Friday, March 13, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Trouble for OSCAR in Hollywood?
Oscar: on the road to losing some of it's Power & Influence? http://budurl.com/g7nk
Friday, February 20, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Inside Post of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Editing SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE: Mixed Digital & 35mm http://budurl.com/hnvv
Inside Editing of THE DARK KNIGHT
Editing THE DARK KNIGHT on AVID... including and IMAX cut: http://budurl.com/epkw
Edit Flow: THE DARK KNIGHT http://budurl.com/pjeb
Edit Flow: THE DARK KNIGHT http://budurl.com/pjeb
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Call + Response // The Role of the Church
A HEART FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
Part of my career has been spent as an investigative news producer. (I’ve got any Emmy on my mantel to remind me of my many adventures during that time)
One thing I’ve learned, the heart of the investigative journalist should contain a deep respect for the influence that they hold.
The day a multi-week investigation into Dangerous Doctors in Calif. culminated in a confrontation with a Dr. who let his receptionist administer anesthesia to one of his surgical patients (the tummy-tuck patient died on the table)… was a day to recognize the GOOD real investigative journalism does. (In the end… this investigation that lasted nearly 6 months, and exposed dozens of doctors and resulted in changing the way The Medical Board of Calif policed physicians. Prior to our investigation the MBC didn’t have the power to get a TRO on doctors who were killing people. After our report… they were able to stop Dangerous Dr’s as soon as they were found out. Also, our report revealed the reason this hadn’t been done before: Doctors were the leading contributors to the legislators who held the key to empower the MBC.)
Real substantive change resulted from this investigation… from revealing the true horror that was being done to people.
MOVIE AS MESSAGE
It is because I respect the power of investigative journalism that anytime a reporter or film maker dives in to an issue and exposes something that needs light or needs to be changed… they’ve got my attention.
This week in East Texas… the work of a visionary who is leading the charge to change the course of humanity is being showcased. It is a work of passion. It is a work that requires a response. It is not a piece of art that can be view passively.
The film “Call + Response,” pioneered by director & musician Justin Dillon is a voice. It is the voice of investigation that reveals the plight of nearly 27 million human slaves that still exist in the world today. Hard to believe, but true. Slavery is not gone.
The film is worthy of our attention. The movement being pioneered by modern day abolitionists is something not one of us should ignore. In fact… we should join their ranks. We should insist that real change comes from the awareness this film brings.
But, one thing beyond the investigation, and the obvious need to do something about this crisis is the role the church should/needs to play in this movement.
THE CHURCH’S ROLE
I was struck by the words I read this morning in Patrick Butler’s column published in the Tyler Morning Telegraph. Butler interviewed Dillon, and asked him about what the church should do about this abomination:
Justin Dillon (JD):
The church, as I understand it, is not just a redeeming organization. In fact, it doesn't really do the redeeming. Its prime focus is in restoring, rebuilding and helping individuals to understand their lives (in the context) of a post-spiritual redemption. The church is a mechanism for that. When I think of a lot of people of faith, their role is not just in the redeeming - and if you want to create an analogue for that inside the work of human trafficking, that would be the "rescuing" - but also in the restoration, the building of a system that puts people in a better place than they were before they were put into a slavery situation.
Q: When you said the church is not primarily a redeeming organization, who does the redeeming?
JD: I would assume that would be God. (Pause). I hope so. Let's be honest, I think people do get confused. I think people sometimes think the churches are the redeeming organizations. They're not. I think you get confused when you start turning it into "we're the ones that redeem." If you think, "we're a part of the restoration once someone has been redeemed," that (involves the church) as part of life.
And restoration is the part not quite as "sexy," to be quite honest with you. Restoration is hard work; restoring someone who's come out of, say, drug addiction, they want to go back. There's a 50-percent rate for girls brought out of child brothels who want to go back. That's defeating at some levels, but do you not pull them out and try to help them anyway? Of course you do.
But you realize that the work of restoration, the work of rehabilitation, is the unsung work. It's the non-sexy work, it's the day-to-day, it's the thankless work. I believe part of the church's mandate - honestly, what they're really good at - is sticking with people, helping them be restored.
Everyone in the international community cries for that bit of labor - "will somebody stick with this" - because you can pull 10 kids out of brothel, but you just created a life's work for someone else. And who's going to stick with it?
The church’s work should be RESTORATION.
Words of wisdom spoken by someone not part of the traditional Evangelical Community. Words of a film maker.
I pray he’s right that RESTORATION is “what (the church is) really good at.” I know that CAN be true.
Sometimes, out of good intentions, we (the church) can really focus on REDEMPTION: #’s of Professions of Faith, or #’s of seats filled on Sunday morning. Those things are measurable. In business terms you would call those #’s ROI – Return on Investment. (it cost X to run this church and we’re reaching X amount of people, or the Missions Trip cost us X to do and we were able to reach X amount of people.)
Much of the time we DO use our compassion and love in the RESTORATION process. We do try to care for widows, the poor, the hurting. We do try to be Christ-like in our responses. (After all he did spend much of his time ministering to the “sick.”)
But there is something I can’t get out of my head that Dillon points out: We need be in the restoration business for the long-haul. Through set-backs, mis-cues and hard-times we need, as a body, to continue to convey the love of Christ. Return on MINISTRY (ROM) is often harder to measure and justify than ROI. It isn’t sexy. It isn’t glamorous. And, it’s hard to present in the annual church/ministry report. But it IS the key to success in the modern-day abolition movement (and many other restoration needs as well). We need not only to rescue, we need to restore.
A good case study might be found in the Lost Boys of Sudan. Many of those boys who escaped lion attacks, persecution, and death… were brought here to the U.S. Most have been molded into our culture… but it hasn’t always been successful or easy. I had my groceries bagged by a former “Lost Boy” in San Jose, CA once, and met several of his friends who were rescued as well, then settled in the same area. Most were doing well, and I was moved by all that those in their lives who were doing so much to craft both healing and assimilation. Other “Lost Boys” have struggled much more with blending into a life that is vastly different than what they were rescued from.
WHAT WE NEED TO DO
The point here… the church needs to play a pivotal role in stamping out slavery… for good. The church needs to be relevant inside its wall and out. We need to step up to the plate. We need to reveal Christ in the way we respond to the disgrace of human slavery. Our response needs to be compassionate and physical. It needs to include check-writing and donations, but it also needs to be tangible on the back end.
For most of the next week in East Texas (Times Square Cinema to be exact) “Call + Response” will be playing. If you’re in the area… please go see it and have your heart broken. If you’re not in the Tyler area… find somewhere near you where you can see the film. It’s making the rounds.
One last interesting thing: “Call + Response” hasn’t emerged from the church or Christian Ministry circles. Yet… and I might add appropriately so… the church here in East Texas has embraced this fight against slavery with resounding force. George Montalvo from Grace Community Church has pioneered the effort to bring “Call + Response” to our community. Many churches and ministries in the area have locked arms with him & Grace. (Amen & Hallelujah!) Also, fellow East Texans, Hannah Walker and Brandon Davidson are joining other area young adults seeking to help end industrial, domestic, agricultural and sexual slave trades in the next 25 years via innovative purchasing strategies for consumers. They have formed: 21AM – a 21st Century Abolitionist Movement. 21AM can be found on Twitter and Facebook. You can also find out more about “Call + Response” and where it’s playing on their website.
The power of film/television is in its story-telling. The power of investigation is in its truth, influence, and ability to move people. The measurement of both of their effectiveness lies in the number of people who take up the cause.
Thank you Justin Dillon for bringing the secret of modern day human slavery into the light.
Thank you George, Hannah & Brandon for bringing "Call + Response" to our attention.
If you want to read Patrick Butler's entire interview with Justin Dillon, you can find it here.
Part of my career has been spent as an investigative news producer. (I’ve got any Emmy on my mantel to remind me of my many adventures during that time)
One thing I’ve learned, the heart of the investigative journalist should contain a deep respect for the influence that they hold.
