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[Poll]
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Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft?
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Total Votes : 10
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(last vote on : 10/27/2008 10:08:32 PM)
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Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 9/27/2008 10:35:40 AM
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gaylel1
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And present a superior product?
I think so because Christian filmakers should have a superior, professional type product to present to both the christian and secular world alike.
The only film company is doing that really, is World Wide Pictures, Billy Graham's outfit for a long time. The pictures in which this company present are not of "B" movie quality, but very, very professional. I believe that many Christian movie companies should take a lesson from them.
Another movie company is Tyler Perry's organizations, whose stories revolve around life lessons such as love, forgiveness and redemption. Now, he uses Christians and non-christians alike in his productions because many of those actors are professional and are excellent in their craft.
But the question is that should Christian filmakers should be the best in their craft?
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RE: Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 10/3/2008 2:00:31 AM
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ProtoE
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According to that logic, Christians should then also be the best musicians, the best mathematicians, the best writers, the best doctors, the best shoe makers, you name it.
Christians should, of course, strive to do their best in whatever vocation they have. But this does not 'guarantee' a superior product.
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RE: Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 10/3/2008 10:10:19 AM
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tafkam
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Well, they should but so far there's no danger of that actually happening...
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RE: Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 10/3/2008 10:29:29 AM
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uncabeeil
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From: Joisey. Got a problem wit dat?
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If anybody, regardless of their beliefs, isn't striving to be the best at what they do they're cheating themselves. It shouldn't matter what you're doing, give it your best, or else why bother at all?
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RE: Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 10/3/2008 12:59:26 PM
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techne
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quote:
ORIGINAL: gaylel1
But the question is that should Christian filmakers should be the best in their craft?
i would say that they should be among the best in any area since G-d requires and deserves excellence -- more importantly, however, their character should be exemplary.
_____________________________
And when people cease to believe that there is good and evil
Only beauty will call to them and save them
So that they still know how to say: this is true and that is false.
One more day by Czeslaw Milosz
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RE: Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 10/23/2008 9:32:19 PM
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Trusting.in.Him
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Christians should always strive to do the best they can at what they do.
That doesn't mean that they are always going to rise to the top.
I'm sure many are considering the Sherwood pictures crew, i.e. the people that made Flywheel, Facing the Giants, Fireproof, etc...
In their case, just to use an example, they don't have the kind of money that is going to yield a Hollywood-quality movie. But what if they'd said, "well, Christians need to be the best at moviemaking, so since we can't produce a top-notch film with professional acting and whatnot, it's not a good idea to even try"? There would be a lot of lives that never had a chance to be changed because of the impact of these movies.
Simply put, if a Christian filmaker is relying on God and doing their best, they'll be successful.
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RE: Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 10/24/2008 10:36:12 AM
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techne
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Trusting.in.Him
In their case, just to use an example, they don't have the kind of money that is going to yield a Hollywood-quality movie. But what if they'd said, "well, Christians need to be the best at moviemaking, so since we can't produce a top-notch film with professional acting and whatnot, it's not a good idea to even try"? There would be a lot of lives that never had a chance to be changed because of the impact of these movies.
i disagree - there are many great films made by non-christians that had small budgets...money is not the issue. writing, acting, narrative, cinematography - those are often the issue. even with small budgets, movies do not have to look cheap. the question is: how much money do you need to make a good movie? if movies are about storytelling, then one would think that good writing, good acting, good cinematography would be the important issues and that's where the criticism of "christian film" often lands. and rightly so. the issue is not that it can't be done.
then again, if by "hollywood-quality movie" you mean spectacular stunts and special effects out the wazoo, then that's another story. but there are many movies out there with gigantic budgets that are really bad movies (waterworld, anyone?) so again, money won't make a movie good in and of itself. of course, there is more than enough money in the church to make such a film...i mean, what - in your opinion - is an insufficient budget? $5 million? $12 million? $25 million? i could name you movies that achieve excellence for any of those budget amounts. and i could name you movies that are lousy movies that cost $80 million, $100 million or $150 million. again, budgets are not the primary issue here.
