Merry Christmas

May you enjoy the Reason for the season! God's grace to you. May His joy by your joy as you contemplate the most amazing of gifts.
Clyde

Spotlight :: City on a Hill

VSN Member Shane Sooter leads City on a Hill Productions. They have been making high quality visual stories that address faith and the heart since 2003 (H20, Storm). Their six episode series "Easter Experience" will release in 2009. It is visually stunning...take a look at some of the clips under the video page (Visual / Videos). Great work City on a Hill!

Spotlight :: Media Village

VSN member Graham Vermooten directs Media Village Productions. MVP has become a key player in providing a voice for the body of Christ. Traveling the globe, media teams are becoming God's scribes in the 21st century. Stories of transformation and Gospel proclamation regularly leave the editing suites of Media Village Productions are quickly dispatched to the most distant places around the globe. Many productions are translated into languages representing the major linguistic groups of the world. Media Village is currently based in Cape Town, South Africa

Spotlight: Freedom Films

Freedom Films Productions was founded by Tom Silkwood (VSN member) in Chiang Mai, Thailand in 1989. Tom had served as a missionary in Thailand since 1980. During the first nine years of ministry in Thailand, after becoming familiar with the culture and language, he recognized the need for cultural sensitive, media materials after seeing how multimedia materials impacted the peoples of Asia.

Beginning on a small scale producing simple filmstrips and slides, Tom moved into producing promotional videos for fellow missionaries. This led to developing teaching videos and documentaries for other missionaries in NBCM who had need for this type of material. As word spread that he had the equipment and was capable of producing this type of material, other missionaries became interested in having material produced. Duplication of these materials opened the door to broader service and the Christian community began to ask for various materials to be produced.

This progressed into an interest from different ethnic groups who, in the past, had only been the recipients of whatever multi-media teaching material was available for general use, or whatever missionaries could afford to have produced for them. They began coming to FFP with ideas of their own, asking for materials for their specific ethnic group. These Christian leaders became co-laborers in developing culturally accurate material. All this was accomplished from a garage-sized office up until 2001.

NBCM began construction of a 4-story building in 1998 called the Christian Resource Center. The entire second floor of this facility was designated for Freedom Films Productions who designed the area specifically for media production. The building opened in 2001 and Freedom Films Productions moved in. Tom hired more staff and FFP became a leading service center for multi-media productions in the region. The most dramatic change made in the ministry was to add a video studio and editing department. The first programs produced in the FFP studio were video CD’s sent into a nearby closed country. Eight million copies were made of these programs. Being one of the largest studios in Northern Thailand, FFP is also assisting other Christian organizations in producing TV broadcasts and non-broadcast materials. These weekly TV broadcasts have been reaching millions of people per month in Thailand and surrounding regions with the message of Christ.

In the year 2000, Freedom Films Productions became an official Regional Center for Good News Productions, International. The purpose of each Regional Center is to produce media materials for that particular region. Currently, FFP is in a growth stage of ministry. More equipment is needed to facilitate the work. The studio is in use a majority of the time by either our own staff or other Christian groups who are given appointed time slots. The editing department is at work editing and duplicating productions.

Due to growth and expansion, FFP is seeking Christian partners with the same vision for reaching Asia through media. The potential for this ministry is far-reaching. We at Freedom Films Productions have the vision and the heart.

Spiritual Guide to Filmmaking

Filmmaker Les Butchart has written a helpful article on a spiritual perspective on filmmaking. To download the article, go to the Resources tab under Community.

Door Post Film Project

These guys have a fascinating new thing going. We partnered with them recently and saw some of their short films. Extraordinary. There are events coming up in LA, Nashville and New York promoting the 2008 festival. See the events page here and check out www.thedoorpost.com

Your Help: Visual Story Resource list

We want to provide excellent resources to the global community of visual story tellers. We have begun a wiki and would like your help in expanding the list of trusted networks, schools, producers, etc. Thank you for taking a moment to look at the list and adding to it. Copy and past this link into a new browser window. www.visualstorynetwork.wikispaces.com

800 turn out for Night of Film

Compelling films dealing with choices ("Alius Promoris"), valuing life ("Volition") and overcoming adversity ("Unthinkable") were screened before an audience of 800 Saturday, October 25 at Coast Hills Church. The night was hosted by the Grove Center and co-sponsored by the Visual Story Network, The Door Post, 168 Film Project, and the Veracity Project. See the photo album under the photo tab.

