9.27.2008

Fireproof...


In all honesty I was not planning on writing a review for Fireproof. The reason was that I know how sensitive people can be when you call a Christian Movie bad. There is always some people who think it is a sin to critique a movie, call out bad acting or bad writing. So in the interest of not lying, and halting unnecessary rage filled blog debates, I preeminently decided not to review the movie. All of this was however, before I saw it.
Before I start I want to define a term. Christian Movie. When I say Christian Movie I am not referring to major Christian Blockbusters like Passion of the Christ or Chronicles of Narnia. I am strictly referring to low budget, independent Christian films. Anything made by Cloud Ten, Anything made by Sherwood, and all other straight to DVD movies. With that being said Fireproof was far better then I thought it would be. This says a lot, because when it comes to Christian Movies, the glass is always very empty.

The first thing I liked about Fireproof was the fact that it was heavily engaging. This is something that Christian Movies never do. Most Christian movies give you a very boring story that ultimately never makes you care about anything other then asking when the movie was going to be over. This was not the case with Fireproof, the general storyline was very captivating and engaging. The characters were normal enough to allow you to show genuine concern. The story was realistic enough and separated by adventure scenes to keep you fully focused through out the entire movie. In fact I had to go the restroom the entire time but waited it out because of shear curiosity as to what was going to happen after each scene. I never once thought to ask when the move was going to be over and was sort of sad when it was.

This is by far Kirk Cameron's best acting role. It was incredible. He cried real tears, he showed real anger and pride. It was awesome...However, it does not matter how good your acting is when the scriptwriting is something to be desired. That's right of all the good things in this movie, the Scriptwriting was not one of them. Don't get me wrong the general storyline was great, the direction great, but the dialogue was normal. This is something us Christians need to work on. It is a challenge...and I'll give you an example.

In the beginning of the movie unregenerate Caleb is very angry at his wife. He then says some words that if this were a secular movie would not have been clean. Now, they should not, nor am I ever alluding to the fact that there should be swear words in the movie. There should not be. But this is where creativity comes in. I am not even saying strong words should have been used. But when an angry unsaved person is yelling such nice words to his wife while spit is flying down his mouth it just causes me to chuckle at the absurdity of it and comes off as cheesy.

This is where creativity comes in. How can we portray that anger and hostility without saying words at all, maybe an outside shot looking in though a window of him yelling at is wife. Just suggestions. It's hard. I was reading some Christian on RottenTomatoes who said he refuses to see "clean" Christian movies because spirituality is dark. Now he was trying to reason his way into seeing blasphemous movies for the sake of finding spiritual truths. Which is absurd. But I think he was right about something...before someone is saved, they are in darkness. I think Christian filmmakers need to get together and accurately think of how that darkness can be portrayed without causing people to sin and setting new heights in creativity the secular world would esteem. After all we do have the Creator of Creativity on our side...

Now with that being said the scriptwriting was not a major issue in the whole of the movie because it was so engaging, it was also very funny. In fact there were some scenes where I laughed harder then any movie I have been to in a long time.

All together this movie was very balanced. The Gospel presentation was amazing. The good parts made the bad parts dissapear and it is a movie I am proud of. So congratulations to all the people at Sherwood and thanks tremendously to all the volunteers that made this movie happen.

Please list your comments below. I would like to know your opinions.

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7.14.2008

Lights, Camera, Fiction! Behind the Scenes of a "FauxVival"

TV Production and Manipulation at the Revival.
One of my passions is video production and media. Hence the media, movie ministry slogan of Transplant Ministries. I worked at a local TV Station as a production assistant, I do freelance graphic design and video on the side. I know this field.

The following things I am going to mention may seem as conspiracy, or over the top thoughts and thinking, but anyone who works in television knows the immense planning and prep it takes to create a live show. What I am about to show you comes as obvious to me. Because I at one point or the other have been behind the scenes of live broadcasts, I know the before and after and all the ins and outs of pre-production.

What God.TV has done with the cooperation of Fresh Fire Ministries to stage a fake revival is beyond anything I have seen before. It's an elaborate almost scripted live event which ultimately eliminates the need for the Holy Spirit to move or even breathe for that matter.

