Hi there, I'm Zack Lawrence, assistant director/editor of Families for Christ Ministries' "The Pastor's House" series. Here I'll be giving you tips and tricks for making your own Christian videos. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Wed, 29 Nov 2006 15:03:00 -0600 Wed, 29 Nov 2006 15:03:00 -0600 There are literally hundreds of great tools available for the independent video producer.  One of my favorites are the products of the Digital Juice company.   Whether you need music, stock footage, or motion graphics, Digital Juice has what you need.   NOTE: I apologize if this sounds like a sales pitch.  I don't work for Digital Juice, nor do I get any money for recomending their products.  I'm just a satisfied customer who thinks everyone should use Digital Juice.   That said, let's move on to what kind of stuff Digital Juice offers.   VideoTraxx stock footage collections.  There are three volumes of VideoTraxx.  Each collection has hundreds of high quailty clips of varrying themes, from animals, to NASA, from teens to business.   BackTraxx royalty-free music collections.  There are two volumes of BackTraxx.  Each volume has hundreds of royalty-free music that you can use for promotional videos, commercials, or anything else.  Royalty-free means you don't have to pay royalties each time you use a song, just the initial purchasing fee and you're free to go.  Each song comes in different lengths for whatever project you're doing, and each volume is divided by categories such as Coporate, Cool Stuff, Classical, Mellow, etc.   StackTraxx royalty-free music collections.  These are some of the coolest things ever.  It's just like BackTraxx, except you can actually choose which instruments you want in the song.  Say there's a great, high energy song you want to use in your commercial, but the drums are a little too rowdy for what you need.  Go into the Juicer, DJ's proprietary rendering software that comes free with all DJ products, and deselect the drums track.  It's that simple.   Digital Juice has other products, but I must be off to shoot some videos for church.   In Christ, Zack http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/247001/ Wed, 29 Nov 2006 15:03:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/247001/ I just found out that the episode of Heroes that my dad and I saw being filmed will be airing Monday night on NBC.  The episode is entitled "Homecoming," and according to the website will be a pivotal episode in the series.  I watched last week's episode on the NBC website, www.nbc.com/Heroes and recognized the diner set they used.  I had actually walked through that set when my dad and I visited the studio.  It'll be interesting to see how the scene we saw turned out.  Despite the evolutionary foundation of the show, the storyline is quite interesting, especially seeing how the different subplots begin to intersect with one another. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/240913/ Sat, 18 Nov 2006 11:07:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/240913/ Well, the 2006 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival is over.  While Close Encounters did not win the "Best Trailer" Award, it was selected as one of the top four finalists, and was very well received by those who saw it.  A big "Thank You!" to all who helped with making the trailer.  I couldn't have done it without you guys!   In Christ, Zack http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/224709/ Sun, 22 Oct 2006 23:20:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/224709/ Boy, it's been a busy last couple of days here in San Antonio.  As I write this from our hotel room, the Academy is over and the Film Festival will kick off tomorrow evening.  My dad and I just got back from watching Facing the Giants, which I highly recommend.  Check www.facingthegiants.com and look to see if it's playing in your area.  I believe Christians across the country need to rise up and support these kinds of films.  This will send the message to the Hollywood-humanists that these are the kinds of movies we want to see, movies that extol the Biblical family model, that show children to be a blessing, and not a curse, movies that show children repenting and apologizing to their parents, instead of the other way around.  Movies that show how God rewards faithfulness and submission, and most importantly, films that exalt the name of Jesus Christ as the Name above all names, and by whom we are saved.Over the last two days, I've heard lectures and lighting, sound design, starting and managing a small video production company, the proper way to do preproduction, an in-depth look at the production process, heard the sucess stories of other Christian films, such as Facing the Giants.  It's been like drinking out of a fire-hose.  Next is the Festival itself.  Over the next three days, I'll be watching as many as I can of the forty short films and documentaries that are in the semi-finals.  I hope that I will be challenged, moved, and entertained.  Most of all, I hope my trailer wins the Jubilee Award.Just kidding!Seriously though, please pray that God will be able to use my trailer as a means to make some connections that will be beneficial in the future, and if nothing else, be means to make some new friends in the Christian Filmmakers community.Good night, and God Bless,Zack http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/222696/ Thu, 19 Oct 2006 01:59:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/222696/ Wow!  What an amazing day!  It was so awesome being among so many fellow Christian filmmakers with the same vision of becoming the industry that replaces Hollywood as the primary source of entertainment.  