Posts Tagged the grace card
February is insane
If you don’t want to read this whole thing…I understand. Also for those who have seen a warning on my site, I got hacked again and needed to hire a friend to fix things. Pray this doesn’t happen again!
February is almost over, and it’s been one of the craziest months in the last 6. January was busy enough with the wedding and honeymoon and adjusting to life, but February has had it’s own stress and craziness. I have more on my plate than I ever have before…with deadline after deadline. I recently found out I’ll be doing the DVD Packaging for a Roy Rogers DVD Collection. It’s a 28-disc set…pretty cool. The Crossroad movie website is due in like 2 days and is only partially done, and the recent DVD master made for The Potential Inside had a few issues with the replicators so I need to figure out what happened. Prayers appreciated so I can figure that out…I’m a little confused on the matter! Sometime in March I’ll be doing the new website for Jonathan Sperry so that’s another thing on the back-burner until the rest of this is out of the way. I have pots sizzling everywhere. It’s a wonder my desk hasn’t collapsed under the weight of all the papers and post-it notes all over the place!
Denise and I recently got back from Memphis, TN to attend the World Premiere of THE GRACE CARD made by my buddy David Evans. As some of you remember I was in Memphis for the early stages of development and although it was only 2 weeks, I grew pretty attached to everyone there and kept close contact. The weather was beautiful and for Denise and I it was like a mini vacation. We went to the Zoo, slept in, ate good food, saw a movie, walked around some of the towns around the city and such, etc. The premiere was really weird for me. I’ve never been to a legitimate premiere before with a red carpet, limos pulling up, Lou Gossett Jr. walked right by me and we were like 3 ft from Gloria Estefan who is a really close friend of the Evans family. It was amazing seeing everyone there again that was involved with the film. I was shocked to see how many knew who I was, gave me a hug, and wanted to meet Denise. Facebook and this blog really must keep people more informed than I thought. On our way into the theater, the first person I saw sitting alone was Randall Murphree who is an editor of the AFA Journal. They had done a full page review of STANDING FIRM in their Fall issue and Randall has become a wealth of support for me, personally and spiritually. I wasn’t sure it was him but he recognized me immediately and we sat next to him and spent the majority of the night talking. Thanks for the fun Randall! Just a special note, but my name was in the special thanks of the film. That’s the first time I’ve had a credit at the end of the film that was in theaters I believe…so knowing that my name was going to be on over 300 movie screens around the country this weekend sorta blows my mind. God is good!
By the time the night was out we were both exhausted and it had been an endless night of talking with lots of folks I haven’t seen since Fall 2009, soaking in what it feels like to be at a real movie premiere, meeting other industry folks I’ve emailed many times before but had never met, and so much more. When Denise and I were walking towards the car and had said goodbye to Randall, Denise said “you’re a Blessed man.” For a second there I wasn’t sure what to think, but then it sank in. I have it too good…I really do. God is incredible. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing so many people in this industry in just a few short years with so many knowing who I am and interested in working together. I haven’t been sure how to feel about all this lately. Even with STANDING FIRM on shelves I’m still not used to it. It’s on a shelf…in a store…with people picking it up and watching it in their house that I’ve never been to. It’s for sale in Africa, Australia, New Zealand…and soon to be South America and Europe (pray that it happens…I have a lot of work to do there). As I spoke with Randall I told him how worried I was just personally about so much of this stuff happening so fast. This year being so busy, getting married, more work than I can handle with no sign of slowing, talk of whether Denise and I would move in the future sometime or whether Buffalo should be home, whether or not we’ll get pregnant soon (in case this wasn’t clear we are letting God decide when) and handling that, etc. etc. I told Randall that I’m not sure I would even want my second film to be bigger than the last. Sounds like a stupid statement but who am I…really? I still just feel like a kid who made a film with duct tape and elbow grease…in his bedroom. I don’t feel like anybody special at all. If I made a film that became something big, I’m not even sure I would handle it well. I’ll be 23 this June. David Evans, The Kendrick Brothers, and so many others in this industry are far older than me and have far more life experience not to mention spiritual growth, families, etc. If God Blesses me with another film then I’ll be grateful (likely overwhelmed), but there is a healthy sense of fear.
Ironically enough, the day afterwards God finally brought along what I’m confident will be movie #2. Denise and I by the time we were half way home already had a lot of things worked out. Funny how God works huh? Truth be told I’m terrified but excited. We’re already praying for 100% peace but I’m really feeling God’s call here. Continue to pray as this becomes something more legitimate and structured. We’re going to be buying some cork board soon so we can get the story elements up on a board and begin forming a more solid structure. As I have said in the past, once I get a fuse lit I’m like a freight train…all I need is the kick in the pants. I think I got it. I still feel like I’ve never made a film before, since STANDING FIRM was made in such a wrong way…but we’ll see how God leads. Prayers appreciated.
Life is 2000 miles an hour right now, and the perfect time for spiritual attack on myself and my wife. My mind is stressed out a lot of the time and I’m trying to find a healthy balance of life at the moment. Prayer and renewing of the mind is going to be key for both of us right now. These are exciting times and I don’t know what God has cooking, but it smells good…I just hope neither of us get burned.
