Effective Christian Filmmaker Collaboration

There are people around the world wanting to bring people to Christ through film: From Florida to New Zealand, from Egypt to Utah. This site can facilitate their coming together to make movies of value.

Below are some ideas, but I invite you to post your suggestions. Together we can synergestically help people utilize their talents for good.

Suggestion 1: Create a page specifically for your company or dream project. Link that to a page profiling yourself. Have a discussion forum tied to your project/or company page. Link back to your own website if you have one. List what talents and resources you need. This gives you additional exposure on a site that will aggregate projects. As your project progresses, post updates, sharing with us the story behind the scenes.

 Suggestion 2: The site could periodically issue themes around which projects could be based. Once the featured project is issued, talent will be able to post their desire to fill needed parts (producer, director, composer, etc). Screen-writers could post their related screen-plays and have readers comment on them. Seeing which screenplay has the most positive reader feedback can help in choosing the screenplay that will go with the project. Like in Suggestion 1, the progress and development of the project can be posted on the site to encourage participation, involvement, and anticipation of the final product.

Suggestion 3: This one comes from you!  Please send in your suggestions using the link above that has the word “comments” in it. Also share your thoughts about Suggestions 1 and 2. Together we can bring people to Christ.

West Coast Christian Filmmakers Networking Tour

Last week I had the great opportunity to meet Nathaniel Bluedorn, founder of the forum ChristianFilmmakers.org.  He’s on a tour trying to help Christian Filmmakers network.  Unfortunately, only two of us in the Salt Lake area responded to his message, me and Kurt Eilander.  Even more unfortunate, Kurt couldn’t make it to dinner due to work.  You can view a posts about the tour and some photos at http://www.christianfilmmakers.org/forums/viewthread/4791/

What is the next step?

Is the business model the next step?  Or is it the team?

I think it’s the team.

The internet is amazing at bringing people together.  Thanks to the Internet, I have now talked with a guy in Indiana who is interested in the idea of producing good, clean media.  There is another person in Utah who would like to be involved in contributing to a company that creates media that teaches gospel principles.  A lady, I don’t know from where, has expressed her interest.  I’m hoping to talk to a man from Ohio, and another from California.

Someone in New Zealand told me that he might have a script I’d be interested in.  That opportunity has been revoked, but it still amazes me that it happened.  Another person in Egypty loved my ideas.  He happens to be looking for financing for his own projects right now, but perhaps sometime we can collaborate.

I talked with somebody else who had tried to create clean and safe media but was unable to come up with a good business model.

Is there a way to effectively create a successful company where management is located in different parts of the world, meeting only by phone and email?

I know we need a good business model.  I don’t want to follow the traditional route of finding a million (or $10 million) in financing.  I want to grow the business with cash flow start off profitable the first year. 

I know that sounds impossible, but it’s not.  It’s been done before with at least one business I know of.  A key is to have customers right from the start.  Have the customers pay you to develop the first products, and build from there.

So I’ve got to work on the revenue model.  But I think it’s also important to be building the team.  And perhaps if I bring the right people on board at first, then together we’ll come up with an even better business model than if I worked on how to earn the money first.

Organizing Worldwide Christian Talent

The other day, someone from another part of the world contacted me about a film script.  I thought it was amazing and  that if the Lord could send me a possible script from that country, he could definitely give another righteous desire of my heart that I’ve been praying for. 

Some people have expressed interest to me in the idea of creating Christ-centered media (or even just good old-fashioned media) and a few in actually helping out.  The key now is to create a team that can organize and build a sustainable company that is profitable from the start.  Being profitable not only helps us recruit the best talent, it gives us freedom to make movies and distribute other media according to our standards without being at the mercy of investors.  It also helps put wives at ease becuase they know a paycheck is coming.

There are so many good people out there who want to make Christian movies.  It would be wonderful to be able to organize all that talent and desire to do more good than any of us could do by ourselves.  Perhaps part of this organization’s — Beacon Enterprizes — purpose could be to really organize in a synergistic way all the Christian filmmakers out there, whether they be script writers, gaffers, directors, actors, or Moms and Dads who just want their kids to watch good, clean movies and tv shows and listen to music that teaches values and true principles. 

