Life of Kyle Prohaska

Standing Firm at Lifeway in Cary, NC

September is going to be a very busy month for me.  September 7th is when Vintage begins, which is a local college ministry I’ll be serving in.  Those will be every tuesday, and it’ll be my first opportunity to lead an e-group which is basically a small group for guys/girls.  I’ve never done anything like that, so it’s going to be new ground for me and I’ll have much to learn.  Also I move in a month, so anything I need to get done to be ready to move will need to be done, and I have to go figure out what furniture I’m going to get very soon.  Although I have already picked them out pretty much I need to buy in advance to make sure they can be delivered properly.  I can’t buy much at first, but I can get something.  I’ll be traveling to Ohio for a screening of STANDING FIRM at the end of the month, then rushing home for another locally.  On top of that is any new work that comes along, and the day to day stuff I normally do.  Doesn’t sound like much to some I’m sure but for me it’s a lot.  August was busy too, but September will be busy in it’s own way.

I’ll be ending out August and starting September by creating and finished a new site for a Christian film in about 3 days.  It’s going to be a very quick job, and I’ll be working extremely hard a few days straight to get it completed.  I’ll share more about it when it launches in the beginning of September.  Tomorrow I’ll need to go in the morning to get new tires put on my car (joy…that hurts the checkbook), then off to Darien Lake for the rest of the day but I won’t be staying too late.  Darien Lake is a theme park in case you didn’t know  I promised I would go spend some time with my cousins there that I haven’t done anything with in ages.  It’s a bad day for it with my car needing what it does, and that website job needing to be started.  I’ll be working on it into the night if I hope to meet my friday deadline.

Sales for STANDING FIRM remain solid, and continue to go up from what I can see.  I’m actually floored by the response.  We’re #52 at ChristianBook.com under DVD - Movies which is up from #60 two days ago.  Amazon.com just ordered some more, and I know that ChristianCinema.com only has 8 left already.  They just switched from Backordered to 8 left sometime today, which means they had so many on Backorder that whatever stock they just got in was almost eaten up completely by previous orders, so they’re out again almost.  I can’t believe it’s been #1 on that site for a straight week now, that’s insanity.  I’ve never seen a film like this (budget, first film, etc.) do that.  God is amazing…He really is.  Whatever projections or guesses I made for sales, I was WAY off.  That’s always a good problem to have.  Finally if you search for the film on Amazon.com we’re at the top of the search pool.  This was good to see since we were buried by some old work-out videos for a while there, and it probably hurt us a little.  Some people likely searched for it and didn’t see it right away and therefore went somewhere else.  You’ll notice that photo up top.  That was sent to me by a friend on Facebook who snapped it at his local Lifeway store in Cary, NC.  I couldn’t believe that they had put it on two racks, that’s unexpected.  They also put it next to what is most likely selling the best there (To Save A Life) so that’s great placement!  Supposedly they just put it out, so that means there’s a lot of stores out there that aren’t carrying it yet, but will likely do so soon.  I know some were disappointed they went in and they didn’t have or they had to order it, but that’s the nature of things when you’re a small movie like this.  I made the thing in my bedroom for pete’s sake, it’s no FIREPROOF lol.  We’re beyond Blessed that the stores even have the ability to carry it and have it in their system to order let alone put it on a shelf.  The DVD will slowly roll out, I have no doubts of that, and more and more people will catch wind of this little film from NY.

I’ve continued the online social-marketing for the film as strong as ever.  This isn’t something you stop doing, and I’ll continue to do so until I don’t have time anymore.  The film just passed 13,000 Followers on Twitter and is building towards 14,000 already.  If I have anything to say about it we’ll hit 50,000 by the end of the year.  Ambitious?  Maybe…but I’m an ambitious guy  The fan page on Facebook just broke the 16,000 mark too, so that’s exciting.  By the way, if anyone has a film they want some social media marketing for (or a business or whatever…even their personal Twitter) I have proposals and quotes available for such a thing.  I’ve grown the Glowing Nose Twitter account from 25 Followers to 3100 in just 10 days or so.  The Ace Wonder Twitter account has doubled in less than a week, and on and on it goes.  You won’t find numbers like that for anything in the Christian market (Movie wise), not even really big movies.  Someone will take notice sooner or later, that’s the goal.  Hopefully this can farther become a source of income for me as time goes on.  I would love to continue doing websites, graphics, and social marketing for this market (Christian), because the more I learn from doing it for others and becoming successful, the greater effectiveness I’ll have when another film of mine comes around!  If you know any filmmakers that might like my services, even if it’s just a website, or DVD menus or anything…let me know!

It’s crazy knowing what could come about this year from the film, especially the testimonies.  I think my life is about to change.  Actually it already has.  Changed how?  I’m not so sure, but 2011 is going to be a very…very interesting year.  Eph 3:20-21 …amen.

