Daniel Lin - CEO Lin Pictures

Loved the interview with Daniel Lin at the Biola Studio Task Force dinner last night. Daniel is very sound in his faith and passionate about film (Sherlock Holmes, Terminator Salvation, etc.). He offered great advice from his career. Some slices: Don't lie and always return your calls. Be creative about getting past closed doors. Be accountable (wife, pastor, small group). Kudos to Kathleen Cooke, Jack Hafer and Ralph Winter for the evening.

Believers are Cutting Edge in Nollywood

Nollywood has surpassed Hollywood in the number of features made (872 vs. 485 in 2006). Christians are in the midst of the movement instead of 20 years behind. Nice. Read more at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/november/7.17.html.

Rich Source of Info on Mobile Resources

We just posted a number of new down-loadable files regarding the use of mobile devices. Thanks to K for the good work. Click the Resource tab and scroll down to "Mobile Devices."

The Dominant Screen of the Future

"The mobile phone will be the dominant connection tool: 77% of the expert respondents agreed with a scenario that posited that the mobile computing device—with more-significant computing power in 2020—will be the primary Internet communications platform for a majority of people across the world. They agreed that connection will generally be offered under a set of universal standards internationally, though many registered doubts about corporations’ and regulators’ willingness to make it happen." Pew Internet and American Life Project (12/2008)

A Night of Film

We had a great time at the 2009 Night of Film. Butterfly Circus (Josh Weigel), A Big Table (Michael Hodges), 99 Balloons (Rob Thomas) and Deidox Li (Brent Gudgel) were compelling short films screened before an audience of 1000. The Veracity Project (Charlie Matz) and the Grove Center (Joey O'Conner, Mark Perez) did a great job putting the program together.

J. Carla Northcutt #400

J. Carla takes the prize for being #400. Thanks for joining J. Carla! Sorry, the only prize is the honor you are now accorded.

Who Will Be #400?

Sharon Epps became the 399th person to join in the online community. Who will be # 400? Great to see you here Sharon.

More on Mobile Media

There have been great discussions on mobile media in this newly created group. Dave Hackett has posted insightful research in several of his discussions. Check out these resources under the Mobile Media group. http://www.visualstorynetwork.com/group/mobile

Amazing Tool for Meeting Effectiveness

After more than 10 years of leading virtual teams, I think I have found the single most useful tool to virtual meetings. www.etherpad.com is a free service that allows you to create a “public pad” with a unique url. Etherpad is a simple, “really” real-time white board that allows everyone to take notes (concurrently), post content, chat, edit, and then export meeting notes. The notes stay active on the public page "forever" so they can be referenced by clicking on the url you get for each “pad.”

Seth Godin's blog

I've got to suggest you subscribe to Seth Godin's blog. I actually read his daily musings that offer fresh insight on brand building, innovation, communication and more. Seth is the author of Tribes, Permission Marketing, Purple Cow, etc. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Creative Juices

Here is a never before seen take on how to get the creative juices going. http://bit.ly/WcmRE. Enjoy.

Getting Started - Mobile Media Ministry

We just posted a very helpful article for those interested in using their mobile device as a ministry communication platform. Check it out under the Resource tab.

Mobile Media Ministry

We're interested in knowing who is involved in using mobile devices in a ministry context. If you are involved in any way or know someone who is, please email me at clyde@visualstory.org

Summit Photos

I just posted a few photos from the Summit. Check them out at http://www.visualstorynetwork.com/photo/albums/2009-summit. Select Visual, photos, all albums and then 2009 Summit.

Emerging Technologies / Media Mythologies

VSN member Robert Fortner (Intl. Center for Media Studies) is hosting a two day symposium on "How Globalization and Emerging Technologies are Shaping Our World." The event will be October 5-6 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Robert is a brilliant thinker and researcher. For more info go to www.center4media.org.

After the Summit

Tired. Thrilled. Thankful. Anticipating. What an amazing group of world changers assembled for two days! Thanks to each who invested the time in coming. There were great connections, insightful presenters, inspiring stories and new strategy teams. Please keep praying for God's annointing on the follow-through in the weeks to come.

