Mark Clement

God Is Not A White Man

I know this isn't new, and many of you may have already seen it. But I was introduced to this song recently and find it innocently refreshing. Enjoy.

 

Best Super Bowl Commercial

Check out this amazing Super Bowl commercial that only showed in Canada. In my opinion, the best ad of the game.

See how it was made here:

Title Sequence from Dragon Tattoo

Originally posted by Fast Company HERE.

David Fincher demanded that Blur Studio top the legendary opening of Se7ven. We think they just might have.

Director David Fincher is a Hollywood designer-auteur, and his films’ title sequences bear the stamp of his uncompromising, meticulous eye. One of the most famous ones comes from his blackhearted thriller Se7en, in which designer Kyle Cooper fused nightmarish atmosphere with actual character development into a short few minutes. That sequence quickly became legendary. Which meant that when Fincher asked Blur Studio to top it for the title sequence of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, he was asking a hell of a lot. Did they succeed? You be the judge:

Like the Se7en opener, Fincher told Blur he wanted the Dragon Tattoo credits sequence to contain references to the story about to unfold. The narrative references in Blur’s work are much more oblique than Cooper’s--Se7en’s title sequence brought viewers inside the mental abattoir of one vividly drawn character, whereas Dragon Tattoo's challenge was to integrate plot points from three novels and multiple characters. But there’s no arguing that the Dragon Tattoo sequence comes on like a freight train from hell all the same.

Few films these days even have title sequences, many of them opting for a cold-open style. The ones that do tend to offer digitally sexed-up, weightlessly flashy CGI wankfests. The Tattoo sequence is completely digital, but it doesn’t feel that way. The gurgling black oil that surges throughout the sequence feels thick, suffocating, anything but a CGI fiction. Intercut with shock cuts of Rooney Mara’s character convulsing (ecstasy or death throes?) and weeds quivering with insectoid malice--with Trent Reznor’s demonic cover of Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song pulsing underneath--the effect is genuinely unsettling. Even the film’s iconic title is only onscreen for an instant before being strangulated by the inky nightmare sap (Tim Miller, the sequence’s creative director, prefers "primordial dream ooze").

What Se7en and Tattoo's title sequence share most as pieces of expert design is their success at "training" the viewer for what comes next. Se7en just kept getting worse and worse, so much that when the final head-in-box moment comes, you feel just as blindsided and numb as Brad Pitt does. He gets no reprieve, and neither do we. Similarly, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was advertised at "the feel-bad movie of the holiday season." Just in case you laughed that off as an ironic quip, remember that Fincher isn’t messing around. The first few minutes of the film smother you with menace-- sticky, horrifying befoulment that you can’t scrape off, can’t escape, and will only get thicker, blacker, worse.

[via io9]

John Pavlus

John Pavlus is a writer and filmmaker focusing on science, tech, and design topics. His writing has appeared in Wired, New York, Scientific American, Technology Review, ... Read more

Incredibly Cool Base Jumping Video

Came across this today and had to share. Not only is the subject matter cool, the way they shot it and put it together is great too. Check it out:

 

Marina Bay Sands Skypark BASE Jump. Singapore 2012. from Snow R. Shai on Vimeo.

Amazing Creative Opportunity For Churches

About a year ago God laid something in our lap that we have been developing and has turned out to be one of the coolest and most rewarding things we've done with churches since we started in 2003. We simply refer to it as Long Term Partnerships.

The way it started was one of the coolest churches I've ever been around, First Hattiesburg in MS (don't let the name fool you), lost their full time video/media/designer guy. They were already in the habit of outsourcing some things, knew me from some other connections and called to ask if we'd be interested in trying to make it work. We had already been working on a similar arrangement with another client and everything fell right in to place. Today, a year later, it's been one of the most rewarding things we've ever done, we've added several other clients to the program, and all of them, as well as us here at Big Picture Media, couldn't be happier.

It has been so amazing in fact that we are moving some resources around and are excited to open four new slots for potential church partners. (2 have been filled since this post first aired and we only have 2 slots left). So here are the nuts and bolts:

1. For about the same or even less than it would cost for you to hire a full time media person, you can partner with us here at Big Picture Media to take care of all your media needs.
2. You now have not one single guy, but you have access to our entire team of video producers, writers, graphic designers and all around creatives who bring well over 50 years of high level creative experience to the table.
3. We come in and participate with all of your high level creative planning every month, helping you to shape, brand and plan everything from big events to your monthly message series and everything in between.
4. Our long term partnership clients who have had full time media people on staff say that we produce 3-5 times as much content as they did, an amazing boost in productivity. This is due to our years of experience, our efficiency and the high level systems we have in place.
5. Samples of our work are at the bottom of this post and include things like video announcements, message series bumpers, baptism story videos, missions vids, banners, signage, at the movies, year in review vids, vision vids, training vids, special worship elements, videos for your age group ministries, tv and print ads, social media consulting...the list is virtually endless.
6. You save tens of thousands of dollars on equipment because we already have it all. Cameras, lights, audio gear, green screens, editing systems and software. 
7. We partner for 12 months at a time and offer some pricing options from the full blown partnership that we're talking about here to some smaller setups if that's more appropriate for your church. We've very flexible and accommodating. 
8. We are all about quality, not quantity, which is why we're only opening four new slots. We limit our number of clients so that each one gets the maximum amount of attention from us. We want to hit home runs with a select few, not singles and doubles with the masses.

