Cliches and Lazy Filmmaking

Recently, I was drawn into a conversation with a friend about this idea of “cinematic shortcuts” or “film cliches.” These are some highly visual devices used in storytelling in movies and on TV fairly often. Like all cliches, they were at some point effective in communicating an idea. But now they have been over-used. And savvy audiences roll their eyes and grow tired of seeing these cliches time and again.

On Offending People.

In contemplating what it means to be a filmmaker and a consistent adherent to a Christian worldview, inevitably I have been forced to deal with the delicate issue of offending people. There’s really no easy way to actually categorize the people you might end up offending, which makes this issue all the more complicated.

There’s a couple broad and quite crude generalizations I can make, however. There are those people I might offend because of openly acknowledging my discipleship to Christ. There are also fellow followers of Christ who I might offended by not living up to their expectations of what it means to be an artist and a disciple. This, in a general sense at least, is what it can mean for a guy like me when I use the expression “between a rock and a hard place.”

An Interview with Kyle Prohaska, Director of Standing Firm.

Some time ago, Kyle Prohaska, an independent filmmaker, who has been following this little blog of mine, contacted me. Kyle has his own website and blog and we got to talking. We’ve kept in contact and Kyle has shared with me some things about the feature film he’s directing, Standing Firm. I’ve seen some scenes from the film and the trailer, and the level of professional achievement is really remarkable. For all of you new filmmakers out there struggling to find your path and for all of my fellow Christians hoping to see some interesting new voices in the filmmaking world, you are in for a treat here. I did a little interview with Kyle.

Christian Cinema ... An Adventure in Missing the Point.

“Are our churches and broadcasts and books and organizations merely creating religious consumers of religious products and programs? ... ”

- Tony Campolo & Brian D. McLaren, Adventures in Missing the Point: How the Culture-Controlled Church Neutered the Gospel

As a film lover and filmmaker, I am ever the student of the craft. As such, I try to invest time in continued education. So, I’ve been reading a particular book: Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics by Michael Rabiger. Let me tell you, it’s a fantastic book loaded with great information about the process of filmmaking and how to go about equipping yourself to best accomplish the work of making a movie. It’s not light reading, but very worthwhile!

An Exploration of the State of Christian Cinema (part two)

“Society needs artists, just as it needs scientist, technicians, workers, professional people, witnesses of the faith, teachers, fathers and mothers, who ensure the growth of the person and the development of the community by means of that supreme art from which is ‘the art of education.’ Within the vast cultural panorama of each nation, artists have their unique place.”
- Pope John Paul II, from “Letter of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Artists.”

The Christian as Filmmaker

The lights go down. The projector rolls. Light, cast upon a screen, becomes something else entirely. Suddenly, it has a language all its own. An experience. What a moment ago was a strand of still images is now a living thing. It is transformed. A miracle of sorts.

An Exploration of the State of Christian Cinema (part one)

“I made it as a prayer, an act of worship. I wanted to be a priest. My whole life has been movies and religion. That’s it. Nothing else.”
- Martin Scorsese speaking about The Last Temptation of Christ in Martian Scorsese: A Journey.

What do you mean, “the state of Christian cinema?” one might ask me. Allow me to first define the term “Christian cinema.” I want to approach the topic of Christian involvement in filmmaking from two fronts: (1) Films made by Christians with an openly Christian message, and (2) Christians working in the film industry making films with broad appeal. Thus, “Christian cinema” as I refer to it here seems to have two incarnations (I recognize the irony of using that word). Yet, both mesh into a broader issue, Christian engagement of the American culture through cinema. This will by no means be an exhaustive discussion on the topic, as much can be said, and as I will point out in this entry, much is ever changing. These are merely the observations of one filmmaker/film lover who also is a follower of Jesus.

New Videos

In light of the fact that I have just moved from the Northern Indiana area to the Boston area, I've had quite a bit on my plate lately and have not had a chance to make more blog entries here in a while. But, I do have a few new videos to present, one being a new version of my director's demo reel. Thus, I thought I might post those here for a some food for thought and possible discussion.

Hollywood: The Neglected Mission Field.

(Note: This article was first published in Missionary Church national publication, then called Emphasis Magazine, in the summer of 2002. It appears here with it's original source notation and bibliography. I felt it might be good to address some of these issues on this blog early on. - MJW)

Millions of Americans attend movie theaters every week. Film has become an almost unavoidable aspect of the North American culture. Millions of dollars are invested in the making of a single motion picture. Year after year, Christians across the country complain amongst themselves of how the film industry is becoming more and more blatantly sinful. Yet, I raise this question: By complaining within the Christian subculture, what has been accomplished to reverse the corruption of Hollywood?