'Tis the Season!!!

Well, Storme and I are really busy knocking out a lot of new seasonal media for you guys and gals. Currently Storme is on vacation in the Gulf of Mexico with his family, but I'm hard at work here at the global headquarters. He's actually cutting his vacation short to come back and get ready for one of our short films we're shooting next Tuesday.

You are really in for a treat with some upcoming media we have in store. We are in the middle of pre-production on a really funny Thanksgiving piece. We have some very talented actors and actresses like Ryan Wickerham, Mona Lee and Jason Konopisos. Not to give too much away, but our main character, Stuart, is a Thanksgiving fanatic and can't wait to show off his Turkey day collection. Of course, his family is there too, which causes some comical interactions on camera.

Another one we're working on is a New Year's commercial that will set up pastors perfectly for a message on seeking God's best for you, as the new year dawns. A really great, dramatic piece that is sure to resonate with everyone. It's a short one too (less than a minute), so hopefully it can fit in to most new year's services.

There are a couple more, but I'll leave you with a preview of one of our Christmas videos. Untitled at this time, this video is more for a time of reflection about what Christ did for us, starting with His birth. It's set to an Amy Grant song called "Breath of Heaven" and is sung by artist Gretchen Harris. We think this is going to be a really powerful piece at Christmas time. I only put in the first 60 seconds of the video, so you'll have to stay tuned to get the rest. Final version should be posted within 2 weeks.



For all you feed readers out there, here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmdkHGncJrE

Lee

Where does our name come from?

A friend of ours, Travis Currin, out of North Carolina left a comment asking us about the origins of our name. People often assume, for obvious reasons, that eleven72 must be a chapter and verse out of the Bible. The problem is that not many books have 72 verses. The only one I am familiar with is Psalm 119. So... Our name isn't out of the Bible. The name has really simple origins really. Nothing too clever. Lee and I were both born in November of 1972. 11/72. We threw around a lot of names early on, but ultimately we settled on something simple that has to do with who we are and where we come from. We had to put something on the application we sent in to start the company, right? And so, eleven72.

Really the name fits us well, because the company is just the two of us and our lives have a lot of similarities. Both born in November of 72. Both married. Both have two kids born relatively close together. Both of our firstborns are girls. And both of our youngest are boys. Both of us have a passion for filmmaking and storytelling. And on it goes.

Big Shot

This is the first short film I ever Directed. I shot it in film school circa 1999. We shot with an old CP-16 film camera and recorded the sound on a Nagra reel to reel recorder. Man I miss shooting on honest to goodness film. Maybe again some day. Maybe. The woman in the short is my lovely wife Rachael. The soccer player in the short is Alejandro Gomez Monteverde. Alejandro recently Directed his first feature film. It's called Bella and it won the People's Choice Award at the prestigious 2006 Toronto Film Festival. After that, Focus On The Family gave it "Picture of the Year" honors. In other words, he's a really really talented young filmmaker and Bella is a really really great film. Look for Bella to hit your local theaters some time soon. Until then, enjoy Alejandro when he was just a run of the mill film school student helping a brother out:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSBAws8vxLk

Top Ten Most Flattering Portrayals of Christians in Film

Brett McCraken, a grad student at UCLA who writes film reviews and such for Relevant Magazine and Christianity Today has a blog up and running called The Search. It looks to be a very promising blog. On it, he's posted a list of what he considers the Top Ten Most Flattering Portrayals of Christians in Film. My favorite film on the list is #9. But I've only seen two films on the list, so it looks like I've got some homework to do. Click here to check out the list.

How To Make Your Own Countdowns

A lot of people have been asking us lately, "Can we make our own countdowns?" The answer is yes and we can help. We're excited to be able to offer you a clock that you can use to make your own countdowns. Now you can use your own Announcement Slides or video or whatever for a countdown. All you need is a little technical know-how and our clock. Check out this video tutorial on how to use our clock and what you'll need to know before you do. Click here to purchase your own and start using it this week.



Click here to purchase this video.

Fogscreen Takes Projectors Up a Notch

Every once in a while I stumble on a projector type gadget and I am compelled to post about it. Previous posts included a projector small enough to be incorporated into a cellphone and a projector bright enough to blind people from three quarters of a mile (see those posts here).

Now this (quoted from Gizmodo).

The FogScreen is the advertising industry's latest weapon in the fight against peace and quiet. The projector can fill spaces like subway tunnels with floating ads that you can actually walk through. It sprays a very fine mist of dry fog, created from water by an ultrasonic wave, which can then be projected on to just as if it were a hard surface.

Did I mention you can walk through it. Now that is cool. Check it out:


Or the Feedreader link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZK5Y_J-UCY

Here's something we're really excited about here. Worship House is spinning off a magazine called Collide. Billed as the place "where media and the church converge," it's the first magazine that I know of that's geared specifically toward using media in the Church. The whole project is being headed up by Scott McClellen, who used to do advertising and what not for Worship House. He's a really sharp, creative guy and so I have high hopes for the magazine. No pressure Scott :). Anyway, we're getting a subscription and I'm adding the Collide Blog to our blogroll. I encourage you to check out their website. You can find it here.

Oh, yeah, and if you subscribe now, you'll be entered to win an iPhone. So do it.

Rockin' the NWLC

I haven't blogged this week because I've been wrapped in thought about how to best sum up our amazing experience at the National Worship Leader Conference last week. Finally, with a lot of help from my trusty friend Lee, I figured the best way to sum it up was with a video. Remember, no one made you watch it :).