Easter Bumper Video

It's not often I get to make a completely original video.  That is not totally true, all of the videos I make are original.  What I mean by that is it isn't often I get to make original collaberative works. I do what I am strong at and I skip the stuff I don't do well.  When I make bumper videos they are short scripted (because script writing is just not one of my strengths) and heavy on the the motion graphics (which I can do).  I often make things using tutorials I have recently watched, or I use other video styles I have seen others make, or I buy templates and just populate all the needed stuff. 

Often my time lines on these videos are painfully short so getting anyone else involved is really difficult.  I think good videos are easy, but I think GREAT videos are always collaborative works. Case in point, for Easter I knew what I was going to do graphically weeks in advance thanks to some great design by Elyse Darling our awesome graphic designer.  Seriously she makes my job EASY, her great designs (her strength) always lend themselves to animating (my strength). For this bumper I used a technique I had never done before, and didn't even know how to do, but thanks to the great design I had a clear direction.  Once I know WHAT I wanted to do the masking alone still took me almost 2 days.  In the end I had a great Easter animation, but a single animation by itself is not much. 

In the testing phase of the animation Bill Morrison our IT guy looked at it while I was turning pieces on and off trying to make it work and made a suggestion that really MADE the animation.  He told me to take the background out... I would have never done it, but it totally worked. 

So 2 weeks before Easter while sitting in my office reading scripture (something I NEVER do enough of) this script wrote itself (literally) it took me 10 minutes maybe 15 minutes and I had the script done and the actor I wanted to read it all picked out, I knew exactly how I wanted the whole project to work into the the one animation I had finished.

Now let me stress how weak I am at this part of my craft, If I have any copy at all you can pretty much bet I didn't write it.  So to write a script (a pretty good one I think) in no time is almost a miracle of old testament proportions.

I got Karl to do the music (CLEARLY his strength), and got his son Tadhg to read the script.  Tadgh is a rockstar so I knew it wouldn't be a problem. 

After all this talk I bet it's going to seem a little underwhelming ... but hey I didn't make it for you, and in my personal opinion I think it's one of my better works. 
Also Mike's message isn't bad either :-)



Did Jesus really rise from the dead? from Hope Community Church on Vimeo.

Easter Firsts

We had lots of firsts this Easter at Hope.  To start with we had 10,000+ people in attendance, over 2 campuses and 4 venues, for the record we normally run about 7,000. We had 6 services in the main campus, 6 in the overflow chapel (video venue), 2 in our multi-site, 2 at our new young adult video venue (called The Venue).

Second we did a cool video projection in the main auditorium which required me to build a double mask.  Which I have never even heard of, I doubt we are the first to do it, but it was a first for us. (I will do a whole post on that later)

Third it was the first real week for our young adult venue and they had about 200 people.

Great weekend all around.