Shot list

If you asked a parent to pick their favorite child, they’d tell you, “Oh I don’t have a favorite. I love each of them the same.” Well, even though I like each of the videos we produce on ChristianScience on YouTube I definitely have my favorites, as I’m sure you do, too.

One of my favorites is Religious Indifference. I like this one because I was given the narration voiceover and then told to illustrate those elements through video. As a kid who used to drive his family crazy by constantly playing with the home video camera growing up, this was a quite exciting assignment.

I strapped on my carrying case backpack loaded with the JVC Pro HD and roamed Boston, letting my videographical nose lead me to the shots. I also enlisted the help of some volunteer actors who were great at portraying religiously indifferent youth, a church goer, and depressed faces in an alleyway.

Now let me share with you some of my favorite shots from Religious Indifference.

#4: Frisbee catch in camera lens

OK, this may not look so impressive by itself. I mean, sure it’s a cool angle and all, but what I really like about this shot is how it corresponds with the music. If you watch the video, you’ll notice how her catch occurs in time with a rim shot.

#3: The Mother Church canted angle slide

This one makes my list because I like how it corresponds with the dialogue. I didn’t take this shot with that particular line in mind, but once I started assembling the edits, I saw it was a perfect match! It’s a picture of The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston (so it represents religion) and then the camera floats up a bit to the sky to capture what the narrator says about religion being as essential to him as air or oxygen.

#2: Over-saturated, glossy, fast-motion street scene

The very first image you see in any video is one of the most important. It’s the image that should grab you and encourage you to keep watching. That’s why I chose this footage for the first scene of Religious Indifference. It suits my fancy mostly because it fits the mood, tone, and pacing of the music. Also, you may have noticed this footage looks extremely colorful and glossy. In editing, I bumped up the saturation levels above what would be normal and added a softener filter. This makes all the color pop out and the image feel a bit fuzzy. I also like this shot because it’s just of people’s feet walking. How often do you get to stare at that?!

#1: Sad girls in alleyway

I don’t normally enjoy capturing images of depression (and actually the actors in this scene had trouble keeping straight faces...so they weren’t depressed one bit), but this was a fun scene to shoot. I like the brick setting. I like the angles and framing of the shots. I think it fits well with the emptiness and hollowness people feel sometimes when they’re yearning for more spirituality and religion in their lives. Out of all of the scenes, I’d have to say this is my favorite!

So, there you have it.

What are your favorites from the whole movie? Do you like the editor’s picks?

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