Mark Clement

Building 'From The Sky Down'

Last night Tammy and I stumbled upon the new U2 documentary 'From The Sky Down' playing right now on Showtime. A must see for any artist looking to improve their process. HIGHLY recommend. I didn't understand the tite until, about 20 minutes in, Bono said something about choosing to 'build my house from the sky down'.

This idea immediately resonated with me and like most great nuggets of wisdom it flipped a common concept, building from the ground up, on it's head. My takeaway was that you have to know where you're going in order to get there. Another way to say it is that you can't build a proper foundation or ground floor unless you know what the desired view from the top level is going to be. This tells you what you need, and what you don't need, to properly build you house...your company....your church....your dream. I have always operated this way but never was able to say it so beautifully.

This is why I turned down an opportunity to do a very Christiany/churchy film that would have been very easily financed, I didn't want to get sucked into that world and pigeon holed stylistically. This is why I didn't do a documentary as my first film out of the gate in 2010, because everyone and their brother with a video camera is making docs, it's too easy. This is why I'm creating revenue streams in other areas of my company that will free me up to eventually work full time on films. This is why I'm praying for a business partner to come along side me to help make this dream a reality, because I don't want to be burdened/distracted by the financial side of things, which I'm not very good at anyway. I know what I want my top level view to look like, therefore I know which bricks need to be laid today. My head is down, I'm focused, and I'm working hard, but I always, always, always, have one eye on the horizon.

What does building 'from the sky down' look like for you?

The Twitter RT Boasting Has Got To Stop

Did you hear the one about the guy who was constantly calling all his friends and telling them about all the compliments he was getting from people about how great and cool and special and...wait for it...important he is? You didn't? Don't feel bad because nobody did. Why? Because no one in real life would actually do such an obnoxious thing. Or would they?

I guess that depends on whether or not you consider Twitter to be part of real life. Well whether you think it is or not doesn't change the fact that it is. Just like the 'face to face' you, the 'phone' you and the 'email' you, the 'Twitter' you is, well, YOU. And the same rules that apply to all of those other interactions apply here in the Twitterverse as well.

Now to be clear, I believe it's perfectly acceptable to promote your work, or share a blog post, or mention that you are speaking somewhere, or meeting with someone, or anything like that. It's also great to have @reply conversations via Twitter sometimes. That's who you are, it's your heartbeat, your passion. It is what you are doing and if I'm following you then I'm probably somewhat interested in that. It's good information. It leads to sharing, connecting, interacting, etc... That's the whole point of Twitter.

Where I think way too many of us are crossing the line is when someone tweets something really great about us, and then we take it upon ourselves to RT it to everyone we know, you know, just to make sure that everyone knows how great we in fact are. The worst offenders are those who do this under the guise of humility, adding a little '//oh I'm so flattered' or '//gee thanks!' at the end of their RT. Would these same people pick up the phone and call all their friends and say 'hey guess what, so and so said I'm the greatest thing ever' ? Of course not, because their friends would think they are a self absorbed jerk. Or even worse, a pathetic, insecure wannabe. But they'll RT it in a heartbeat. And let's face it, there is only one reason why someone would RT a compliment from someone else, and it's not good. 

To be fair, a lot of us have done this innocently, thinking it is an acceptable practice because we see so many others doing it. But of course that has never been a good reason to do anything.

Proverbs 27:2 tells us 'Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips'. Bottom line, the second we RT praise from others, it is our own lips, and trust me, no one wants to hear YOU talk about how great YOU are.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Do you agree or disagree? If you disagree or feel it's OK to retweet compliments from others, I'd love to know why.

