Grace Gathering, a community of missional house churches in Fort Wayne, Indiana, are engaging in a church-wide stewardship journey. As a way to reflect before taking action, they are asking the question, "what would it look like if the church was released from all constraints?"
A film that not only asks this question, but offers up compelling stories which approach the answer to that question from several different angles, based on real, first-hand experiences. Watch as several individuals involved in various missional house churches share about their experiences, what they're learning, and how reaching out to others is not only changing the lives of others, but their own lives as well.
Starring Chris Norman, Brandon Dyben, Thomas Diehl, Brenda Lehman, Ryan Pelton, Jessica Cox, Ryan Giese, Derek Wallace, John Schell, Alexis Cooper, Marty Hoar, and Ben Neuhaus.
So I've been hanging out with these three guys - Andrew, Ty, and Nate. They're in a post-rock instrumental band from Fort Wayne, IN called Metavari and (crazy enough) all three of them live within a five minute walking distance from me. I quickly conclude they're pretty awesome. They're the type who've already discovered the beauty of a Ruby Tuesday refill; the type who's creativity lends itself to investing in side projects of side projects 'til 3 in the morning; the type who's bigger and better than the town they live in - but who's nature and appetite is comfortably drawn toward local flavor. Well, they recently released their first full-length album on August 18th with XRA Records and I'm excited to announce that they've invited me to help write, then direct, shoot, and edit a music video for them. We're currently in pre production and set to shoot in September or October.
Check back soon for the wrap on this project. Should (no doubt) be tons of fun.
In the meantime, I've had a few hours to thatch together some promo videos (we decided to meet up one evening back in July down in their practice basement to snatch up some visuals while they ran through the new set). They're rough, quick-hitting teasers clothed in a "Hear No Noise" wrapper (static graphic, compliments of Nate).
I have something fun I'd love to introduce you to!
It's called The Story Of Jonah.
The Story Of Jonah is a series of satirical documentaries created as a means to explore scripture through understanding history and perspective. It is a four chapter set of short films from the book of Jonah in the Old Testament, told from the viewpoint of several different characters that were (and may have been) involved in the story during that time. It's based on true events, but narrated by the ficticious son of C.S. Lewis, Beauford S. Lewis (Dirk Rowley, the voice of Fort Wayne's WAJI Majic 95.1 radio station), in a mockumentary style reminiscent of A&E's Biography. The films attempt to reveal historical, humorous, and insightful teachings through animated sequences and from candid interviews of the "alleged" biblical characters themselves. Now, whether the films actually achieve their purpose or not is mostly up to you, of course!
The project started two years ago when I was working for a creative, non-denominational church in Fort Wayne, IN. We were doing a four week series to coincide with the four chapters of the book of Jonah and we wanted to create something unique that was entertaining and would help teach the story.
Thus entered me, an under-par mix of equipment/materials/resources (we used anything from shop lights for illumination to flour and wooden rods for props!), and a half-bushel of Fort Wayne talent (that last one was supposed to be a compliment!). With a four week deadline, we quickly planned, shot, edited, and ran the four short films. Thanks to the Scottish Rite and a cast member's basement in Churubusco, we were able to pull it off. Then, for several months the files sat on my hard drive gathering dust, so to speak...until this summer, when I finally had some chunks of time here and there to do some dusting and finish the project.
So, what's the finished product?
Well, I'm excited to announce...it's The Story Of Jonah - on DVD.
Presently, it is selling for $20. If you're interested in buying one, please visit my online store.
It includes a fully-authored DVD with DVD case insert / DVD label artwork, motion menus with audio, all four featured short films, and an extras submenu with a trailer, over one hour of outtakes, and the option to watch the films with the director's commentary (accompanied by a different actor for each chapter).
So, want to catch a glimpse of the story? Check out the first chapter, Jonah Runs For It - I've made it available for free.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at 9:44PM 
