My son

My son is soon to be officially a teenager. For the past six years or so, I've been discipling, primarily through the Royal Rangers program... a faith-based scout-like organization.

Of course, it's the responsibility of every father that professes to follow Jesus to disciple his children. But back when he was five, I didn't quite understand that. As I took charge of reaching and teaching him, my relationship with him dramatically changed. I remember early on, I'd ask him to do something, and he'd fight back, drag his feet, try to prove he wasn't who I thought he was.

Today, he is growing into a man. The Ranger program is a great vehicle for working with him. Early on, we established that almost every day, we work on something together. Regardless of the program, it's the time spent with him that means everything. In the beginning, I remember taking him to the Arlington police center and checking out the 911 call center and the jail. We went on some day camps, like Granbury's dinosaur park. Later, the work got more challenging, but by now he'd established a stronger work ethic. It served him well through some of the harder merits, like the Gold Bible merit-- he worked on that for parts of four years.

He's getting real close to earning his Gold Medal of Achievement, which is the Ranger's equivalent to the Eagle Scout. The hardest merit left to conquer is the Bachelor's merit. And one thing he has to do for it, is set a goal to purchase something, have a savings plan for it and a way to earn money towards it.

He decided he wanted an iPad. An interesting fad that has started is "survival bracelets." These are cool, hip bracelets braided from paracord. You get stuck on a deserted island, you can take it apart and lash together shelter, make snares, or build a raft to get off (for the really, really long bracelets). So we worked together on setting up a website for people to order these hip, cool, stylish yet practical bracelets. (If you want to check it out, click here, www.s-films.com/cssb).

Then, this past week, he got another opportunity for awesome growth (and me too). While on a camping trip with some family, he was given the permission and responsibility of driving a four wheeler. Which he then accidentally ran up along side a car, scratching the paint and taking off the side mirror. I'm going to pay half. And he's going to pay the other half. So between jobs I hire him for around the house, and "cobra stitched survival bracelets", through hard work, he'll learn some cool responsibility.

Cancer

Cancer. The word carries an incredible heaviness... a connotation of life-changing, hard-work ahead, dread.

Cancer refers to cells out of control. They've mutated and they destroy and attack the healthy cells around them. Sometimes they form tumors. Sometimes not (like in Leukemia).

I've never had cancer. No one in my immediate family has had cancer. I know people who have died from the disease. I know people who have survived.

A couple years ago, when confronted with deep-rooted, ego (flesh) issues, my mentor likened it to cancer. I wanted the quick fix... cut it out, chop it off, push the magic button... but that's not usually God's way. Apostle Paul wrote about having the thorn in his flesh-- clearly it was something that God did not remove, even through Paul's impassioned pleas. It was God's purpose for Paul to have that thorn. In God's opinion, it was best for Paul to have that thorn.

And just as clearly, Paul recognized and understood that he would have the ego (flesh) to deal with until the day he died. He wrote about crucifying the flesh daily.

The ego is cancer. It's something every single one of us lives with. A lot of it I can't see in myself, but it might be obvious to others. Some of it lurks deep in tissue and only when certain stresses or situations arise does it rear it's ugly head. But as with all cancer, it needs to die. I can't control this cancer. I can't teach the cancerous cells to be good cells. Or at least not-so-bad cells. Can't be done.

So my life will be one of spiritual chemo treatments until I die. Since everyone has this disease, treatment is a choice. Many choose to not have treatment. Many choose to not even listen to the diagnoses... it's denial.

But a few decide to undergo treatment. And these few, these Christians, these true Believers, disciples of Jesus, are and always will be a work in progress.

Easy Bake Ovens

I was talking to my friend, songwriter for "Rising Stars" Ben Reynolds. We were discussing how in God's perspective, people bristle with self importance. I brought up how I've seen, time and time again, Christian artists say they're going to take a city in His name, or an industry, or a million people. Because God had told them to.

You see, I think God just wants us to obey. From what I read in the Bible, it doesn't fit his character to ask me to win a million souls with my movie. He can make a sunset that could do that. I won't even get into the evanglical power (or lack thereof) of a film to "disciple" people. I believe film a powerful tool, but nonetheless, just a tool.

Anyway, so Ben and I are talking about this and Ben pulls out an analogy that was simply marvelous. He talked about how he sometimes felt maybe he was a little three year old in God's kitchen. And he's telling God how important his little cake he's making on the easy-bake is. God just chuckles as He cooks the real meal.

Yes, I've been totally wrapped up in my own work (and again, let's call this the Narcissist's Gospel). God chuckles at my bristling with self importance. But you know, it doesn't all hinge on me or my works. And what an arrogant position for me to be in, thinking that.

To obey is better than sacrifice.

Child Acting: A Director's POV

As I've started to do the occasional seminar and workshop, I've gotten quite a few requests from parents about their child actor. And by child I mean any minor from zero to sixteen or seventeen.

