Flipping The Traditional Documentary Model on Its Ear

By Lydia Hurlbut

Shane and I first met Patrick Moreau at Sundance two years ago when they were both speaking there. There was an immediate connection, the kind where you feel like you have known this person forever when you just met. We both realized his talent as a storyteller and independent filmmaker.

Patrick and the entire Stillmotion team have an amazing project that we would like to share with you. We were so moved by the story of #standwithme, that we wanted to dive into the details of this incredible story.

Stillmotion is a studio that started in weddings and is now taking on the world with a documentary about child slavery. Stillmotion’s approach to this film has been to create their own path and push the genre of documentary filmmaking. Deciding against Kickstarter and other popular crowd-sourced funding options, the film was largely funded by Stillmotion through their commercial work. With a production budget of $250,000, the Stillmotion team chose this route to remain focused on the film and tied both emotionally and financially to their belief in the impact it could have when released. Their hope with #standwithme was to blur the lines of traditional documentary storytelling. That meant how the story was told, how it transitions, how it looks, and how it sounds.

The Story

Vivienne Harr is a 9-year-old girl who saw an arresting photograph of two enslaved children in Nepal and decided to take a stand. She set up her lemonade stand for 365 days in a row, asking customers to “pay what’s in your heart,” sending proceeds to organizations that liberate and rehabilitate slaves all over the world.

Patrick directed this project and took the time to share every detail from initial funding through shooting.

Funding

“We got into this film with the idea we could donate our time to a worthwhile cause and help them make a bigger impact. We heard this story of a 9-year-old selling lemonade to fight child slavery and wanted to go down and learn more. It was always going to be a 5 min piece… but when we met them, we knew it had to be so much more. The challenge was that she was making a stand every day – the story was happening now. We thought about Kickstarter but David, our Executive Producer, felt strongly that we should remain focused on the film. As those who have tried crowd funding know, it certainly needs a lot of time and support and our focus needing to be on telling this story.”

“We ultimately decided to dive in and started by tuning the project ourselves. As the scope grew, we formed a corporation for the film and sold stock, or equity, in the film to help fund our remaining production expenses. This was a way to get the support we needed while still shouldering as much of the funding as we could and remaining focused on the film itself.”

Key Tools

“As we approached the film, there were several tools that really helped us push the boundaries of what you’d expect to see in a documentary. Of course, a great tool doesn’t make a strong story, but a strong story that is well told, with the right tools, can be even more effective at impacting the viewer.”

“As a studio, we wouldn’t have been drawn to making a film that was entirely on slavery. Let’s face it, there are tons of dark issues that need addressing, but we wanted a unique angle into the story that would attract a lot of people to see the film, and therefore have a greater chance to really create change. Vivienne was that window. She was the sparkle into the dark, dark world of slavery. Therefore, our approach was to stay in the light – keep the film feeling bright, inspirational, and empowering with a lot of energy.”

Freefly Movi

“Our film’s main character is a 9-year-old. While that means much of what we would be doing would be unpredictable, it also meant we should be ready for lots of action. The Movi would let us get smooth motion, but more than a Steadicam. It would let us quickly and easily get low to the ground (she is 9 after all). It also let us be unpredictable and follow her tricks and turns. More than just following Vivienne, the Movi could be paired with a lot of moving vehicles on our international trips to create a much larger, epic feeling. While in Namibia, we put the Movi in the front of a chopper with open sides and got sweeping scenics that would be much more costly to reproduce in a high budget feature. While one might expect to see a handheld tracking shot of somebody in a documentary, we were able to use a perfectly smooth camera taking flight over the Kalahari is a big, epic, way to open a scene, all for a $1,000 helicopter rental and a Movi Rig.”