The day a multi-week investigation into Dangerous Doctors in Calif. culminated in a confrontation with a Dr. who let his receptionist administer anesthesia to one of his surgical patients (the tummy-tuck patient died on the table)… was a day to recognize the GOOD real investigative journalism does. (In the end… this investigation that lasted nearly 6 months, and exposed dozens of doctors and resulted in changing the way The Medical Board of Calif policed physicians. Prior to our investigation the MBC didn’t have the power to get a TRO on doctors who were killing people. After our report… they were able to stop Dangerous Dr’s as soon as they were found out. Also, our report revealed the reason this hadn’t been done before: Doctors were the leading contributors to the legislators who held the key to empower the MBC.)
Real substantive change resulted from this investigation… from revealing the true horror that was being done to people.
MOVIE AS MESSAGE
It is because I respect the power of investigative journalism that anytime a reporter or film maker dives in to an issue and exposes something that needs light or needs to be changed… they’ve got my attention.
This week in East Texas… the work of a visionary who is leading the charge to change the course of humanity is being showcased. It is a work of passion. It is a work that requires a response. It is not a piece of art that can be view passively.
The film “Call + Response,” pioneered by director & musician Justin Dillon is a voice. It is the voice of investigation that reveals the plight of nearly 27 million human slaves that still exist in the world today. Hard to believe, but true. Slavery is not gone.
The film is worthy of our attention. The movement being pioneered by modern day abolitionists is something not one of us should ignore. In fact… we should join their ranks. We should insist that real change comes from the awareness this film brings.
But, one thing beyond the investigation, and the obvious need to do something about this crisis is the role the church should/needs to play in this movement.
THE CHURCH’S ROLE
I was struck by the words I read this morning in Patrick Butler’s column published in the Tyler Morning Telegraph. Butler interviewed Dillon, and asked him about what the church should do about this abomination:
Justin Dillon (JD):
The church, as I understand it, is not just a redeeming organization. In fact, it doesn't really do the redeeming. Its prime focus is in restoring, rebuilding and helping individuals to understand their lives (in the context) of a post-spiritual redemption. The church is a mechanism for that. When I think of a lot of people of faith, their role is not just in the redeeming - and if you want to create an analogue for that inside the work of human trafficking, that would be the "rescuing" - but also in the restoration, the building of a system that puts people in a better place than they were before they were put into a slavery situation.
Q: When you said the church is not primarily a redeeming organization, who does the redeeming?
JD: I would assume that would be God. (Pause). I hope so. Let's be honest, I think people do get confused. I think people sometimes think the churches are the redeeming organizations. They're not. I think you get confused when you start turning it into "we're the ones that redeem." If you think, "we're a part of the restoration once someone has been redeemed," that (involves the church) as part of life.
And restoration is the part not quite as "sexy," to be quite honest with you. Restoration is hard work; restoring someone who's come out of, say, drug addiction, they want to go back. There's a 50-percent rate for girls brought out of child brothels who want to go back. That's defeating at some levels, but do you not pull them out and try to help them anyway? Of course you do.
But you realize that the work of restoration, the work of rehabilitation, is the unsung work. It's the non-sexy work, it's the day-to-day, it's the thankless work. I believe part of the church's mandate - honestly, what they're really good at - is sticking with people, helping them be restored.
Everyone in the international community cries for that bit of labor - "will somebody stick with this" - because you can pull 10 kids out of brothel, but you just created a life's work for someone else. And who's going to stick with it?
The church’s work should be RESTORATION.
Words of wisdom spoken by someone not part of the traditional Evangelical Community. Words of a film maker.
I pray he’s right that RESTORATION is “what (the church is) really good at.” I know that CAN be true.
Sometimes, out of good intentions, we (the church) can really focus on REDEMPTION: #’s of Professions of Faith, or #’s of seats filled on Sunday morning. Those things are measurable. In business terms you would call those #’s ROI – Return on Investment. (it cost X to run this church and we’re reaching X amount of people, or the Missions Trip cost us X to do and we were able to reach X amount of people.)
Much of the time we DO use our compassion and love in the RESTORATION process. We do try to care for widows, the poor, the hurting. We do try to be Christ-like in our responses. (After all he did spend much of his time ministering to the “sick.”)
But there is something I can’t get out of my head that Dillon points out: We need be in the restoration business for the long-haul. Through set-backs, mis-cues and hard-times we need, as a body, to continue to convey the love of Christ. Return on MINISTRY (ROM) is often harder to measure and justify than ROI. It isn’t sexy. It isn’t glamorous. And, it’s hard to present in the annual church/ministry report. But it IS the key to success in the modern-day abolition movement (and many other restoration needs as well). We need not only to rescue, we need to restore.
A good case study might be found in the Lost Boys of Sudan. Many of those boys who escaped lion attacks, persecution, and death… were brought here to the U.S. Most have been molded into our culture… but it hasn’t always been successful or easy. I had my groceries bagged by a former “Lost Boy” in San Jose, CA once, and met several of his friends who were rescued as well, then settled in the same area. Most were doing well, and I was moved by all that those in their lives who were doing so much to craft both healing and assimilation. Other “Lost Boys” have struggled much more with blending into a life that is vastly different than what they were rescued from.
WHAT WE NEED TO DO
The point here… the church needs to play a pivotal role in stamping out slavery… for good. The church needs to be relevant inside its wall and out. We need to step up to the plate. We need to reveal Christ in the way we respond to the disgrace of human slavery. Our response needs to be compassionate and physical. It needs to include check-writing and donations, but it also needs to be tangible on the back end.
For most of the next week in East Texas (Times Square Cinema to be exact) “Call + Response” will be playing. If you’re in the area… please go see it and have your heart broken. If you’re not in the Tyler area… find somewhere near you where you can see the film. It’s making the rounds.
One last interesting thing: “Call + Response” hasn’t emerged from the church or Christian Ministry circles. Yet… and I might add appropriately so… the church here in East Texas has embraced this fight against slavery with resounding force. George Montalvo from Grace Community Church has pioneered the effort to bring “Call + Response” to our community. Many churches and ministries in the area have locked arms with him & Grace. (Amen & Hallelujah!) Also, fellow East Texans, Hannah Walker and Brandon Davidson are joining other area young adults seeking to help end industrial, domestic, agricultural and sexual slave trades in the next 25 years via innovative purchasing strategies for consumers. They have formed: 21AM – a 21st Century Abolitionist Movement. 21AM can be found on Twitter and Facebook. You can also find out more about “Call + Response” and where it’s playing on their website.
The power of film/television is in its story-telling. The power of investigation is in its truth, influence, and ability to move people. The measurement of both of their effectiveness lies in the number of people who take up the cause.
Thank you Justin Dillon for bringing the secret of modern day human slavery into the light.
Thank you George, Hannah & Brandon for bringing "Call + Response" to our attention.
If you want to read Patrick Butler's entire interview with Justin Dillon, you can find it here.
Missing You
I've been away from my blog too long.
2 Reasons:
1. Took some time off with the Fam.
2. Building a new blog that will unveil soon.
More posts coming... starting today.
2 Reasons:
1. Took some time off with the Fam.
2. Building a new blog that will unveil soon.
More posts coming... starting today.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
New Writing Experiences//New Methods
Hey all you CCMers! (past, present, and future.)
Nathan here, (graduated CCM August 2008) and I just wanted to share a recent experience with you all for a few reasons: 1) It might be beneficial to you , and, 2) You might have some feed back that is beneficial to me! 'Cause thats what this blog is all about right?
So, if you've been following my twitter or rapidly updating facebook status (via twitter) then you know that last week I wrote a movie script for a start up company in Michigan called Atlas Films. Go ahead, google them, but like I said they're start up and in the process of getting scripts for their first couple of movies so you probably won't find much. Anyways, I sent them my resume as a writer and they took a look at the volume of stuff I was able to handle, told me that since I didn't have a movie under my belt they couldn't pay me in advance for a script but if I turned in a script to them and they decided to take it off my hands it'd be worth at least $3,000, maybe up to $7,000. So I was like, sure! Why not right? I figure, worst case scenario I'll learn a lot about myself, my writing, and I'll always be able to say, "Yes, I can and have written a full length movie script." And then best case scenario, they buy my script and I come on board with them to make a movie I wrote! So yeah, I did it.