I’m a filmmaker now?  Really?  Weird…it’s just weird.  Today is one day after one of the most significant days in my young life, probably my entire life.  Graduation from high school was cool but excitement lasted about 5 seconds, until I realized that I was going back to school that fall for college.  I dropped out, and after a ton of different events God dropped the passion for STANDING FIRM in my lap.  I had given up on filmmaking, at least for many years, because it seemed “impossible.”  Luckily, my Lord doesn’t work within the bounds of “possibility” but “impossibility.”  I always wondered what it would be like to wake up in the morning and know that in lots of different locations around the US, something I worked on and toiled over was sitting on a shelf ready to be bought and enjoyed by someone.  To be honest I didn’t know how to feel.  I was exhausted having been up late many days in a row and the day was very boring.

It felt like any other day.  When you spend over three years on something, release day just feels like another day on the grind getting it sold, marketing it, answering emails and voicemails, etc.  I think it’s slowly sinking in now, in the last hour.  I realized having gotten a few reports from friends that STANDING FIRM was sold out everywhere except for ChristianMovies.com and ebay.    How is that possible?  God is good!

I’ll be frantically trying to make sure that things are set for the weekend before I leave Friday/Saturday for a mens retreat.  I’m excited to get to know some of the men at the new church I started attending a number of months ago.  The Chapel at Crosspoint will be my new spiritual home until God moves me again.  My new home on Oct 5 will be only minutes from there, and I’ll also be serving there in their young adult ministry called Vintage as an e-group leader starting in September.  A whole new season of life is coming, with an even bigger announcement coming sometime later.  What a crazy year this has been huh?  I started off 2010 taking the plunge and beginning to work for myself doing websites, online marketing, etc. and now the film is out and stretching it’s legs, I’m moving soon, I started a wonderful relationship with Denise, ugh so much stuff!

I’ve also had all sorts of things rolling through my head in the past number of weeks about this industry, where I see it going, where I feel called to move within it and how, and how to proceed.  It’s an exciting time for me, and I can’t point anywhere but Christ for the why, what, or who.  It’s all God.  It’s ALL God.

God is teaching me more and more how unworthy I am of being a tool for His Purpose.  On top of that, my ability to even be a tool is a given Blessing, it’s not of me.  It astounds me every time I see a Christian speaking about their “part” of their salvation, or how they had a “hand” in it.  We’re seriously kidding ourselves if we think that as dead people (spiritually) that we could make ourselves alive.  Did Lazarus bring himself out of the ground?  Yes, I’m talking about Calvinism folks.  Some of you might not agree, and the more I look out into my sphere in influence the less support I see for it.  Just sharing what I see and what God’s been teaching me the past few years.

On Sunday we’re having the screening at NFBC (my home church for 21 years) where many unsaved folks will be there (from my family and others).  It will be the first time I’ve watched the film with an audience, and also the first time I get to publicly thank everyone for their support of the film.  Rob (the lead in the film) will be giving the Gospel.  I wish I had started this earlier but everyone please, pray for that night.  I could care less for handshakes and pats of recognition, they’re over in moments…as soon as the warm is gone from my hands or the sting from my back.  I’m looking for some eternal results here.  The night will be heavy and sorrowful  if everyone is all smiles and claps, but walks out having suppressed the truth of God’s Word.  I pray God moves on the hearts of folks there, and I hope you do as well.  Salvation is a work of God and God alone, and I hope by His Grace and Mercy that a harvest is reaped.  We shall see…

Only what’s done for Christ will stand.  What good is your film to the Father if those who watch it enjoy it then walk out having not heard about his son?  You think God is going to even mention that kind of film to you on the day of judgement when He asks what you did with what He gave you?  I’m almost certain that if it’s mentioned it will be with wrath and disappointment.  How is it a filmmaker can call himself a Christian, and have all the money needed to present the Gospel in a narrative, easily understood and without cheese, yet neglect to do it in the name of “marketability” or “stepping on toes?”  Does anybody have a problem with that?  Disagree if you wish, but these are the kinds of things that keep me up at night.  God is wrecking me week after week about these kinds of things, and where Art comes into play in the lives of the believer and what my responsibilities are in being given the ability to create.  Again, disagree if you must, but I just can’t deny these kinds of things anymore.  It’s actually quite funny because while talking to my mom the other day I told her I realized how much more conservative, fundamental, and passionate I’ve become in the last few months.  I don’t really know what to say.  God has lit a fire under my rear end I guess.  Just sharing a bit of my heart, hopefully that’s ok with you folks

If you haven’t purchased the film yet, check out ChristianMovies.com to get it, your support is appreciated.

Also if you have time and you’re on Facebook, become a fan, and use the “Suggest to Friends” button under the image to the left to invite your friends and family.  We need your support!