Canon C100

“Whenever you take on a project of this significance for your studio (this was our first feature length doc done entirely by our studio) the choice of camera is always a big one. We can be tempted to go Red, bigger, badder – but what serves the story? We knew we had to be quick; we had to be able to travel; and we had to be able to shoot very strong visuals with a small crew. The C100 gave us the ability to pack a 24-70, a couple of cheap 32gb SD cards, and a monopod and get very strong event coverage as we travelled internationally. Shooting in Wide DR, we got great latitude in the image (awesome for bright desert shooting), but we also had built in ND filters to control the light, and great monitoring options like waveforms, peaking, and zebras – all which helped us make sure we were capturing the best image possible. With the higher compression of the C100, these guides were huge in getting it right in camera. Adding on the top handle and running audio into camera let us do some interviews with crews as small as 1 or 2. In Nepal, one of the interviews had to be DP’d, directed, produced, lit, and shot by one person. While we had a volunteer stand in as the interviewer for a proper eye line, the C100 let us handle so many duties quickly and get a strong image. The Red can make great images, but it also takes a while to start up and we would be hard pressed to think it could handle the beating we gave our gear, or the pace of our production.”

Canon 1DC

“While the C100 was by far our main cam, we also wanted something that was even smaller for tight spaces and something that could handle the roughest of weather as we travelled. The 1DC was an amazing compliment to shoot high quality production/BTS stills, as well as shooting for the film in up to 4K. As we shot Viv’s lemonade getting bottled, the 1DC was our go to camera, allowing us to get it literally inside the machines as they were running and spinning out bottles of lemonade. As we go back and review the finished film, the bottling scene has some of the strongest visuals. A large part of that is the strong image (wide range, shallow DOF, and low light) all in camera that could go where others couldn’t. When paired with the Movi, we had a lightweight option that we could lift for extend periods. At one point, we had to follow Lisa, the photographer that took the image that started all of this, as she hiked into the Kalahari on a photography trek. It was a 30 min walk out, shoot, then walk back – in the middle of the desert. Remember, we have no AC, no crew . This was one person with whatever they can carry. Being able to put the Movi in majestic mode (it responds to your movements based on tablet settings instead of using a second operator on a remote) and having it light enough let us work without support for extended periods and got some of the strongest shots you now see in the trailer.”

Westcott Icelight and Scrim Jim

“Lighting for a doc is always a battle of time and crew. While we’d love days to draw a lighting plot, scout, and setup lights, a doc often comes with all of that compressed into a matter of hours or minutes. We had interviews of some main characters that needed to be sourced and lit (with a crew of 2) in less than 30 minutes – and needed to match those that had a crew of 5 and hours of prep. Using small and quick lighting tools like the Scrim Jim and Ice Light let us make the most of some difficult terrain and harsh outdoor conditions. For several interviews in Nepal, having a crew of only 2, we chose to do interviews outdoors outside of magic hour. This fit best into the production schedule and gave us a lot of context in our interview – we couldn’t travel to Nepal and shoot in an area that didn’t feel like we were there.”

“On the other hand, the Ice Light is a battery powered daylight balanced LED light that offers a nice soft light. While too dim to light large areas, it is a great helper light for treks into the middle of nowhere. While shooting the Bushmen of Namibia, who live in the Kalahari Desert, we were fortunate to spend an evening with them and experience their medicine dance. Lit by only a fire in the middle of nowhere, we could use the power of the C100 to get great low light images. It was easy for the people to fall into nothing with no power or buildings around. Using the ice light and some 12 CTO, we could get a light place in a tree 15’ away to give us a nice edge light and some separation.”

The Kessler Stealth Slider

“We knew going into this that we were telling a story that would be strong in history. We would want to cover the story of how Vivienne’s story started – something documented daily on Twitter and Instagram with images – as well as the history of how Fair Trade USA started. One of our main characters is a photographer with an incredible body of work, and we’d need to show her images in setting up the story of how ‘the image’ that started it all was taken. We knew we couldn’t try and push how documentaries look and feel while having photos that pan and zoom in post. It was too digital and artificial feeling. Instead, we put the images in real and relevant environments and shot them with a motion control slider. This meant our cuts from one image to another would cut perfectly, and we could get very smooth and repeatable slow shots. When it came to shooting Vivienne’s bottles in stores, we went to dozens of stores and again relied on the motion control to get slow, smooth, and repeatable motion across locations. We shot wide, medium, tight in many locations – all at the exact same speed and direction. In the end, we quickly cut through dozens of shots of the bottles across the dozens of stores, and it all flows so well because of the consistency between shots. Add in some sound design in post (kids playing and laughing over Viv’s photo) for a strong emotional depth and compelling visuals of what could have easily just been a photo zoomed in post.”