Still Keeping Busy…
I’m currently burning the final copy of The Potential Inside today. I authored the DVD all day today emailing back and forth with Director Scotty Curlee to get approval on menus and work out all the details. DVD Authoring can be sorta fun and I like making menus. It can get a little hairy when it comes to naming and linking everything but as long as you label accordingly you should have no issues. Encoding is also sorta fun for me. Encoding means taking a video and compressing it to fit on a disc, but not sacrificing the quality. It’s way more complicated than that but you get the idea I think. This film was shot on the RED camera. If you don’t know what that is don’t worry about it, LOL. Either way that mean that I was going to have to pay close attention to the encode to make sure I could squeeze as much quality out as possible. The end result I’m very happy with! Another notch on the belt I suppose…
I was sitting down at my desk the other day when my phone rang. It was Dr. David Evans from Memphis. He’s the Director and Executive Producer of the upcoming film The Grace Card, coming to theaters nationwide February 25th. David is a good buddy of mine and has been very supportive since I was in Memphis to help with some early stuff on that film. I remember when I was leaving LA in 2009 this guy with a southern accent called me (David…) and had a bunch of questions. We began talking, I sent him around to whatever contacts I had to see what I could do and before you know it I was in Memphis taking pictures and helping location scout a little bit, meeting the who’s who of those involved, etc. It was a very exciting time. Unfortunately it was short lived, but hey…God had other plans. He dragged me back home because STANDING FIRM needed to be completed and from Summer 2009 till Summer 2010 I was burning the midnight oil every night to get the film completed and shipped to my replicators that July 4th. When I got home was also when ChristianFilmTrailers.com, and various other work started for me and brought me where I am today. Had I been involved with The Grace Card as originally intended, things would’ve likely turned out very different. Not necessarily better…just different and it’s not likely I would’ve met Denise. Funny how God works things out huh? Anyways back to why I brought up the phone call. David and I haven’t spoken since SAICFF 2010 and it was great to hear his voice. He shared some fun information about what’s going on with the film and how excited he is. This man is the most generous and heart-warming fellow…anyone who knows him would say the same. Him and his wife actually, I don’t want to forget about Esther. They both were incredibly humble and generous. Just before we were done talking and I had shared what was going on with me David casually asked if I wanted to come to the premiere. I sorta blew it off because I didn’t think it would be possible. But after I hung up I gave it some thought and figured I would be a dummy if I didn’t go. Not only have I not seen the film yet, but I’ll get to see all the great Memphis folks I haven’t seen in almost two years! They’ll be ministry leaders from around the country, Lou Gosset Jr. (Oscar winner from An Officer And A Gentleman), various folks I’ve been in contact with regarding Standing Firm or during promotional time but never met, and so much more! Denise and I will be driving down again so pray for good weather and that we’re kept safe. The premiere is on Tuesday the 22nd, so we’ll be leaving Monday. I CAN’T WAIT. 
Better get out my suit…
The website for Crossroad is still in progress so that’ll be my next project and after that I’ll be moving onto making a new website for The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry for Director Rich Christiano. Very exciting to be working on so many things with so many great people. 2011 has already been such a Blessed year…beyond compare. It’s only mid-February. What could be next? Now is a pivotal time to keep my eyes focused on Christ. I’ll be continuing to pray about whatever new story God would have me to tell and I have a meeting setup mid-March with a local pastor to discuss a few things and do some research. I’ve also been able to contact the President of the Acts 29 Network for the same reasons but he’s a bit overloaded at the moment. Emails is the best we can do for now. Better than nothing!
Prayers for work, my walk with Christ and my marriage with Denise are appreciated. Happy Valentines Day everyone! 
On The Shelf?
Sales Update
STANDING FIRM is slowly making its way into Bookstores around the US. I’ve called many to find out if they’ve even heard of the film. Most tell me no, which is no surprise. Little films like this aren’t known by everyone. I went to a local Christian Bookstore today I hadn’t heard about in my area…about 40 minutes away. It’s not apart of any big chain. The film wasn’t on the shelf so I asked the lady at the desk if anyone had asked for the film. She said many have come in looking for it but they’d never heard of it. Their manager ordered copies the day it came out since so many had come in looking but they were told that there wasn’t any in stock for THEM to order. It seems that every single place that ordered the film didn’t order enough, even those intending to give it to other retailers. That was a little discouraging but in a way encouraging. Anyone who doesn’t have it that’s being asked for it will definitely buy some. So no matter how well the sales are doing, they’ve been kept alive by that simple fact. The lady at this store looked at me funny when I said the film I was asking about was mine, and we all got talking (there were others there that sorta showed up) about the film, they asked their questions, and I gave the people at the counter a free copy of it so they could see it. They’ve already ordered some, but I figured it would just be a good gesture since they’re local and I’ll likely need their support in the future. They were happy to accept it. I blushed a little when the lady said “I’ve never met someone who made a movie before.” It’s still very weird for me, and I don’t think that’ll stop.