What are the requirements for your church to be a long-term partner with Big Picture Media?

1. To fit into the cost structure we're talking about here, and because we're on site with you so much, you need to be within a half a day's travel from Birmingham, AL where we are located. By car that means pretty much anywhere in AL, GA, MS or TN. By plane, most anyhwere in the eastern half of the US, especially if you are near a Southwest destination city. We can actually do this anywhere in the country, but outside this region the cost will go up a little bit depending on where you are.
2. You have to have strong vision and a commitment to excellence in communications so as to fully utilize what we're bringing to the table for you.
3. Must be a gospel-centered church committed to seeing lives changed.
4. You have to be large enough to be able to afford a full time media person. In other words, if you're a church plant running 150, this is going to be out of reach for you.

In case you're not familiar with us, you may be wondering 'who is Big Picture Media?' Easy. The two main people you would be creating with are:

Mark Clement | Founder & CEO Mark has over 15 years of experience on pastoral staff and has worked with over 300 churches of every possible description across the country in his 8 years with Big Picture Media. He is often the creative go-to guy for organizations like Giving Rocket, The Change Group, RSI, Generis, Cogun, Compassion, MAG, LIVE Design, Churchplanters.com and many others.

Scott Ross | Creative Director Scott was one of the founding members of All Things To All People and for years was the creative director for Student Life. Scott's energy, passion and enthusiasm for the local church is unmatched and he is considered one of the best 'idea men' in the business.

If you are interested in finding out more about this opportunity please contact Mark Clement HERE. If you know of a church that may be interested please pass this info along. Our existing partners say their ministries have been drastically impacted by Big Picture Media. What can we do for you?

 

 

Baptism Interview: Alexis Riddle from First Hattiesburg on Vimeo.

First Look for the week of June 26 from First Hattiesburg on Vimeo.

Premiere Of Our New Film 'Running' Is Tonight

If you're anywhere around central AL tonight, we want to invite you to come to the premiere of our new film 'Running'. It shows at 7:30 & 10 PM at the two campuses of The Worship Center Christian Church here in Birmingham. Campuses are in Huffman and Bessemer and you can find all the details, directions, etc... HERE.

All four services will be standing room only so be encouraged to arrive early for best seats. Conservative estimates are that there will be between 6 and 7 thousand people in attendance. We're very proud of this project and would love for you to be a part of it. Best part is that the 7:30 slots will be done by 9 in plenty of time to make the New Year's Eve parties you have lined up. The cast and crew of the film will be attending the 7:30 event at the Bessemer Campus. Check out the trailer below:

 

The Myth of the Overworked Creative

As creatives, when it comes to our capacity to handle ever increasing workloads we often fool ourselves into thinking we'll never run out. Not true. Check out this great talk from Tony Schwartz on the subject:

For more on Tony and the 99% CLICK HERE. Also thanks to my bud @shanesooter for sharing this. You can follow him, and you should, HERE.

New Trailer for 'Running'

After filming in Jamaica last week we wanted to update the early trailer for 'Running'. Check it here:

We Gotta Celebrate

Over the last 60 days me and my bros at First Hattiesburg (the coolest church you may never have heard of) and I got to talking about their annual end of year report, etc... We quickly determined that was way too dry and the amazing things that God had done this past year warranted something bigger. So we turned a stodgy piece of paper into a video. It's nothing crazy fancy, but it brings to life and puts a face on the lives that have been changed, the impact that has been made. It's no longer a report, but a celebration.

I've worked with hundreds of churches over the years and this is something that is frequently missed. 'What's Next' is vitally important, but every so often you MUST stop and reflect and celebrate. Without it, the 'what's next' becomes nothing more than meaningless busy work.

FH will show this Sunday in their worship and it will be a powerful moment.

Talent + Hunger = Success

Over the last couple of years I've had the chance to work with some amazingly talented people in the film world. Cinematographers, production assistants, makeup artists, camera operators, grips, lighting and audio guys, etc.... But the ones that really stand out to me, the ones that are incredibly impressive, are the ones that are hungry.

Talent is great, and necessary, but without hunger, it's not worth much.

As professionals, we all have to draw some lines in the sand when it comes to what we believe our services are worth. I've had to do it. And I respect those that can stick to their guns. But let's be honest, when work is scarce, and things are tight, that line needs to be moved accordingly. After all, regardless of what you think you are worth, if the market won't bear it, it doesn't really matter, does it?

As for me, I choose to work with those who are hungry, because they are the people that care more about the work than their egos. And guess what, as the budgets and opportunities grow, they are they guys that I'll go to again and again because they stuck with me in the trenches when it counted.

So, you can be hungry and get after it and do the work and build your portfolio for a fair price OR you can just sit at home and be hungry, literally.