As you wait in line to enter the tent, a staff member is coordinating the seating. He lines people up. Let's them in and shows them to the entrance of the seating.The first ones to enter are those from other countries. They are asked to come in first.

For the most part people can sit where they want. Unless you are in a wheelchair.

Here is the central issue. If you were creating a faux revival with a goal to show that people were getting healed the one thing you would not want to show on TV is those who are sick and crippled. This would eliminate any sort of credibility. So the goal of the seating arrangement is to place the sick in the back while keeping the happy spirit filled worshipers in the front. Are there any rules that say wheel chairs in the back, on the sides and out of view of the camera? No. Of Course not. But the seating up front is so tight, so restrained that the people in wheelchairs can only sit in three places. This is so the cameras do not show the sick and crippled.


1. On the side.
In this photo you can see a persons wheelchair. There is a clear space for the chair to be and room for others to walk. However notice the position of the Jib. That's the long tall crane with the camera on it. Notice how it is clearly focused where the Wheel Chairs are not.

2. In the back.
In this photo you can see a little boy standing waving a flag. He is located in the "Overflow Tent" which is far out of sight from the cameras. This is the closest place one can sit who needs room for a wheelchair or to lay down on a blanket as this family did. You never see this on GOD.TV



3. The Front Row...Except.


The front row shows the pure deceit and manipulation of the fauxvival as not one regular person is allowed to sit in the front except Fresh Fire Staff and Friends. They have ton's of staff too because the first 4 rows are taken up in the entire front. So no one with a wheel chair can sit there. This is also an example of manipulation because the only shots of people worshiping and glorifying the savior are of...you guessed it Fresh Fire Staff and Friends. (Man, are they always happy!) They do tell you that you can go up front in any empty seats after worship, but when the speaker is speaking there is not as much need for exciting crowd shots.

With the seating for the disabled clearly pushed to the back and the happy employees with smiling faces in front and ready to go. The prep can being. They have people come out and in an almost hypnotizing trance they pray for a good fifteen minutes.

It's a constant screaming and irreverence to the Lord for what seems like forever. over and over and over again the same words are repeated, people are speaking in tongues (without translators) and it's just mass confusion. After the prayer (or before, I forget the order) someone comes up and asks people for testimonies of previous healing. These are healings that are not from the same night. All these testimonies are verified as much as possible before the event and relate to healings of the previous night or week.

What we have is an incredibly detailed and planned event that breeds false excitement and a false sense of a holy spirit's presence. I hope you look over my writing seriously and take it to heart. We must discern everything when teachers claim to be performing miracles of God.

There was nothing Christian at the Todd Bentley Revival, just a whole bunch of confused people who have no idea about proper biblical interpretation. It really is quite disgusting.

Marcus

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4.21.2008

Richard Dawkins...Takes a Beating...Get's Expelled.

This quote sums up the sad nature of Richard Dawkins after he realized he was forced against his will to speak to one who believes in Intelligent Design...

I feel betrayed and very angry. This has only happened to me once before, in a very long career of doing hundreds of interviews. I find that life is much more pleasant if I assume a reasonable level of trust with everyone I meet. It is extremely easy to take me for a ride. (What? No...Evolution anyone?) I am actually quite proud of being so trusting. It is frustrating and disillusioning to feel that in future I am going to have to be a lot more suspicious and grudging. The quality of life is sensibly diminished by having to do this." Richard Dawkins

Sunday afternoon I got to see the long awaited "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed". I have to say I was indeed quite impressed with the film. I think it is a film that all Christians should see, but it is not a Christian movie. I was a little upset that they tended to separate people into three camps. Those who believe in Intelligent Design, Those who believe in evolution and the loons that believe in Young Earth Creation.

That's right they sort of made the YEC's the guy's on the low end of the totem pole. Which is a shame, seeing that a vast majority of people that I went to see the movie with and the ones that were in the theater were indeed YEC.

But that's really besides the point because the film itself did a fantastic job of explaining the outright hypocrisy of the science community. The ones who say "We don't shun those who support intelligent design, but we sure will attack Ben Stein for being an idiot, because he supports such "bad Science"

The build up to the movie proves the very point of the movie. All the negative publicity, the movie critics turned scientist on Rotten Tomatoes. The New York Times calling it "Sleazy."

