Rescued - Trailer

The trailer for Rescued has arrived! Check out what Hedrick Brothers Productions and Wintons Motion Pictures have been up to the last several months. Please help spread the word by embedding the video in your blogs, Facebook pages, and emails :)

Rescued: The Heart of Adoption and Caring for Orphans - Trailer from Rescued The Movie on Vimeo.

Also, the newly launched website for Hedrick Brothers Productions is now online. Follow this link to stay up to date with what we're doing: www.hedrickbrothersproductions.com

Joshua

Taking Every Thought Captive to the Obedience of Christ

Many men exhort each other to take their thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. Does this exhortation merely encourage men to think upon good things? What does it mean for a man to take his thoughts captive? The answer lies in the recognition that the Christian life is war, war between the carnal flesh and regenerate spirit. It lies in understanding the context and language used to communicate this truth. It lies in understanding that keeping our minds focused upon Christ is a discipline developed through the process of sanctification.

The Christian life is war. Every day our flesh struggles under the weight of the curse (Gen. 3). As a born again follower of Jesus Christ (John 3:3), we are now no longer subject to the condemnation of God (Romans 8:1-2). Nevertheless, believers still retain a sinful nature by means of Adam's sin, imputed to all mankind. The resulting clash of natures is described by Paul in Romans 7. Satan strives to utilize the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16) to gain strongholds in our lives. It's a war that begins and ends in the mind of the believer; an ongoing, raging, spiritual war to either live our lives in submission to the Lordship and sovereignty of Christ or in subjection to the enemy. This command, to take every thought captive, supports other instructions in Scripture (like Romans 12:2) to be continually renewing our minds and dwelling upon what God deems lovely.

We are commanded in Colossians 3:2 to set our minds on things above. This exhortation is at the heart of taking our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ; it's dying to self and choosing instead to stand fast in the grace and power of Christ by thinking upon that which God declares holy and righteous. It's a discipline of arresting our thoughts and evaluating them against Scripture, a discipline developed through the process of sanctification. Philippians 4:8 tells us that which God deems worthy of our mind's attention. Furthermore, the command is given that we might not fall prey to false ideologies. Scripture must always serve as the filter through which all thoughts and opinions are carefully and scrupulously evaluated that we may not be deceived. However, this command is not just for the individual believer.

Additionally, taking our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ is striving, in the power of Christ, to pull down Satan's strongholds. It's cultural war. Our world is filled with false views rooted in the destructive reasoning of fallen man. As Christians, it is our duty to determine which ideas are consistent with the teaching of Scripture and which ideas are based upon the opinions of men. It's casting down vain imaginations, creations of man, falsehoods, and the like with the inerrant, authoritative, sufficient Word of God. We do this by proclaiming the gospel and its doctrines to anyone who dares to raise any lofty opinion against the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 10:4).

Taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ is, most certainly, a multifaceted command that requires an understanding of the battle raging in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12), submission to the Lordship and sovereignty of Christ, the discipline to think upon that which God declares holy and righteous, and a readiness to destroy Satan's strongholds with Scripture. In its very essence, it summarizes the whole mission of the Christian. For it calls us to conform to the image of Christ by walking in His marvelous grace, and endorses the Christian's responsibility to proclaim this glorious gospel and its doctrines to all. The doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture forms the basis for this command. Without it, the Christian has no guide with which to direct his thoughts and actions. By living in absolute conformity to His ways and in submission to the dictates of His holy Word, we are taking our thoughts captive to the obedience of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Men, let's encourage and exhort one another in the battle to take our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ.

Stand Fast!

Joshua

Rescued the Movie

Wondering why I haven't blogged in a while? Here's why :)

Check out Hedrick Brothers Productions and Wintons Motion Pictures latest project at www.rescuedthemovie.com

Below is a sample of one of the interviews we shot a little over a week ago. To see more footage of the film click here!

Stand Fast,

Joshua

Beyond the Mask

The day's here! Burns Family Studios announces their latest project, entitled Beyond the Mask. Please take a moment to view their website at www.beyondthemaskmovie.com where you can see a synopsis of the film, a video introducing you to the vision for the project, and a link to the KickStarter site where you can read more information about the film and donate to support the production.