Only two days before my first feature hits shelves, wow.  This upcoming week is going to be pretty busy, not even with a ton of events, just mentally busy.  I have 4 radio interviews to do, packages to ship out, some online interviews to approve, and I’m ending out the week on Friday/Saturday at a men’s retreat for men at my church where I’ll not only get to bond with a bunch of folks I don’t know (not my strong point), but also plug the film there for those attending (reason for that coming after a while).  So yea it’s going to be pretty interesting to see how I handle the week.  Also not today but next sunday we’ll be showing the film at my old home church.  Lots of folks there are waiting to see it, and it’s going to be a pretty difficult night for me.  I’ve been stewing over what I should say while I’m there.  I know what I should say really, but it’s how to say it and being able to keep my composure.  It’s a bigger night for me than it is for some others.  I can’t wait to thank everyone publicly for their help, prayers, etc.  Also I’ll be biting my nails as that screening will be more personal and critical than the others since people who are there were in it.  My unsaved family will be there as well (the local ones) which makes me doubly nervous to show the film let alone get up there and say something about it before and possibly after showing it.  Rob (lead role of Dave Corwin) will be sharing the Gospel as well after the film.  Please, PLEASE be in prayer about the impact this film could have and that God would move mightily in Rob that night.

Also pray for just the ability to get through this week with my mind intact.  There is much to keep going at one time, and sometimes I get behind.  I’m looking forward to my online interview at ChristianCinema.com being released soon, that’s been a long time coming.  Also the film hit #2 at the site today, right behind Letters To God.  I find that to be pretty incredible!  God is good.  There is this other interview for a small blog I did just a day ago.  It was only 5 questions, but I absolutely poured my heart and soul into this thing.  I’m looking forward to sharing that.  While it’s bound to shock a few, I think it’s a good outlet for me to express what I really think of this Christian filmmaking industry, where I see it going, and what I think about that.  I think it could be one of the best “articles” I guess you could say that I’ve ever written, and it’s a compilation of what I think about what I’ve seen these past few years having gotten involved with this industry, met many in it, read what they have to say and spoken to some on the phone, read forum posts by those who are either in this industry or plan to enter it, and much more.  There is much to say and I didn’t really spare anything.  It might shock a few, and possibly even cause some division for those who support me.  Do I have your attention now lol?  We’ll see what happens.

As this month comes to a close I’m also only weeks away from moving into a new place.  You know what’s funny?  The thing that’ll probably be the most difficult in this process is changing ALL my address stuff to my new address.  I have the PoBox for Praise Pictures everywhere, and I’m likely going to feel the repercussions of that for a long time.  When I move I’ll need to go setup a PoBox for me personally, and for the business and keep them separate.  Luckily the Post Office is around the corner from where I’ll be living, so that’s good!  Lots of change coming as you can see, and I look forward to it.

Some have already begun reviewing the film on various websites because sites have started shipping the film already.  If you’ve seen the film, I would appreciate you reviewing it.  ChristianCinema.com requires you have an account to review it, but ChristianBook.com, and Parable.com don’t.  I’ve gotten the film onto Amazon.com finally, and no reviews are present yet.  No Spoilers please! I hope you’ll take a few moments out of your day to submit your reviews to those locations.

Counting down the hours…g’night!

Do I really know what’s coming my way?  Nah.  Does it scare me a little?  Sure.  Am I excited though?  You bet!  I’m really not prepared I think for what the rest of this year could bring, and that does throw me a bit off every time I think about it.  I don’t know why I just have this feeling like something big is on its way, not sure why I feel that.  Yes STANDING FIRM is coming out and yes there have been some great things happening regarding that, but somehow I feel that isn’t the only thing.  It’s a weird feeling to have every day as new opportunities, emails, phone calls, etc. come.

I saw STANDING FIRM landed at #7 on ChristianCinema.com today under Best Sellers.  That’s pretty incredible to be considering the film is 2 weeks from release and as far as I know, not many know about it. (lol)  I got rid of another Church Screening, with a lot of them pending so I look forward to making some phone calls tomorrow to see who’s not sure

I went with Denise to The Chapel tonight to go to our E-Group Leader Training Meeting.  I’m starting this next Vintage (the college ministry there) as an E-Group leader which means I’ll be leading a small group of guys in discussion and such after the message on tuesday nights.  This means a lot more responsibility on my part while I’m there, more accountability, and a ton of things I’ll need to work on if I hope to be effective.  I’m very nervous to do this but excited as well.  It’s going to take some hard work on my part, and also stepping outside my comfort zone in almost every way possible.  It’s going to be good for me, I know it.  Prayers for all of that is appreciated as the next 6 months of my life are going to get increasingly busy, difficult, exciting, scary, and everything else mixed in.