One Week Prayer Request

A unique group of influencers is meeting next week for our Leadership Summit. Please pray with us the following...
Creative, Redeeming God. Help your people live fully for your kingdom and reveal this reality in transforming visual ways. Use the 2009 Summit for your purposes. Assemble the people you are using and yet desire to use. Birth the visions, relationships, partnerships, strategies and products that will please you.

Arts in Mission

VSN member Byron Spradlin has offered an excellent article on "the artist in mission" to our community. Go to the Resource tab to find his article "Worship and Arts in Mission." Thanks Byron.

Butterfly Circus

VSN member Josh Weigel did a great job writing and directing "Butterfly Circus" as a Doorpost Film Project finalist. To watch it, go to www.thedoorpost.com and select the icon. Great work Josh!

Spotlight :: Pamoja Ministries

I recently met VSN member Nadine Feser. She serves with Pamoja Ministries (www.pamoja.info). Their mission is to "disciple cultures through media" in Africa. They are developing a fascinating, musical feature film in Tanzania (Nollywood meets Bollywood) to teach people to overcome their fear of anscestors. Check it out at www.nipejibu.com. Great work Nadine!

First Ever Media Mission Project

On August 25-28, VSN is taking its first ever "media mission" team to serve a young ministry having a big impact in the Middle East through television. We're taking a team of four volunteers with extensive television experience to help this ministry take their impact to a new level. Pray for God's blessing as we serve.

Echo Conference thoughts

Rob Thomas and his team did a great job at the Echo Conference in Dallas two weeks ago. Only in their second year, they had 400 gather to learn how to more effectively use media in the context of the church. You can check out Rob's profile to find out more. Great job Rob! My personal favorite was the panel on future trends.

Steps to a Global Movement of Visual Story

The PowerPoint presentation I'm using today at the Echo Conference is available for download. Select the Resources tab and it will be at the top of the list. This document outlines steps to seeing the movement became a global reality.

Echo Conference: July 29-31

Let me know (clyde@visualstory.org) if any of you are planning to be at the Echo Conference this week (www.echoconference.com). I'll be doing one of the breakout sessions. Echo is "a conference for church leaders that love using media, technology, and the internet to be more effective in sharing God's story."

Damah Film Festival is baaaack

I was excited to hear that the Damah Film Festival is back. It was a privilege to have been involved in helping it get started. Damah is looking for submissions under 30 minutes. Go to www.damah.com

Nollywood

Mark Moring from Christianity Today writes about the growing film industry in Nigeria. He includes a link to a trailer of recent documentary about this phenomenon. http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctmovies/2009/07/christianity-witchcraft-and-th.html

New Resource Tab

To make it easier to access the wiki, the "How to Story" training modules, and down-loadable files we created a new "Resource" tab. Hope this is helpful.

Media Mission Partnership - Dates set

We just set the dates for our first effort to bring experienced visual communicators alongside those with less experience to help them improve their craft. We'll take a team of three television veterans (plus myself) to serve a young television broadcast organization working in a very challenging country. To read more, check out the Media Mission Partnership discussion below.

Robert McKee Story Seminar

We're excited to attend the upcoming seminar offered by Robert McKee in July. If you're not familiar with his work, at least purchase his classic book "Story." Join us for this world-famous seminar on July 17-19 in San Francisco. Check out the events section for more info.

Internet for Everyone

Here is an ambitious for-profit attempt to open the door to Internet access to the half of the world that doesn't have access currently. Their mission, "to make the Internet accessible and affordable to everyone on the planet." Check them out at www.o3bnetworks.com.

Spam Attack

I'm sorry if you received messages from "Erelene Alford." That was a spam attack and the profile was banned which deleted any messages you may have received.

Social Networking: Next Trend

Here is an interesting report on how social networking will soon evolve. Thanks to the folks at Asia Media Notes...

