The Production Post

Type alive!

2010-09-13T15:40:00.002-04:00

What do Grape Nuts and Christian Science have in common?

That was the question posed as a joke in “Grape Nuts and Christian Science,” the latest video released on the ChristianScience on YouTube channel. And the question posed to the video production team was how to illustrate that joke and its inaccuracy.

Idea! How about we let the joke be told right in front of the audience using a voice over and text? As a video editor, I wanted the text on the screen to be as visually interesting as possible, considering it’s the first thing you see in the video. Whenever I’m looking for quick, creative typeset possibilities, I turn to LiveType. It’s great because without much thinking, you can create stellar fonts and text graphics. I like using it when I just need a quick motif to play with.

So the text animation that you see with the sketch-like scribble motion was very simply created in LiveType based off a LiveFont template.

I’ve watched a few tutorials on Lynda.com about how to customize LiveType motifs by modifying keyframes. My goal is to explore the capacity of LiveType more and see if it’s at all useful in making suave, complex-looking text graphics.

What have you discovered in LiveType?

Check us out on YouTube: http://youtube.com/christianscience

Good! Now let's do it again.

2010-09-02T16:08:00.003-04:00

Perhaps that’s most directors’ favorite phrase. In fact, the Simpsons TV show makes light of it in the “Radioactive Man” episode:

Director: We've got to do the "jiminy jillikers" scene again, Milhouse.

Milhouse: [quietly angry] But we already did it. It took seven hours,

but we did it. It's done!

Director: Yes...but we've got to do it from different angles! Again and

again, and again and again and again!

Milhouse: Aah! [gets dragged out screaming]

We haven’t yet had to drag out any of our ChristianScience on YouTube actors screaming against their own will, although I’m not surprised if we’re due for one soon. You see, our actors are all volunteers and we put them through so very much!

In our “Not just positive thinking” video, our actors had to pretend as if they were unsure whether gravity would work for them. With that premise, you can imagine they went through some pretty crazy wobbles and contortions:

Did you hear that last line? I can assure you that it wasn’t just “one more time,” and we have about 7 other takes on tape to prove it!

I have a theory about why directors request so many takes from their actors. I think it’s because the director really has no clue what he’s looking for. He figures that the more he sees the scene play out in from of him, the more he’ll find out if that’s what he’s looking for. I can say from personal experience, that’s how I sometimes operate! If we keep trying different things, we’re bound to end up with something that both fits the vision and plays out well in real life.

For the gravity video, we filmed outside around Boston, and our actors have to be fearless about performing in front of others....

Even through the blurred blue, you should be able to sense some intrigued and confused looks. God bless our actors!

Check us out on YouTube: http://youtube.com/christianscience

Shot list

2010-08-24T14:53:00.003-04:00

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?

Check us out on YouTube: http://youtube.com/christianscience

The hardest thing to direct

2010-08-20T10:02:00.001-04:00

You know the saying, “The hardest thing to direct are kids and dogs?” Well, the ChristianScience on YouTube video team proved half of that true (times two) when we filmed “Christian Science: Dogs, yes. Dogma? No way.” So, what does that equal? Unpredictable comedy.

This was one of the first scripts I got to work when I joined the YouTube video producing team back in May, and this was definitely one of the most fun shoots we’ve done. I mean, anytime you can bring some cute, lovable animals into your day should result in a positive experience. (Although, I guess that depends on your toleration of said cute, lovable animals and if you expect them to actually work the way you envision.)

Speaking of not working the way you envisioned, while dogs may be very obedient animals, they don’t always sit and perform the way the script says they should. What can you expect, right?! Here’s a collection of some bloopers from the day we filmed the “dog-ma” video:

Alright, let’s meet the stars! The dog that played the dog’s ma is named Audra and the other one is Buddy. They’re owned by Phil Davis, the media and legislative spokesperson for the Christian Science church. By the way, they’re not actually related. They’re rescue dogs. (Audra was one day away from being put to sleep.)

The other star (the non-dog one) is Dan. He and Buddy had to become quick friends since Dan was holding Buddy for most of the filming. At first Buddy was hesitant to be held, but Dan soon figured out a way to pick him up:

One other comedic obstacle was the dog hair. Make-up! Hair department! Come on, where are you?! Even though the dogs were brushed prior to their performance, after minutes of petting by many cast and crew members, there were little tumbleweeds of furballs blowing in the studio wind:

We have no plans yet for any future animal actors in the video series, but perhaps we’ll have to get Audra and Buddy back – as long as this instant stardom hasn’t already gone to their heads!