A Night of Film

The Visual Story Network is partnering with the Grove Center for the Arts, 168 Film Festival and the Veracity Project to host a Night of Film. Look under Events to get more info.

100th Online Community Member

We started the online VSN community only two months ago and we just had our 100th member sign on. For his exceptionally good timing, Isaac Anderson (isaacstanbul) received a signed copy of the book "Innovation in Mission" (Reapsom / Hirst). The books co-author, Jon Hirst, is a part of the VSN community.

VSN Forum in Dallas a success !!

Wow! I'm amazed by the way God brought an amazing group of leaders together in order to expand our vision, showcase effective visual story, sharpen our skills and lay the groundwork for a movement.

See my video link under the video section below for my take immediately after the Forum in Dallas.

"Fireproof" to release September 26

VSN Community members David Nixon, Larry Frenzel, and Chris Bueno are involved on the upcoming film Fireproof. Set to release September 26, Fireproof comes from the team that brought us Flywheel and Facing the Giants. This group has shown the potential impact of a church made film. For a glimpse of what is to come, view the trailer posted under the video section below.

The new delivery platform...

There is an overwhelming trend towards a device that much of the world will soon possess. Read this article for the trends in Asia alone.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=330661

You're Invited!! VSN Forum, Sept 2008

We are less than three weeks away from the Visual Story Network Forum in Dallas. Check out this 2 minute invitation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Mv1Po9xdgA

"VSN Forum" Registration Site Online

We are excited about bringing together strategic “visual story practitioners” including producers, church and mission leaders, innovative thinkers and filmmakers.

In partnership with the International Orality Network, the Visual Story Network Forum will be held September 16-18, 2008 at the Dallas Solano Marriot.

To secure a place at the forum, register at www.visualstory.org/forum08.

A Unique Collector of Stories

Jonathon Harris is an artist and computer scientist. He uniquely captures and retells stories in our modern world. Listen to his talk on TED (20 minutes). It will be worth your time.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jonathan_harris_collects_stories.html?utm_source=SubscriberMail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=This%20week%3A%20Stories%20of%20our%20shared%20humanity&utm_term=&utm_content=ff78afcdc00f479d8e0ef53c33025f7a

Search Engine Optimization

We have powerful content that can touch lives. The folks at www.AllAboutGod.com have made available a powerpoint that highlights the power of search engine optimization. They had 22 million user sessions last year through their work with optimization. Here is the link to a free download.
http://www.allaboutgod.com/go/gregoutlaw-nrb-2008.zip

VSN Forum in September!

We are excited to announce a strategic gathering in Dallas from September 16 (5:00 p.m.) to September 18 (5:00 p.m.). The Forum will offer fresh visual story models, networking with key innovators, workshops on critical issues and strategic planning sessions. Registration will be available online soon. For more information, go to www.visualstory.org/forum08

Winter Light

Here is a link to an article from the New Yorker about the power of film to provoke and persuade. Fascinating the way Wolf describes the turning point for his friend and himself.   Deep, real issues addressed, which is the best way to tell story.  I’ve been reading McKees’ Story and he writes “I believe we have no responsibility to cure social ills or renew faith in humanity, to uplift the spirits of society or even express our inner being.  We have only one responsibility: to tell the truth.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/06/09/080609fa_fact_wolff

Slide show from the Summit

Here's a link to the slide show that tells some of the story of the 55 executive leaders that gathered in Pompano Beach, Florida for the VSN Summit.

