BlogThree23

Time for me to put my $ where my blog is … perhaps a new expression for the blogger/twitter age! See a sample of a field segment I edited for the 12 episode FamilyNet series “On Mission Xtra”.

In addition to cutting a few of the field segments (samples here and on my VIMEO page), I also headed up the assembly of the episodes under the very fine direction of producer Amy Kossover of AK Films. The series focuses on the stories of missionaries working for the North American Mission Board funded by the Southern Baptist Convention. It also profiles regular Christians who have chosen to use their God given talents in a ministry capacity.  To see complete episodes, visit www.omxtv.net

An interesting use of the web.

HD doc style clips combined with sincere stories of faith.

Aside from the content which appears to be quite good, of particular interest is how Deidox is selling the films “for church use” and “for personal use”. While this is certainly not new given the vast number of sites out there that are serving up sermon starter videos, this site and its creators seem to have much more style and focused thought to it, and the underlying purpose also deserves a look. I wonder how they are funded?

Rob Bell certainly broke new ground with his “Nooma” series and it has been interesting to see the evolution of this genre. I still remember seeing the “BMW Films” on-line for the first time and being amazed that so much budget was being thrown at “web” clips, that most people did not even have the processing power to view. But now look how far where we’ve come with iTunes, Hulu, Vimeo, YouTube and a host of other sites on the way.

Perhaps the larger question in this is will sites like Deidox eventually be able to generate a revenue stream that could then in turn fund more films? From an independent film production standpoint this is a good question to consider. Could the internet truly take over at some point as the distribution and viewing method of choice … perhaps even surpassing theatrical distribution, say in a couple generations … possible?

What Christians Watch

One of the better articles I’ve seen in a while on the “Faith in Film” movement .. written by Dale Buss who is also the author of “Family Man”, a biography on Dr. James Dobson. So perhaps Dale does at least give a fair-shake to those followers of JC who are endeavoring to make a difference in the creation of feature film. (saw this article originally on Phil Cooke’s blog )

I think I agree for the most part with the author. He says: “Fireproof” succeeded because it is “an on-screen equivalent of an altar call” which I have no problem with at all. More than just being an “altar call” though, I can as a Christian go to a Sherwood Pictures film and know my faith will be taken seriously. That is perhaps a rare treat these days when consuming media. Perhaps this is the FIRST step in tapping into “The Passion… ” money.

This brings up a good question, are the entertainment choices of the average Christian generally that much different than the average non-Christian? If I am truly honest with myself and others I know, I would say generally speaking no. Certainly there are exceptions, but would you agree or not … that in the case of most entertainment released for the masses of the G, PG, PG-13, and R variety, most “Christians” 40 and under, are just as likely to watch what is popular EVEN if the film or show is offensive to one’s faith, morality, sexual orientation, political perspective , etc. … perhaps the subject of another post but let me know if you think I am wrong.

Aside from whether you think this is right or wrong, if I and other honest “believers” are consuming what is popular high dollar entertainment, our expectation for story-based content is also high, and accordingly, when we encounter a show or film that has a good “message” but is low in quality, we may choose to pass it by.

Global Awakening and the show, “God Squad“

I wonder, is it a good thing to have faith-based reality shows? albeit the one in the link above is pretty radical, and one that I would personally watch … sort of like David Blaine meets Jesus and does “street” healings. Wow that is some serious bold faith if these guys are legit.

Here is a report by ABC news that poses a similar question.

… I think Craig Detweiler’s comment in the report is one for the ages … Does the art or content creation of a follower in Christ often just mirror or in some cases downright copy that of non-believers? Its a difficult one to grapple with for anyone who is trying to work on faith oriented content with quality in mind. You could take this as far you wanted, all the way to asking… is the art being created in the “faith in film” movement or in the Christian music industry or any other faith oriented media creation, really original? If I have a direct connection to the creator of the universe than why is so much of my work seemingly, not creative, and just copying things I’ve seen others do?