Forrester: Social Web To Evolve Due To Portable IDs
Posted: 27 Apr 2009 09:03 PM PDT

Transforming the world of online media and marketing, technologies that enable a portable identity will soon allow consumers to bring their identities with them across the Web, according to a deep-dive study on the future of social media from Forrester Research.

What’s more, IDs are just the beginning of this transformation, in which the Web will evolve step-by-step from separate social sites into a shared social experience, according to the report’s key author, Forrester analyst Jeremiah Owyang.

“Consumers will rely on their peers as they make online decisions, whether or not brands choose to participate,” Owyang explains in the report. “Socially connected consumers will strengthen communities and shift power away from brands and CRM systems … eventually this will result in empowered communities defining the next generation of products.”

Brands anxious to exploit the flurry of social activity presently face one key challenge: social information about people, their profiles, and their friends is locked up in separate networks.

But, according to Forrester, the social web is about to evolve from a few social network sites into a consistent backdrop for every online activity. Portable social IDs and the changes they enable will transform how consumers, brands, and social networks interact, according to Owyang.

In the next stage of social evolution, starting later in 2009, technologies like OpenID and Facebook Connect will let individuals traverse the Internet with their social connections along for the ride.

The boundaries of social networks and traditional sites will blur, making every Web site into a social experience.

Next year, meanwhile, as sites begin to recognize people’s personal identities and their social relationships, they will customize visitors’ experiences based on their preferences, their behaviors, and who their friends are.

In addition to enabling more intense social applications, in this stage social networks will absorb features of email and become a base of operations for everyone’s online experiences.

Further into the future — in about two years, Forrester predicts — as social networks become the repository for identities and relationships, they will become more powerful than corporate Web sites and CRM systems.

“Communities will become the driving force for innovation,” according to Owyang. “As a result, brands will cater to communities, resulting in a power shift toward the connected customer.”

Presently, among the U.S. online consumers who visit Facebook, LinkedIn, or MySpace at least monthly, 42% must juggle at least two social network IDs, according to Forrester, while 63% of those in social networks are also logging in to discussion forums — again with a separate ID.

Ultimately, the new browsers and identity technologies will let consumers choose to surf the Web and see what sites their friends have visited — and what they thought of the information there.

Biola Media Conference

4/27: Great time on the CBS Studio lot this Saturday. Great job Peggy, Kathleen, Scott et al! The connections were fun...good to see Scott Edge, Larry Frenzel, Doug Weiss, Joey O'Conner, Nathan Bluedorn, Charlie Matz and more! Solid keynotes, good workshops. I was particularly taken by Joe Esterhas' story...amazed at the power of God to reach into a dark place to bring someone into the light.

LEVERAGE event at International Bible Society

4/20: We are going into day #2 of the first VSN LEVERAGE event. World-class "visual innovators" Graham VerMooten, Shane Sooter, Chuck Quinley, Doug Maddox and Evan Davis are working with leaders from six global organizations to help them explore fresh ways to leverage the power of visual story in the context of their mission. Special thanks Rich Blanco, Peter Torry and the International Bible Society for co-sponoring this event. Pray with us that the great ideas generated here will translate in specific realities over the next 6-12 months.

The day that changes everything

He is risen! He is risen indeed!!

Living My Life as Story

I just read the first two chapters of "To Be Told: God Invites You to Coauthor Your Future." Already I must commend it. Our lives are meant to be Christ-centered adventures. Too often we settle. "If I live my life for Someone more important than myself and I have sacrificed, nobly risked, been humbled, learned, grown, and given, then my life is headed toward a glorious ending."

The Most Popular Screen

Six in 10 people around the world now have cell phone subscriptions, signaling that mobile phones are the communications technology of choice, particularly in poor countries, according to a U.N. report published Monday. By the end of last year there were an estimated 4.1 billion subscriptions globally, compared with about 1 billion in 2002, the International Telecommunication Union said.

Spotlight :: Hearing Everett

The Taber clan watched VSN member TC Johnstone's docudrama "Hearing Everett" last night. Wow! Transformational storytelling at its best. A tragically, beautiful story beautifully told about one family's relentless pursuit of God's will. Great work TC. See the trailer on TC's page or go to www.hearingeverett.com.

