Category Archives: Movies/TV

Dec 3 2010

Jimmy Valiant Movie Fundraiser

My brother Nathaniel, I mentioned a while back, is making a short action movie independently in San Antonio. I’m pleasantly surprised by much of the production value already going into the film, which you can see in the teaser trailer here. I know about as much as the public does about this movie (my brother is good about keeping secrets) so I’ll be getting the story for the first time when it is released to all audiences.

I trust my brother is making a fun film. What’s really cool is this will be his first narrative, and I’m overwhelmed by the support he has gathered thus far. He has been all over the place filming. They have a lot of help from a variety of young aspiring independent filmmakers in on the production. There’s even a Ferrari (I think it’s a Ferrari) in the movie the hero drives (no, I don’t think it’s my brothers) so it’s going to be interesting to see. Continue reading →

Mar 12 2010

Objectifying Morality in Fiction Pt 2

With the Bible as our guide to good storytelling, and just what is and isn’t permissible morality in stories, let’s take another look at how to interpret morality issues we face in fiction.

Some well-meaning conservative people wish that fiction would lack immorality—well, immorality that they don’t have a tolerance for. As I pointed out in the first part, the Bible has lots of immorality that no good Christian should take a liking to. Yet, the Bible depicts many graphic details of sin and immorality of all kinds that we should be on guard for. As we think about the meaning underlying fiction we either get on television, the theatre, internet (web shows), or novels, we should discern what the moral compass is of the fiction; whether the author/filmmaker is consistent with his own morality. If he wants to objectify women in an evolutionary way (do whatever you want with your body—who cares?) but doesn’t want to take a consistent view of evolutionary thinking as it relates to politics (Indiana Jones is opposed to Nazism just because ‘it ain’t right’) then he’s picking and choosing his morality out of thin air. There isn’t a basis for it except personal opinion, and that is not concrete or authoritative. Continue reading →

Mar 11 2010

The Relevance of Creation Talks

I am more absent from the blog as of late (and for the coming weeks) as I am video directing an educational DVD series on the side. The topic is Creation with a Christian worldview, and Gary Bates of Creation Ministries International is the speaker. Here’s some previews of the production (these clips are still in the works):

Continue reading →

Mar 4 2010

History Unwrapped Updates

I’m very excited to be the directer of the new YouTube show History Unwrapped brought to web viewers by American Vision. History Unwrapped was a radio feature aired during lengthy breaks between other shows. It was in this format for several years. Now, every episode is being re-invented as part of the YouTube series—more than 140 episodes are already in audio format waiting to be turned into videos. Continue reading →

Feb 25 2010

Interpreting Whole and Individual Scenes in Context

In a family flick, there might be a scene where the six-year-old daughter complains to her daddy that she doesn’t wanna go to a birthday party. First, she wines about it, but quickly this turns into tears and chewing the tips of her fingers; while her Dad struggles to pay attention to something else—like his smartphone telling him that his boss wants his head on a chopping block. Continue reading →

Feb 23 2010

A Proper Interpretation of Fiction

I know. This post’s title sounds thrilling, doesn’t it? Don’t get too excited….

Readers interpret the meaning of stories beginning with the opening line of “once upon a time.” In some cases, with stories that are intentionally transparent and simple so all audience members will understand them with limited focus, this is easy. For instance, a good comedy won’t make you think too hard about its intended meaning. Continue reading →

Feb 12 2010

Announcing the History Unwrapped YouTube Series

Gary DeMar, president of American Vision (where I work) orchestrated the production of a educational radio history program between 2005 and 2007. The one-minute radio program aired on stations all over the country. It was one of our all-time most successful ventures with more than 140 episodes in all exploring the ins and outs of rare stories from all corners of history. Continue reading →