Check us out on YouTube: http://youtube.com/christianscience

In other words

2010-08-13T14:25:00.002-04:00

Last week we published a video called “Christian Science in Words.” It was a collection of interviews we got from Christan Scientists in Boston. We just asked a simple question: “What does Christian Science mean to you?”

In my short media career, I’ve done a number of these “man on the street” interviews, but this particular session stands out to me.

I mean, that’s a pretty deep question to ask someone randomly, what does your faith mean to you? And then to have the audacity to shove a camera in their face and record the responses! We are so shameless! But, our participants handled it so well. We only interviewed those 10 people you see in the edited version, and each one provided a stellar answer that made the cut.

While editing, I studied the video footage in order to determine which words I’d highlight on screen. Actually, it’s pretty cool to take a look at the words people chose to illustrate Christan Science:

Understand God

Proves that God exists

Proves who I am

Freedom from limitation

Firm foundation

Daily healings

How to heal

Finding answers

Awesome

My relationship with God

Learn about God

Life-changing

Helping people

Since religion and spirituality mean so many different things to each of us, I learned from this project that each of us can share that simple, unique way our faith has impacted our lives. And maybe the words aren’t at the tip of your tongue now or written down on a list you carry in your back pocket. But, when that figurative camera is rolling, and you’re faced with a question about your faith, I bet there will be some kind of inspired response right for the moment. Surely those feelings of comfort and love that you find in religion or spirituality will amount to some sort of comprehensible word combination!

So, what would my answer be if I turned the camera on myself? I’m sure it would change depending on the moment, but right now, as I type, I’d say Christian Science is God’s love in action.

Check us out on YouTube: http://youtube.com/christianscience

Crafts 101

2010-08-09T13:16:00.002-04:00

I’ve never been a super arts-y and crafts-y kind of guy. I remember back in elementary school, my art teacher had an “artist of the week.” She would choose one student’s art each week and display it in the main lobby of the school. The student would get some kind of cool certificate and a piece of candy.

In my six years there (kindergarten through 5th grade), no candy nor certificate for awesome art came my way.

It was time for redemption.

Those elementary school art days came rushing back to me a few weeks ago when my arts and crafts skills were once again put to the test. One of the movies we’ve been filming for ChristianScience on YouTube calls for 12 “boring buttons.”

What’s a boring button? Good question. I had no clue.

My coworker, Liz, and I brainstormed. She envisioned the Staples “That was easy” button. I caught her drift, but was unsure how I could manufacture such buttons with limited electrical engineering skills. Oh, and I don’t have access to a plastic mold and any budget.

We had to take it down a few levels. How about foam board! Of course.

So, my wife and I went to Target and got two colors of foam board (black and white), a carpenter knife, and glue. We came back to the apartment and played arts and crafts (see pictures), printed off some labels that say “boring,” and ingeniously engineered a perfectly functioning boring button.

What you say, it’s just foamy board and glue? No, through the magic of editing this button will come to life!

Now, where’s my certificate and candy...?

Check us out on YouTube: http://youtube.com/christianscience

Casting Call

2010-08-04T15:21:00.008-04:00

Have you ever studied the credits after watching your average Hollywood production? You see positions such as “grip” or “gaffer” or “wardrobe” or “make-up.” I was staring at the credits of a movie I saw recently wondering if all of those people are actually necessary.

I mean, I’m not trying to pick a fight or anything, but when I think about our small video-making team (totaling three core members, including myself) and then look up at the movie screen displaying 20 different “grips,” it makes me wonder what it would be like having a full production crew. (For example, check out this cast/crew list for Avatar.)

Yes, perhaps our YouTube productions don’t merit credit scrolls measuring in feet, but all of this is on my mind as I’m trying to line up actors for our upcoming movies. Currently I’m looking at six different scripts on my desk, and I’m actively casting for three of them.

I was curious how the pros fill their rosters, and as I googled, I came across numerous casting calls and agencies. Maybe that’s what ChristianScience on YouTube needs, a casting call!

My friends got excited when there was a regional casting call for the TV show, Glee. How excited would you get if you knew about one for our videos? Meh, maybe not as excited.