Documentaries Effecting Change

Christianity Today posted an interesting article on the power of the documentary to call for kingdom action. It looks at "Call + Response," "Pray the Devil Back to Hell," and "As We Forgive." Take a look for your self...
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/february/25.40.html

God in the Movies

In partnership with the Grove Center, the Veracity Project and Rock Harbor Church we experienced a rich day this Saturday exploring spiritual truth in film. Through teaching, discussion, meditation, scripture and film we discovered God in the DNA of all great story. We learned our lives are epic stories and we must lean into our story by faith each day.

Spotlight :: ORU MultiMedia Institute

VSN Member Don Eland leads the MultiMedia Institute at Oral Roberts University. VSN members Alex Muirhead, Melissa Blum, Susan Vincent and Jose Rose are students in the program. Jared Buswell is one of the instructors. The MMI provides top-notch hands-on training in various multimedia. Don and his team are excellent people. Check them out at www.orummi.com.

The Godfather of Networking

I had the privilege of spending a half day with Eddie Waxer last week. God has used him in a unique way to grow a global network of sports ministries. It is highly missional, relational and effective for the kingdom. He has been coaching VSN in the area of growing a network that becomes a move of God's Spirit. There is great power in finding ways to collaborate so more people have an opportunity to know Christ.

Spotlight :: Global Short Film Network

VSN members Doug Weiss and Scott Santee give leadership to GSFN. They have developed a fresh approach to reach the world’s skeptical media-savvy individual. By presenting universal themes in a short film format, the questions raised in the films engage the viewer on a profound level. In addition to providing training, GSFN finds and develops quality short films. Check out more on Doug's or Scott's page.

Spotlight :: Whitestone

Whitestone Media is led by VSN member Mike Joens. While they do a variety of work, they have a passion to produce quality 2D/3D cartoons for the kingdom. They are producing a series of webisodes about a professor ("Theo") to teach children to know and live scripture. "Theo’s Good News" is the first one out of the block. Check it out on Mike’s page. Great work Mike!

Walking in faith in 2009

As I take extra time at the beginning of each New Year to seek God's face, I'm drawn constantly to the necessity of faith. When I look back to see where I've been, it is obvious how much the Lord desires my trust in Him. As I plan and pray, I'm reminded to go where the greatest faith is required, because that is where I'll experience the greatest blessing. May you walk in faith and expectancy in 2009.

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?’.

Visualcy

Andy Crouch, writing for Christianity Today, writes about the rise of the image in our world. He writes specifically about the power of the still image.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/june/21.62.html

Wing Clips

I just met these guys at the National Outreach Convention yesterday. They offer a digital download service of feature film clips for pastors and teachers. They have a premium service ($14.95/mo) and a free service. Check them out.
www.wingclips.com

A Visual Story to Reach 1 Billion Women

"Magdalena: Released from Shame" is a new feature film being released by Inspirational Films. It has been one of the great privileges of my life to have been a part of this project from beginning to end as Co-Executive Producer. Tuesday night was a celebration screening for the cast and crew at Paramount Studios.

Based on the track record of Inspirational Films,it is expected that one billion women will be impacted by this film in the next ten years!!! The film is already having an impact where it has been released outside the U.S. Women often leave the theater in tears as they understand there is a God who sees and cares.

With all the recent speculation of Mary Magdalene’s role in the life of Jesus, this film beautifully portrays her as a faithful follower and first-hand witness of his miracles and teaching. “Magdalena” reflects accurately and artistically the biblical record of Jesus’ care and concern for women. In our present day, his example and teaching are radical for the way he treated women with love, respect and compassion. Consider how much more so his esteem toward women was radical in his own context. Read A Thousand Splendid Suns (#9 on Amazon as of today) by Khaled Hosseini (Kite Runner) for a gripping glimpse into the lives of women whose status is still no better than property.

To learn more about the film and find out how to order the DVD when it releases next month, go to www.magdalenatoday.com.