Beyond the Mask Movie from Burns Family Studios on Vimeo.

Please help by spreading the word!

In Christ,

Joshua

The Forgotten Martyr: Lady Jane Grey

Hedrick Brothers Productions was pleased to serve J&J Productions on their latest project, “The Forgotten Martyr: Lady Jane Grey.” Follow this link to view the films press release!

www.ladyjanegreymovie.com

Five Incredible Films Shown at the SAICFF Part 5

This film, though not a submission into the festival, was one of the best films shown in San Antonio. As most readers here are aware, I have a great passion for the church, church reformation in particular. And when you take my passion for church reformation and mix it with the phenomenal work of the Leclerc Brothers...need I say more? “Divided” is a personal journey following Phillip Leclerc as he strives to discover whether programmatic age segregated ministry is multiplying or dividing the church, and more importantly, whether its biblical. Along the way, Phillip interviews experts, pastors, youth pastors, x-youth pastors, and young men and women at youth rallies in an effort to uncover the truth of how God intends us to minister to youth.

This is a must see, thought provoking film, that challenges the church to examine modern traditions and ministry models in light of the teaching of Scripture. View the trailer below and follow this link if you'd like to purchase a copy.

Divided from Leclerc Brothers Motion Pictures on Vimeo.

A Recap of Two Overwhelming Weeks #6

During the three days of the festival I watched a number of films, most of which you have seen glimpses of in my top 5 list of films from the festival. It was fascinating to walk through the crowds of people and realize how many are hungry for distinctly Christian, professionally crafted films that glorify God in every frame. For me, the highlight of Thursday was the opening ceremony and the screening of the documentary produced by the National Center for Family Integrated Churches and the talented Leclerc Brothers.

Before the screening, however, Mr. Botkin presented a session I had been anticipating entitled “How to Evaluate a Hollywood Film.” In this session, Mr. Botkin practically informed the audience of the way in which the Botkin family watches films. This process, in a nutshell, consists of heavily evaluating the film against Scripture; pausing it often to discuss what has been seen. By frequently pausing the film, it not only presents an opportunity for analysis, but also prevents us, the viewers, from becoming so emotionally engrossed in the action on screen that we are unconsciously brainwashed into the ideology of hollywood screenwriters. Furthermore, it allows us to evaluate the techniques being used to present the message of the story (shots, VFX, GGI, music, coloring, blocking etc...).

Prior to commencing with the analysis of film, Mr. Botkin spent a lengthy, but necessary, amount of time discussing paintings and book illustrations. How, at an early age, he would take great pains to explain to his children the messages behind every painting and illustration in some of their favorite books. He cautioned parents not to assume your children know the content or the message of the illustration. When he'd read stories to his children that dealt with fictional animal characters, he'd always ask them, “Now can (fill in the blank) really talk?” “Of course not Daddy!” They'd reply. Mr. Botkin would then say, “Right, children, it's a story designed to communicate a message.” After demonstrating this point by showing us a few illustrations and paintings, he progressed into the topic of film evaluation. The majority of his time spent in film evaluation was focussed, primarily, upon analyzing Disney's “Finding Nemo,” but he also focused his attention to analyzing scenes from the “Love Comes Softly” series, and a single scene from “One Night With the King.” In each film, Mr. Botkin paused frequently to discuss technical elements and the philosophies presented in the sequences viewed.

Shortly thereafter, “Divided” screened before a crowd that Mr. Phillips said, could itself, be divided over the issue presented in the film. The issue the film seeks to address is summed up in its tagline, “Is age segregated ministry multiplying or dividing the church?” I'll summarize the film in my next post, for now, know that the documentary is masterfully done and beautifully shot, featuring some of the best work the Leclerc brothers have done.