After talking with Doug yesterday I told him I'd write a blog up about my writing experience and tell you guys how I pumped out a 99 page rough draft in five days. Here is the rundown of days:
Monday: Established premise. Revisited some characters I had taken notes on in an old journal. Freewrite for 33 pages. (I downloaded the Dark Knight script a week or so before, studied how it was formatted and did my best to stick as close to Final Draft formatting with Word.)
Tuesday: Brianfart day. I had killer writing block. I didn't write a page that day. I went to a friend's house and we stayed up really late talking the story over and I started making some note card "story blocks". <--talk more about that later.
Wednesday: I went home and got out a huge stack of note cards. I revisited my premise, streamlined my characters based on my freewrite, added a few needed characters, and then wrote appoximately 25 what I'll call "story blocks" with bulletpointed story beats/scenes. One story block per note card. Around 6pm I started re-writing the script and hit the sack around 6:30am with 51 pages finished.
Thursday: After about six hours sleep I popped out of bed, jumped on the computer with coffee in hand and wrote from about 12:00pm to 6:30am all over again. 91 pages total at this point.
Friday: Not so much sleep this time, work up a few hours later and started my one and only shot at a readthrough/edit. So from like 10:30am-10:00pm I re-read/re-wrote/edited my script, finishing with 99 pages and a few notes for expansion along the way that I didn't have time to do. At approximately 10pm I sent the script off to the email I had been given.
Brutal? Yeah, you bet! But I still remember thinking even as I wrote it, "Wow, I'm writing more and probably better content than I ever wrote at CCM! How is this happening?" Well, I knew the answer but it was just hard to believe because I'd never tried my "story block" method before and as soon as I used it (out of desperation I might add) something clicked in my brain and I was able to knock out an enormous task in a fairly ridiculous time frame...sound familiar CCM?
Anways, the main purpose of this post is to tell you guys about "story blocking". That's my name for it so if it has an official name that I don't know feel free to correct me. Oh, and just by way of disclaimer this may not work for everyone. It worked really well for me but that's all I can really vouch for it.
So! Here we go. Story Blocking: mapping out an entire story using note cards.
Growing up reading books, comic books, and listening to crazy music that always has some clever title for each chapter or section of the story it was telling, it made sense to me to think ahead in the story and name large chunks of it with one phrase that might include several story beats and even more scenes. Sometimes the story block was more vivid in my mind and needed less note card description and sometimes I needed to map out specifically front and back with bulletpoints guiding me through the scene to make sure it was going to work and accomplish what it needed to accomplish. Below is an example:
In this way I was able to name a block of the story, "Prom Plans" and then knock out that section of the script, beat by beat, scene by scene, with important details noted. Sometimes a good line would come to me and I'd write it or an abreviation of that line down as a bullet point since I knew in my head where I wanted it to go and what I wanted it to accomplish. I guess the real important thing about "method" is that it WORKS! If something doens't work for you don't do it. If something does work, then screw what your "supposed" to do and do your thing.
*Quick tangent: Every great writer and artist has learned the rules and then uniquely broke them to let loose their genius. So yes, learn all the rules you can...but when it comes down to GETTING SOMETHING DONE, do what you have to.
By the time I was finished with my story blocking I had about 25 usable story blocks...
And a whole pile of blocks I was able to re-word, re-work, or cut out to make the story work better...
All in all, my movie was this big...
5 THINGS TO THINK ABOUT CONCERNING THIS METHOD:
1) We don't edit linearly so why should we assume to write and think linearly when it comes to a story? Story blocking allows you to take the initial inspiration for a story, craft that block, craft another block that you think might work well with the first one...and then later realize that you need to put about 5-10 blocks of story in-between those. But what you haven't done is gotten caught up on "the next detail" and therefore stopped your overall story from developing. Huge time saver!
2) Allows you to see what works, what doesn't work, what has to happen, and what can be cut before you ever sit down in front of a blank document.
3) You never have to worry about where you're going. It's like google maps for your story. All your twists and turns are mapped out ahead of time and you just have to write your way through them. Or imagine it like this: You've made a mold and now you have to fill it up with words. All the boundaries are set in place, do whatever you want in the middle, just fill up the mold.
4) With well crafted note-card-story-blocks you could architect an entire story or stories and then pass them off to someone else to write. A CCM producer's dream ;) Oh, and p.s. I later found out that this is what Christopher Nolan did, passing off an enormous stack of note cards to his brother Jonathan Nolan to pen The Dark Knight. So I'm reassured to find out that this isn't some half-baked thing that worked on a fluke. These guys arguably made the best movie this year using this method to collaborate.
5) It's fun!
I'm pretty sure I don't have to tell you guys about all-nighters but I will say that knowing where you going in a script when it's 3am is a lot more fun than not knowing where your going in a script at 3am and staring blankly at your screen, frustrated and tired, a deadline bearing down on you.
Well, that about sums up this ginormous post. Hit me up with comments yo!
Nathan
Oh! and before people ask: If the script gets picked up and I do a final draft, yes of course you can read it. If not then I'm going to chalk this whole thing up as a great learning experience and tuck that bad boy away.
Nathan here, (graduated CCM August 2008) and I just wanted to share a recent experience with you all for a few reasons: 1) It might be beneficial to you , and, 2) You might have some feed back that is beneficial to me! 'Cause thats what this blog is all about right?
So, if you've been following my twitter or rapidly updating facebook status (via twitter) then you know that last week I wrote a movie script for a start up company in Michigan called Atlas Films. Go ahead, google them, but like I said they're start up and in the process of getting scripts for their first couple of movies so you probably won't find much. Anyways, I sent them my resume as a writer and they took a look at the volume of stuff I was able to handle, told me that since I didn't have a movie under my belt they couldn't pay me in advance for a script but if I turned in a script to them and they decided to take it off my hands it'd be worth at least $3,000, maybe up to $7,000. So I was like, sure! Why not right? I figure, worst case scenario I'll learn a lot about myself, my writing, and I'll always be able to say, "Yes, I can and have written a full length movie script." And then best case scenario, they buy my script and I come on board with them to make a movie I wrote! So yeah, I did it.
After talking with Doug yesterday I told him I'd write a blog up about my writing experience and tell you guys how I pumped out a 99 page rough draft in five days. Here is the rundown of days:
Monday: Established premise. Revisited some characters I had taken notes on in an old journal. Freewrite for 33 pages. (I downloaded the Dark Knight script a week or so before, studied how it was formatted and did my best to stick as close to Final Draft formatting with Word.)
Tuesday: Brianfart day. I had killer writing block. I didn't write a page that day. I went to a friend's house and we stayed up really late talking the story over and I started making some note card "story blocks". <--talk more about that later.
Wednesday: I went home and got out a huge stack of note cards. I revisited my premise, streamlined my characters based on my freewrite, added a few needed characters, and then wrote appoximately 25 what I'll call "story blocks" with bulletpointed story beats/scenes. One story block per note card. Around 6pm I started re-writing the script and hit the sack around 6:30am with 51 pages finished.
Thursday: After about six hours sleep I popped out of bed, jumped on the computer with coffee in hand and wrote from about 12:00pm to 6:30am all over again. 91 pages total at this point.
Friday: Not so much sleep this time, work up a few hours later and started my one and only shot at a readthrough/edit. So from like 10:30am-10:00pm I re-read/re-wrote/edited my script, finishing with 99 pages and a few notes for expansion along the way that I didn't have time to do. At approximately 10pm I sent the script off to the email I had been given.
Brutal? Yeah, you bet! But I still remember thinking even as I wrote it, "Wow, I'm writing more and probably better content than I ever wrote at CCM! How is this happening?" Well, I knew the answer but it was just hard to believe because I'd never tried my "story block" method before and as soon as I used it (out of desperation I might add) something clicked in my brain and I was able to knock out an enormous task in a fairly ridiculous time frame...sound familiar CCM?
Anways, the main purpose of this post is to tell you guys about "story blocking". That's my name for it so if it has an official name that I don't know feel free to correct me. Oh, and just by way of disclaimer this may not work for everyone. It worked really well for me but that's all I can really vouch for it.
So! Here we go. Story Blocking: mapping out an entire story using note cards.
