CARL BARNHILL.com

This Is How We Change The World

2011-02-15T21:43:00.003-06:00

Just a quick post. As I mentioned in my introduction, I have the pleasure of working at Elevation Church and work with some ridiculously talented people. I wanted to share with you all our most recent feet - a 65 minute feature length documentary for our 5 year anniversary.

It can be viewed THIS WEEK ONLY here!!! I had very minimal direct involvement on this piece, but it has been extremely inspiring to everybody who has seen it. It is a true testament to what God can do using those who are willing to be faithfully obedient to His plan for your life.

Please try carving out an hour in the next few days...I promise you... you won't regret it. Also, check out Jared Hogan's site - he was the director for the film... the dude is legit.

Giving it all away.

2011-02-10T09:23:00.000-06:00

We love stories. As creatives, we love telling stories. I'm especially inspired and moved by amazing stories of how people are Loving God and Loving People with everything they are.

Check out this amazing story of how one man gave his entire fortune away to members of his small town.

Little Introduction to Geoff Schultz

2011-02-08T18:47:00.005-06:00

Well hello LOVE media readers. I just wanted to introduce myself quickly and give you a little background on who I am. Wanted to start off by saying that I am honored to be a contributor to LOVE media and it was literally an answered prayer, which I will explain shortly.

My name is Geoff Schultz, most people call me "G-off," and I am a currently the motion designer for Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. I am married to my wife Cheyenne and we have a 5 1/2 month old baby boy named Boone (who is easily the cutest baby ever!) and have been living in Charlotte since summer of 2005. My wife runs our photography business full-time (www.lovestheschultzes.com) and is easily my favorite person in the whole wide world :)

I originally moved to Charlotte 2 months after graduating from SCAD (Savannah College of Art & Design) to work at Limerick Studios where I worked for just over three years. The summer of 2008, I felt God calling me to apply for the open motion design position at Elevation, which obviously panned out, and I have been blessed to be a part of an absolutely incredible move of God that has been happening through Elevation.

As I mentioned before, being invited to be a contributor to this blog was literally an answered prayer that I had been talking to God about the same night I ended up reading the first message that Carl had sent me telling me about LOVE Media and inviting me to be a part of it. It was on my heart that night as I thought about how to build out a plan to build a motion design team at Elevation as the church grows, to start focussing more effort on networking with other Christian designers and collaborating with them on projects. My desire at large is to create art (primarily in motion design) that will attract the attention of the world to bring Glory to Jesus. Obviously in order to do that, it is going to take more than just me and that is where this blog came in. As I came back in from walking my dogs (the time I use to pray on a daily basis) I felt a calling to, if not start, at least lead an effort to help unite Christian designers in not only producing world-class work, but to help support and encourage on another as we do it. Then, as I sat down behind my computer, I opened up Vimeo to do some searching and saw that I had a message sitting in my inbox. I opened and read it to find out it was an invitation to contribute to LOVE Media! I'm sorry, but if that isn't God's divine province in my life, I'm not sure what is.

Well, here I am. I'm believing this is without a doubt a place where God is calling me to be, to help, to encourage, to share, to teach, to learn, to grow, to just be among other believers who LOVE media ;) I look forward to meeting you as I write, you respond, and we learn more about each other together.

Just so you can get a taste of my work, I'd love to invite you over to my site: www.g-off.com

Hopefully it will be a blessing to those of you that are motion designers.

Till next time.

g-off

twitter: ge0ffschultz

(the "0" is a zero)

CHECK OUT: Media Director Saloman Lighhelm of Dubai

2011-02-08T11:31:00.001-06:00

I've been chatting and learning from very talented motion designer and filmmaker, Saloman Lighthelm of Dubai. I love his shooting style, grades, and AfterEffects work.