On the second day of the festival, Friday, the notable films I watched included, “The Penny” and “The Runner From Ravenshead” (see my review of these films in previous posts). In conjunction with these films, I attended a seminar by Mr. Kevin Swanson and another by Mr. R.C. Sproul Jr. Around seven o'clock that evening, after a fabulous mexican meal on the River Walk, I joined the crowd awaiting the opening of the doors at the Municipal Auditorium for the anticipated premiere of “Ace Wonder.” As I took my seat near the front of the auditorium that evening, I found myself in a state of thanksgiving. I was thankful to the Lord for the remarkable outworking of His sovereign plan which lead to my brother and I both being given internships on set and exceedingly grateful for the generous extension of friendship by so many, including the Moore and Moreland families, and the great lengths they have gone to invest so much in my life.

Before I knew it the lights were dimming and the opening scene of the first feature film I've ever worked on was playing on a big screen before my eyes. A story, prior to that night, I had only come to know and love on paper, in the mountains of Tennessee, and in the editing suite in Texas was now beginning to play. For the first few moments I sat in a state of bewilderment, surrounded by friends and co-laborers. The film was shrouded in memories; looks and laughter being exchanged between interns, crew members, and actors often through the course of the film.

The film was premiered in a rough cut format. A film in this stage is not complete and still lacks some final touches (tightening, music, visual effects, color correction etc). Nevertheless, even though portions of the film had no music and even though some scenes were not in their completed form the film I saw was a successful translation from script to cinema! In fact, though I may be slightly biased, it was truly phenomenal. While the credits were rolling (and everyone was watching for his name in the credits), John Moore and Mr. Phillips ascended the platform and called up actors and crew members for a panel discussion about the film. It was during this discussion that John revealed to the audience that the film itself was actually rendering while the audience was viewing it (talk about taking it down to the wire!). Everything about the film is high quality. It's story is dynamic and fresh, the music is fabulous, the production design is stunning, the quality is high, and the acting is stunning. HeuMoore Productions has truly perused excellence in “Ace Wonder” and I pray its crucial message of fatherhood and the importance of leaving a spiritual legacy for your children shines through to audiences across the nation when it is released.

When the panel discussion concluded, much of the audience, including myself, talked until the custodians forced us into the hallway where we conversed for some time before we were again forced out, this time out the front doors of the building. But, that didn't stop the brethren from fellowship! After some time had passed, something most memorable occurred. Myself, my brother, and my oldest sister were all gathered around with many from HeuMoore Productions when it was suggested by our fearless leader that we sing some hymns. In short, the rest of our evening was spent singing hymns a cappella beginning with a group of less than ten and slowly increasing to over twenty. Young men and young women all gathered together singing praises to our Heavenly Father with one united voice on the side of the street in San Antonio, Texas, around midnight is quite an invigorating, stirring experience. My brother and I, along with some friends, returned to our rental home at nearly 4AM after a special night spent in celebration with fellow believers.

The final day of the festival came, and with it, an early morning. The first film I viewed Saturday was the film which, after viewing, I was hoping would leave the winner of the Jubilee Grand Prize: “Agenda: Grinding America Down,” and leave the winner it did! During the next period, I stood in the hallways and fellowshipped before heading over to the Municipal Auditorium to catch the end of The Penny. Directly following the conclusion of the Penny I (you can probably guess) fellowshipped some more until it was time to get a bite to eat before returning for the closing ceremony and award presentation.

I've already written about the closing ceremony in previous posts and, hence, most of you are already familiar with the winners in most of the categories. I confess to you, I was tense that evening; I had collected my guesses for the winners in each category. In some categories, my guess was correct. In others, I was pleasantly surprised. As always, however, the Jubilee Grand Prize is the highlight moment of the evening, and Mr. Phillips has a way of making the announcement even more memorable and more suspenseful than it already is. Casually, but with eager anticipation, the envelope was torn open and Mr. Phillips unfolded its contents. He looked at the audience, and back to the sheet, then back to audience. “Agenda!” He cried, as I, along with the rest of audience, leapt to our feet and the auditorium erupted in applause. I, along with everyone else, immediately started looking for the family. Little did I know that when I took my seat that evening I had positioned myself one row in front of the Bower family (makers of “Agenda”). As a direct result, I had a first hand view of the initial reaction, which consisted of tears of joy and thanksgiving. If my memory accurately serves me, I'm confident that Mr. Bower sat with this head in his hands, bewildered for a few moments before rising to lead his family up the platform where his remarkable acceptance speech was made.