Growing up reading books, comic books, and listening to crazy music that always has some clever title for each chapter or section of the story it was telling, it made sense to me to think ahead in the story and name large chunks of it with one phrase that might include several story beats and even more scenes. Sometimes the story block was more vivid in my mind and needed less note card description and sometimes I needed to map out specifically front and back with bulletpoints guiding me through the scene to make sure it was going to work and accomplish what it needed to accomplish. Below is an example:
In this way I was able to name a block of the story, "Prom Plans" and then knock out that section of the script, beat by beat, scene by scene, with important details noted. Sometimes a good line would come to me and I'd write it or an abreviation of that line down as a bullet point since I knew in my head where I wanted it to go and what I wanted it to accomplish. I guess the real important thing about "method" is that it WORKS! If something doens't work for you don't do it. If something does work, then screw what your "supposed" to do and do your thing.*Quick tangent: Every great writer and artist has learned the rules and then uniquely broke them to let loose their genius. So yes, learn all the rules you can...but when it comes down to GETTING SOMETHING DONE, do what you have to.
By the time I was finished with my story blocking I had about 25 usable story blocks...
And a whole pile of blocks I was able to re-word, re-work, or cut out to make the story work better...
All in all, my movie was this big...
5 THINGS TO THINK ABOUT CONCERNING THIS METHOD:
1) We don't edit linearly so why should we assume to write and think linearly when it comes to a story? Story blocking allows you to take the initial inspiration for a story, craft that block, craft another block that you think might work well with the first one...and then later realize that you need to put about 5-10 blocks of story in-between those. But what you haven't done is gotten caught up on "the next detail" and therefore stopped your overall story from developing. Huge time saver!
2) Allows you to see what works, what doesn't work, what has to happen, and what can be cut before you ever sit down in front of a blank document.
3) You never have to worry about where you're going. It's like google maps for your story. All your twists and turns are mapped out ahead of time and you just have to write your way through them. Or imagine it like this: You've made a mold and now you have to fill it up with words. All the boundaries are set in place, do whatever you want in the middle, just fill up the mold.
4) With well crafted note-card-story-blocks you could architect an entire story or stories and then pass them off to someone else to write. A CCM producer's dream ;) Oh, and p.s. I later found out that this is what Christopher Nolan did, passing off an enormous stack of note cards to his brother Jonathan Nolan to pen The Dark Knight. So I'm reassured to find out that this isn't some half-baked thing that worked on a fluke. These guys arguably made the best movie this year using this method to collaborate.
5) It's fun!
I'm pretty sure I don't have to tell you guys about all-nighters but I will say that knowing where you going in a script when it's 3am is a lot more fun than not knowing where your going in a script at 3am and staring blankly at your screen, frustrated and tired, a deadline bearing down on you.
Well, that about sums up this ginormous post. Hit me up with comments yo!
Nathan
Oh! and before people ask: If the script gets picked up and I do a final draft, yes of course you can read it. If not then I'm going to chalk this whole thing up as a great learning experience and tuck that bad boy away.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
CCM Grad in Mumbai during Terrorist Attacks
CCM Grad - Season Caldwell (August '07) has been answering the calling on her life NON-STOP since graduating from CCM.
Even before she completed her time at CCM... Season seemed to be rooted, as a Director of Photography, in international missions and story telling. During her time as a CCMer she traveled to: South Africa, Scotland, England, Netherlands, and Guatemala. (Not to mention countless locations all over the United States.)
Season is an AWESOME D.P.!!
I'm so proud of her. She is both talented & skilled AND she is a great spiritual leader!!
For the past several months she has been working with a missions organization in Mumbai, India... coming and going between the states and India. As timing would have it... Season WAS in Mumbai during the recent terrorist attacks. I might add that makes it "God's Timing."
Within an hour of the beginning of the attacks I caught drift of what was going on. First through TWITTER then I began following the news.
Gail and I immediately thought of Season and began praying for her and all those working with her. I tried to get a hold of her... but several hours went by before we heard anything.
Eventually we knew had not been hurt during the initial attack. She had been outside of the city and was making her way back .
What follows is an account of her journey.
These are the sights and sounds of coming face to face with terrorism:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Journal Entry
Mumbai Terror Attacks
Season Caldwell
Written November 27, 2008 at 11:08 pm in Bandra, Mumbai…
Maharashtra, India.
Thinking of the events of last night, beginning around 9pm yesterday
evening, Wednesday, Nov. 26th.
Yesterday is certainly a day I will remember. Several people have
asked me to journal about it, so this is my account of the events of my
day (only from my knowledge and perspective. I was not at the
locations at the time of attack).
My day on Wednesday began very early, awaking at 3:30am and
heading out at 4 am. It was a long day and a long drive ahead, as we
were visiting and documenting some of our organizations water well
projects south of Mumbai. I was present in order to capture footage of
all that we saw, good and bad, need and fulfillment. After something
like 9 hours in the car with a few stops on the way, we began to reach
our water projects. We went from site to site, getting the necessary
footage and still pictures for documentation, talking with people in
various villages. Everything was going pretty well.
Back home, unbeknownst to us, or at least to me, my boss, his wife,
and their 8-year old son were in downtown Mumbai… Colaba area.
This is a busy spot for foreigners and Mumbaikers alike, and we have
gone countless times. They were shopping for Christmas presents
until around roughly 7 pm, at which point they did not feel up to
continue in Colaba and got in the family car and began the usual
traffic-jammed drive home. Our family driver parks our car just feet
away from the Taj hotel every time we go to town. This trip would be
no different. The Weehunts were among some of the last people in
Colaba before terrorists arrived. (**it has now been found out that
the terrorists had arrived by this time, went to eat at Leopold’s café
and were somehow delayed in starting their attacks. Had they been
on time, my boss’ family could have been right in the midst of the
attacks.)
House = where we live
X = general area of attacks
The distance is about a 30 minute drive without heavy traffic.
Anyways, back to our car in Kolhapur villages, about 7 hours away.
We began our drive home around 6pm, and expected not to reach
home for 6 hours, at least. We stopped for some McDonald’s after a
while. Soon after our stop, calls began coming in to a Mumbaiker
friend and coworker, Mark, and my boss’ eldest daughter (my boss’
family has lived in Mumbai and Texas, back and forth every year, for
about 16 years now). The people on the phone are saying there have
been “gang shootings” at the Taj and other places in town, but we
were very gray on the details. My first thought was only that some
crazy people had gotten hold of a couple guns and started shooting
people. Didn’t seem too much cause for alarm. As more and more
calls began pouring in, we got the idea that this could be a serious
matter.
As we continued driving home, something strange happened. Along
the highway, we saw flames ahead. We continued and could now see
it was a Goods Carrier truck up in flames that had collided with a
smaller car. A loud pop burst right as we pulled next to it, and we
pulled over once we had passed it to see if they needed anything. I
pulled out my camera and took a few seconds of footage in reportermode.
Though we knew this was completely unrelated to the attacks
happening in the city, I suddenly realized that things were out of
control. That something I didn’t understand was happening...
Something I may not be able to keep myself safe from. A pretty
frightening feeling struck me at that moment. At this point, things
became spiritual for me. In that car we prayed for peace, for safety of
the innocent... I realized that this city, and so many places like it
around the globe are in the midst of intense spiritual warfare.
The car and truck up in flames on the side of the road. [unrelated to
terrorist attacks]
More phone calls, more news… they are targeting foreigners, they are
firing AK47s at the train station, they are taking hostages in at least 3
locations. We were told not to come home that night. After a long,
rough day of travel and Indian village roads, that is not what we
wanted to hear. For a long while, I suspected that as soon as we
made it to Lonavala, a town 2 hours out of the city, that everything
would be under control and they would let us come home. But that
didn’t happen. Instead, things escalated.
Constant calls, constant checking on friends and family… I had a phone
but didn’t need to use it, as I am a guest of the family I work for here.
I sit and listen and do what I’m told and that is all I can do right now…
We made it to Lonavala, two hours outside of the city where our
ministry has an orphanage (Thank God for a safehouse!). We
confirmed we would stay the night, took showers, talked, Christie took
several more calls, and we were off to sleep, as it was now past 1am
on Nov. 27th. There was nothing we could do but pray and sleep. This
time may have been the height of my fear. I was even feeling a bit
nauseous and restless, having a hard time going to sleep. Even if I
felt fear, I knew we were really quite safe here. I knew all the kids in
our orphanage were right next door with their house parents, sleeping
soundly. Twelve wonderful children that I love so much… Twelve
children that I would protect at all cost. No one could lay a hand on
those kids while I’m around, I thought. I realized that whatever fear I
had for my own safety went away when I thought of those kids. I
would have no problem dying to keep them safe, I thought… and with
that I fell asleep and slept incredibly peacefully that night.