Amazon.com keeps running out, and every time they order a box, they’re almost sold by the time they finally list the film as “In Stock.” Though, frustratingly they wait too long to order more and it’s listed “Out of Stock” for a week which either drops my sales, or they go somewhere else to find it. All of this stuff requires watch on a daily basis to keep going and to make sure I’m in the know of where my film is, isn’t, where it needs to be, etc. It’s not always fun, because it seems most of my time spent on Facebook is linking people where to buy it since they can’t seem to find it (um…Google?), or they queued it on Netflix and it’s telling them “Short” or “Long” waits…which they aren’t happy about. Netflix didn’t order enough either it seems given how many are bugging me about it so hopefully they’ll order more. The initial order they made was double what was expected, so this is a good sign. All in all this film from the middle of nowhere is doing pretty well, and I hope this continues.
A New Marketing Push
I’ve begun dabbling into running Ads on Facebook. It costs money of course, but my efforts are going to go so far then become a bit stagnant on the STANDING FIRM fan page. I still have some ammunition, but I’m going to begin looking at the Ad system again after leaving it alone for a year. Of course, my concern in covering my expenses is there, but you don’t have to go crazy to do OK on there. Granted, new fans doesn’t mean squat if they don’t go and buy it somewhere, but I won’t know 100% for sure the actual affect it has. I’ll have to just be careful and weigh out my options and be smart. $5 or 10 or $15 a day is a lot to spend when you consider a 30 day month…so I’ll be treading slowly unless my Ads get good results and the profits cover things. We’ll see…
Moving Soon
I only have about 3 weeks left in my parents house, that’s a little unsettling. I’m very excited to get out of here, but I’ll be sad to leave for good. I’ve been here my entire life save a few years as a kid. I learned almost everything I know in the same room I’m typing this. I’m happy though to be getting my own place, getting my own furniture, and starting my own life as fully self-sufficient and ready to take life on longterm. It’s a bit of a risk, but what isn’t? I don’t currently make enough minimum to be completely OK for a really really long period of time, I do need to see growth in my income, but I’m trusting this will be the case. I can’t wait forever and if I waited to make every decision when things were 150% certain … STANDING FIRM wouldn’t exist.
Reviewing Films
I got a more balanced review of STANDING FIRM today which was nice to see. Let me be clear, I’m not going to bash my film. I think many can be far too nice to some movies, including me at times. Doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the good comments though It’s actually a little annoying however when some judge a film negatively based on other films that cost 10, 20, or even 30x more and involved waves of people in the process to complete, and so much more. I explain a lot of the films shortcomings in my commentaries on the DVD, and even go into why they’re there. I’m no fool, I see the mistakes in my own movie. I’m not happy about them, nor do I intend to make them again (I hope…knock on wood). If I do make them again, it won’t be because I did things the same way (in every aspect of the process) all over again expecting a different result. The cinematography is inconsistent for instance, and I would’ve liked to get more coverage. There are actually quite a few wides in the film, but some wish I backed up more. I’ll agree with that, but then explain we had 2 people on crew, limited lights and time, and actors who might not have the ability to recreate something in a close-up that they gave me in a wide. What’s that mean? MOVE IN. Move in and get what you need to make the scene work, because it’s 5pm and whoever lives in the house you’re shooting in will be home any moment, and the person who’s acting in the front of the camera has a bunch of kids who need to have their mom/dad come home so the babysitter can leave, and yada yada yada. Welcome to no-budget filmmaking. What? You were expecting something else? While I understand most folks will simply judge a film outright as they have zero knowledge of what it takes to make a film, or how to tell what a budget was (for the most part), I try and look at what they had to work with, and what kind of result they got with it. That’s why FLYWHEEL is my favorite if not one of my favorite Christian films. Somehow even with the problems the film has (which are many, especially technical), the film WORKS…and works well with the viewer. That’s a though thing to do, so if STANDING FIRM is my FLYWHEEL then I’m more than proud (in Christ of course, lol!)
Closing
I’ve gotten a lot of good response on my previous post regarding money and filmmaking. Thanks to all for supporting the article. I’ve gotten some kind words from other filmmakers who feel the same way and never had an outlet to share it. That’s sorta the point I think of even posting it. There are many things I need to get off my chest regarding this industry, Christians in general (including my own problems), and much more. Blogging is a good outlet, so if you have time I recommend it. It’s like a Journal, except it’s public and while you can spread some great things very quickly, you can get in trouble very quickly too
P.S. – A film I had the pleasure to help work on for a brief time has a new website and will be in theaters in Feb 2011. It’s called The Grace Card. When I was about to leave California last year I got a phone call from a guy named David Evans who was looking for some help in a film he was doing, this happened to be it. I gave him some names and whatever help I could. I did an older website for the film and some initial poster/graphics concepts, started the fan page and grew it to about 6000 or so as a base, did some location scouting and photos, was present for the first read-through (which was very exciting and went very well), helped find one of the lead actors and a crew member, and a few other oddball things. It was a pleasure, and I’m VERY excited to see this film when it comes out. It’s the first thing that I’ve had any connection with to play in a theater. WOO!