I couldn't help but feel somewhat saddened as Mr. Phillips declared the 2010 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival to be concluded. In part it was due to the many friends convened there, but it was also the realization that an incredible year of having witnessed God's sovereign plan at work was drawing to a close. Upon the conclusion of the ceremony we, big surprise, fellowshipped some more. In fact, myself and some members of my family along with a few friends were the last ones standing outside the auditorium that night. It was well after 1 AM before we piled in the car to head home.

Monday morning, after a glorious Lord's Day on Sunday, we began the long journey home. When we finally exited the interstate, late Wednesday evening, my Dad said with tears, “May we never be the same.” Two overwhelming weeks had ended, but now the real challenge began; meditating on the wealth of teaching we had received and striving, by God's grace, to put into practice the things we had learned. I hope you have benefited from this summary. I thought it was paramount that I summarize the events of those two weeks (though, admittedly, it has taken longer than it should have) if for no other reason than to give me the opportunity to reflect and write my thoughts. Keep an eye out for the next post.

In Christ,
Joshua

Five Incredible Films Shown at the SAICFF Part 4

2010 Best Documentary – George Washington Carver: An Uncommon Way

This documentary is a very well researched, historically accurate film featuring lush visuals and the resonating voice of narrator Dr. Voddie Baucham. George Washington Carver recounts the remarkable story of a young slave who grew up to become a prominent scientific figure in America, dedicated to discovering the majesty of God in creation. His life is one lived out in humble service to others, a man continuously giving of himself for the benefit of others. Though his scientific discoveries are fascinating, and though he is most well known for the research he conducted on peanuts, his legacy consists of so much more. While giving due credit to his scientific genius, this documentary chooses to focus primarily upon his long journey in becoming the man many know.

The film is available for purchase here.

A Recap of Two Overwhelming Weeks #5

Due to the nature of the fact that the event I attended in San Antonio was an Academy (a school for young filmmakers), and in an effort to respect those who have produced and are now selling the products from the Academy and Festival, I will simply attempt to briefly summarize, as accurately as possible, the sessions I attended.

The final day of the Academy was relatively short compared to the previous day. It primarily focussed upon reviewing the past five years of Independent Christian Filmmaking and praising God for the work He has done. Yet, it also consisted of a focussed look at the future for the industry. Amongst other things, this included the setting of goals for the next five years and encouragement from filmmakers who have been involved in the work and desired to share personal stories of God's providence. Unfortunately, my notes are somewhat jumbled up between my notebook and my computer, so the exact order of some of these sessions might not be completely accurate. So, please forgive me if I make an error in recording the chronology of events that day.

The first session was entitled “Anniversary Overview of Christian Filmmaking in the United States,” by Mr. Geoff Botkin. In the time allotted, Mr. Botkin specifically addressed what we mustn't do as filmmakers, and as individuals in the industry. Before giving way to Mr. Phillips, Mr. Botkin stressed the importance of such things as personal character, integrity, and humility for all those preparing to enter this field. It is vitally important that the filmmaker seek to protect such qualities, as the typical characterization of a filmmaker usually consists of pride, selfish ambition, and personal aggrandizement etc. We were also firmly cautioned against impure motives and false teaching, a grave danger to Christian filmmakers. However, perhaps most fascinating, but at the same time disturbing, was his detailed analysis of the Contemporary Christian Music Industry. Mr. Botkin's purpose being: to identify its shortcomings and flaws in an attempt to communicate to us that the Independent Christian Film Industry is not striving to replicate the deteriorating CCM industry. When speaking about this, Mr. Botkin stated, “The fruit of the music is that audiences are neither edified nor strengthened in faith. We must not make the mistakes of the CCM crowd!”