I woke up the next morning, Nov. 27th, Thanksgiving Day. Last year I
was in India on Thanksgiving, and we had gotten stuck in Goa for the
night, 10 hours out Mumbai. I guess I’ve started a tradition of being
stuck away from home on Thanksgiving! It was quite a blessing to be
there at our orphanage on this day, as I got to see all the kids and hug
and squeeze them a little. They didn’t know what had been going on
in the city… All I heard was “Season Didi, my birthday was last month!
Season Didi, will you be here for Christmas?” And that is all I wanted
to hear from them.
I was shocked to find out that things had not been taken care of yet
back in the city. In fact, new things were happening. We awaited the
“ok” to return home to Mumbai. Seeing that the problems seemed to
be confined to areas a bit south of our destination, it was approved for
us to venture quickly home, and we loaded up our stuff in the car. It
seemed that our poor driver had spent the night in the driver’s seat.
We are very blessed to have such good drivers here. We added to our
numbers, taking two of the American teachers from the orphanage
with us to the city, since they had to come to town by the next day
and did not think it was wise to take a public bus under the
circumstances. Five white American girls, one Anglo-Indian man, and
our Indian driver in one car, heading into the “war zone.” Since they
were targeting Westerners, all of us girls took out our shawls and
covered our heads, so as to be a little less obvious. Of course we had
fun with it, taking pictures of us looking so silly.
The youngest daughter of my boss, Hannah, got a text message on
her phone from some government thing that had the license numbers
of 2 police vehicles that had been stolen by the terrorists and
reportedly were heading out of the city. My eyes were peeled for cop
cars, but I didn’t even see one on the way home. Should I have been
disturbed that I didn’t see even one cop car all the way home?
As we got quite close to town, I spotted an army truck full of men in
green camo. One, then another, then a weapons truck, then at least
five more trucks full of soldiers. We saw them taking the road into
town, and we continued straight. I was very glad not to be heading
the same direction as these trucks.
We arrived home very shortly after and I realized how fast our driver
had been going the whole way. We were home in record time! He
must have been a bit frightened. We quickly unloaded our things and
walked up the 7 flights of stairs to our flat. I walked in that door
almost exactly 24 hours ago and I haven’t set foot out yet, and I won’t
until tonight only to go up to the roof terrace for Hannah’s 18th
birthday party celebration. We had to cancel the lighting and music,
as it’s not a good time or place to cause a big scene.
We are constantly watching the news and checking in with people,
updating facebooks for our family and friends back home. It’s still not
over! We pray for those still being held hostage, for those still hiding
in their hotel rooms, for the wounded. We hear of a friend saving the
Maternity Ward of the Hospital after coming face-to-face with some of
the terrorists and then locking the bullet-proof doors on the floor
above. New stories are always coming in, some happy, many sad. At
one point, my boss was phoned by a good friend who takes care of
children living in the Red Light District of Bombay. He had been
hearing shots where he was. As we prayed for them, I could hardly
keep it together and tears began to fill my eyes. Surely more than
anyone, this man and these children deserved safety.
Even now as I’m writing this “account” 38 hours and 22 minutes after
it all started, new firing is being reported at both hotels (the Taj and
the Oberoi) and the Nariman house. The footage on TV is showing
cops and/or special forces crouched and hiding behind cars and fences,
and windows are blown out of cars and the buildings. We are all
shocked this is still going on and wishing to know what we should do.
Still this fear of the unknown is inside of me. If I knew it would stop
at this, I would be okay… but we live in a part of town that has many
foreigners, so we just don’t know what might happen next. Too many
unanswered questions… mobile phones that were used by hostages in
the Taj are being found in towns hours away from where they were
used last night… a bomb was discovered in the train station just
minutes before it was set to go off... there were supposedly 5 bombs
placed in city taxies, but only one went off… where are the other 4?
And police don’t carry guns here? What?! It’s just chaos.
December 2, 2008
It has all been over for 3 or 4 days now, so we headed in to town
today to survey the scene and interview friends who run shops that we
frequent. Through all these events, through having conversations with
Indians here, and spending time to think on my own, I have realized a
few things.
1. Fear is the terrorists’ greatest weapon. It keeps people in
burning rooms. They hope chaos and confusion will also spread
fear. We should not give in to this fear. The Word says that
“The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the
world.”
2. Terrorists who have been planning attacks are set in their minds
to kill. They do not care to discern between grown men and
children (terrorists reportedly gunned down a woman holding a
baby, then shot the baby). Also, they go out ready to die in the
process.
3. We may fear the unknown in scary times, but that is when we
must cling to what we do know, that Our God will never leave
us… No terrorist is any challenge to God. Our battle is spiritual,
not natural.
4. Terrorism could happen anywhere at anytime. It would be
wishful thinking to say that there are no terrorists left in this
city. The truth is, they could be anywhere. If God has called us
to go somewhere, fear should not be the thing that stops us. A
Peacemaker has no work left to do in an already peaceful place.
(My sister, her husband, and another co-worker of mine are
flying in to Mumbai tomorrow, Dec 6th. We haven’t changed our
trip plans!)
5. There were so many men involved in planning and executing this
attack (reported to likely be Al-Quaeda), and they devised
intricately, studying hotel maps and roads, the fastest way from
here to there, etc. What great lengths these men have gone to
cause evil and darkness… it begs the question to me, are we
going to great enough lengths to bring good and light?
This is Leo’s six days after the attacks… My absolute favorite food in
India is upstairs in this restaurant. We shortly interviewed one of the
managers. There were at least 3 bullet holes in the upstairs windows
we would sit by.
Gordon House first floor is All Stir Fry restaurant, just a very short
walking distance from the Taj hotel. A restaurant we frequent and had
just visited about a week prior to attacks. When we returned to eat on
Dec 2nd, we were the only ones there besides the full staff (not usual
at all), and a manager told us that they had had 30 dinner guests on
the night of the attack, all of whom were forced to stay the night
there.
In front of Metro Cinema, there was a drive-by attack by terrorists who
had stolen police vehicles. Across the street from this theater is my
Indian home church, Metro Church. Footage from this part of the
attack is quite disturbing, as an AK47 takes down a whole line of
people.
Above is the Taj hotel 6 days after the attacks. It doesn’t look so
messy here, but it burnt for over 24 hours.
One of the windows burnt out in the old wing of the Taj.
Memorials at the Taj.
memorials at the Taj.
Memorials at the Taj.
Even before she completed her time at CCM... Season seemed to be rooted, as a Director of Photography, in international missions and story telling. During her time as a CCMer she traveled to: South Africa, Scotland, England, Netherlands, and Guatemala. (Not to mention countless locations all over the United States.)
Season is an AWESOME D.P.!!
I'm so proud of her. She is both talented & skilled AND she is a great spiritual leader!!
For the past several months she has been working with a missions organization in Mumbai, India... coming and going between the states and India. As timing would have it... Season WAS in Mumbai during the recent terrorist attacks. I might add that makes it "God's Timing."
Within an hour of the beginning of the attacks I caught drift of what was going on. First through TWITTER then I began following the news.
Gail and I immediately thought of Season and began praying for her and all those working with her. I tried to get a hold of her... but several hours went by before we heard anything.
Eventually we knew had not been hurt during the initial attack. She had been outside of the city and was making her way back .
What follows is an account of her journey.
These are the sights and sounds of coming face to face with terrorism:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Journal Entry
Mumbai Terror Attacks
Season Caldwell
Written November 27, 2008 at 11:08 pm in Bandra, Mumbai…
Maharashtra, India.
Thinking of the events of last night, beginning around 9pm yesterday
evening, Wednesday, Nov. 26th.
Yesterday is certainly a day I will remember. Several people have
asked me to journal about it, so this is my account of the events of my
day (only from my knowledge and perspective. I was not at the
locations at the time of attack).