I started using iCal on my Mac to schedule things and I see the next 3 months slowly but surely filling up with different dates and events I have.  Getting my E-Group kit tonight included a ton of dates I’ll need to throw in there.  Life is getting busier, and I’ll have a lot of changes to make.  I’m also moving in about 6 weeks 35-40mins away.  That’s a change as well.  A new place (all mine!), in an area of WNY I’ve been to many times but isn’t where I’ve lived before.  New neighbors, new routine since I’ll be living alone and providing for every need, and LOTS of expenses.  Besides the new editing desk I plan to buy for my office (finally have a room that’s JUST an office!) and a double bed, I won’t have ANY furniture at the start.  It’ll look completely empty.  Even my TV will have to stay in its box until I get an entertainment stand that it can go on or something, because it can’t sit on a floor the way it’s made.  It’ll take some time to fill the place but I’ll get there.  Those first few months are going to be extremely expensive.

I gotta be honest, one of my greatest worries is finances.  I don’t mean right now I just mean in general.  It’s hard to relinquish the control to the Lord at times when it comes to funds.  I have to learn the lesson over and over again it seems, and God is faithful each time to take care of me.  With all that’s going on in life, and where God has been moving me locationally not just with opportunities but with friends, where I’m moving is the right decision and I’m confident of that.  So I need to be confident that if God led me to move out that way finally, then he’ll provide a way for me to stay there.

The current Church Screenings purchased start shipping on the 16th, so there’s a lot to do to make sure those are ready to go just in case I get any rush of them because of the shipping date.  Lots of folks have looked at the page, but I think the pre-order status scared some folks away.  Hopefully once I announce them ready to ship immediately, I’ll get a few more bites!

Lots of stuff to do…keep me in prayer please!

Replace that coffee with Mt. Dew...and you have me

The bulletin inserts for the Screening Kits showed up today, all 10,000 of them.  It’s funny how that sounds like an enormous amount, yet they all fit into 4 tiny boxes.  They weighed a ton of course, but still with four tiny boxes I was surprised.  I think I’ve finally sorted out my shipping issues today too.  I found the area on USPS.com to print out a shipping label even if I’m not using their boxes.  I can’t as I found out today.  I ordered 100 or so of their Medium Flat Rate boxes only to find out they aren’t big enough.  They would’ve been, but when I received the hard copy proof of my 18×24 Posters today (for the screening kits, ordering 1000) I realized they were actually higher quality than I thought and can’t be folded into fours.  All other church screening packages have them folded, but they’re made of a lower quality paper, these things are 100lb weight paper, and they feel more like thick plastic.  Really awesome quality…they’ll last forever.  So if you buy a church screening, know you’re getting some awesome quality stuff!  Like I would provide anything less!

Anyways because of this folding problem, I need bigger boxes since they’ll be rolled.  I found them online at ULINE.com but they’re sorta expensive compared to USPS’s free boxes.  I only ordered 25 of them, and I’ll order more when I need them.  I also got some bubble-wrapped envelopes for the DVD cases to go in if someone bought a license only.  I’ve decided not to make the licenses printed out, they’re just going to cost more money.  I MIGHT print them myself on higher quality paper, but if the cost is too high, it’s a no for me.  Just getting the screenings ready to go has cost a lot and I haven’t sold enough of them yet to cover my costs.  I gotta say I’m a little disappointed I haven’t gotten more signups by now, but I’m glad just to have the ones I do.  Hopefully more will come after the release and a few more beforehand.  Not sure why the response was so bad, but that’s ok.  Gotta spend money to make it I guess…and Lord knows I’ve done my fair share of that on this film, more than I care to tell you.

I have two website/marketing jobs up in the air right now that would be a great financial boost for me right now.  I hope I get them!  If they both go through I’ll be doing online marketing/website upkeep/designing for 4 films on a monthly basis.  I’m in the position where I need to buy a net-book or two just to keep things moving.  That would mean I have 4 computers running at once to keep it all going.  Lately I’ve also been working on the Bible Study Guide for STANDING FIRM.  I’ve never written anything like this but it’s coming out pretty good.  I’ll have many people read it don’t worry, I take this stuff pretty seriously.  I mailed STANDING FIRM this morning as well to enter it into the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival.  That’s exciting stuff for me  Here’s an article I wrote about my experience there in 2009. I’m incredibly excited to go again, it was one of the greatest weeks of my life last time.  I’m so alone up here in NY in regards to film that I’m starved to be around others who love the arts.  It’s like being let out of jail or something.  I had a blast, and if STANDING FIRM gets in this year…I’ll be a busy guy while I’m there.  Here’s hopin!

There’s also a super secret possible job coming my way that would change my life forever.  I know that’s a heavy thing to say but I really mean it.  The things it could bring my way are insane for a kid (yes a kid, I’m not oblivious) my age.  I’ll wait till I see something tangible to really say a word about it beyond that but I’m excited to see what could happen. Another cool thing today is I noticed my personal Twitter account passed 5000 followers. That’s insane! I’m in a town of less than 1200 for pete’s sake LOL.  The movie’s Twitter account is around 8000 or so, and climbing.  It seems like they both climb over 1000 a month, really awesome!  Who knows where either could be in a years time.