Mr. Phillips followed Mr. Botkin's session by sharing some of the exciting news of the first five years. This included: improvement in production values, growth in worldview, vocabulary, and theology, families working together successfully, entrepreneurial success, and real efforts to tackle meaningful themes that advance the kingdom of God and touch hearts.

Directly following Mr. Phillips' session, Mr. Collin Gunn, writer, producer, and director of several documentaries including his most recent project IndoctriNation: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America, took the stage. Mr. Gunn has quite the reputation for tackling controversial topics through the medium of film: his first film focused on defending marriage between a man and a woman; his second, on demolishing feminism. IndoctriNation is sure to follow suit tackling another controversial yet important topic. During this session, Mr. Gunn shared very helpful lessons learned both from previous projects and from IndoctriNation. He spoke about the process of guerilla documentary filmmaking. He told us how he conducts interviews on the street and that it oftentimes entails getting kicked out of certain locations, but it's a risk the filmmaker has to be willing to take in order to get the content he needs. He told us to always be respectful of the people we interview, taking great pains to ensure that all thoughts and views expressed are placed in context and accurately represented. Additionally, he shared about his work with Mr. Phillips in the European Faith and Freedom Tour; what he learned and how that has helped him in his latest production.

After a short break we came back together and heard from David Cook, author of Golf's Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia and co-author of the screenplay for his upcoming 7 million dollar feature film, Seven Days in Utopia. Mr. Cook presented a trailer for his project and related to us the remarkable circumstances which lead him to adapting his book to screen.

The next session was a panel discussion in which we heard from filmmakers involved in key projects of 2010-2011. The panel included some of the makers from Agenda, The Penny, The Runner From Ravenshead, Divided, Ace Wonder, and others. Each member of the panel talked about their respective experience in film, particularly with regard to their most recent productions, recounting the providence of God and the lessons learned by mistakes.

I have to be honest with you, I didn't learn much in the next session. And it wasn't because the instructors weren't good, it was because the content is beyond my current capacity to fully understand. The session was by David and Steven Bowman (those of you who know this brother pair probably already understand my previous statement). David and Steven Bowman are two of the most highly talented visual effects artists in the Christian film industry, and their work only continues to improve. Both of these brothers are self-taught, but truly exceptional in their work. Visual effects is something often overlooked by those in the Christian film industry, primarily because in the past we've lacked the means to create stunning VFX, but also because it is an intricate, complex field of study that requires meticulous, dedicated, hard work. Thanks to the availability of ground-breaking technology to the average individual, this field is quickly becoming an area mastered by people such as the Bowman brothers. In their session, the Bowman brothers took VFX shots from several projects including The Mysterious Islands, European Faith and Freedom Tour, and Ace Wonder, dissecting each layer of their work in an attempt to teach us some of the techniques they use in creating various VFX shots. Additionally, they screened a video, highly anticipated by the students, which had been constructed over the past 48 hours. And rather than explain it to you, I'll let you see it.

Hollywood Timelapse from Effects Forge on Vimeo.

David and Steven Bowman have recently started a company called The Effects Forge, which (as its name implies) is a company completely dedicated to manufacturing high quality visual effects for Christian media. Check them out at www.effectsforge.com

The next session, given by Mr. Phillips, was entitled “How to Win the $101,000 Grand Prize: The Secrets of Our Judging Process Revealed.” For those of you unfamiliar with the Jubilee Grand Prize (given this year to the documentary Agenda), it is the largest cash prize given to a single film at any film festival in America, and it is given every year at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival to the film the judges determine best encapsulates the ideals and standards of the festival; standards taken directly from Scripture and systematically organized so that the filmmaker always has a guideline when making his film. That said, I believe I can tell you no more about this lecture.

The final session of the academy was a Q&A session in which students from the audience had an opportunity to ask questions to Mr. Phillips and Mr. Botkin. After a very informative Q&A the final charge was given and the 2010 Christian Filmmakers Academy was brought to a close.

I know this is taking me much longer than it should to summarize, but I do have one more post on the topic in which I'd like to summarize my thoughts on the Festival and the premiere of Ace Wonder: Message From a Dead Man.

Stand Fast!

Josh