My day on Wednesday began very early, awaking at 3:30am and
heading out at 4 am. It was a long day and a long drive ahead, as we
were visiting and documenting some of our organizations water well
projects south of Mumbai. I was present in order to capture footage of
all that we saw, good and bad, need and fulfillment. After something
like 9 hours in the car with a few stops on the way, we began to reach
our water projects. We went from site to site, getting the necessary
footage and still pictures for documentation, talking with people in
various villages. Everything was going pretty well.
Back home, unbeknownst to us, or at least to me, my boss, his wife,
and their 8-year old son were in downtown Mumbai… Colaba area.
This is a busy spot for foreigners and Mumbaikers alike, and we have
gone countless times. They were shopping for Christmas presents
until around roughly 7 pm, at which point they did not feel up to
continue in Colaba and got in the family car and began the usual
traffic-jammed drive home. Our family driver parks our car just feet
away from the Taj hotel every time we go to town. This trip would be
no different. The Weehunts were among some of the last people in
Colaba before terrorists arrived. (**it has now been found out that
the terrorists had arrived by this time, went to eat at Leopold’s café
and were somehow delayed in starting their attacks. Had they been
on time, my boss’ family could have been right in the midst of the
attacks.)
House = where we live
X = general area of attacks
The distance is about a 30 minute drive without heavy traffic.
Anyways, back to our car in Kolhapur villages, about 7 hours away.
We began our drive home around 6pm, and expected not to reach
home for 6 hours, at least. We stopped for some McDonald’s after a
while. Soon after our stop, calls began coming in to a Mumbaiker
friend and coworker, Mark, and my boss’ eldest daughter (my boss’
family has lived in Mumbai and Texas, back and forth every year, for
about 16 years now). The people on the phone are saying there have
been “gang shootings” at the Taj and other places in town, but we
were very gray on the details. My first thought was only that some
crazy people had gotten hold of a couple guns and started shooting
people. Didn’t seem too much cause for alarm. As more and more
calls began pouring in, we got the idea that this could be a serious
matter.
As we continued driving home, something strange happened. Along
the highway, we saw flames ahead. We continued and could now see
it was a Goods Carrier truck up in flames that had collided with a
smaller car. A loud pop burst right as we pulled next to it, and we
pulled over once we had passed it to see if they needed anything. I
pulled out my camera and took a few seconds of footage in reportermode.
Though we knew this was completely unrelated to the attacks
happening in the city, I suddenly realized that things were out of
control. That something I didn’t understand was happening...
Something I may not be able to keep myself safe from. A pretty
frightening feeling struck me at that moment. At this point, things
became spiritual for me. In that car we prayed for peace, for safety of
the innocent... I realized that this city, and so many places like it
around the globe are in the midst of intense spiritual warfare.
The car and truck up in flames on the side of the road. [unrelated to
terrorist attacks]
More phone calls, more news… they are targeting foreigners, they are
firing AK47s at the train station, they are taking hostages in at least 3
locations. We were told not to come home that night. After a long,
rough day of travel and Indian village roads, that is not what we
wanted to hear. For a long while, I suspected that as soon as we
made it to Lonavala, a town 2 hours out of the city, that everything
would be under control and they would let us come home. But that
didn’t happen. Instead, things escalated.
Constant calls, constant checking on friends and family… I had a phone
but didn’t need to use it, as I am a guest of the family I work for here.
I sit and listen and do what I’m told and that is all I can do right now…
We made it to Lonavala, two hours outside of the city where our
ministry has an orphanage (Thank God for a safehouse!). We
confirmed we would stay the night, took showers, talked, Christie took
several more calls, and we were off to sleep, as it was now past 1am
on Nov. 27th. There was nothing we could do but pray and sleep. This
time may have been the height of my fear. I was even feeling a bit
nauseous and restless, having a hard time going to sleep. Even if I
felt fear, I knew we were really quite safe here. I knew all the kids in
our orphanage were right next door with their house parents, sleeping
soundly. Twelve wonderful children that I love so much… Twelve
children that I would protect at all cost. No one could lay a hand on
those kids while I’m around, I thought. I realized that whatever fear I
had for my own safety went away when I thought of those kids. I
would have no problem dying to keep them safe, I thought… and with
that I fell asleep and slept incredibly peacefully that night.
I woke up the next morning, Nov. 27th, Thanksgiving Day. Last year I
was in India on Thanksgiving, and we had gotten stuck in Goa for the
night, 10 hours out Mumbai. I guess I’ve started a tradition of being
stuck away from home on Thanksgiving! It was quite a blessing to be
there at our orphanage on this day, as I got to see all the kids and hug
and squeeze them a little. They didn’t know what had been going on
in the city… All I heard was “Season Didi, my birthday was last month!
Season Didi, will you be here for Christmas?” And that is all I wanted
to hear from them.
I was shocked to find out that things had not been taken care of yet
back in the city. In fact, new things were happening. We awaited the
“ok” to return home to Mumbai. Seeing that the problems seemed to
be confined to areas a bit south of our destination, it was approved for
us to venture quickly home, and we loaded up our stuff in the car. It
seemed that our poor driver had spent the night in the driver’s seat.
We are very blessed to have such good drivers here. We added to our
numbers, taking two of the American teachers from the orphanage
with us to the city, since they had to come to town by the next day
and did not think it was wise to take a public bus under the
circumstances. Five white American girls, one Anglo-Indian man, and
our Indian driver in one car, heading into the “war zone.” Since they
were targeting Westerners, all of us girls took out our shawls and
covered our heads, so as to be a little less obvious. Of course we had
fun with it, taking pictures of us looking so silly.
The youngest daughter of my boss, Hannah, got a text message on
her phone from some government thing that had the license numbers
of 2 police vehicles that had been stolen by the terrorists and
reportedly were heading out of the city. My eyes were peeled for cop
cars, but I didn’t even see one on the way home. Should I have been
disturbed that I didn’t see even one cop car all the way home?
As we got quite close to town, I spotted an army truck full of men in
green camo. One, then another, then a weapons truck, then at least
five more trucks full of soldiers. We saw them taking the road into
town, and we continued straight. I was very glad not to be heading
the same direction as these trucks.
We arrived home very shortly after and I realized how fast our driver
had been going the whole way. We were home in record time! He
must have been a bit frightened. We quickly unloaded our things and
walked up the 7 flights of stairs to our flat. I walked in that door
almost exactly 24 hours ago and I haven’t set foot out yet, and I won’t
until tonight only to go up to the roof terrace for Hannah’s 18th
birthday party celebration. We had to cancel the lighting and music,
as it’s not a good time or place to cause a big scene.
We are constantly watching the news and checking in with people,
updating facebooks for our family and friends back home. It’s still not
over! We pray for those still being held hostage, for those still hiding
in their hotel rooms, for the wounded. We hear of a friend saving the
Maternity Ward of the Hospital after coming face-to-face with some of
the terrorists and then locking the bullet-proof doors on the floor
above. New stories are always coming in, some happy, many sad. At
one point, my boss was phoned by a good friend who takes care of
children living in the Red Light District of Bombay. He had been
hearing shots where he was. As we prayed for them, I could hardly
keep it together and tears began to fill my eyes. Surely more than
anyone, this man and these children deserved safety.
Even now as I’m writing this “account” 38 hours and 22 minutes after
it all started, new firing is being reported at both hotels (the Taj and
the Oberoi) and the Nariman house. The footage on TV is showing
cops and/or special forces crouched and hiding behind cars and fences,
and windows are blown out of cars and the buildings. We are all
shocked this is still going on and wishing to know what we should do.
Still this fear of the unknown is inside of me. If I knew it would stop
at this, I would be okay… but we live in a part of town that has many
foreigners, so we just don’t know what might happen next. Too many
unanswered questions… mobile phones that were used by hostages in
the Taj are being found in towns hours away from where they were
used last night… a bomb was discovered in the train station just
minutes before it was set to go off... there were supposedly 5 bombs
placed in city taxies, but only one went off… where are the other 4?
And police don’t carry guns here? What?! It’s just chaos.
December 2, 2008
It has all been over for 3 or 4 days now, so we headed in to town
today to survey the scene and interview friends who run shops that we
frequent. Through all these events, through having conversations with
Indians here, and spending time to think on my own, I have realized a
few things.