At its core, #standwithme is a social invitation for people to stand against slavery and invite others to join in doing so. Stillmotion’s hope for this trailer is not that you’ll go out to see this film because it looks like a good movie. Their hope is that 30 million human beings is something you can’t turn away from, and that this trailer will leave you wanting to know more about the issue and how we can all do our part to truly put an end to this suffering.

The #standwithme Premiere Tour will be hitting the road in February, taking the film to 30 cities in the US & Canada. But there’s another tour we think you guys will be even more excited about…

The Storytelling With Heart Filmmaking Workshop!

The Storytelling With Heart Tour is a one-day filmmaking workshop all about how to use your talent and passion as a filmmaker to tell the stories you REALLY want to tell, and tell them powerfully. The workshop will take place on the day following the #standwithme premiere in each city.

In addition to a live Q&A from #standwithme’s directors Patrick Moreau and Grant Peelle at each premiere, there will also be an educational workshop held the following day in each city, known as the Storytelling With Heart Tour. The workshop tour welcomes anyone who is interested in independent filmmaking and telling meaningful stories, and will be an opportunity to get hands-on instruction and insight from the Stillmotion team on their filmmaking process. Each workshop will run from 9 am-5 pm, on the day following the premiere of #standwithme.

Visit www.Stillmotionblog.com for more information on Stillmotion’s education program and to purchase tickets to the workshop. Use the discount code hurlbut10 to get 10% off of your registration fee. (Code expires December 31, 2013.)

Our friends at Stillmotion put a lot on the line to make #standwithme, but there was never really any question as to why they kept going. They believed in the story, plain and simple.

If enough people are made aware of just how much power they have to stop slavery, even though something as simple as a shift in shopping habits, a global commitment can be made, and together we can make a vital mark. We are proud to be inviting you to stand with us.

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(Article Source)

The Definitive Guide to Interviewing People For Video Production

I recently wrote a post on The Best Way to Interview people. Today I want to go all out, and write an inclusive guide. I am doing this for a few reasons; Interviews are the backbone of any promotional or documentary style video. The importance of getting amazing sound is crucial.

Let’s face it. Most promotional videos are really bad.

There are a lot of promotional videos out there on company websites that I just can’t make it through. How can I devote 90 seconds of my time to learn more about “Smith Marketing” if I instantly hear a robotic drone of, “We can solve all of your advertising problems.” Within the FIRST SECOND of the video?

No thanks.

Think about your favorite movie. Mine is “The Departed”.

Why do you like it?

One common reason among everyone is that you get lost in the movie’s world. You forget about that last Tweet you sent, or a email you received that morning. You are now apart of the storytelling cinema world. Everything goes out the window and your emotional go for a roller coaster ride as you embark on the journey with the protagonist.

This suspension of disbelief MUST apply to your promotional video in today’s world or you will be left behind. Viewers now have the option to watch your video. The days of the loud repetitive used car salesmen commercial are gone (and I couldn’t be happier).

Today we are going to take a look at how to level up your interview game.

Start with the Emotion First

Before you even show up to the location you need to have an idea of what kind of emotion you want the audience to feel.

Recently, I was meeting with a client who wanted a video for their company. They have a lot of ambition and hopes for their video which made me excited. I explained to them that the most important part of video was allowing the audience becoming apart of their world for 2 minutes.

I showed them this “graph” of the emotional ride we could take the viewers on to share their message.

It’s important that the planning for your video starts way before you show up on location. Just because you don’t know what the people you are interviewing are going to say doesn’t mean you can’t prepare.

Ask any seasoned veteran in video production and they will all say great production comes from great pre-production.

Preparing for the Interview

Before I go to the shoot I go over in my head what my intentions are for the interview. If you focus on the outcome you want you will be much more likely to achieve your desired results.

What is the intention of the interview? — Why are you interviewing this particular person? Are they going to be the main sound in your video? Do you need a specific sound byte to link a section together in your video?

Guideline Questions — I like to have some general questions written down to get the interview started. Depending on how the person is responding and how the interview is going, I will break off from the questions and follow the natural flow of the conversation. It’s a good sign if you are diverging from the questions because the interview has just turned into a natural conversation.