Check out his website:

http://lighthelm.tv

Read his processes for his projects and thoughts from his creative mind:

http://salomonligthelm.blogspot.com

Here's a preview of some of his work:

"In This City"

"Save the Lost"

"The Prophecy"

This Year's Best Superbowl Ads

2011-02-07T18:41:00.003-06:00

Check out Hulu's collection of the best ads from this year:

More People Watch the SuperBowl for the Ads than the Game

2011-02-06T05:51:00.004-06:00

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE FROM THE NEW YORK POST: http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/thespread/more_people_watch_super_bowl_for_RhlM7NGtyiLIKimdsk7pQM

No wonder the Super Bowl is the most expensive commercial time on television.

According to a new Nielsen survey, more people tune in on Super Sunday to watch the ads than to see the game itself. Fifty-one percent of respondents said they enjoyed the ads more than the action on the field, while 49 percent preferred the game.

The TV ratings giant said the survey "reinforces the value of the Super Bowl as a marketing bonanza, featuring one of the most receptive TV audiences in the world" -- which is exactly what the major TV networks want to hear.

ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox have taken turns over the years airing the game and selling the commercial time. Those same networks also rank among Nielsen’s biggest clients.

This year, CBS is said to be charging between $2.5 million and $2.8 million for a 30-second spot. The price has quadrupled over the past couple of decades.

Nielsen said the results are based on a sample of more than 25,000 households in its consumer marketing panel.

-Article from the New York Post, February 6, 2011

Check out Hulu's collection of the best ads from SuperBowl XLIII:

What is the purpose of Media Ministry?

2011-02-04T12:06:00.006-06:00

Hey Everybody! This is my first post on the Love Media website and I am really excited about the ministry opportunity that we will have on the site. My name is Eric Engle and I love media and student ministry. I really love combining the two! I graduated from a small Christian school (North Greenville University) and after college I moved out to Atlanta, Georgia to work for In Touch Ministries, which is led by Dr. Charles Stanley. I got to do a lot of cool stuff for the ministry and it really allowed me to grow in the context of media ministry. A few years later I moved out to Louisville, Kentucky to pursue a Masters of Divinity and 6 months later, I found myself working for the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr. as his radio engineer. Several months later Dr. Mohler chose to switch over to a podcast format and I gained a lot of insight in the world of podcast! I also worked as a Videographer at Southern Seminary, where I shot events, edited and posted for the Seminary's website. I am now currently a member at Highview Baptist Church where I teach 7th grade guys and a part of a church plant out at The University of Louisville. I am now currently employed at a warehouse, where I have had incredible opportunities to share the gospel! I am very thankful for God's provisions and direction in my life and look forward to sharing what I have learned in the field of media ministry. I hope that everything I have to say on this site will be encouraging, helpful and beneficial to your pursuit to an effective, gospel centered media ministry at your own church.

I wanted to blog just briefly about what the purpose of media ministry should be. There are so many elements involved when it comes to media. Everything from camera operating, sound, lights, video and the editing to output process. Oh yes... and then there is rendering. We can't leave that portion out! But with all of this stuff going on, what matters the most is the central point and focus of media ministry. We can put together incredible sermon aids, countdowns to start service and crisp clean audio but if all the work is done for the wrong reasons, we will fail the essential purpose in what media ministry is all about! Don't get me wrong... we should strive for clear and crisp audio, and a clean HD screen picture. Being professional at what you do at your church is essential because we want the message to be clear and consistent for people to hear and see! The point that I am getting at is for every church that has a team set apart for its media ministry, there must be unity! Our goal as a media team at Highview is not to impress people with our gifts but to bring the gospel alive! To aid in bringing the gospel to lost men and women to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ! If our central theme and purpose in our media ministry isn't gospel centered then we are simply doing the work for our own glory! So my encouragement in my first blog on this website is.... Make everything you do in media ministry conform to what the gospel IS! I know that this seems like a gimme but we can easily find ourselves consumed in what we are doing when we should always be dwelling on why we are doing.

I hope these words find you challenged and encouraged! I look forward to posting more on this site and hearing from the rest of the guys on ideas and experiences!