1. Fear is the terrorists’ greatest weapon. It keeps people in
burning rooms. They hope chaos and confusion will also spread
fear. We should not give in to this fear. The Word says that
“The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the
world.”
2. Terrorists who have been planning attacks are set in their minds
to kill. They do not care to discern between grown men and
children (terrorists reportedly gunned down a woman holding a
baby, then shot the baby). Also, they go out ready to die in the
process.
3. We may fear the unknown in scary times, but that is when we
must cling to what we do know, that Our God will never leave
us… No terrorist is any challenge to God. Our battle is spiritual,
not natural.
4. Terrorism could happen anywhere at anytime. It would be
wishful thinking to say that there are no terrorists left in this
city. The truth is, they could be anywhere. If God has called us
to go somewhere, fear should not be the thing that stops us. A
Peacemaker has no work left to do in an already peaceful place.
(My sister, her husband, and another co-worker of mine are
flying in to Mumbai tomorrow, Dec 6th. We haven’t changed our
trip plans!)
5. There were so many men involved in planning and executing this
attack (reported to likely be Al-Quaeda), and they devised
intricately, studying hotel maps and roads, the fastest way from
here to there, etc. What great lengths these men have gone to
cause evil and darkness… it begs the question to me, are we
going to great enough lengths to bring good and light?
This is Leo’s six days after the attacks… My absolute favorite food in
India is upstairs in this restaurant. We shortly interviewed one of the
managers. There were at least 3 bullet holes in the upstairs windows
we would sit by.
Gordon House first floor is All Stir Fry restaurant, just a very short
walking distance from the Taj hotel. A restaurant we frequent and had
just visited about a week prior to attacks. When we returned to eat on
Dec 2nd, we were the only ones there besides the full staff (not usual
at all), and a manager told us that they had had 30 dinner guests on
the night of the attack, all of whom were forced to stay the night
there.
In front of Metro Cinema, there was a drive-by attack by terrorists who
had stolen police vehicles. Across the street from this theater is my
Indian home church, Metro Church. Footage from this part of the
attack is quite disturbing, as an AK47 takes down a whole line of
people.
Above is the Taj hotel 6 days after the attacks. It doesn’t look so
messy here, but it burnt for over 24 hours.
One of the windows burnt out in the old wing of the Taj.
Memorials at the Taj.
memorials at the Taj.
Memorials at the Taj.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
CCM Professional Encounter to Hollywood - About to get Underway!
CCM is embarking on what is sure to be an amazing part of growing this production company and internship!!
Beginning tomorrow... CCM goes west!
Keep up with the Professional Encounter as it unfolds on a blog published to share the heart of the CCM'ers as they learn, grow and experience immersion into the world of real film & television production!
Check it out:
The CCM Professional Encounter Blog
Beginning tomorrow... CCM goes west!
Keep up with the Professional Encounter as it unfolds on a blog published to share the heart of the CCM'ers as they learn, grow and experience immersion into the world of real film & television production!
Check it out:
The CCM Professional Encounter Blog
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Rediscovering - SEAWIND!!!
It come out of the recesses of my mind.
The memories.
The music.
Actually it was triggered by a conversation with one of my best friends in the world: Alex Palermo. We were room mates in college... we shared a love for God and a love for music. (Him... songwriter/keys. Me... trumpet/drums.)
We were really into Jazz.
One of our favorite groups was SEAWIND. Rock solid on every front.
They a message. They sent The Message.
They may be old school... but their music still stands!!!
I don't know of anyone TODAY who is doing what they did THEN.
Enjoy some SEAWIND right here...
I can't share vinyl (yes, I still have those) over the web... But I can share the vibe:
HE LOVES YOU
Jazz artists with The Message. Man I miss these guys.
THE DEVIL IS A LIAR
Ah yeah...
I NEED YOUR LOVE
Keep it coming... Great times... Great vibe
IMAGINE
Wow...
The memories.
The music.
Actually it was triggered by a conversation with one of my best friends in the world: Alex Palermo. We were room mates in college... we shared a love for God and a love for music. (Him... songwriter/keys. Me... trumpet/drums.)
We were really into Jazz.
One of our favorite groups was SEAWIND. Rock solid on every front.
They a message. They sent The Message.
They may be old school... but their music still stands!!!
I don't know of anyone TODAY who is doing what they did THEN.
Enjoy some SEAWIND right here...
I can't share vinyl (yes, I still have those) over the web... But I can share the vibe:
HE LOVES YOU
Jazz artists with The Message. Man I miss these guys.
THE DEVIL IS A LIAR
Ah yeah...
I NEED YOUR LOVE
Keep it coming... Great times... Great vibe
IMAGINE
Wow...
Saturday, November 1, 2008
The Chronicles of HAMILTON - PT 7
And... that's a WRAP!
When the night is over... and the broadcast has faded to black... it's a job well done!!
Long hours... butterflies in the stomach (oh... but God was in control the entire time... so those nerves were just the edge everybody needed to stay sharp! Nothing more)... professional growth that is off the chart... and, a program ready for the world to see!!
May God use it all for His glory!!
It's hard to fully explain what happens during these CCM productions. So much goes down in such a short, but concentrated period of time.
The thing that amazes me the most (every time!) is just how much each PROFESSIONAL on the CCM team gains by doing this. (That's right... in my eyes each CCMer is not an intern... they are a PROFESSIONAL) The learn, perform, and grow like any professional I have every worked with out in Hollywood!
It shouldn't work the way it does. (a team full of inexperienced folks)
It shouldn't result in a REAL, PROFESSIONAL, BROADCAST-ABLE 15 hours of event. BUT IT DOES!! It does because we are blessed... It does because all of the CCMers are willing, flexible, teachable, and dedicated.
Oh... they relax at the end of the night too!
Check it out: (And meet some more of the team)
So that's it from Hamilton!!
Keep checking back here for the exact broadcast dates in December.
I'll let you know the times as soon as I get them.
When the night is over... and the broadcast has faded to black... it's a job well done!!
Long hours... butterflies in the stomach (oh... but God was in control the entire time... so those nerves were just the edge everybody needed to stay sharp! Nothing more)... professional growth that is off the chart... and, a program ready for the world to see!!
May God use it all for His glory!!
It's hard to fully explain what happens during these CCM productions. So much goes down in such a short, but concentrated period of time.
The thing that amazes me the most (every time!) is just how much each PROFESSIONAL on the CCM team gains by doing this. (That's right... in my eyes each CCMer is not an intern... they are a PROFESSIONAL) The learn, perform, and grow like any professional I have every worked with out in Hollywood!
It shouldn't work the way it does. (a team full of inexperienced folks)
It shouldn't result in a REAL, PROFESSIONAL, BROADCAST-ABLE 15 hours of event. BUT IT DOES!! It does because we are blessed... It does because all of the CCMers are willing, flexible, teachable, and dedicated.
Oh... they relax at the end of the night too!
Check it out: (And meet some more of the team)
So that's it from Hamilton!!
Keep checking back here for the exact broadcast dates in December.
I'll let you know the times as soon as I get them.
Friday, October 31, 2008
The Chronicles of HAMILTON - PT 6
And now...
Another clip of what will actually be shown on air!
A peek into what went into making the short films that appear on the screens on the tour!
CCM delivered well over 100 elements for ATF this year.
Everything from Worship Backgrounds that play on 5 screens... to Message Support gfx crafted in 3D and 2D (also across 5 screens)... to an Event gfx package... to videos that play during the breaks... to videos that play in the workshops... AND short films and parodies that play during the event.
One of our standouts was produced by one of the great production teams we have at CCM... it's called THE LETTER.
Check out this clip that shows a portion of the message from Sat AM and THE LETTER
Check back tomorrow for the wrap up of The Chronicles of Hamilton!!
Another clip of what will actually be shown on air!
A peek into what went into making the short films that appear on the screens on the tour!
CCM delivered well over 100 elements for ATF this year.
Everything from Worship Backgrounds that play on 5 screens... to Message Support gfx crafted in 3D and 2D (also across 5 screens)... to an Event gfx package... to videos that play during the breaks... to videos that play in the workshops... AND short films and parodies that play during the event.