and to be honest, i wonder how many people's lives have really been changed or impacted by most of those films? there are no numbers. and they rarely reach wider distribution, being primarily attended by christians. then again, i have friends whose lives were impacted for G-d while they were watching the matrix, LOTR and phone booth. none of which are "christian films".
quote:
ORIGINAL: Trusting.in.Him
Simply put, if a Christian filmaker is relying on God and doing their best, they'll be successful.
especially if they market their materials to christians, who will most likely accept it without much critical thought...
i recently engaged a blog elsewhere about this very issue (here), and my thought is that one should be very careful about releasing their work (whether it's film or art or music) into an environment it isn't ready for. in other words, if you don't want to be measured in a certain way, or against certain standards, then don't put the work into that context. keep working and keep growing. but when someone releases a movie into the same pool as hollywood films, then your film will be measured against those standards, and some of those filmmakers really know their stuff. so that will be the standard they are measured against.
i'm not advocating a ghetto mindset (which the church in many ways is already guilty of), but i am saying that we need to nurture these artists and help them to grow in skill and confidence until they are able to produce work that will measure up to the best of hollywood as films, and not because of their budgets.
_____________________________
And when people cease to believe that there is good and evil
Only beauty will call to them and save them
So that they still know how to say: this is true and that is false.
One more day by Czeslaw Milosz
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RE: Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 10/24/2008 10:45:29 AM
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Consecrated2God
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I agree that they should definitely do their best, because its' biblical to do our best in whatever we do. But we don't have to be the best.
I've seen some really good Christian films lately, such as "The List" and "Thr3e".
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RE: Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 10/24/2008 3:50:32 PM
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writerchick
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While I agree that we should do our best, I still wonder if the products aren't as good as they could be because the people involved aren't walking in their anointing. Filmmaking is such a glamorous job (to the outside world) that people who are much more talented in other professions give it up to become a writer or an actor or whatever.
The rationale seems to be Phil 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ..." But is filmmaking the thing you should be doing? How much responsibility does the church share in this for encouraging a person to continue down a path where they have no gifting instead of discovering their true gifts?
So to answer the question, yes. Unfortunately, that's not always the case because the person isn't working in the craft for which God has blessed him.
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RE: Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 10/24/2008 8:31:09 PM
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rgod
Posts: 1475
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quote:
And present a superior product?
I think so because Christian filmakers should have a superior, professional type product to present to both the christian and secular world alike.
The only film company is doing that really, is World Wide Pictures, Billy Graham's outfit for a long time. The pictures in which this company present are not of "B" movie quality, but very, very professional. I believe that many Christian movie companies should take a lesson from them.
Another movie company is Tyler Perry's organizations, whose stories revolve around life lessons such as love, forgiveness and redemption. Now, he uses Christians and non-christians alike in his productions because many of those actors are professional and are excellent in their craft.
But the question is that should Christian filmakers should be the best in their craft?
I think you should be excellent with whatever level of talent you have. I also think that there are Christian artists and filmmakers who aren't working in the "Christian" market, but are in Hollywood and other places - and many of these people are excellent. The company that released Bella (Metanoia) turned out a good product. I thought that Narnia was a pretty good production - and that was Walden Media. Icon pictures produced Passion of the Christ, which was a very good film.
I agree that a lot Christian films are substandard - usually it seems like they'll have a couple of big name actors, then they fill in with people who aren't so good - but they look the part. Perhaps that is due to budgetary constraints? In any event - I feel excited about what movies will be released - particularly since it is much easier to make movies today, for less money. Maybe the indies are producing higher quality film?
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RE: Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 10/25/2008 2:04:55 PM
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colliefan
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Col 3:17 (ESV) 17And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Col 3:23 - 24 (ESV) 23Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
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RE: Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 10/25/2008 6:14:51 PM
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todd_t
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Frankly, I think an artist's religion is irrelevant to the quality of work he/she creates.
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RE: Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 10/26/2008 4:25:28 AM
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aslouie
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From: Los Angeles, CA.
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Personally, I will say, "Why not?" I mean, when's the last time you hear of a Christian movie (probably from the same kind that produced the Billy Graham bio) getting even an off-competition mention by the folks at Cannes, Rotterdam, Sundance, Venice, Berlin, Telluride, and many other how-browed/hoighty-toighty(sp?) film festivals of the world--save except some rarities like Krystof Kieszlowski's The Decalogue?