See the VSN Summit slide show (select “view pictures” then “view as slideshow”) available at
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AauWjdu0aOGLuA&emid=sharshar&linkid=link4

Keynote Summary posted

Don Eland did a great job with the video podcast giving his take on the Summit (see the post below). He edited my keynote address down to less than 7 minutes from 75 (not really that long!). Check it out at
http://web.mac.com/elandinteractive/iWeb/iweb/PODCAST/PODCAST.html

1st VSN Roundtable sounds alarm!

The first roundtable could be the beginning of what is needed to help move the global church towards using the visual media to effectively communicate the narrative of the Bible...
Check out Don Eland's excellent podcast of the event at: http://web.mac.com/elandinteractive/iWeb/iweb/PODCAST/PODCAST.html

The Eagle Has Landed

It’s a wrap. Nearly 50 leaders stayed engaged in the process of considering how to unleash a global movement of visual story for the sake of the kingdom. We struggled with the way to move forward in light of diverse backgrounds and callings. In the end, we divided into groups focused on North America, global opportunities, training and communications.
There were powerful connections among people who care deeply about Christ’s kingdom and the power of visual story. Next steps include: pursue a regional event in the next several months in Dallas, develop a wiki / social networking platform and explore partnerships with the International Orality Network, International Christian in Visual Media and Mission America.

Day 2 of the Summit

Intense. Big picture. Strong personalities. Buy in to a global movement of visual story for the sake of the kingdom. An amazing cross section of people. A great venue. Screened 8 great visual story examples.

We broke into focus groups around strategic / business planning, production, distribution and effective visual story use and training.

Please keep praying. Tomorrow we will distill this into 2 near term objectives we can embrace together.

An Amazing Start

Tonight faith became sight after several months of dreaming, praying and inviting. God assembled a group of more than 50 visual story innovators from around the world outside Ft. Lauderdale, FL. There is a deep desire to see more done in this realm of visual story for the sake of the kingdom of God. Here is a lineup of part of the leadership team that has made it possible.

Digital Storytelling

Expressing compellingly now requires text, images, sound, animation and video. I came across some valuable information on the techlearning website. There is a new literacy, without learning it we will be increasingly irrelevant.

By combining writing (a script, presented in a voice-over), images or short video clips, sound effects, and music into a movie, students can find a way to become producers of content as well as consumers. Clear communication encompassing a variety of media is comfortable and natural for today's students and engages them in creative thinking and planning. Resources for learning this skill include the following:

* Center for Digital Storytelling
www.storycenter.org
* DigiTales: The Art of Digital Storytelling
www.digitales.us
* Scott County Community Digital Storytelling
www.scott.k12.ky.us/technology/digitalstorytelling/cdst.html
* Tech Head Stories
www.tech-head.com

I recently ran across a pretty powerful thought on how visually portraying a thought can affect destiny:
Steve Duenes answered reader questions Feb. 25-29, 2008: “Mr. Duenes manages the graphics department, a group of 30 journalists who research and create the diagrams, maps and charts for the newspaper and the Web site. He started at The Times in 1999 as the graphics editor for science. In 2001, he became the deputy graphics director, and in 2004, he became the graphics director.” Check out this excerpted anecdote from one of the readers (emphasis mine):

in september i traveled with bill gates to africa to look at his work fighting aids there. while setting the trip up, it emerged that his initial interest in giving pots of money to fight disease had arisen after he and melinda read a two-part series of articles i did on third world disease in January 1997. until then, their plan had been to give money mainly to get countries wired and full of computers.

bill and melinda recently reread those pieces, and said that it was the second piece in the series, about bad water and diarrhea killing millions of kids a year, that really got them thinking of public health. Great! I was really proud of this impact that my worldwide reporting and 3,500-word article had had. But then bill confessed that actually it wasn’t the article itself that had grabbed him so much — it was the graphic. It was just a two column, inside graphic, very simple, listing third world health problems and how many people they kill. but he remembered it after all those years and said that it was the single thing that got him redirected toward public health.

No graphic in human history has saved so many lives in africa and asia.