This would require some programmers.  So in addition to “artists” and businessmen, we need programmers.  Any volunteers?

Parables: Using film to teach

This will be a short post.  A week ago I was blessed to talk (chat via IM, really) with a man in Egypt who wants to make films to glorify God.  It reawoke my desire to create films in different countries and use a nation’s culture and stories to teach them the gospel; in other words, relate gospel principles to what they are familiar with, just as Jesus did.  There may not be economic advantages to doing this, but there could be teaching advantages. 

In fact, Christ taught in parables so that those who were ready to understand or learn, could, while others would be blind to the true message and would only hear a story.  Plus, stories are easy to remember.

So perhaps that’s a good way to think of the movies I’ll make: parables.

Unifying or coordinating organization for Christian Filmmakers?

I just sent my first message to the Christian Filmmaker Yahoo group.  I think it’s worth listing here too.  What are your thoughts on this subject?

It looks like there a lot of people out there who want to use and develop their talents to bring people to Christ through film.  Is there a unifying or coordinating organization to help direct efforts?  I know God is THE DIRECTOR, but He often works through us.  And if we take Paul’s analogy of the body and it’s members, it sounds like there a lot of toes, arms, and ears out there doing their best to serve, but that much more could be done if people’s efforts and talents were synergestically coordinated into complete body.

Has anyone tried to do something like this?  What would be the pro’s and con’s? 

Would you be interested in participating in something like this?

Sincerely,

Brandan

Seeking partners and a mentor to develop a Christ-centered media company.

 Satan is attacking the world on many fronts. One of his powerful tools is all forms of media: music, news, movies, tv, books, magazines, and what gets passed off as education. His attacks are both blatant and subtle as he seeks to lower the standards of the world and gradually desensitize individuals to perversions, false philosophies, and wickedness.

I am looking for passionate individuals wanting to serve the Lord, directly bless people’s lives, and promote righteous living through the fruits of their labors. The goal is to produce a family-friendly, values-based media company that profitably develops and distributes media that teaches gospel principles and brings people to Christ. A portion of the company’s profits will fund a non-profit foundation that seeks to “clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive”.

The company is meant to be a counter to the many negative and evil influences out there that are distributed through media: music, news, movies, tv, books, magazines, and what gets passed off as education. Just think of how few good, quality movies are shown in a movie theater at any given time. Even many movies that might otherwise be good have that “one scene”. What TV shows are actually virtuous, uplifting, edifying, etc?

The company will be a technophile, utilizing multiple communication channels (emerging as well as traditional) so that we can “fight” on multiple fronts. It will also grow based on cash flow and conservative financing strategies

If your are an entrepreneur who wants an opportunity to do good and directly benefit people’s lives for god, please contact me.  Or if you know others who might be interested in this business opportunity, please give me their contact information.

Thank you!

Story Ideas for Christian Film

Your Help Is Needed — Creating Christ-Centered Media

I had the thought awhile ago to start blogging about my efforts to create movies that would prepare people to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Recently I felt the need to act on past guidance and make my “project” a priority.  I started tonight looking first at Christian-film-related sites, then at LDS-film-related sites (a subset of Christian film).  Still, though I had done some reading, I felt like I hadn’t accomplished anything.  Then I decided to act on an idea I had had before and converted this blog (which I had previously begun to set up for something else) into a blog focused specifically on my activities in this area. 

I will use this blog to keep people updated as to our progress. I say “our” becuase I hope to be joined by many in this endeavor.  It will take help to create, produce, distribute, and support great film projects.  You may be able to help in some of the of following ways:

• Providing ideas for films
• Reading script drafts and giving your feedback
• Spreading the word about an upcoming film
• Commiting to see a film and getting your social network to see the film (this could be extremely important in obtaining investor financing)
• Acting in the film
• Being a member of the crew
• Praying
• Various other ways not yet listed
• Encouraging me to keep moving forward
• Share your thoughts and ideas by leaving comments
• Link to this site

It’s late and time for me to do other things this night.  Your ideas and support really are needed to create media that will combat the evil influence of much of today’s movies, music, books, music, etc.  Please leave a comment and subscribe to receive updates by clicking on the subscribe link at the top of the page.

Sincerely,

Brandan Curtis Hadlock