OK OK, you crazy lunatic scientist made your point, the movie did not have to be made, you openly admit to not allowing other ideas and viewpoints. Can we stop with all the name calling already.

The movie is worth seeing because of one scene where Richard Dawkins is given a beat down by Ben Stein. In fact I am positive that Dawkins still feels those sores. In probably the most enjoyable scene in any movie I have seen this year. Richard "Easy to be taken for a ride" Dawkins almost in tears was unable to answer a simple question posed by Ben Stein. Where does life come from? "I don't know, I don't think anyone does" he even resorted to saying an intelligent designer could have in fact been an initiator of life. No wonder he refuses to do interviews with both sides of the aisle. If an "idiot" like Ben Stein can make him resort to Intelligent Design, imagine what would happen if the scientist did willingly surrender to an actual debate. Evolution would be over. That's why they hold on so tightly. Their entire worldview is built on a house of cards, or layers of sand.

So overall a good movie, it could have had more scientific details that that proved intelligent design, IE the intricacies of the cell's design, flood geology.

So go see the movie, it was ranked one of the third highest grossing documentaries only to Tupac and Fahrenheit 9/11. Let's try and get it out there, I for one will go and see it again.

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4.16.2008

Wretched. It's Simply Wretched.

So I heard that Todd Friel was going to be on TV, in a daily show called Wretched on FamilyNET.

My heart rejoiced, and then sunk as I realized..I don't have FamilyNET. I was in despair.

Then, suddenly for what can only be described as a miracle equivalent to Jesus on a Cheeto, the cable guy delivers us a Digital Cable box proclaiming the news that we get it for free because we recently signed up for all three services.

I now have FamilyNET., so the first thing I did was turn on the TV and set the TiVo with a season pass to "Wretched"

This morning, I woke up, and excitedly cooked up the usual eggs and toast, grabbed the TiVo remote and watched one of the most embarrassing TV programs for Christian Media, I have ever seen.

What a Disappointment...

...this show must be to all the other worthless Christian TV shows on television.

It's simply amazing, It's simple. I love it.

It's a small studio set where Todd Friel gives his usual commentary, but now with video. So unlike the listening to his remarks on Way of the Master, we now get to not just HEAR him cringe with disgust, we get to watch him cringe...with us.

The first episode I was able to see was God's revelation via Cheeto's and how ridiculous it is.

As a Christian ministry dedicated towards "Quality Media" we have been known to utterly rip apart good christian media because the production was poor, not the Theology.

We see this a lot. The first two seasons of WOTM were not the greatest from a production standpoint, but biblically they changed my life. (Season 3 looks exciting)

The theology of Left Behind was OK, but the movies were worthless.

So it is a tricky line between Production Quality and Theology Quality. It's rare.

Wretched has just drawn a line in the sand, daring other Christian TV shows to cross it. They set the bar, telling every future television show that they have to be Wretched, to be any close to being good.

PS
I think the show is amazing. The one thing I really love, is the natural audience boo's and cheers from the crew. I despise fake audience cheers and laughter it's the ultimate in cheese, it really brings down the production quality of a show. So good Job there. It's simply Wretched.

Wretched appears on FamilyNET, every night at 10pm.

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4.11.2008

Open Air Encounter with a Mormon!

I guess to set this up, Matt from RichmondBET.org was preaching just as it seemed to die down from the first onslaught of hecklers that we had. Over in the distance, we see this heard (If that's the proper name for a group of Mormons) coming our way in ties and shirts. I grab my camera and just as I hit record...well, just hit play...and be warned...it gets a little angry.






The truth is that The Law of God reveals the inner nature of humanity. This guy was clearly bothered by the Law of God and how God uses our sin to show His Glory. I guess they left that out in LDS Sunday School.

After the video this guy and several other Mormons hung around for what must have been an hour. Hopefully they were convicted and tomorrow the Mormon church will be a few less.

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1.01.2008

A New Year...Something New...


