Honoring a leader

For church going folks, a pastor is someone who you choose to follow on a spiritual journey and a lot of trust is placed in that person. On the pastoral side, there is a tremendous amount of sacrifice and pressure that comes with the job. So most churches dedicate one Sunday out of the year to honor their leader and his family and basically just say thanks. Fountain of Truth Church in Fontana, CA asked me to create a video for them as part of their Pastor's Day celebration. It was an absolute pleasure working with FTC's creative team. They are amazing people who came up with a great idea and it was a joy to help them execute it. We interviewed seven people and asked how their pastor has impacted their lives. The final product is a heartfelt and sincere "thank you" to the pastor of FTC. I also have to give a HUGE shout out to Aaron Marron for allowing us to shoot in his studio. 

One shot for the right shots.

Shooting live events really makes me happy. I guess it's the challenge that does it for me. You only have one chance to get the right shots. It's not like you can stop the speaker in the middle of their speech/sermon and ask them to do it over again as you setup a better shot. And when you take it into post, theres nothing like picking the right shots at the right moments to emphasize the message. I guess my main approach to making videos like the one I shot for Shane West is to take what most preaching videos look like and do the exact opposite. Take a look at some of it. It's a good video, and an even better message. 

Common Ground

Red Chapel in Rancho Cucamonga asked me to make a promotional video to promote their Easter service. They're calling it "Common Ground" and what they were looking for was something modern and relevant to convey the thought 'things that bring people together'. With social networking as inspiration, this is the end product.

[Music is from the Oscar winning score from The Social Network and can be purchased here.]

Live Session's From The Artist's Vault

Last winter I shot a series of video podcasts for Trinity Entertainment Group. The podcasts are titled "Live Sessions From The Artist's Vault" and feature performances and interviews from featured musical artists. If there is one thing I really love to shoot, it's live performances. And if there's one thing I really REALLY love to shoot, it's live performances of great music. And this is phenomenal music! The first episode features Blackledge recording artist Caitlin Crosby. I'm really proud of this video. For more information on LSAV or to view other episodes visit www.trinityentertainmentgroup.com

Transitions: the difference between good video and cheese.

Something that could make for an absolutely cheesy video are bad transitions. Nowadays, video editing software comes loaded with a plethora of different transitions; many of which would never be used by a professional editor. You have everything from ripple dissolves to cube spins to page peels to clock wipes to that one where the picture becomes a thousand little boxes and all the boxes float away. Horrible!

Hold up. . . I shouldn't say things like these would NEVER be used. But more often than not you wouldn't use these transitions to tell a story. And that's what it's all about; telling a story. Whether your editing a wedding, a film, or for television it all comes down to storytelling. If your audience is noticing the next scene flying in from the top corner of the frame spinning in every direction and changing colors, it's a safe bet they're being distracted from the storyline. A transition should never call attention to itself.

Watch any film or anything on television and you'll notice only 3 main transitions: cuts, dissolves and fades (and in George Lucas' case, a fourth: wipes). That's it! Just 3 simple transitions. An editor must constantly be asking himself: which transitions will visually enhance the story, and which ones will detract from it. You never ever want to use an effect just because you have the option.

So if your editor is telling you it would look so cool to have your scene slide in from the left side and come to a screeching halt and have sparks fly everywhere, it's time to find a new editor.