InfoLink - Christian Culture and Independent Film

Recently, I purchased a series of audio CDs recorded during the seminars held at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival. So far, there's been a lot to like with a good bit of information from folks who have had some success making Christian film. There are two different sets, "Power Tools for Future Filmmakers and Culture Changers (5 CDs)" and "Hollywood vs. Christian Culture Collection (6 CDs)." Each CD in the set can be purchased individually as well. In many cases, I'm left wanting more, but regardless, it has piqued my interest and given me some food for thought. I'll be reviewing some of the individual CDs in the near future, so keep your eyes open for that. The audio CDs are available from Vision Forum.

Power Tools for Future Filmmakers and Culture Changers
Hollywood vs. Christian Culture Collection

InfoLink - Blockbusters On A Budget

While researching an article on adding production value to low-budget productions, I stumbled on a two-part article by a Hollywood action film scriptwriter who tells how planning your script properly can significantly reduce your production costs. While his promise of "big-Hollywood-picture-look-for-a-Movie-of-the-Week-budget" is still more money than many of us currently have access to, his hints on adding production value to scripts and milking the budget by planning ahead are something that even micro-budget independent filmmakers can benefit from.

The links below go into the articles section of his Web site, which seems to no longer be linked from his main page. You may want to make a local copy, lest the pages disappear in the future.

Blockbusters On A Budget (part 1) - by William C. Martell
Blockbusters On A Budget (part 2) - by William C. Martell

OpinionLink - Christian film making...Oxymoron?

"At the risk of offending an entire group of well-meaning, hard-working artists, it seems the “Christian movie” genre carries a carefully earned stigma of mediocrity marked by a steadily growing collection of low budget, poorly produced films. To mainstream moviegoers, the result of the negative association of following the word “Christian” with the words “actor,” “producer” or “film” is that the collective contributions of these artists are automatically defined as less creative and inferior to their secular, mainstream counterparts." - Christian film making...Oxymoron?

Ouch.

InfoLink - In a Losing Race with the Zeitgeist

If you've heard the complaints about Hollywood losing touch, here's an interesting read about the future market that might affect Christian filmmakers. Perhaps distribution via theaters is indeed a dying, money-losing proposition. Is Christian film ready to embrace other delivery methods? In a losing race with the zeitgeist - Los Angeles Times

InfoLink - Lights! Camera! Apocalypse!

How are Christian films viewed by those outside the faith? Are they admired? Are they ridiculed? Is the message seen and understood? I stumbled on an older article from Salon that examines the recent crop of apocalyptic Christian films from an outsider's perspective. It's a revealing read. Salon.com: Lights! Camera! Apocalypse!

InfoLink - Thinking about Christian Film: The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Every month or so, I usually take the time to check out a movie trailers Web site. Awhile ago, I saw the trailer for a movie called The Exorcism of Emily Rose, which appeared to be a horror film. Now horror flicks aren't real high on my personal list of must-see films, so I passed it by and didn't think about it as it came to the theaters and then went away. I wouldn't be talking about it now if I hadn't stumbled onto a couple of articles discussing it from a "Christian film" standpoint.

The first thing I stumbled across was an interview with director Scott Derrickson on a Christian youth ministry Web site. Although some of Scott's repertoire as a director would not make one suspect that he is a Christian (several films have been mainstream horror stories, such as Hellraiser V: Inferno- not your average after-church entertainment), he is a graduate of the evangelical Biola University, describes himself as an "orthodox Christian," and is very open about his faith. Even if you disagree with some of his points of view, there's a lot here to think about as far as the interaction of faith and film is concerned. Click here for the Interview.

A bit more is available in an article on the GodSpy Web site, which looks at things through a Catholic lens. They get to the heart of the film as a supernatural courtroom drama, yet seeing in it a larger message showing the struggle between Godliness and godlessness - "...the film presents forensically the clash between contemporary scientific humanism and spiritual warfare." An excellent companion to the interview previously noted. Check it out at What Happened to Emily? The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Reviewed by John Zmirak.

OpinionLink - Why Do Heathens Make the Best Christian Films?

If you're interested in the process of filmmaking and the process of making Christian film, you should really take a look at the article, Why Do Heathens Make the Best Christian Films? by Thom Parham. It's not entirely filled with new observations, but it's food for thought and worth a read. It does make you think about what makes a Christian film. Does a Christian theme (such as forgiveness, mercy, justice) make a Christian film? Or is there something deeper at work? Does a Christian film need to have an explicit Gospel message? Can you have a God-glorifying story without ever mentioning the name of God?

Examine your suppositions. Think about what God is calling us to.

New Blog, New Day

Making Christian Film exists to document my interest in writing, producing and distributing Christian films while serving as a resource to Christians with similar interests. Feel free to leave comments if you find anything here of interest.