I am sitting here writing this as the New Years Ball is about to drop. Today I read my daily devotional "My Utmost for his Highest" and there was a line in it that stood out...

"...God can transform this destructive anxiety to a constructive thoughtfulness of the future." - December 31st.

How appropriate for a new year...As I start a new year without a Job and looking to start into full time ministry as a way to bring glory to God Full-Time.

Without a Job and no need to really search for one until after the Holidays (Craig's List is empty this time of Year), I thought about how impossible it was to get a job in Christian media without "connections." After rejection here and no responses at all from there, I decided to use my time and devote it towards advancing my ministry, helping Transplant Ministries step forward unto the new year.

One of the Mission statements of Transplant Ministries is to "/Be a Pride less Ministry to those in a Prideful Industry/"

The art community is a field where your job depends not on your work for God, but the stuff you do with your talent...It's a field that is a non-stop Me Me Me, look at what I did, look at MY Talent. This attitude is not just in the secular world but the Christian world as well. Christians that work in the creative industries need a place of fellowship, to exchange ideas, ask advice and learn.

That's when I realized that the whole mission statement above was to big for Transplant Ministries...Transplant Ministries has become a sort of place for personal videos and blogs. A ministry that encourages video evangelism. Which is great, and we have inspired several Christian Artist to do more creative work for their Savior. So what's next? Do we pat them on the back, shake their hands and send them on their way? What about the Christians that are already immersed in some sort of Media Development.

The above mission statement requires something more intricate and different all together. A new website...A sort of sister ministry. Something TOTALLY devoted to the artist and God. A place that's sole purpose has nothing to do with ramblings, articles or blogs. There needs to be a place totally dedicated to fellowship and training other "Creative Christ Followers."

You see I became frustrated at not knowing anyone in Christian Media. I longed for fellowship, to network and to learn from others who had a heart for giving Glory to God with their talent. There is a huge disconnect among Christian Artist and Christian Ministry. Ever since the Left Behind Movie Flops came out, Christians have felt the need to go into the secular world as sort of Christan Mission trip attacking Hollywood like a creative superman, which is important. This is great, and should be encouraged...yet it leaves Christian Media really dry...There is no one place for Christian Media Professionals to gather in fellowship...not one. Even the "Christian Media" groups on MySpace were empty of any conversation, and filled with spam...

So that's why I have spent the last week, over fifteen hours a day with only one daily meal, ton's of Mountain Dew sitting in my cramped room designing ooMAoo.com


Welcome to ooMAoo...

The name is made up and has no value or meaning, it's sort of like all of our creative idea's apart from Christ it means nothing. If it does not give any glory to God, them well it's useless. No matter how awesome it may be to man.

ooMAoo is a new website totally devoted to all aspects of Christian Media and the Professionals involved in the work.

It's a place for the small country church is the backwoods of West Virgina to get tips and advice for making videos from the biggest churches in Texas.

It's a place to share ideas, network and collaborate with other Christian "Creatives". In or out of the secular World.

It's a place to have all of your work critiqued and reviewed, so God can receive the best from you.

All of this so God will be Glorified and souls will be saved.

So here is what I am asking of you.

If you are involved with media or not, please visit ooMAoo.com and join the Forums, by clicking the red "Forums" Tab at the top of the page. Once you get there you will see a link that says "Register", it will ask for basics like your e-mail and what....I promise you your e-mail will not be sold for Spam, this is strictly an e-mail to log-in and verify that you are a real human being and not a spam bot.

The reason I need you to register, is because it is very important that we create a large user base, even if you do not use it (but I hope you do). Because this will give other users a sense of activity and community. Making people desire to join and take part...It's a very simple request, it's totally free and can do wonders in making this ministry grow. Once your in the forums talk a little, for those of you that are not into video production ask questions and learn, or just take part in the "General Discussion" tab.

So go there, explore and please let me know what you think. Send me any sort of information that you believe could make the site better...

Oh and please send this e-mail to any and everyone you know. Especially those people who just love to doodle in church bulletins.

Finally and most importantly have a wonderful new year, and may God be glorified in everything you do in 2008...

Soli Deo Gloria.
Marcus Pittman

http://www.transplantministries.com
http://www.oomaoo.com

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