. Sounds like the quote from the Book of James doesn’t it? Collaboration is not the result of polarities defeating one another, but the power that is unleashed when they combine. Such is the story of electricity. This concept was introduced to me by Roy H. Williams, the Wizard of Ads (http://www.wizardacademy.org/scripts/default.asp). You really should check out his non-traditional business school and Monday Morning Memo (http://www.mondaymorningmemo.com/) if you want to learn more about making something out of nothing.

Messiah Sees More is the title of the video I was telling you about at the beginning of this article. We had a lot stacked against us that day, questionable weather, a sudden shift in air traffic interfering with our helicopter, and only 4 hours to get it all done. It was by no means because we had an easy day of shooting that the video turned out well; it was because we collaborated so well. We were able to communicate several times via videoconference before we shot. “On the morning of the shoot we took 2 hours to review our plan, time we could have spent shooting, and confirmed we all understood the desired outcome for the video.”
Collaboration with others, when grounded in humility and listening, can overcome the most difficult shooting situations and will always produce your best work.

Watch Messiah Sees More by clicking here: http://stewarthredwine.com/2010/03/21/messiah-sees-more/
In order to fully appreciate the Messiah Sees More you will want to see it in context at the 2010 Believe Messiah Tour (http://www.ciy.com/believe/tour-dates/), and there are still five tour dates to go.

(this article is also available in the March 2010 issue of Christian Video Magazine)

Painter Eric Samuel Timm plays the part of God the Father in this video from Christ in Youth’s 2010 Believe Tour (ciy.com/believe/tour-dates/).

Believe – (ciy.com/believe)
Eric Samuel Timm – (nooneunderground.com)

“A Day in the Life”, the first video I wrote and Directed after joining the video production team at Christ in Youth, recaps an entire day from a student’s point of view at MOVE, Christ in Youth’s high school intentional summer event.

Many of you have been with 36 Parables since 2005, when we released our first film, Found. The January 2010 release of 36 Parables’ Lime DVD marks the official halfway point of our original vision; 18 of the planned 36 Parables are completed. We are thrilled to see 36 Parables made it this far, and we could not have done it without your support along the way. The Lime DVD not only marks the half way point, John and I both agree it is our best DVD to date.

This is most likely the last newsletter you will receive until one of the following happens:

1. Our publisher decides to complete the last half of the series.

or

2. We obtain additional funding to complete the series independently.

John and I have not been paid for our work with 36 Parables, it has been a labor of love we desperately want to see through to completion. Most of you have been with us since the beginning so we thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask, are any of you willing to help us finance the completion of the series? It could be you, your church, ministry, company, or someone you know. Please contact me if you want to help us finish what we started 5 years ago with Found.

Thank you for all your support over the years, we endeavored to make the very best short films we knew how with every DVD. Please continue to use 36 Parables to illuminate understanding by pointing people back to Scripture and the lover of their souls, Jesus Christ the Lord.

Illuminating Understanding,

The Cinematographer
Stewart H. Redwine
C: 310-770-0448
E: sredwine@36parables.com

Synopsis: A young jazz saxophonist struggles to make a living as an artist.
Runtime: 5 minutes

Based on: The Parable of the Mustard Seed
Scripture: Luke 13:18–19, Mark 4:30–32, Matt 13:31-32

Directed by: John Schimke
Director of Photography: Stewart H. Redwine
Produced by: Stewart H. Redwine and John Schimke

Available: February 2010
Publisher: Zondervan/Youth Specialties

Technical Specs: RED ONE 4K & 2K, RED 18-50mm F2.8 CF LENS

Many video producers, myself included, are more akin to a one-man band than a conductor at the center of a symphony. We don’t have department heads and a crew of a few hundred people to bring our vision to reality. Most days there are 30 hours of work to be done in 24. With all the demands for our time outside of work and the abundance of production needs our Church and Ministries have, one of the easiest areas to give up is time with the Lord. The flesh and blood people we interact with will let us know if we miss a meeting or deliverable, or don’t return their calls or emails, but with the Lord it is easy to let ourselves slip out of earshot.

I discovered the spiritual lessons hidden in Sound for Film and Television when they discussed signal-to-noise ratio, the ratio of signal power to the noise power corrupting the signal. Since I produce Christian videos I couldn’t help but think of one thing, how important it is to clearly hear the signal of the Lord’s voice. As Jesus said in Matthew 11:15, “He who has ears, let him hear.” But hearing the signal of the Lord’s voice becomes difficult when there is too much noise created by our own voice, others’ voices, the evil one’s voice, and the general cacophony of modern life. It is easy for my spiritual ears to be overwhelmed by my work, my family, the movies and television I watch, the reading I do, the music I listen to, and the time I spend on the Internet.  All of these things are important to me, but if I constantly surround myself with all that noise how will I ever hear the voice of the Lord?

Thankfully there are solutions given on the DVD to improve a poor signal-to-noise ratio in order to receive the signal we want to hear loud and clear. Whether you work for a Church or Ministry or not, we all need to clear the signal path between the Lord’s voice and our ears. None of us want to be like those Jesus spoke of in Mark 4:12 when he quoted the Prophet Isaiah, “they may be… ever hearing but never understanding”. Hidden in the very practical approach to recording good audio on Sound for Film and Television there are four ways you can improve the signal-to-noise ratio between you and the Lord.

1. Find distracting noises and silence them: If it has an on/off switch, turn it off. Find a place you can be alone with the Lord, pray, and read the Bible. Since he is omnipresent all you have to do is find a place you won’t be distracted by anything or anyone.
2. Silence Echo: Maybe there are hurtful or negative statements bouncing around inside your head. Things like, “I’m no good, I’m ugly, I’m a hack”. If an echo exists in a location, a good sound person will tell you to change locations. Thanks to the Lord Jesus, we are allowed to do just that by the “renewing of our minds” spoken of in Romans 12:2. If the room of your mind is filled with echo spend time in the Word and prayer and you will change locations without moving an inch.
3. Proximity raises the signal while lowering the noise: By deliberately making a time and place for the Lord you will be closer to him and hear him better. James 4:8 “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
4. Rejection and Sensitivity combine for reach: How good is your mic? You have to be sensitive to the Lord’s voice and reject all other noises in order to hear him. The more time you spend reading the Bible and in prayer the better you’ll be able to reject the voices of others and be sensitive to the Lord’s. Isaiah 55:6 “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.”’

Though Audio for Film and Television wasn’t intended as a work of spiritual formation it helped me tremendously when I discovered the spiritual lessons contained in its practical advice. Over the next couple months I challenge you to be deliberate in taking time to listen to the Lord in prayer and by reading his Word. On the DVD they say getting good audio is 70% of what you see. The better you hear the Lord’s voice your perception of everyone and everything will be changed for the better. And remember, even the Lord Jesus took deliberate steps to improve the signal-to-noise ratio between himself and God the Father; “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 2:35).

(this article is also available in the January 2010 issue of Christian Video Magazine)