USE THE QUESTIONS AS A REFERENCE AS OPPOSED TO A HARD A FAST OUTLINE TO FOLLOW.

Remember, the conversation doesn’t need to be linear. You can skip over parts and go back and forth. Editing exists for a reason. As long as you follow a natural flow with the conversation you will be fine.

What is the tone of the video overall? What state of mind do you need to help the interview subject getting into? Are you going for a serious dramatic piece, a funny light tone? You are the director in the interview so you control the flow.

Before You Hit Record

When you arrive at the location take the time to scout out the area. Hopefully you were able to scout before the actual day of the shoot, but we aren’t always given that luxury. Have someone familiar with the location show you around to the different rooms and options for shooting locations.

In each room, pay attention to the acoustics, and the action going on. Here are some things I am cautious of:

Acoustics of the room — How does the room sound? Does it have a lot of echo? Is there a buzz from the air conditioning? Music playing? See how much of this you have control over. Generally you can get someone to turn off the air conditioning for a few minutes, and they can certainly turn the music off.

LOCATION SCOUTING IS CRUCIAL FOR GOOD INTERVIEWS.

If I know the location is known for being noisy I will ask will if we have control of the sound in the area, and for how long. This is important because you don’t want a change in audio during the interview. Plus you want to keep the momentum going once you get started.

Action in the room — Are other people going to be walking in and out? The more control you have in the location, the better your sound will be.

Comfort Level — Does the person have a comfortable chair to sit in? A bottle of water? These things are all important because you want to keep the interview moving at a natural pace.

Conducting the interview

The number one factor that separates an experienced video production company from amateur is how you conduct the interview. More than likely the person you are interviewing is NOT an actor. Expecting someone to give you a well spoken line from a script when they have NEVER done that in their life before is crazy. They won’t be able to recite certain lines in a natural tone. It will sound forced and contrived. Avoid having the subject read off a script at all costs. This will completely ruin your video. Remember the suspension of disbelief?

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF DOING AN INTERVIEW IS HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH YOUR SUBJECT.

There is a way on how to get someone to say what you want specifically. More on that later.

A lot of times the people you are interviewing have never been on camera before. They will most likely be nervous and not used to having bright lights shining in their face.

Take a few minutes to help them get comfortable. As your camera operator is getting set up begin talking with the interviewee in a way that would relax them. Ask them what they did this weekend, or what their favorite part about their job is. The key here is to comfort them as well as build rapport. If they drop hints at something that could trigger a certain emotional state, use that later.

Example: During the warm up if someone mentions they spent some time with the family this weekend and had a good time, see if that’s something they will talk more about. During the interview you could ask, “Earlier you mentioned you like spending time with your family. How has this impacted how your run your business?”

As the interview progresses pay attention to their body language and tone. If they aren’t connecting to the questions you are asking, try moving in a different direction.

If someone is really getting into a topic, and you feel like you are getting good sound out of them, guide them with a few questions. A lot of times you can replay what they just said to show them what part you liked, and then ask a follow up question to get another answer out of them.

Example:
Interviewee: I just really love showing up each day. I really struggled showing up each day at my previous job, the connection and community just wasn’t there.”

Me: “I hear you on that. A lot of people share that same struggle with having a job they don’t like. What has this transition between going from a job you don’t like, to one that is very fulfilling done for you?”

The difference in tones

There is a difference in tone between conversational tone, reading tone, and live interview tone. If you are having a conversation with the person before they know you are interviewing you will get one tone, once everyone says “camera’s rolling” their tone will shift. Usually it goes from casual to a more deliberate annunciated tone. This is natural human reaction. Most people want to perform well in high pressure situations so their concentration shifts.

MERGING DIFFERENT TONES OF VOICE IS VERY CHALLENGING AND WILL BREAK THE CONTINUITY IN YOUR EDITING.

Don’t ask your important questions first. Save those for when the interviewee has gotten comfortable.

Changes in tone throughout the interview can actually cause problems if you are trying to cut up sound bytes from the beginning and end. To fix this, you can re-ask questions at the end in a slightly different way.

Example: If the interviewee has drifted off towards the end and lost their tone I will say:

Me: At the beginning of this interview you mentioned your passion for building bikes is what drove you to start this business. After being in business for 5 years what do you think has been the biggest factor in staying successful?”