So on March 27, I'm going to have a workshop for both the child/teen and the parent to go over this business from the director's point of view. We will cover some basics like agents and managers, quick tips for acting for children, we'll workshop a little bit of scene work, cover auditions-- all of this coming from a different perspective-- The Director's.

If you're interested, click here for more details and registration.

I've worked with children in every movie I've directed. I've auditioned a ton. And I have stories of things that went right and things that can be improved. And for every child actor, there's a parent right there-- and that's why I'd like both to attend... I want to talk to the parents as well about this business.

Hope you can come.

A Perfect 10

There is a fine line between seeking perfection and being a perfectionist. One is a Disciple's mandate-- the other a dysfunctional attitude that wreaks havoc. It is important to separate the two terms.

Seeking perfection is to give no wiggle room for sin, or ego (flesh). The greatest commandment is to Love the Lord with all my heart, mind, soul and strength. I don't know where "a little me-time" fits into that equation.

Let their be no doubt-- though seeking perfection, in this life I cannot attain it. However, this fact does not mean I stop the pursuit. And for the "all or nothing" disciple, this can be a major trip up.

Now, the dysfunctional attitude of Perfectionism is to find my Value in perfection. And consequently, to find others value in how they measure up to my definition of perfect. It's by achieving perfection that I feel good about myself-- and I bet you can already see the problem here-- it's a vicious cycle-- one where you can never reach the goal.

So as a Disciple, I'm committed to seeking perfection and I'm committed to killing perfectionism in my own flesh. I believe these are two totally different things.

New Post, Old Post

For many decades, the "post path" of a film remained essentially unchanged. For those reading who aren't movie makers, what this means is that there was an established system for how a film got finished from the moment they yelled "wrap" to when it was released on the silver screen or later on DVD.

A movie was shot on actual film. The negative was transferred to a cutable source-- either another piece of film or later onto tape. These were cut and assembled into the official edit. Then the original negative was conformed to this edit.

Then the original negative was transferred, film to film, to an "interpositive (IP)." The reasoning here is that, at most, you don't want to run that original negative through the projector more than four or five times max. Each time through introduces hair, dirt and scratches.

The IP was colored and then an "internegative (IN)" was struck, so that release prints to all the theaters could be made.

The sound had it's own road through the post path. After the edit was "locked", sound was designed, re-recorded and effects added. Separately, music was worked on. Eventually sound and music came together in the "mix" and then that mix was shot out to film, on what is called "optical negative." This film was synced with the original negative so that when the IP was made, it might have sound.

With the advent of home video, these masters for the videos were made from the IP.

So now, we enter the digital age. Even a few years ago, Hollywood was resisting change, insisting us filmmakers deliver the sound and picture elements on old school technology. However, it's starting to change. When we delivered our sound elements to Sony for "Striking Range", they wanted DA-88 tapes. We talked them in to the Pro Tool session files, so instead of tape, we delivered data DVD's.

Now, instead of an IP, you have what's called a "Digital Intermediate" (DI). The Di has replaced the IP. You edit on high quality digital files, then at your best, raw high quality, you color that assembled edit and you have your DI-- from whence all the masters can be made, whether it's back out to 35mm film for theaters, or a digital file for digital projection, or high def tape if they want that. But even better is just delivering the DI to the distributor.

Sound is still the same. They work on it and marry up with music and then the "stems" are sent to the computer to match up with the DI. In the case of "Rising Stars," Johnny Marshall, our sound designer is working on delivering the 5.1 and the left/right (LT/RT) mix for the morning. It will be the moment when the clean, great sound is brought together with the beautifully colored picture.

Needless to say, we're excited. Class dismissed.

You are the One!

Youth groups across the globe are telling their young audience that "they are the ones that God is going to use, like never before, to reach this world." On that outside, that sounds noble. Sounds like Godly ambition. Sounds familiar.

Yup, heard it in my generation. And the problem with this message is that it perpetuates the "me-centered Gospel", or the Narcissists Gospel. Why? Because *you* are the one, *you* are special and can go where no one else has gone.

Sure my youth pastor readers, encourage and exhort. But encourage them to "obey" and be "faithful" to whatever the Master asks. And sometimes, the Master doesn't ask for you to fill the biggest football stadium in the world to preach to thousands, to impact the globe in His name.

Sometimes the Master asks for you to clean your room. Or obey your parents. Or actually spend time listening and learning to hear His voice.

I know some youth walking around with this "arrogance." You see, they've been hammered that "they are special." So they don't have to actually work at being a Disciple. They don't have to pray. Read the Bible. They just have to sing/preach/minister/lead.

I interviewed Steve Camp back in the 80's and he said this. "What the Christian music scene needs is no more people who can sing or play. It needs people who know their Bible more than they know their keyboard."

Yes, the youth pastor is correct-- you *can* be the one. Just like everyone else, young and old, can be the one. Remember, you're special. Just like everyone else. Ps. 139.