Eric

25 Things I Hate About Facebook

2011-02-03T23:01:00.008-06:00

This video, produced by Julian Smith (www.juliansmith.tv), is a couple of years old, but I came across it again and found it funny.

Mini-Movies for Sale on SermonSpice.com

2011-02-03T15:45:00.010-06:00

I've created a number of mini-movies and sermon illustrations perfect for your ministry, church, event, or conference. My collection of mini-movies are currently available for purchase on SermonSpice.com.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY ENTIRE COLLECTION OF MINI-MOVIES

Here is a preview of some of my Mini-Movie products:

He Is Worthy

Blessed.

All Scripture Is

Countdowns for SALE on SermonSpice.com

2011-02-03T14:06:00.028-06:00

I've created a number of Countdowns perfect your church, conference, or ministry event. My collection of countdowns are currently available for purchase on SermonSpice.com.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY ENTIRE COLLECTION

Here is a preview of some of my Countdown products:

Old Film Countdown

Sermonspice.com

See Details Buy Now

Clean White Countdown

Sermonspice.com

See Details Buy Now

THE GRUNGE FIELD Countdown

Sermonspice.com

See Details Buy Now

Motions and Moving Backgrounds for SALE on SermonSpice.com

2011-02-03T14:00:00.013-06:00

I've created several motions, moving backgrounds, and loops perfect for song lyrics, sermon notes, or scripture. My collection of motions and moving backgrounds are currently available for purchase on SermonSpice.com.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY ENTIRE COLLECTION

Here is a preview of some of my Countdown products:

Orange Grunge Background

Sermonspice.com

See Details Buy Now

Grungy Heart Background

Sermonspice.com

See Details Buy Now

Shining Bible Background

Sermonspice.com

See Details Buy Now

THE GRUNGE FIELD Worship Background 02

Sermonspice.com

See Details Buy Now

The Making of "That's My Church"

2011-01-31T20:25:00.000-06:00

Several people have asked me about the creation of a sermon bumper I produced for the "Pinelake Inside Out" sermon series. So here's the deal... sometimes, you see an idea, a concept, or video, and its perfect for what you want to accomplish. "Pinelake Inside Out" was a sermon series about the identity of our church, so we wanted a sermon bumper showcasing different people in the church and describing what our church was all about. So we did a little research and came across this video:

So, I just decided to rip of what Central Films had done. Sometimes you just have to say, "that's a great concept, let's do our version of that". So we did.

HOW I WROTE IT: I scripted out the lines I wanted read. I stole a line or two from Central Films, but for the most part, I wrote lines I thought would fit for our church. Our senior pastor doesn't give us much ahead of time as far as sermon notes or points, but he did happen to give us a few notes on this series. So I took some of the exact words from his notes and placed them in my script. If you know the pastor is going to say the words "we send people" for example, I use those exact words in my script- it makes for a nice flow and hand off to the sermon. For the rest of the script I used the ideas and themes in his sermon notes to get at some of the concepts we would be discussing in that series.

HOW I SHOT IT: We hung white sheets on two light poles and blasted it with light. I had my lines scripted out and scheduled as many people as I could find to read them on camera. I didn't want it to sound scripted so I would give them a line, have the person read it the way I wrote it, and then we would play around with the line with whatever was comfortable to them. I did have to coach them. For example, the black man, Paul who opens and closes the piece- I asked him if he had any grandchildren. He said he did, so I told him to say the line "let me tell you about my church" as if he was talking to his grandkids- the first take after that was great- he motions his hands a little and I got a slight grin out of him. I shoot a lot of tape, which can take me a while to edit, but I think it's worth it to have more stuff to work with. I had every person read every line I wrote. I had several people that I shot that did not make the final cut.