Visual Storytelling: Mission Possible

I had the privilege of participating in the “creativEDGE Artist Network: A Night of Film” Saturday evening. The Grove Center for the Arts and Media, the Damah Film Festival, Project 168, Coast Hills Community Church and the Veracity Project assembled a program of four award winning short films Saturday evening. In one of the largest ever faith-based film events in south Orange County, California, 750 people came out to see the films and hear the visual storytellers (filmmakers) describe how the films were created and how their faith impacted their craft.

“Freedom Within” (Eric Albertson), “Select Fit” (Daniel Roemer), “Most” (Billy Zabka) and “Max” (Jim O’Keefe) were showcased. The passion and creativity of each storyteller to translate his idea to the screen were a challenge to all who’ve thought of creating a visual story, but feel it can’t be done. Billy Zabka and his partner ran out of cash with a full crew hired when God provided an investor in a last second meeting in the London Heathrow airport. “Freedom Within” became a reality after Eric Albertson’s wife told him to stop talking about making a film, and to figure out what it would take to DO it. Jim O’Keefe saw a team of 107 people rally around his production for the 168 hour time frame given by the Project 168 film festival.

We live in the era of the possible. Visual Storytelling is accessible to each person who will dare to act on the desire God places in his or her heart.

A New Generation

It seems I meet a young, aspiring filmmaker every few weeks. Megan understands the power of “visual story” through film. When she was in 6th grade, she watched a movie that was a fictional account on the return of Christ. The power of the message turned her heart toward Christ in a significant way. She now desires to see people of her generation reached with the transforming message of Christ through film. Megan is now a 17 year old senior in high school who plans to have a career in film. The Visual Story Network will help equip this generation to tell powerful stories and encourage them to reflect the kingdom of God in their work.

Bypass Hollywood

Here is a great story of a dramatic series about reluctant missionaries in South America made and distributed entirely outside the Hollywood system. Touted as "the world's first completely open, online casting call for a drama series," it is made by Dutch missionary kid Helmut Schleppi.

http://digitalcontentproducer.com/dcc/revfeat/internet_converts/

Participation, Not Just Presentation

There is a very insightful article by Jodi Adams that was recently posted at Faith Visuals on evaluating how we use media to draw others into God's redemptive story. Participation, Not Just Presentation draws on two categories of our worship experience, presentation and participation. She notes that, "communion is participation; media is presentation." Here are some excerpts:

Media pioneer William Bernbach was once quoted as saying, "In this very real world, good doesn't drive out evil. Evil doesn't drive out good. But the energetic displaces the passive."

Videos and images can provide windows into common human experiences.

Media has the great potential to move worship from passive personal experience into energetic community participation.

You can read the rest of the article here.

It's Still About Story

It was a college writing class and I eagerly took my seat. My enthusiasm quickly diminished when the topic was announced: Documentary Writing. Documentary? I like stories! Documentaries are non-fiction, right? Slow pans over photos of the War of 1812? Talking heads? My brain started to go to the place usually reserved for advanced math. But was quickly pulled back to the classroom with the Professor's opening statement: "The best documentaries are stories." What? The Professor went on to explain that even with non-fiction the most important thing was to create characters that the audience could identify with. He said that no one wanted to watch a show about facts and figures. That just like in storytelling, it's the characters that matter the most.

I think that as we look and communicate the "facts and figures" of the gospel, we must remember that it's characters in story that STILL matters.

Young People today Handicapped in Storying

First the point, then the background.

THE POINT
In empahsizing short film, mini stories, we are appealing to a dark side of youth culture. Young people like stories but they have a mentality that has no habit of connecting stories into larger truths. We will have to teach them to make stories and the teaching will have to involve improving their worlsdview.