This will spark the beginning of the interview feeling where she / he was passionately talking about their love for bikes. Energy will rise again and their tone will be closer to how it was at the start.

In all reality, some people just won’t be good on camera either. Plan for this. Don’t rely on just one person to be on camera if they are too nervous to even say their name. I’ve only come across 1 or 2 people who seem like they are having a nervous breakdown, but we were still able to get at least 1 sound byte out of them.

Getting people to read off a script.

I know I have mentioned how much I am against this. However there are certain times where you can make it sound natural.

Usually deeper into the interview when the person is comfortable, they might say a really good line, but stutter over it. Quickly jump in and say, “can you say that one more time?” And the conversation tone won’t change much. The key is catching them right in the act. Immediately step in and have them restate the line. Going back later won’t work.

If you are shooting in a location where the scenery can’t be beat, but there is a loud generator running or cars driving by you might have to re-record the audio in a separate location. This is usually for shorter sound bytes where you just want them to say one or two quick sentences.

The best way to do this is by moving them to a quiet room and get them to practice the lines again a few times. The trick here is to just be running the audio while they are practicing. They will be more relaxed without knowing the audio is recording. You will hear a tone shift in their voice between a practice session and a live record session.

Becoming good at interviews takes time. Learning how to read body language and engage with people past surface level is a skill. That means everyone is capable of doing this and making great video.

Remember, good production starts with good preproduction.

I would love to know your thoughts on this post.
Leave a comment below or Tweet me @creativedoes.
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How to Light an Interview

Have you ever needed to do an interview in an area that made it super tough, for one reason or another?

While in a remote village of Nepal for #standwithme, we needed to interview a few girls at a rehabilitated slave center. It was a crew of two with some LED lights, limited access to power, and very little time and space. These interviews had to cut in with that of Lisa Kristine or the Harr family, interviews that we had crews of four to five on, tons of gear, HMIs to recreate a sunny day, and hours to setup.

But for these interviews it was two people with 30 minutes and lighting that looked closer to a flashlight than something you’d find on a film set.

Now of course we couldn’t make something out of nothing. These interviews wouldn’t look AS good as the ones with Lisa Kristine’s, but we did have to make sure they could cut into the same film and story. And to do that we really went back to the basics. We listened to the light and looked for what was there, how we could best use the environment, and then just broke the light down into its core components and made the most of each.

Both of these interviews were lit in a crunch in the same side of a bedroom in a remote Nepal village. They are simple but clean by following each step of the tutorial below. The window as a key, some diffusion to soften it, and then a small LED light to add some fill. But it’s the details that matter here, and that we’ll cover in the tutorial.

I can’t tell you how many times over the years we’ve seen people with huge crews and massive lights spend hours lighting an interview that could have looked stronger by just working with the window light that was there.

Sometimes, we just setup what we think we are supposed to for an interview. Or we feel bad if we don’t use our most expensive and coolest lights.

But, as with most skills, if we master the basics before moving up, we can often do much more and go much further (exactly the same scenario with people jumping into huge Steadicams before they knew the basics).

So today on the blog we have something that really goes back to the basics. How To Light An Interview. It’s a complete lesson from Story & Heart’s Academy Of Storytellers. It shows you how to get setup and get strong results right away. It also breaks it down in a way that is easy to remember and apply on every shoot.

....(Read the Full Article Here)

Wait Till It's Free

This is a feature length documentary directed by Colin Gunn. I'm super excited to say that I had the privilage to be the Editor and Colorist for the project!

During the filming I also helped with a couple interviews and directed some scenes at the diner.

Here's the movie trailer, check it out!

SYNOPSIS:

'Wait Till It's Free' is an entertaining and provocative look at the current healthcare crisis. Coming at the healthcare issue from a non-partisan but none-the-less conservative and Christian outlook, this film takes a hard and honest look at the way we do health care in America. The film looks at every relevant aspect of modern medicine, from the escalating cost of health insurance to the move towards universal government healthcare. The film asks what kind of alternatives there are to families caught between expensive insurance based coverage and the "free" government solutions. The film explores the alternatives for individuals, churches, and families and offers moving and enlightening stories about those that have chosen to follow innovative and independent approaches to healthcare.