I mean, pay is, well, uh, the satisfaction of doing a good job...And benefits, well, um, a chance at stardom? Oh, and of course you’ll get to hang out with some really cool people...us!

Well, for one of the videos we’re working on now, we skipped the whole casting call ordeal. Instead we went right for the glorious cheap summer labor (a.k.a interns). Check out this sneak peak of uncut, raw footage that will be nicely edited into one of our upcoming videos on YouTube.

Enjoy!

Check us out on YouTube: http://youtube.com/christianscience

My World in Motion

2010-07-21T14:49:00.003-04:00

With the help of Lynda.com and random blogs I found while Googling, I’m teaching myself Apple’s Motion software. It’s been a bit of a challenge, but I can only imagine with continued practice, I’ll be able to do more impressive techniques.

Currently I’m editing together a video I hope we’ll launch within the next week or so on ChristianScience on YouTube. In this video, I’m wanting to separate the subject from the background and insert text in between those two layers. I also want the text to be animated and in random motion behind the subject.

After reading this blog, I successfully created an image mask around the subject in the video. This allows the subject to be perfectly cutout and removed from the background. I then copied that layer and inverted it, which made the subject appear as a black shape missing from the background. I then placed this inverted mask as the bottom layer. Next I piled the text on top of the background (the inverted image mask). Finally, I put the regular image mask (the cutout of the subject) on top of that, which allowed for the subject to be on top of the text like so:

Pretty cool, huh? Isn’t Motion amazing?

Well, my next challenge is to figure out if it’s possible to use the match move technique (or something more relevant) to track the subject’s motion so the image mask is able to move with her.

This is what’s happening to me now by the time I get to the end of the clip:

The subject has moved outside of the image mask and so the words are layering on top of her. Any helpful suggestions of how to fix this are welcomed!

Check us out on YouTube: http://youtube.com/christianscience

Common Sense

2010-07-15T09:26:00.004-04:00

Meet Ben. He’s the guy incessantly running into the elevator doors in this movie: Christian Science and Common Sense.

As I look through the footage we shot, I count Ben ramming into those wood paneled doors at least 70 times; slapping them 5 times; wagging his finger at them twice; and rubbing his butt against them once. Surprisingly enough, even after such a beating, both Ben and the doors were left unblemished and functional!

While it can be amusing to witness outlandish, nonsensical physical comedy, I think it is well illustrated in the video how impractical it is to stick with something that isn’t working for you. (I mean come on, press the elevator call button, take the stairs, ask for help already!)

Christian Science as a method of healing gets unfairly attacked for being a “do nothing” approach, and Christian Scientists are said to be impractical. But just as Andres (the guy in the fancy suit) said, Christian Scientists aren’t going to continue praying for healing unless results follow.

Christian Science offers a specific way to pray and treat physical challenges, relationship issues, or emotional distress. I know from experience how much insight, inspiration, and freedom I’ve gained from a Christian Science healing.

I got a kick (no pun intended) out of filming and editing this video! Ben kept us laughing the whole time. Andres acted muy suave in his attire. Liz shouted out good directions and held up the boom mic with her buff arms.

Keep following us here on Blog Spot and get to know the team behind the ChristianScience on YouTube videos! If you have any video idea suggestions, let us know!

Check us out on YouTube: http://youtube.com/christianscience

Production Post Initiation

2010-07-14T15:31:00.004-04:00

Hey there, let me introduce myself. I’m David, and I’m a production assistant at the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston. I work with a wonderfully talented team to produce the YouTube video series at ChristianScience on YouTube.

OK, here’s where you, the audience, come in. This blog is your insider’s look. We’ll be writing about the inspiration behind videos, silly things that went on while filming or editing, and anything else we think you’ll find interesting.

Some of you may be really familiar with Christian Science; some may have heard nothing about it; others may have heard things that aren’t accurate. The point of the YouTube series, along with this blog, is to just talk straight about what Christian Science is and how it’s helped so many people throughout the last century.

In order to accomplish this, we’ve taken on an all-star cast, including dogs as well as some fun human actors. We’ve produced comedy videos, done straight-up informational pieces, and spliced together inspirational clips.

And we’re looking at continuing to expand our video bounds and our creativity with your help. We hope you’ll post your comments and video ideas here on the blog page or on ChristianScience on YouTube.

Until the next upload, take care!

Check us out on YouTube: http://youtube.com/christianscience