I saw many faces I had met last year, and lots of new ones.As usual, Doug Philips did most of the talking, but I admit that his talk (at least, the one he gave during his alotted time) was very inspiring, and really did a good job of reminding us why we're doing this, which is to bring glory and honor to God, and to hopefully bring people to a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Now, if only he wouldn't take up the other speakers' time so much...Isaac Botkin spoke on the very practical topic of ways Christians can make an income doing video production, and David Rasmussen gave a presentation on his experiences shooting video on Mt. Everest and K2.  Geoff Botkin quizzed us on what things we were most intersted in learning, (technical, theological, technique), where we got our gear (rental, own, or borrow), and even whether we used Macs or PCs.PCs won, of course.Well, I have to get ready for today's talks.  Panavision will be giving a run-down on using 35mm film cameras.  I'm definitely looking forward to that!In Christ, ZackPS. Check out www.therebelution.com for live reports on the Academy and Festival. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/221340/ Tue, 17 Oct 2006 06:28:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/221340/ Well, my dad and I will be flying out to San Antonio tomorrow!  The Film Academy starts on Monday.  I'm really looking forward to it.   I'll be posting daily reports of what happens during the Academy and Festival, so check back soon.   In Christ, Zack http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/219969/ Sat, 14 Oct 2006 10:22:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/219969/ My dad and I had the opportunity today to visit the set of the new TV series "Heroes".  It was quite an experience.  We got to look over the director's (Greg Beeman) shoulder as he worked with the actors and crew,(which was the coolest part, IMO.) we got to see the reeeeeally sweet Panavision cameras in action, and saw how a professional Hollywood set is run. (Plus, we even got a copy of the day's sides!)   I can't tell you what we saw, since we were treading a fine line just being there, but the episode we saw being shot will air in about six weeks (for those of you who have TV).  I can't recommend the show, since I haven't seen it.  From what I've heard of the plot, it's basically about people who find themselves endowed with superpowers via evolution, kind of like X-men (again, haven't seen, but heard.)  So I leave it up to you to decide.   In Christ, Zack http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/217171/ Mon, 9 Oct 2006 19:29:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/217171/ I got a phone call from Vision Forum today.  My trailer has been accepted as a semi-finalist!     Needless to say, I'm pretty happy about it. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/215467/ Fri, 6 Oct 2006 13:30:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/215467/ Boy, it sure has been a while since my last post.  That darn ol' real life keeps getting in the way.  I've been especially busy these last couple of months, getting ready to move to Colorado and all.   I did manage to find time to submit a trailer for the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival's Trailer Competition.  It's called Close Encounters of the Epistemologically Self-Conscious Kind, and you can watch it here.  The file is 2.63 MB and is in Real Media format. NOTE: It helps to understand it if you've seen Close Encounters of the Third Kind.   In other news, I have a helpful link for anyone interested in filmmaking.  It's Digital Juice Television, (DJTV) a web-based show put on by Digital Juice, the makers of Editor's Tool Kit production elements, BackTraxx royalty-free music libraries, and VideoTraxx stock footage.   In Christ, Zack http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/185278/ Wed, 16 Aug 2006 22:29:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/185278/ Well, I just got back from Las Vegas, NV with my dad.  We were at NAB2006, one of, if not the largest video conference in the U.S.  We attended their Post Production World Conference and learned some great stuff.  Not to put down the SAICFF, but the stuff we learned in Vegas is the kind of stuff we need to hear in San Antonio.  In San Antonio, they tell you all about the "Why" of Christian filmmaking, (i.e. replacing Hollywood, etc.) but there wasn't much of the "How to".  NAB was full of "How to":  editing, lighting (one of the areas that is severely lacking in Christian films), how to use all the new toys, distribution, how to run a video production company, stunt choreography, getting shooting permits.  And these were just the sessions I went to!    The vendor hall is what draws the biggest crowd, though.  Four huge conference halls absolutely filled with everything from distrubitors to broadcasting companies.  The "big three" of NLEs, Adobe, Apple, and Avid, were all there, as well as Artbeats (stock footage), Serious Magic (producers of  revolutionary software Ultra and DVRack), Hash, Inc. (3-D animation software Animation:Master), Canon, Sony, Panasonic, JVC, and hundreds of others that I had never heard of before.  It was quite overwhelming.   If anyone who is serious about Christian filmmaking is reading this, let me say this to you...       GO NEXT YEAR!!!   If we're going to replace Hollywood, we should use their own knowledge against them.  If the price of admission intimidates you, let me remind you that filmmaking is not exactly a proffesion where it pays to be stingy.   Just as a disclaimer, I'm not intending to put down anyone in this post, I'm just speaking to the Christian filmmaking community as a whole.  I really feel that this is important.   Zack http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/126509/ Sun, 30 Apr 2006 00:35:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/zlcva/126509/