chuch + film =...

I admittedly have a lot of criticisms about the way “Christians” are handling themselves in the creative arts, specifically in the area of filmmaking. My experience with viewing video in the church is content that looks like the film equivalent of CCM. Left behind, anyone? So I am proposing a list of 5 ways that Christians could and should make an impact in the visual media arena.

5. first and foremost, focus on aesthetics. There is infinitely more to filmmaking than telling a story. It’s HOW you tell the story that really matters (provided your story is worth telling). Mise en scene, focal length, the Italian neo-realist movement, the German expressionist movement….all things that Christian filmmakers need to know and learn about. It’s not exhaustive knowledge by a long shot, but my point is that there is no depth or context for the stylistic choices that are made. I can tell by watching Christian films. Buy a book on the history of cinema and aesthetics. Everything looks like it was shot by someone who shoots sitcoms and infomercials. Rent a couple critereon collection DVDs and listen to the commentary tracks.
4. hire young, creative people. This isn’t to say that there aren’t creative middle-aged people, or that there isn't wisdom in age. But the fact is, the church is teeming with young students who are crying out for creative outlet and are being turned away by being told that their creativity is somehow incongruent with the church. Invest in these students. This also leads into the church’s demonizing of films in general, which is a whole separate post. Also, notice I said people. It’s gonna take more than 1 person to make a film, unless you’re a young Darren Aronofsky. Even so, true filmmaking fosters community and unity.
3. run from the literal. I realize that in church today we think we need to spell every little detail out for people for fear that we’re somehow going to confuse the gospel message. So we end up talking to people like they’re small children and don’t engage their God given mind to think critically about what they’re hearing. Err on the side of abstract. Do something to spark conversation and stimulate people’s thinking. I’m not suggesting the content you create is so hard to understand that you end up frustrating people. There is a balance, find it. Experiment, fail.
2. spend some money. I know budgets are tight. Trust me. But filmmaking isn’t a cheap endeavor. There's a good reason Return of the King looked so good Serious coinage is dropped on production and people. They don’t compromise. Isn’t it a Biblical principle to do everything with excellence and to the best of our abilities? Quit thinking $100 will produce the next Robert Rodriguez film. I’m not suggesting you have to spend millions, but I am suggesting thousands. The amazing thing is that to make an independent film today costs exponentially less than it did even 2 years ago.
1. it's ok to make a mess. This doesn't mean forget Jesus. But it also doesn’t mean that every single film has to end with strings and the camera soaring up to Heaven with the main character “getting it” and becoming a Christian. Present the Gospel in a unique way and stop packaging it like a sitcom where everything is resolved in 22 minutes. A film doesn’t have to have a tidy bow to be impactful. Tension is good! This line of thinking isn't new or revolutionary, in fact it's very Biblical. God using messed up people in messed up situations to point to Jesus.

Please hear me. I love the church, and I want to see it be a creative force in the world. It’s stinking Biblical. Show the world Jesus through the God given creative talents that he’s given us. Glorify him through your work.