Many Faces Of An Actor

three pix of my son @marcus_is before, during and after his last play at Auburn. the 'before' was a blazing hot summer enduring no haricuts or shaving to grow it all out as long as possible so the director could go in any direction she wanted once production began. the 'during' was a handlebar mustache that drew attention across an entire region. it was infamous on the campus of Auburn. children gawked. women swooned. men admired. it was a phenomenon. the 'after' was a desperate attempt to stip it all away in order to breathe, physically and creatively. all 3 of these pix were taken in a span of about 5 weeks. hard to believe it's all the same person. my son, the gifted actor :)

The Premier of "Without You', Our First Film

If you've been following me at all over the last year, you know we've been working long and hard on our first film, 'Without You'.

We are entering the film into multiple film festivals over the coming months starting with the one in our own backyard, the Birmingham Sidewalk Moving Pictures Festival. This fest is often named on top 25 lists for this sort of thing and last year was attended by over 10,000 folks.

This will be our first public showing and will act as our official premier of the film. We found out today all the skinny on where and when our film will show and wanted to share that with all the locals. 'Without You' will be part of a block of short films that will show Saturday, Aug. 27th, 5:15 PM at the Carver Theatre in downtown Birmingham. Our film is the anchor in this block meaning it is last.

You can buy advanced tickets in the form of weekend or day passes HERE beggining Aug.25. Single tickets for our block are $10 and can only be purchased at the door. This show will sell out so we encourage you to come early to make sure you get in. Whether you are a friend, family, or fan, it would mean the world to us if you could try and be there that night to support this project. Also know this is likely the only time the film will show in a theatre here in Birmingham in all it's glory :)

To see a complete list of movies and showtimes for the festival, click HERE.

If you have questions please feel free to contact us HERE.

What Defines You

Often times our lives become defined by the tragic things that happen to us. That's the couple who got divorced. He's the guy that cheated on his wife. She's the lady who was in that horrible accident. That's the family who lost their child. The guy who went bankrupt. The girl who got pregnant. The addict. The person that....you fill in the blank.

Unfortunately, sometimes these moments become reference points that stick. The people who know us are often astounded that we survived at all and bring it up constantly. Even though they are intending to compliment us by saying 'look how you made it through', it feels more like they got stuck seeing us in that moment and can't get past it.

It's bad enough when others define our lives that way, but it's 100 times worse when we define ourselves like this.

So don't.

In 2006 my wife Tammy was in a major biking accident and broke her neck. The healing process was long and painful, but she got through it and is doing great. But sometimes when she runs into people that knew her then and haven't seen her in a while, they immediately go back to that moment, as if her life stopped at that point, frozen in time.

Her response is loving and brilliant: That one singular moment did not define my entire life. it's just part of a much, much bigger story.

Is there a moment in your life that you are struggling to get past? What are you doing to put it behind you and move on?

Leading Worship

These days I'm mostly known as a communications guy, creating marketing and branding campaigns, writing and directing films, producing videos, web sites, printed materials, etc... But once upon a time, for about 18 years at least, I was known as a worship leader. There were a lot of years since then when I didn't really do much of that at all, but over the last couple of years God has been giving me more and more opportuniites in that arena. One of my favorite places to lead is at my home church, Oak Mountain Church in B'ham. Our worship pastor, and one of my closest friends Jason Sears, has been incredibly gracious to invite me to lead every once in awhile when he's out of town. Here's a couple of clips from a Sunday in April. Really proud of the worship team and band here, they did a great job. Mom, enjoy :)

By the way, in the shot here is Josh Vignelle on lead, Chris Forrest on drums, Jim Merk on bass, and Brian Wright singing next to me.

Why I Don't Own A Home Video Camera

I don't own a home video camera. Never have. Now before the hundreds of you that I have worked with start emailing and calling me saying 'you showed up for our shoot with thousands of dollars worth of equipment and at least 2-3 cameras...' let me encourage you to read the headline again: 'home' video camera. Let me tell you why.

Every event our kids have ever had, choir, band, sports, theatre, whatever, there have been dozens and dozens of parents fighting over space and power outlets to set up their home video cameras, mostly to record an event they are unlikely to ever watch again. They fight and stress and struggle. And instead of sitting and relaxing and watching the event, enjoying it, soaking it in, they are completely distracted and for all practical purposes, they miss it. But not me.