Just last Fall I was flat broke without a single prospect for almost 2 months, I had moved over 8000 miles from NY to CA, then CA to NY, then NY to TN, then TN to NY…STANDING FIRM looked like it was never going to get finished, then things started to pick-up, work started showing, the film began new awareness among some great folks, and things have progressed since then.  I’m now up to my ears in emails and phone calls, work is going well, I’m moving into a new apartment (signed the lease and taking it in tomorrow…moving in Oct 5th), and my first feature film comes out in less than 30 days.  Is this real?  I hope so LOL!  God gets the Glory for all of this.  I’m just incredibly excited to see what new doors he opens in the next year for me to serve him in this industry and Glorify him with whatever he has me doing.  It’s an amazing privilege.  I have nothing to offer, except what he gave me to give back in worship.  What a humbling thought.  Kyle…OUT.

There have been some great developments lately for work and for STANDING FIRM.  It’s exciting to see the film listed on FamilyChristianMovies.com and on ChristianCinema.com.  They’re the first places to list it so far, and I look forward to seeing more show up, especially the christian chain stores like Family Christian, Lifeway, etc.  Also the AFA (American Family Association) has been incredibly supportive and continues to be so.  I got my free copies of the AFA Journal in the mail for August 2010.  The full-page article/review for our film is extremely generous and knowing it’s going to show up in 165,000+ homes in just a week or so is humbling to say the least.  It’s looking like there could be some AFR (American Family Radio) interviews in the future for around the release date of the film so that’s excellent.  I’m so grateful to be getting this kind of support!

Also we’ve locked down the date for showing the film at my home church Niagara Frontier Bible Church in Lewiston, NY.  We will be showing the film on the 29th of August at 6pm.  They’ll be a little planning but not much to make sure that works out well.  I’ve already tested the film on the projector.  It looks OK but not as fantastic as I would hope.  That happens and I should expect the same from a lot of churches that sign up to show the film.  They’re using the projectors for powerpoint, not films.  It’s just not the same as a 50in Plasma like in my room, LOL.  I’m not the biggest fan of how the film looks on a TV like that anyways.  It’s nice but once you get too close the image falls apart.  That happens when you shoot on a camera that costs less than the stuff attached to it.

Other work looks like it could be in the future in regards to web/marketing for other filmmakers.  I’ve spoken to one and I have an appointment to talk on thursday.  I look forward to seeing where that leads.  I’ve also spoken with a pretty big producer about being available for future films in that regard so that’s exciting.  This guy produces what seems like a ton of films every few years so it would be nice to get in there as “the guy” to go to for him specifically.  It only takes one person like that in your career to bring in a steady stream of work long term, two is even better!

The fan page for STANDING FIRM is approaching the 15,000 mark which is awesome.  The social-media marketing with that other company has yet to kick in so I look forward to getting that going very soon.  We don’t have much time to get it started.  I wish we had more money to work with on this film but it’s just not there.  I’m in the position of deciding how much of the proceeds that will come in soon should be gambled on what marketing efforts to hopefully duplicate the investment.  It’s always a risk, but that’s the game.  I’ve realized as well that since I’ll be continuing to push the film the rest of the year and beyond, there’s always the ability to continue marketing.  Since this film is small, it can potentially be marketed in new areas that have never heard of it for a long time…little by little.  The film won’t die out really if that’s the case.  Films like this don’t sell millions of copies, they sell in the thousands…more specifically in the sub 100k range (copies not dollars), and that’s if you’re super successful.  Seems crazy I’m sure, and for some even a couple thousand copies sounds like a lot to me, but I’ve talked and studied enough other products to know the game is a hard one.

Denise came with me today when I went to look at an apartment complex.  It’s awesome!  I’m very excited about this place and filled out the application already.  It’s the perfect place to move in, with all the bells and whistles at a price that’s completely reasonable.  I’ve been looking for the perfect time to move for a while and it looks like the beginning of October will be it.  That feels very weird but I think it’s time.  I need to get my own place, it’s driving me batty at times still being at home, but it’ll take some getting used to when it comes time to leave FOR GOOD.  The main office folks were extremely nice and had already after me emailing a few times checked out my sites on the internet and were asking me about filmmaking.  That was odd, lol.  Also we rode around the complex on little electric golf-carts and got a tour of the same kind of apartment type I had picked.  I saw one open for Oct. that faces the pond in the back, with the patio facing it as well.  I’m looking forward to this, more than you know…

I have a ton to do this week, with the end of the month catching up to me.  I should have copies of the film at the very end of the month if not the first few days into August.  They will be going directly to stores with a certain number coming here.  I have a lot to figure out in the next 10 days or so.  The shipping of products specifically, and how to get all the banking setup.  I’ve started a mockup for the Praise Picture store which I have less than 2 weeks to get dialed in and working.  Fun times!  The Ace Wonder website is also requiring a revamp for a more legitimate design that’ll stick.  August brings a wealth of different challenges and deadlines to meet, but I’ll get there with God’s help! I look forward to seeing everything come to a peak and watching God do something special with this little film of his.  Who knows what could happen?  God has a tendency to surprise me.  Lots to do on the films website as well to make it setup better for the DVD release.  I need a portion of the site where people can post how the film has impacted them.  That’s important to have…so the world can see the impact, and so I can as well.  Still need to figure out the best way to do that without having some serious SPAM problems, or having trolls come in and try and post bad things.  Definitely an issue, but I’ll figure out something.