Yekra Player

Yekra is a revolutionary new distribution network for feature films.

Wait Till It's Free

“Wait Till It’s Free” is an entertaining and provocative look at the current healthcare crisis. This film takes a hard and honest look at the way we do healthcare in America by looking at every relevant aspect of modern medicine, from the escalating cost of health insurance to the move towards universal government healthcare. The film asks what kind of alternatives there are for families caught between expensive insurance-based coverage and the “Free” government solutions. The film explores the alternatives for individuals, churches, and families, and offers moving and enlightening stories about those that have chosen to follow innovative and independent approaches to healthcare. We journeyed to Washington, D.C. and across the Atlantic to Glasgow, Paris, and Brussels to bring you extraordinary information you won’t find anywhere else. Along the way, we met authorities like Dr. Ron Paul (former U.S. Congressman), and John Mackey (CEO of Whole Foods), as well as British experts Theodore Dalrymple (journalist and retired physician) and MEP Daniel Hannan (a British representative to the European Union). We engage a host of other experts from both sides of the gurney, meeting patients suffering the burdens of socialized medicine and doctors isolated from their patients by crippling regulation. This film goes miles beneath the surface of ObamaCare to expose the 100-year progression of socialized medicine in America. Traveling to my home country of Scotland, I ferret out the eerie truth about waiting lines, death panels, and total disregard for human life in Great Britain’s socialized healthcare system.

 DVDs are also availabe at the movie website: www.WTIFree.com

TMB - Tips for Interviews

Since launching the Music Bed Community, we have interviewed dozens and dozens of filmmakers and artists from all around the world. We’ve flown to Paris. We’ve Skyped to South Africa. We’ve GChatted to Spain. And during all that time, we’d like to think we’ve not only gotten better at interviewing people, but that we’ve learned a few practical lessons along the way. We’ve written them down here.

Before we get into it, though, just a quick note about why we’re so into interviewing in the first place. It boils down to this: We think what other people have to say is oftentimes a lot more interesting than what we have to say. Given the choice between talking about what we know about filmmaking and hearing what Eliot Rausch knows about filmmaking…well, the better option seems pretty obvious. We interview because we’re curious, because talking to amazing people opens up our minds, surprises us, challenges us — and honestly, it’s usually a lot of fun.

The types of interviews we lean toward (and so, the types of interviews the lessons below are relevant to) are usually a bit more rambly, the kind that take twists and turns, that unfold, that linger a little longer on a subject than people otherwise might. In other words — they’re conversations. And while there is certainly a time and place for a more straightforward Q&A kind of interview, that’s not the type of thing we get very excited about.

Here’s everything we know about interviewing...

Make Your Subject Feel Smart

Great interviews happen when the people you’re interviewing feel confident, when they feel like they’re saying intelligent things and you’re genuinely interested in what they have to say. In some of our best interviews, we hardly ask any questions at all. Maybe four or five questions total over the course of an hour. A good interview/conversation should roll like a boulder, with you just course-correcting here or there to keep the thing on track. A bad conversation is like you trying to push a boulder up a hill. Zero momentum. A lot of times this lack of momentum comes from your subjects not feeling confident about what they have to say. They answer in a word or two. They, “Don’t know.” Suddenly you find yourself doing most of the talking, trying to put words in your subjects’ mouths, and leaving with nothing. 

Go out of your way to make your subjects feel smart. Ask them easy questions at first (we usually spend a good five minutes talking about where the subjects are from) and be very interested in their answers. Affirm them. Just simple enthusiasm for their responses can go a long way to opening them up, making them feel comfortable — “No way! You’re from Long Beach?! I grew up in Long Beach!” or “You know, I never thought of it like that.” or “You know what, that’s a really good point.” The better your subjects feel about themselves, the better your conversations will go.

Let Silences Get Awkward

There is a natural human tendency to fill silences, to keep conversations moving forward, to do anything necessary to keep things from getting awkward. When you’re interviewing someone, silence can feel particularly devastating. It’s tempting to immediately step in, ask another question, make a comment — move things forward. But this is the wrong thing to do. After someone has answered a question, let her answer hang for just a few seconds too long.