The Interest Keeps Growing

As of today we have 59 who have committed to participating in the Summit. There are two general responses I get as I connect with people from around the world over the phone.

Response 1: I'm coming, I may have to move some things in my schedule, but I'm excited to be a part of this gathering.

Response 2: I'm sorry but I've got a conflict. I'm interested in learning how we can be a part in the future.

Great Response to the Summit

We're very excited about the response to the upcoming Summit. We were hoping to corral 30 exec leader types. At this point we have 38 confirmed (verbally that is). If you have someone to recommend as a potential participant, email me at clyde@visualstory.org.

VSN Summit Update

There is a growing buzz about the upcoming Visual Story Network Summit in Ft. Lauderdale on May 19-21. One film executive said, “A colleague and I were considering creating a network just like this. Now we don’t have to!!” This limited gathering is for executive level leaders of churches, missions groups, parachurch ministries, academic institutions and media production groups. The Summit will engage leaders in strategic thinking regarding how to leverage visual story for the kingdom globally. To suggest a candidate for this event, send an email to clyde@visualstory.org.

Accelerate a Movement of Visual Story

We are planning for an invite-only summit of leaders to accelerate a global movement of visual story for the sake of the gospel. It will be in Ft. Lauderdale May 19-21.

It will be a very significant time in getting people in the room who have the potential to unleash a wave of innovation in proclaiming Christ in our visual world. Please pray God would bring the right people to this gathering.

A Prayer for the Move of God's Spirit

Lord of Hosts. This is your world. You love these wandering souls more than me. They are created in your image. We know the enemy seeks to enter by another way to steal, kill and destroy.
You are the Great Story Teller, the Great Story Giver. Bring life and meaning to those who so desperately need you. Fan the flame of authentic, passionate story tellers who engage and portray…so that you are lifted up . Grow this movement. Use each partner. Bring to the table the ones you desire. In your Son’s name. Amen

Wikinomics

Collaboration is a hot buzz word. The book Wikinomics (Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams) is a must read on the changing world of open source collaboration. In this book, the authors describe the global trend through examples like Linux, Wikipedia and Flickr. They articulate the big ideas behind the collaboration movement. This is a very important trend to understand for the sake of discovering ways to collaboratively create and use visual media for the kingdom.

The New Collaborative Possibilities

TED is a unique, secular platform established to explore and expose new "big ideas." Here's one in the spirit of the book, "Wikinomics" (a must read for anyone thinking globally and how can we do more together than we do individually). Howard Rheingold (Smart Mobs) presents in 20 minutes the emerging power of collaboration. Worth your time!

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/216

The Hope Giver in India

In India, a campaign led by network partner Book of Hope resulted in one of their most fruitful outreaches in their history. The “Hope Giver” is a 42 minute computer graphic animation on the life of Christ with a culturally relevant introduction and close. It is designed to accompany the “Book of Hope,” a harmonization of the Gospels designed for kids under the age of 12. “Extensive training of partner churches was a key to the success of this outreach,” stated Executive Director, Rob Hoskins.

The Book of Hope worked with 20,000 churches to organize home based screenings of the Hope Giver for kids and their parents. The average event attendance was 26. A total of 8 million children and parents viewed the Hope Giver! They are still determining the spiritual impact of this initiative, but they are excited to see how God used the power of visual story.

Disney Director - New Concept

Help a key partner test a concept with profound potential…short animation sequences of the life of Christ being developed by the co-director of Mulan, Barry Cook. You can see a brief interview with Barry and artists that worked on the two storyboarded sequences at http://www.whoishe.org/feedback/index.php?sec=video&links=homelinks . We would also like to ask for your help in field testing the two current segments, even in their rough, black and white story boarded form with 15-35 year olds in other countries. All of the field test materials are on the website at http://survey.whoishe.org. The world is becoming increasingly media sophisticated, even in parts of the world once considered remote. For ministry workers that I have talked to who want to communicate to the next generation their only question has been ‘when will it be ready?’.