If you’re interested in creating a marketing video for your company or ministry, the one thing you need to remember is that it needs to be about one thing. This was a principle I heard in screenwriting school and it applies pretty much to everything in marketing. Sure, there can be variations and sub-ideas; but unless the one thing is really clear, then the audience probably won’t get it. Good marketing videos hit the same point over and over again in a simple and entertaining way. In this particular case, we wanted people to associate Fidelity Offset with trust. The simple argument was this: if major recording labels trust them with their big name artists, so can you. [If you'd like to watch in HD, hit pause and click the link in the corner of the video.]
Along with films and documentaries, we like do unique video work for companies. I spent three years as the marketing director for a small business where I sought to find creative ways to use video to show people exactly what the company did (it was amazing how a good video could increase sales). We currently are doing some work for Fidelity Offset, a commercial printer in Nashville, Tennessee with clients around the nation. Almost 90% of their customers have never seen what their printing plant actually looks like. We thought this would be a fun way to show what goes on behind the scenes, as well as to communicate some key aspects of their company: precision, attention to detail, and beautiful printing. As you can see, a lot can be communicated about a company just with sound and images. The music is from an old 1926 piano roll recording of George Gershwin playing one of his preludes. If you’d like to watch it in HD, just click the HD button at the top right of the screen after starting it.
I think Greg Wilbur is one of the best living composers of music for worship. That he happens also to be the Chief Musician at Parish Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Tennessee means I have the privilege of hearing his music each week. (You know his music is really wonderful when your 7-year-old daughter sings it to herself when she’s coloring.) Greg recently teamed up with Ligonier Ministries to create a new CD of his songs called My Cry Ascends. Last week, Parish Pres came together to sing a number of those songs, many of which have been sung by the church for years. I am quite sure Greg’s music brings great pleasure to the Lord, who, like 7-year-olds, takes special delight in wonderful songs. If you have a minute, go to Ligonier’s site and sample some of his music for yourself. [If you'd like to watch the video in HD, just click the button in the upper right corner.]
A few months ago, we were asked to be one of a number of production companies creating short films on marriage. Our assigned topic was marital roles, and certain parameters came with the request: the film needed to be in four linked parts that could fit between other teaching pieces; it needed to support the subject material surrounding it; it needed to use dancing in at least one part as a visual metaphor for marriage; and it needed to fit in a small budget. I find short films to be great opportunities for experimenting with different styles and methods, always hoping to do more with less. In this post, I’ve included the four parts of the film as well as brief comments on the experiments we did with narrative structure, camera style, directing method, and editing choices. It was a fun little project; I hope you enjoy taking a peek into it. [Click HD in the upper right corner to watch in HD; if it's loading too slowly, then turn HD off.] [click to continue…]
This is a little piece we did for our friends Dr. Chris Farrell (a biologist) and Jason Atkins (an ecologist) at Trevecca Nazarene University. The two of them have developed a great relationship with an inner city middle school down the street from the university and are helping teach them about sustainable urban agriculture. They [...]
In light of the three year anniversary of shooting Prodigal Sons in New York City, we’re posting it here in high definition for your viewing pleasure. It is my favorite film of the Modern Parables series for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the theology behind the parable itself. Since the film was [...]
This is a short documentary we shot last year in Florida. It was to be a part of the Seek Social Justice series but ended up not being used in the final product. It tells the story of how Cecil and Victoria Johnson were pulled out of a life of drugs, crime and prison and [...]
I always find it interesting to see what a good comic actor can do with a script. We shot a short film earlier this week in a dance studio here in Nashville. In previous posts, I talked about writing the script as well as working with actors. I can now show you how one of [...]
Curt Campbell works for the Men of Valor prison ministry as the Jericho Project Coordinator. He spends his days inside the prison overseeing the other staff members and working with the men themselves. When we did these interviews, I was extremely impressed with Curt’s insightfulness into the way we think about doing work for God [...]
The fifth lesson in the Seek Social Justice series is probably the most sobering. We traveled to Orange County, California to explore the story of Shyima Hall, an Egyptian girl who at age 8 was sold by her parents into slavery. She was brought to the US by her Egyptian owners and kept as a [...]