I made a decision years ago that I would never do this. That I would be present, engaged, focused in real time on what my kids were doing. That I would be able to walk out with them and talk with them about what just happened, in great detail. And I've never regretted it.

Now of course their is absolutely nothing wrong with owning a home video camera and recoring anything you deem worthy of the effort. Hats off to you. Go with God. My blessings to you, yada, yada, yada... Heck, every once in a blue moon I'll pull out one of my pro cams to record something really special.

But for the most part, if for some reason I ever want a permanent video record of an event, I can just ask one of the hundreds of other parents for a copy of theirs. After all, I'm much less interested in recording life than I am in living it.

What events in your life have been totally missed because you were so busy trying to capture it that you failed to live it?

Why We Tell Stories

Had a Facebook chat last night with a buddy of mine who is also a filmmaker. The commercial side of the business, grinding out product for clients, has left him a little dry and longing for the passion that used to motivate him. This led to a discussion of what motivates and drives us, and ultimately why we do what we do.

As I re-read my copy before hitting 'send', I realized this is advice I need to remember myself and take to heart. This is what I said:

This may be an overly romanticized approach, but to me our motivation to write a book, make a film, whatever, ultimately needs to be based on our desire and drive to tell a particular story that we feel only we can properly tell. Stories that need to be told. Stories that can affect lives and bring about change on some level. Stories that can inspire, challenge and redeem. As a goal or motivation, making money only mucks all that up. There's a saying out there that essentially says do the thing you're most passionate about with excellence, and the money will follow.

So my sappy advice? Find a story that you're dying to tell and do whatever it takes to tell it. Even if it means nights and weekends, begging, borrowing, etc... to get it done. In the end those stories are always worth it.

What part does passion play in your work?

Dream Year 2011

Each year, STORY founder Ben Arment helps 24 people launch their personal dreams within 12 months via DREAMYEAR.

Ben guides aspiring writers, musicians, filmmakers, entrepreneurs and humanitarians in creating a personalized plan to execute their dreams. Then he assists in the follow-through via monthly consultations, exclusive weekly e-lessons, monthly TokBox conversations and free resources. Free admission to Dream Year weekend and STORY 2011 are also included with acceptance. Complete the entire program for the cost of less than two college classes. Visit dreamyear.net for details. Deadline for applications is December 3.

AND...

Not ready for a year long coaching program, but need to jumpstart your vision?

DREAMYEAR Weekend, hosted in Nashville on January 21-23, 2011, is an intensive "conference version" of DREAMYEAR that allows you to learn from experts, develop a personal year-long plan (including weekly e-lessons), and receive personal feedback/resources to make your dream a reality. Best of all, you can bring your spouse for a minimal upcharge and meals are included. Sign up HERE. Special rate expires November 30th.

I had the privilege of being part of the inaugral 2010 Dreamyear class and I can tell you from first hand experience, it has been an amazing and incredibly fruitful journey. If you have any questions about it or would just like to talk to someone who has been through the process, feel free to contact me. I can't say enough about it.

One Of My New Fav People

When you enter into a marathon project like making a film it's imperative that the people you surround yourself with are highly competent. But it's also extremely important that they are flexible, good natured and fun to be around. No one embodied this more than our audio specialist Will Giuliani.

 

Will's day job is as the Tech Director at Oak Mountain Church here in Bham where he is an invaluable part of their production team. But early on in our pre-production he offered to help in any way he could and ended up being one of the key players on our team. Not only did he do an amazing job with our sound, but Will is one of the funniest guys I have  ever worked with. He constantly kept our team entertained. He was always on time, always willing to do whatever it took to get the job done, always eager to help, always had a great attitude. I'd love to have 100 of him every single day.

 

Will, I love you bro and can't wait to hang out and work with you again. Can't thank you enough.