THE BACKGROUND
I give my students an assignment to pick a Fable (like Easop) that has a dialogue between two characters (think the Hare and the Tortoise) then use motion type to enhance the story's meaning. I use Fables because they are compact but meaningful stories (have all the components necessary for a story: context, characters, conflict, resolution). Some of them whine a bit about the content so I have expanded the Fable restriction to include short joke instead. Again, most jokes have a story structure. This year they asked if they could choose a movie dialogue instead. I said maybe, but warned them that a dialogue is not a story, it is a fragment of a story. Here follows an excerpt of my email telling one of my students why he couldnt use his proposed dialogues:

FROM MZ EMAIL TO STUDENT
"Most of these are too fragmentary to make sense. The first one from 28 Days Later for example, suddenly introduces “Frank and Hannah” but we know nothing about them and therefore their relevance and meaning for this dialogue is meaningless, and therefore disruptive. The third one from Ed Wood has little meaning because the user knows nothing about the characters, Ed and the Producer. Why would they say these things? Why is Ed so careless with details and how might that matter to anything.

Context is key to meaning. Finding or having meaning is the quest of life. These fragmentary dialogues may (or may not) make sense in the context of their films, but cut out they are not very meaningful, or interesting. My life is too short to spend on disconnected meaninglessness... Which may be why I don’t watch TV news!

I am not attacking your interest in movie dialogue at all. What I am pointing out is how important context, in these examples, the context of character that has been developed throughout a film, is for understanding, meaning and enjoyment."
END OF MZ EMAIL

Young people today have smorgas board mentality toward truth (they pick what seems attricative to them),
have no awareness that there might be an overarching truth (metanarraive) it's just not a possibility they even know exists,
are content (resigned) to live in a work of disconnected, disassociated 'facts' (pseudo data - sound bytes).
The internet supports this. The multi-tasking they are so proud of evidences this. This worldview makes story telling difficult. Good stories have conunity and result in meaning. Young people today are unaware that there is meaning and are content with collections of sound bytes.

This is driving interest in mini narratives, but if we aren't careful we will feed them another potpouri of disconnected narratives and leave them in the dark about meaning - God - the ultimate metanarrative.

Shadyac on Story and Humor

If it is a trend, it's the oldest trend in the world: Tell a good story, tell a human
tell an entertaining story, and people will come see it. And if it happens to be about subject of faith, God and man and relationship, all the better. I don't think Hollywood's ever been afraid of faith-based movies. I think they're afraid of bad movies.

It's a highly spiritual act to tell a hysterical story. If you create laughter, I think you've created something very spiritual. You've for a second brought people back into a childlike state. That's a high calling. But I want a movie to have another layer that engages people in thought, discussion.

For the complete interview: http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/interviews/tomshadyac.html

Transformation through Visual Story

Meagan, a 11 year old, watched one of those 1970's end times films just a few years ago. She was riveted and amazed. It became a turning point in her young life; she gave her life to Christ and hasn't looked back.

She is now in high school and wants to create visual stories that will touch her generation.

I haven't seen any of those films, but I imagine the production value would be laughable today. Yet, there was something in the story (no doubt some fear factor) that reached inside and caused her to evaluate.

How much more is possible today as tell great visual stories through hhe power of visual media?

New Blog URL

You can use http://www.visualstorynetwork.com now to get this blog. Change you bookmark, signature files and other information you send out to the new url http://www.visualstorynetwork.com.

With Apologies to Cameron Townsend

Cameron Townsend said:
“The greatest missionary is the Bible in the mother tongue. It needs no furlough and is never considered a foreigner."

I suggest, then, that the second greatest missionary is contextualized media. It needs no furlough, never gets discouraged, plays the message back each and every time despite circumstances and, if properly contextualized, will have come from the hearts of the people who are watching.

Affluenza

Good short piece from World Vision.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFZz6ICzpjI

Why Visual Story Network Matters

1.
We understand more of the world around us through visual perception than all the other senses combined.
From Richard L. Gregory, "Eye and Brain, The Psychology of Seeing", Princeton 1997

Seeing is the primary means God has given to understand the world and gather information about its nature, including truth about Himself. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”
(Psalm 19, NIV)

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2.
“Stories are one of the most basic modes of human life.”
N. T. Wright, "The New Testament and the People of God", Fortress, 1992

Narratives are one of the most common and ancient ways of communicating. Not the only way as the following might as first glance suggest, but a significant way. “Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.” (Matthew 13:34, NIV)

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3.
“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
Proverbs 27:17, NIV

It is a truism that people through interaction can improve each other, in their work and even their character. The metaphor of sharpening implies improvement: making a tool more fit for its purpose. Sharpening however involves removing metal: implying at a minimum friendly sharing of information ranging through perhaps advice and even constructive criticism.

