VFX and communicating the gospel

Using media to help preach the gospel of Jesus Christ is nothing new for the JESUS Film Project. But the use of Damah film festival and later the Global Short Film Network.  We have used dialog lines from the JESUS films for such things as My Last Day (a 9-minute Japanese anime film about the crucifixion of Christ) and more recently File Zero - a 14-part 'web episode' series due to be released in 2015.

From our letter this month I hope you picked up that we are finding that short films are a great way to start conversations.  We've had reports from around the world from people telling us of how easy it is to start a conversation when you have a short film that you want to share with a friend.  If you know about YouTube - you know this has become a global phenomenon. 

In our case, we seek to make films that start conversations that can lead to Christ!  We acquire what we can from other sources, but we also end up making some of the films here in Orlando and with our partner 'Simple Bulldog' in Austin, TX.  One thing I'm excited to bring to our film team is my experience in CG (Computer Generated images).  I've studied the area of visual effects for film for many years and done some of my own tests (I was even making stop-motion animated films as a teenager with my friends back in the 1970's).  So being able to expand into this area with our work here is like a dream come true!   

Shooting a simple set on a greenscreen stages (with visual
markers on the back wall for camera tracking)

It's great to be involved in something that is a constant challenge - and visual effects for film is an enormous challenge.  The photo above is something I took of our cameramen this week as we were gathering some greenscreen footage and a location shoot in Orlando.  This is footage I need to do some tests with camera tracking software (Syntheyes).  This is software that allows you to analyze film in a way that makes it possible to combine 3D generated images with filmed images.  This is the modern basis for visual effects that you see in most movies today.

Location shoot for a 'sky replacement' shot.

So why should we be involved in visual effects?  We are doing this to expand the range of the type of films that we can do.  Visual effects and the ability to extend a simple set allows you to tell more compelling stories.  It also gives you the possibility to do things in a much more economical way, for instance getting a shot set in Paris or ancient Jerusalem, without actually having to transport a crew to another country.  Visual effects and animation are closely tied together - and they allow you to show things and communicate in ways that are difficult to do any other way. 

We're starting small, but even small efforts require a huge learning curve (the first manual for SynthEyes is 500 pages long!).  Would you pray for me and my part - that I would quickly learn what I need to in order to be able to learn this and other software for these initial tests?  Also, please pray with us according to Matthew 9:38 for more 'laborers for the harvest' - other like-minded people that can lend their expertise, advice, tips, and even other full time people to join us that have a passion and vision for using their skills in this area to reach people for Christ!