Lots to do!  Blessings!  Also, pray for finances as they’re pretty strained getting all this stuff paid for, materials purchased, bills to pay still, etc. etc.  It never ends…no surprise there.  It’s frustrating at times, but it’s all a small price to pay for the possibility of an impacted soul.  God trumps the $ every single time.

Today was an interesting day.  One of those days when I realize just how close my deadline is for the film, and how much I have yet to finish.  My biggest worry I think is just the lack of time to polish and MAKE SURE that things are good.  It’s nerve-wracking for me to know I’ll be literally doing the last of the last things last minute, unless something radical happens and I get this BTS stuff done really fast.  After all this time I find myself slaving over this last bit of the “product” to round out the DVD package.  The subtitles are another thing.  They will be done in 5 days and even if I send the check tomorrow, I won’t get them completed until the 24-25th which is really close to be deadline.  What if the format doesn’t work as it should?  That means no subtitles on the film…because they won’t have time to fix them.  Lots of little things that could go wrong here, prayers appreciated.

Editing this documentary for the BTS is like a giant puzzle and I feel like I’m on a timer.  There’s probably 7 hours of interview footage between everyone, and it’s difficult knowing what piece to put where, how to separate what is said into logical portions of the video (story, characters, shooting, etc.).  I really think this will be a great thing to watch and for me to watch personally to remember the film so much weight goes with it.  I have some credits to finalize as well that I need to make some phone calls for.  I’m waiting on my Dove review which should be in next monday, then hopefully I can get a quote from Dove to use on the back of my DVD cover.  I’m lucky to have squeezed through with the endorsements I have, because they’re really good and the Lord was on my side there…BIG TIME.  If I can nab one more that’ll be great.  I’ll be recording my commentary for the film sometime soon, early next week is likely.  Lots to do…please pray for me.

I posted one of the first images from Ace Wonder today on the blog.  This film is a marketing dream when it comes to promotional material.  Expect to see that image from the film showing up on all sorts of things, because it’s the iconic image for the film, I hope it stays as such.  It can be used on almost anything and look fantastic.  Looking forward to seeing things develop over time If nothing else, the film is going to look fantastic.  I played with the 4k image from the RED I was given, it’s beautiful to work with in Photoshop.  My hat goes off to James Burgess for shooting the film so beautifully!

Denise came over later today and we watched Toy Story 2.  I haven’t seen it in years and on Blu-ray it’s incredible.  I watched Toy Story 1 with commentary earlier today and forgot how good it was.  Toy Story 2 is now in my top films I think, it’s the PERFECT sequel.  I never stopped laughing at how clever it was and all the stuff that’s in it that’s so brilliant.  What a wonderful job that must be.  I can’t imagine the roaring laughter when some of those ideas in the movie were hatched.  Perfectly crafted story too, which if you know the backstory on the making of the film (it being rewritten last minute because it was crap) then the film is even more impressive!  Definitely a great movie…

I also looked at apartments today in the area to figure out when I would want to move and where.  It’s going to be a tough decision process but I look forward to having my own place.  I can’t wait to decorate it too, and make it my own.  My office especially I’m excited about.  A new editing desk, new speakers, and I can finally put these movie posters I bought on the walls.  I have a fully cast signed Raiders of the Lost Ark poster (40×27) and The Shawshank Redemption cast signed, also 40×27.  Those are my prized processions when it comes to movie memorabilia.  I need to get good frames for them!  I also saw this today, which is a MUST BUY.  When to move and where and how to pay for it all…fun times.  It’ll come soon enough, perhaps this fall after things settle down a tad?  If they don’t settle down…whatever I’m gonna move anyways.

Till next time folks…peace out.

The past few days have been very good.  Saturday I had a birthday party to go to for a friend later in the day.  It was at Panes Restaurant, a place near my grandparents that they absolutely love to go eat at.  I had a great time meeting some new people, eating some food, then hanging out later after everyone left the restaurant and headed to the birthday girls house.