The Visual Story Network can be for the people of God 1. + 2. + 3: a means to improve our skill at telling stories visually. From the above it is self evident that this is a good thing to try to do. I believe it is also self evident that Clyde Tabor is eminently gifted and qualified to build just such a network. I’m hoping to devote some of my time to see that it happens and invite others to join in the work.

Let the sharpening begin.

Faith Visuals

Thanks Doug for passing on this good article. Here is a interesting article on Visualcy http://faithvisuals.com/help/articles/visualcy.html This is a great site do you know who's behind it? http://faithvisuals.com/

Tell a story in 5 frames (Visual story telling)

Check out a great site/community within the Flickr website: http://www.flickr.com/groups/visualstory/ as the title suggests participants are challenged to create stories and submit them for review in only 5 frames. Good stuff.

Munyurangabo (Liberation Day)

A group of YWAM folks made breakthrough progress with Munyurangabo (or Liberation Day). It was selected in the "Un Certain Regard" section of the Cannes Film Festival. This is the first time an American director made it into Cannes with a directorial debut! Go Lee Isaac Chung!

Read more at: http://www.festival-cannes.fr/index.php/en/archives/film/4432194)

Jim Green on VSN and Clyde

Thoughts on the Visual Story Network & Clyde's leadership

Story is the foundational way that information is passed on in every culture of the world as evidenced by the fact that around the world parents and grandparents tell their children stories. Films are visual stories in sight and sound. Studies indicate that the majority of people in the world come to faith before they are out of their teens and that films, TV, internet and music are the primary influencers of youth in our day. In the western world the average young person is watching 120 films per year. They are making their life decisions and choices based on what they see in films. Research further indicates that the world is rapidly becoming younger with some populations as high as 70% under the age of 30. In order to influence this generation it is necessary to communicate God’s love and forgiveness through visual stories using the appropriate technologies that will reach them.

My vision for the Visual Story Network is to bring together a collation of Kingdom strategists and creative visual story tellers to intentionally work together to create, find and disseminate the visual stories necessary to help build God’s Kingdom. It is evident that there is great convergence taking place and that God is raising up creative people in the film industry, many of whom have a desire to help build the Kingdom of God. At the same time there are many mission strategists who see the need for using visual story to touch this generation. The Kingdom strategists need the expertise of the creative film makers and the creative film makers need the expertise of Kingdom strategists in order to effectively touch this generation and help to build God’s Kingdom.

I believe the Visual Story Network has the potential to impact the whole world with the greatest story every told, God’s story through the powerful medium of sight and sound, Visual Stories. As Kingdom strategists work together intentionally with creative film makers, people in ever nation will be impacted with God’s story through visual stories that will result in transformed lives in every place so that everyone will know someone who truly follows Jesus. Millions of believers around the world will be equipped to lift up Jesus and make Him known leading to transformed lives who are truly following Jesus as a way of life.

I am so excited that God has so obviously touched Clyde Taber to give leadership to the Visual Story Network. One day as a group of us were discussing the Visual Story Network, God clearly impressed me, to the point of tears, that Clyde should be the one to give leadership to it. I am so grateful to God that in His time He confirmed this calling to Clyde personally. I believe that God has his hand on Clyde and that He has created him, wired him and prepared him for this task. In addition to his giftedness in networking, partnering, speaking, vision and serving as a spokes person for this initiative, what gives me most joy is Clyde’s close walk and dependence on God. In my several years of working closely with Clyde I have found him to be a man of God who truly seeks God and His will in everything he does. I believe that God has raised him up for such a time as this. I can confidently recommend him to you for your prayers and support. I believe that this initiative will impact the whole world for Christ and His Kingdom.