One of our standouts was produced by one of the great production teams we have at CCM... it's called THE LETTER.
Check out this clip that shows a portion of the message from Sat AM and THE LETTER
Check back tomorrow for the wrap up of The Chronicles of Hamilton!!
The Chronicles of HAMILTON - PT 5
In 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...
And... "we're ON"
All the rehearsals were over.
Everyone was in their places. (Many of them bundled up, standing over the ice of a hockey rink)
It was TIME.
Hundreds of hours of preparation in post.
Thousands of hours of practice and honing of skills at camera, audio... and many other skills.
It was TIME for it to come together!
Everyone had a job to do.
The grips assigned to the Hand Held cameras.
The assists assigned to the Dolly camera.
The production assistants assigned to tying up any loose ends.
The production manager making sure everything was working in concert.
It was TIME for the thousands in Copps Coliseum to be reached.
BUT... it was also time for MILLIONS to be reached outside of the building and Canada!
7pm on Friday Night.
The open rolled...
To understand the full Center for Creative Media experience at a moment like this is to realize that there is no classroom that could ever replace REALLY DOING THIS!!
You can explain what a P.A. does. You can read about what an A.D. does. You can be quizzed about Grips and Gaffers. But to really get it... You have to do it!!
Oh yeah... student projects usually don't come loaded with thousands of people in a live audience, the pressure of delivering when the director is calling the shots through a headset WHEN MILLIONS ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING, with the requirement that what you are producing actually meets broadcast technical spec, or with an actual broadcast credit complete with actual work that you PERSONALLY did.
No one would ever staff the broadcast of a live event with a bunch of "green-horns." That would be crazy!! But that is exactly what CCM does... and through God... IT WORKS!! Remember... some of the "staff" that worked this event just came to CCM last August. And today... they are carrying major responsibility and bringing their art to the WORLD!
One of the moments that the entire team can now say they have done is: the production of a multi-cam live concert... From camera shots to audio mix.
Check out this excerpt from worship being led by UNHINDERED
STAY TUNED: In the next post... see Center for Creative Media's latest Short Film "The Letter" (Scene: War complete with special efx and explosions)
And... "we're ON"
All the rehearsals were over.
Everyone was in their places. (Many of them bundled up, standing over the ice of a hockey rink)
It was TIME.
Hundreds of hours of preparation in post.
Thousands of hours of practice and honing of skills at camera, audio... and many other skills.
It was TIME for it to come together!
Everyone had a job to do.
The grips assigned to the Hand Held cameras.
The assists assigned to the Dolly camera.
The production assistants assigned to tying up any loose ends.
The production manager making sure everything was working in concert.
It was TIME for the thousands in Copps Coliseum to be reached.
BUT... it was also time for MILLIONS to be reached outside of the building and Canada!
7pm on Friday Night.
The open rolled...
To understand the full Center for Creative Media experience at a moment like this is to realize that there is no classroom that could ever replace REALLY DOING THIS!!
You can explain what a P.A. does. You can read about what an A.D. does. You can be quizzed about Grips and Gaffers. But to really get it... You have to do it!!
Oh yeah... student projects usually don't come loaded with thousands of people in a live audience, the pressure of delivering when the director is calling the shots through a headset WHEN MILLIONS ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING, with the requirement that what you are producing actually meets broadcast technical spec, or with an actual broadcast credit complete with actual work that you PERSONALLY did.
No one would ever staff the broadcast of a live event with a bunch of "green-horns." That would be crazy!! But that is exactly what CCM does... and through God... IT WORKS!! Remember... some of the "staff" that worked this event just came to CCM last August. And today... they are carrying major responsibility and bringing their art to the WORLD!
One of the moments that the entire team can now say they have done is: the production of a multi-cam live concert... From camera shots to audio mix.
Check out this excerpt from worship being led by UNHINDERED
STAY TUNED: In the next post... see Center for Creative Media's latest Short Film "The Letter" (Scene: War complete with special efx and explosions)
Thursday, October 30, 2008
The Chronicles of HAMILTON - PT 4
So much for travel to Hamilton and getting settled in at Copps Coliseum...
It was finally time to get to work!
To pull off the broadcast of the event... we would need a TV truck capable doing all we required. Here was the set-up:
We had 6 cameras (+ another 6 floaters) covering all the angles we would need.
1 Hand Held on stage right
1 Jib in audience stage right
1 Dolly Camera behind the first seat break
2 Stationary Cameras at Front of House
1 Camera in the upper loge for Host Live shots and Event Wide Shots
The floaters were assigned to get audience shots and "perspective (audience and stage in the same shot) shots" to added in editing later in Multi-Cam Grouping mode.
1 Director
1 Technical Director
1 Asst. Director
1 GFX Operator
Video 1&2
Audio 1&2
1 EVS Operator
1 Tape Op
2 Tape Managers (also doing electronic video record)
2 PA's
1 Floor Manager
2 Field Producers
2 ENG Audio Ops
We also did our own FULL audio mix (96 channels) of the entire event.
CCMers manned key roles... many of them never having done live television before in their lives. (AND... they did a GREAT job!!)
The hours leading up to the event were filled with practice, check and re-checks of the gear, team meetings explaining what needed to be done, and PRAYER!
Keep in mind... we had 15 to 16 hours of event to cover. A marathon to be sure.
Here's a peek behind the scenes of the event from CCM's perspective:
And... Dolly Cam operator Wesley Trost shows us his rig:
TOMORROW:
Preview clips of the event!! Not seen before!
(Event is schedule to air on GodTV in Dec. Dates TBD)
It was finally time to get to work!
To pull off the broadcast of the event... we would need a TV truck capable doing all we required. Here was the set-up:
We had 6 cameras (+ another 6 floaters) covering all the angles we would need.
1 Hand Held on stage right
1 Jib in audience stage right
1 Dolly Camera behind the first seat break
2 Stationary Cameras at Front of House
1 Camera in the upper loge for Host Live shots and Event Wide Shots
The floaters were assigned to get audience shots and "perspective (audience and stage in the same shot) shots" to added in editing later in Multi-Cam Grouping mode.
1 Director
1 Technical Director
1 Asst. Director
1 GFX Operator
Video 1&2
Audio 1&2
1 EVS Operator
1 Tape Op
2 Tape Managers (also doing electronic video record)
2 PA's
1 Floor Manager
2 Field Producers
2 ENG Audio Ops
We also did our own FULL audio mix (96 channels) of the entire event.
CCMers manned key roles... many of them never having done live television before in their lives. (AND... they did a GREAT job!!)
The hours leading up to the event were filled with practice, check and re-checks of the gear, team meetings explaining what needed to be done, and PRAYER!
Keep in mind... we had 15 to 16 hours of event to cover. A marathon to be sure.
Here's a peek behind the scenes of the event from CCM's perspective:
And... Dolly Cam operator Wesley Trost shows us his rig:
TOMORROW:
Preview clips of the event!! Not seen before!
(Event is schedule to air on GodTV in Dec. Dates TBD)
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Stayed Tuned for MORE Hamilton
Check in tomorrow for behind the scenes footage of the ATF production team and a look at the dolly camera we used during broadcast in Hamilton!
The Chronicles of HAMILTON - PT 3
After a long bus ride... CCM arrives at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario.
Any good production person makes sure they get to know their surroundings and the specific areas where they will have to work.
1st stop: Where to EAT!!
A huge blessing of putting on the Acquire the Fire tour is that we are served by people who are as passionate about empowering this generation as we are. And, at just about every event we are blown away by people who serve us by FEEDING us.
That blessing is even bigger after spending hours (days!) on a bus.
Check out what CCMer Caleb Lennie (a Canadian I might add) says about finally arriving in Hamilton.
Any good production person makes sure they get to know their surroundings and the specific areas where they will have to work.
1st stop: Where to EAT!!
A huge blessing of putting on the Acquire the Fire tour is that we are served by people who are as passionate about empowering this generation as we are. And, at just about every event we are blown away by people who serve us by FEEDING us.
That blessing is even bigger after spending hours (days!) on a bus.
Check out what CCMer Caleb Lennie (a Canadian I might add) says about finally arriving in Hamilton.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Chronicles of HAMILTON - PT 2
The journey and the bonding continue as the team crosses North of the Border
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