I mean, to simply put it, I'll just lay out the following mise-en-scene food for thought here:
Why is it that there's more people in the world (i.e. in France, Italy, Hong Kong or Japan) that has heard of Madonna--more so than say, Steven Curtis Chapman? 'Enough said...
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RE: Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 10/26/2008 8:45:13 AM
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MusicianDad
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quote:
ORIGINAL: ProtoE
According to that logic, Christians should then also be the best musicians, the best mathematicians, the best writers, the best doctors, the best shoe makers, you name it.
Christians should, of course, strive to do their best in whatever vocation they have. But this does not 'guarantee' a superior product.
Well said!
Also, the "Best" thing is totally subjective. Who's best are we talking about here. The author of this thread? The money men in the Christian film industry? The Academy Awards? Siskel & Ebert? How do we know that they aren't the best in His opinion already?
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RE: Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 10/26/2008 10:45:05 AM
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stellaluna
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quote:
ORIGINAL: techne
quote:
ORIGINAL: gaylel1
But the question is that should Christian filmakers should be the best in their craft?
i would say that they should be among the best in any area since G-d requires and deserves excellence -- more importantly, however, their character should be exemplary.
I agree with this.
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Who should be allowed to attend church?
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RE: Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 10/27/2008 12:44:38 AM
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PhrozenPhoenix
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I think everyone no matter what should strive to do the best they can on whatever job they do do. That said I also think Christian filmwork should be held to a higher standard. I think that's where the problem is. When I was an extra on The Visitation, everyone was just there for the job. Most of the main actors and even the director were not Christians. So these were just a no talent bunch that couldn't make it in Hollywood and just grab whatever job they can. The director was obviously just doing a job. While it was extremely low budget, you could have gotten a much more talented Christian director who's heart was really and the movie and I'm sure it would have come out MUCH better.
I also think that just because someone is a Christian, that they can get the job. They need talent and if they don't, sorry... maybe filmmaking is not for you. Or just because the message is Christian, doesn't mean its automatically good.
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Anyway I think yes everyone should strive their best when doing any job. But when it comes to Christian films I think the studios that put out most of these "Christian movies" should strive their best to put out good quality work they can be actually proud of. Not just throw a couple millioin into a movie knowing they'll make money back on it whether its good or not. When the Christian studios and such start taking film seriously, we'll finally have some good Christian entertainment. So yes I think we should STRIVE to be the best. But not let that be the focus of why we're doing it. Sadly I don't see this changing any time soon but maybe one day.
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RE: Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 10/27/2008 1:21:24 AM
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writerchick
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quote:
ORIGINAL: PhrozenPhoenix
When the Christian studios and such start taking film seriously, we'll finally have some good Christian entertainment. So yes I think we should STRIVE to be the best. But not let that be the focus of why we're doing it. Sadly I don't see this changing any time soon but maybe one day.
I honestly don't know of any Christian studios. Would you mind naming a couple? I'm curious to check them out.
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RE: Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 10/27/2008 1:48:57 AM
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rgod
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writerchick:
Here are a few:
cloud ten
clear entertainment
christiano film group
walden media (I don't think they do only christian films, but they do produce some of them.)
tyler perry productions
BIG Idea
TBN
Melanoia (I only know of one film released by them though)
Five and Two Pictures
I'm sure there are many more.
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RE: Should Christian Filmakers Be The Best In Their Craft? - 10/27/2008 1:59:21 AM
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writerchick
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quote:
ORIGINAL: rgod
writerchick:
Here are a few:
cloud ten
clear entertainment
christiano film group
walden media (I don't think they do only christian films, but they do produce some of them.)
tyler perry productions
BIG Idea
TBN
Melanoia (I only know of one film released by them though)
Five and Two Pictures
I'm sure there are many more.
Thanks. I've heard of Walden, TBN and Tyler Perry, but I'll have to research the others. I'm a bit leery of Tyler Perry because he's having some issues with the Writers Guild and from what I've heard so far, he's clearly in the wrong.
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