Let the silence linger. What usually happens is the subject speaks up again. She fills the awkward silence, and she fills it by reaching a little bit deeper into her answer, saying something she might not have otherwise said. Be patient. Wait for those moments. Often the thing a subject fills the silence with is a unique and much more personal observation than her initial response.

We love how Philip Bloom opened up in our interview with him in 'Making Room'.

...(read the fulll article here)

Wait Till It's Free - Pre-Order

The wait is almost over!

Please prepare to join us September 10th for a jaw-dropping immersion in the life and death issue of healthcare.

Our film is available for pre-order today!  We are even offering the pre-order at a 20% discount - so please take this opportunity to get the film now before the offer ends on the September 10th release date.

Here are two other simple steps you can take to help spread the message of healthcare liberty:
 

1) Watch and share the New Trailer!

We just put the polishing touches on our new trailer. Now you can get a true taste of the film and share it with others to encourage others to find healthcare liberty.

2) Attend or host a screening!

You will be excited to hear we have several upcoming screenings in Texas, Peoria and Wisconsin. Click here to visit our screening page.

You can also become a host by organizing a screening at your church, home, or local theater. Contact us to organize a screening in your own area.

Many blessings and thanks!

Colin Gunn
Writer/Director/Producer - WAIT TILL IT'S FREE
www.WTIFree.com

When God Left the Building

Synopsis:

A pervasive part of the American fabric is fraying and decaying before our eyes. The church is withering.

Though the vast majority (77%) of Americans identify themselves as Christians, they have largely stopped attending church. Less than 20% of the population now makes it to church in a typical week. Some 4000 churches are closing every year. It’s a major and unprecedented social upheaval.

The film follows a church that has seen its attendance plunge from 900 to 40. In addition to external cultural factors that affect all churches, this church is disintegrating from the inside from a variety of human storms. A pastor who doesn’t know who or what God is. Fights over petty things. A faction of angry ex-members that devises a plan to take over the church.

Throughout the story, cameras also visit other dying churches—as well as innovative new forms of church that are thriving. These range from a ministry in a Pennsylvania pub to an outreach in Los Angeles that brings joy to skid-row moms.

By the end of the film, viewers will experience hope and a refreshing glimpse into how faith may be pursued in the future.

MOVIE WEBSITE

One Generation Away

One Generation Away is a fast-paced film that travels the United States (and Europe) in search of a deeper understanding of the religious freedom clauses in the Constitution's First Amendment. From Hobby Lobby to the Mt. Soledad Cross in San Diego to wedding service providers in the Northwest, One Generation Away asks hard questions about the status of religious liberty in America today. The film includes leading voices on both sides of the issue. One Generation Away discovers that our "first freedom" - religious liberty - is one that demands attention at this critical point in American history.

Eric Metaxas, Jennifer Marshall, Mike Huckabee, Ryan Anderson, Rick Santorum, Alveda King, Steve Berger, Jim Garlow, Raul Ries, Russell Moore, Mikey Weinstein, Barry Lynn, Eric Teetsel, Steve Green, David Green, Todd Starnes, Jack Graham.

IN THEATERS - SEPTEMBER 1st

Movie Website

Awakened - DVD AVAILABLE!

Awakened the documentary is now available for order and will ship within two days of your purchase. We are so grateful the Lord helped us finish and the copies are ready to send out!

“You will keep him perfect peace
whose mind is steadfast on You,
because he trusts in You.”
Isaiah 26:3

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.
God is faithful and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability,
but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape,
that you may be able to endure it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13

Veil of Tears - DVD

I had the opportunity to see this documentary at the Christian Worldview Film Festival. This is a powerful film, about the work being done to help abused women in India. I highly recommend this film...but not for the whole family.
You can read the Dove review here.

Synopsis:

"Veil of Tears" is a documentary film that tells the untold story of millions of women in India who are culturally persecuted for no other reason than the fact that they are women. However, despite the centuries of oppression, there are those who are reaching out and trying to change the culture towards women, from the inside out. Filmed across of the stunning nation of India, in some of the most remote tribal villages in the world today, this is a journey where few outsiders have gone before.

More info and DVD is available here.

Movie Website: VeilOfTearsMovie.com