Sunday I had to get up really early because of my mom missing her car.  I went with her very early to church because she had to get ready for her sunday school class.  That gave me a chance to step into the mens bible study for the first time in a while.  It was a great time, and I was able to get some great verses written down.  Service was great to, and I found myself for the first time in a while really be truly happy to be at my home church and not feeling like I should be anywhere else.  Having felt like I needed to leave, then leaving (CA and TN) then coming back home, I just feel like I’m not supposed to go anywhere.  Even with the job at The Chapel not working out, I feel like that’s how it’s supposed to be.  I was even offered the possibility of moving in with my friend up towards The Chapel if I gave him my TV (it would count as 4 months rent to get me some time), and I’m not sure if I’m going to do that.  I feel like it’s a no, just based on how I feel right now.  I’m ok with being where I am.  There is also something going on behind the scenes with a friend that I can’t tell you about but if it were to go through, we could get Standing Firm completed without outside pay coming in.  That would be fantastic!  So pray that happens please.  I can’t give the details but I don’t think you need to know in order to pray about it.

Monday (when I’m writing this…) has been a pretty good day all things considered.  I woke up completely stiff.  Every muscle was tight and I had a headache most of the day because of it.  I think I slept so hard that I didn’t move all night.  I was completely still so my muscles just froze up.  I ate all sorts of random things during the day to throw the headache off.  Normally with a headache I can cure it by feeding my body something I haven’t had in a while or a mix of different foods.  Some veggie, some fruit, some sugar, etc.  It definitely helped but didn’t’ take it away.  Later on I headed up to West Seneca like I have every monday to hang with some Vintage crew.  Good times, lots of laughs as usual, some good food, etc.  I’m really building some good friendships here, it feels good…really good.

Tomorrow I’m going to spend some time on Standing Firm and see where I can take the edit.  I’m very happy with how it’s turning out.  A lot of bumps I wanted to smooth out have been, with a few major ones remaining.  Also this morning I did my phone interview for a podcast in AR.  They also have a magazine they print and send to about 35,000 readers.  I’ll be featured in an article as an interview about myself and the film.  This is a pretty cool thing for me as it’s my first printed interview.  I’ve had internet ones before (and a new one is here), but a magazine is a first!  The podcast interview will be posted tomorrow morning so I’ll post that in tomorrows entry.

I’m still trying to figure out what God wants me to do with myself.  I’m just praying for some answers and that some of the prospects I have might go through.  Pray for the film too that we would get an answer on distribution soon!

G’night folks…

Today was a pretty good day.  All the marketing stuff has done it’s job in the last month as all my websites visits are up 25-65% from last month.  Hopefully we can keep that going :)  Our average visitors in August were 7x more than July, and have continued to increase.  While marketing may be done for our DVD release no matter who distributes it, we’ll continue to do grassroots as much as possible.  What’s great is with all the tools available, you can find people globally, not just in your local area.  Only 200 people or so of our 2600 fans on Facebook, are local people in the WNY area, the rest are from around the country and world.  That’s pretty cool to me, and tells me that the time spent each day is worth it.  People want to see this thing, and in regards to videos we want to show them before release, you ain’t seen nothing yet.  As I’ve mentioned, our interviews are awesome!  I’m really excited to see the response of the Christian community when what we have to offer actually gets to the people it needs to, not just the film itself.

Other than that Friday was a pretty good day, I went to CORE which is our college group at my church and my friend Ben spoke.  He has CF (cystic fibrosis), and gave his testimony.  He probably won’t want me to say it here lol, but he is one of a few people I’ve cried about in the past month.  God has been hitting me hard with the message of our film, it never seems to go away completely.  I’ve had quite a few nights just thinking about what it would be like if I got a phone call telling me my parents were gone, or my friend, or whatever.  It’s happened a lot in the past 2 years.  One phone call and they’re gone, it’s that easy.  Listening to Ben made me cry a bit while he was sharing with everyone.  I’ve been afraid many times that I would get a phone call that he was gone, that somehow his disease had taken him.  While I would have peace he knows the Lord the thought of it still hurts.  I think part of it too was just seeing how strong he is regardless of his problems…which is the real story behind him.  He has a story to tell that I’ve often thought about turning into a film.  My next film might center around his situation in some way, I’m not sure.  I think the issue of death and time is so relavant.  Although Standing Firm deals with that, we tackled the issue in a certain way, and there are many ways to go about it without doing a “rehash.”  We’ll see where God leads, no way am I doing another film unless he says so.  Gotta be in His Will…nowhere else.