Here is what the piece looked like after I edited the best takes down, before I added graphics and music:

HOW I EDITED IT: I cut the piece in Final Cut. Then I exported a quicktime out of Final Cut and imported it into AfterEffects. Once in AfterEffects, I keyed out everything white- so the background went away. Then I added a white solid and placed it underneath the quicktime footage. This allowed me to add text between the white solid and the quicktime footage- this is why you can see some of the text behind the people on screen. This also allowed me to move the subject anywhere I wanted to on screen. Now, the ending tag was a little tricky. I was given a vector image created by one of our graphic designers- made up of different words that formed the word "Pinelake". I masked out several of these small words at a time and made new words pop in when a different person appeared on screen. I created these 'masked' layers in AfterEffects then created a new composition and placed all of the 'masked' layers in it. Then I enabled each layer "3D" and added a camera move to the composition. Then I laid my quicktime footage on top of this composition.

I then exported a quicktime to an instrumentalist we have on staff who had time to compose some original music for the piece! I found a music piece on KillerTracks.com- and I almost bought it, but it would have been close to $500 for the rights to the track. So I let Chris Schopmeyer listen to the track to get an idea of the style and tempo I was looking for. He did a great job!

I was really pleased with how this piece came out. It is one of my favorite pieces. It was great to take on the challenge of replicating an idea and adapting it for our church.

Here is the completed piece:

So, you're in media ministry...

2011-01-31T19:00:00.000-06:00

So, you're in media ministry. This means that you are either your church sound guy, a motion graphics guy, a graphic designer, a producer, an editor, a worship leader, or in smaller churches, you are all of the above. We get it. We get each other. You know what I mean- we are the ones who struggle with having to explain to the non-creative decision makers at our organization what "rendering" is. Or saying three times before you show a work-in-progress "now, the final audio has not been laid in yet", and after you show it, you still get a "are you going to fix the audio? It sounded a little off...". Or having to explain a hundred times, "now, this is a RAM preview, its low resolution..." and still get "why is it blurry? It looks a out of focus, can you fix that?". Urgh! Or the frustration of getting a request for a project and "they" want a 3-5 minute piece with tons of interviews, b-roll, animation, the works... "oh, and we need it tomorrow".

The world of media ministry. The dark, underbelly, behind-the-scenes job that the only time people see you is when you mess up. The job that no one else knows how to do or what it takes. So, why do we do it? Because we love what we do. Not the crap that goes with it, but we love using our skills and abilities to tell stories, to create something, to make art. We are in media ministry because this is how we show God that we love Him- by doing what he created us to do. He did create us as a different breed, a little quirky, awkward, different, out of the box.

Using our creative juices for the Kingdom is so fulfilling though isn't it? To know that our work means something, that it has eternal value. We are also in media ministry because we love people. There are times you make a piece of art for yourself, but its very rare. A painter hangs art in a gallery for people to see. A filmmaker wants his work on the biggest screen, shown to as many people as possible. We love an audience. We love connecting with people. I am the Video Production Specialist at my church (which basically means I am responsible for everything on the screens on Sundays and Wednesdays, and produce media content for the screens during the week). One of my favorite things to do is fire a video, then quickly run out to the main worship center to 1- see my work on the big screens knowing thousands of people are seeing work that my little pea brain envisioned, and 2- to look around at the people sitting in the seats, my audience. I scan the crowd watching for laughs, tears, faces connecting with the story I've told. There's nothing like knowing your work is making a difference.

We love God. We love people. And we love media. That's what this website and ministry is all about. It's dedicated to people who get it. Who understand what its like to live and breathe in the world of media ministry. This is a home for creatives. My goal with LOVEmedia is two-fold: I want to create and sell some of my own art and worship elements to resource churches, and I also want to connect creatives from all aspects of media ministry together to share ideas, tutorials, network with each other, learn from each other, and encourage each other. If you are in media ministry in some fashion, I would love for you to contribute to the blog (please e-mail me at carl@carlbarnhill.com if you're interested in being a contributor). I want this ministry to be a resource for us. So many times its hard to find help (or even admit we don't know how to do something)- let this be a hub for networking with other media professionals and for finding resources as you serve our King through your ministry.

Let's create something!

Loving God and Loving People,

CARL BARNHILL