I also got a call today from a friend, the one I was going to move in with had I gotten the job at The Chapel.  Not getting the job sorta squished that until this morning.  I wanted to sell my Plasma a while back as many of you knew, to recoup some money and I had planned to move out of state…with moving it costing me quite a bit, nearly half what I would get back for it.  So knowing that money is short, he offered to possibly take the TV (which it would be in the same house I live in, just not in my room or hooked to my editing bay), and count that as the rent I can’t pay right now until the cost of the TV is equaled.  That means I would be able to move closer to a lot of new friends I have, and still have some time to make enough money to get ahead of everything.  I’m not totally sold on the idea, I have to give it thought.  Basically I’ll be in the same situation I am now, but somewhere else which is about 40 minutes away.  I’m really not a big fan of Ransomville, simply because I’m so far away from most things, not just people.  It’s a miserable place to be in the winter, when you gotta take on 15-20minutes onto all your drive time, if not more.  We’ll see, it definitely warrants some serious prayer because along with moving location comes moving churches as I’ll be literally 4 minutes from The Chapel at that point.  I’m not giving up on that job, I can’t.  I’m going to try one more time to call and see what happens.  Btw, that little donation thing is still down on the right of the site…LOL just kidding

So pray for me.  Pray the film finds distribution and we get a phone call, pray I get a job, pray I get an answer on moving out to Getzville, pray that more and more people would begin finding out about our film above and beyond what I’m able to do here everyday on my computer, etc.  Lots of pray for!  Also please pray for the people we might reach with Standing Firm.  Although a ways off from completion, marketing, and release…we really should already be in a state of prayer for those who might be effected.  God can start working on their hearts now!

Till next time…

Which way Big Guy? I'm Game!

The past two days were pretty uneventful again, JUST KIDDING!  Nah it was great.  Monday morning I woke up to an email from Affirm Films asking for a few things.  No “hey we would like to distribute your film” but no “take this trash and go away” either ;)  So that’s good news, just gotta be patient and give them what they ask for until they assess things properly and make a decision.  It’s a business just like any other, no reason to get involved with someone bad for business, so they can mull over it all they want!

I’m waiting on a call from The Chapel still in regards to that ministry position.  I’ve given it a lot of thought, talked with a friend or two, and I’m just being patient there as well.  It’s Wednesday when I’m writing this and it’s only one week after initial meetings so that isn’t a lot of time passed.  Just like Affirm, I want everyone to give things serious thought and consideration before making a move.  Just like I don’t want my film to go to someone God doesn’t want, I don’t want to go into ministry if it’s not His Will either.

God is teaching me a lot of things in the past few months.  There have been many lessons to be learned, and changes to be made.  Although I have done my fair share of horrible things this Summer in mind, spirit, etc. just as everyone else has…He has been merciful and shown me the errors I’ve made.  Man I know obediance is a CHOICE and not something you “try,” but it’s hard to do it sometimes.  I’ll be honest here and tell you all something that is no secret amongst a few close friends, and if your a guy you can relate.  This world is mighty tempting, in more ways than one.  The fight is in the mind, and it’s a daily struggle.  Magazines in gas stations, ads on Facebook which are VERY revealing and unncessary, the internet overall, just clicking through TV channels can cause some serious issues.  It isn’t just a guy thing either, but you know exactly what I’m talking about.  I told my buddy that driving through Vegas on the way to Los Angeles was a really difficult time.  I got stuck in traffic and there are pornographic billboards every 50ft on the left and right.  This world is so difficult, and any man who claims to be 100% free of it’s snairs is a liar.  Purity of mind is where I struggle the most, and I would appreciate some prayer in that area of my life.  It’s a problem that trickles down into your life, your friends, and if it escallates into truly dangerous territory, it can destroy marriages, relationships with future children, and all things inbetween.  I think temptating for me hits hard when it’s time to start making decisions.  The enemy doesn’t want me to have clarity in my decision making, so it’s times like now that I really need prayer from anyone who reads this, that I would stay strong.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

That being said, the past two days have been pretty fun.  I’ve met a load of new people, had a lot of fun, crashed at a friends place (which I haven’t done in years actually), and just enjoyed some great fellowship.  That is one benefit of this ministry position is the social health it’ll bring me.  I really need some daily fellowship, and with this I’ll get it at work and out of work because I’m closer to folks I want to get to know a lot better.  I’m not interested in weekend buddies, I want to grow some seriously deep and meaningful friendships with people I care about.  I’m looking forward to seeing if this ministry job is God’s Will or if He wants me to wait, stay in Ransomville, and stay at Niagara Frontier Bible Church.

Another cool development is I sold a few pieces of film equipment for some good prices and just last night spent a chunk of it on some computer pieces I need.  I have 8GB of RAM coming in the mail as well as a new GPU (ATI 4870) for my Mac.  That combined with the Intensity Card I just bought, will have me all set to do what I need on the film smoothly.  The graphics card I have now is doing OK with these dual screens but a new GPU will give me a serious boost, as well as FCP performance, and the RAM will help me a lot with multitasking which has been an interesting task combined with the RAM I have now, and the fact the graphics card is trying to handle what’s open, and the displays at the same time.  Until you break down what your throwing at your machine, having 13GB RAM in your computer doesn’t make much sense…

So yea, other than that the Standing Firm edit is coming along well.  Just plugging along… I’m excited to see what the rest of this year brings, and the year to come!