International Christian Film and Music Festival

First, the Burbank Media Expo, now a week later, the International Christian Film and Music Festival.  August is already a busy month.  First of all, this is not the kind of film festival where they screen a bunch of movies.  This was about industry professionals who are Christians talking about the moral challenges they face in the industry. 

Hollywood can be unfriendly to Christians, and by that, I mean there is a lot of content out there that goes against our Christian beliefs.  Gratuitous violence, overt sex and foul language are some examples.  A few weeks ago, I went on a rant about the F-bomb in the live-action version of the family-friendly anime, “One Piece”.

And that’s where I stand.  Part of my brand is that I’m PG-13.  No matter what I write, or for what media, it’s going to be family-friendly.  But now with cable TV and streaming services, FCC regulations don’t apply (because they are not on public airwaves) and so that content is getting harder to find.

The festival opened with something I appreciated – a networking event.  I’m not a natural networker, so this was perfect for me.  At our table, we each had two minutes to tell our name, where we were from, what we do, the challenges we have faced and blessings we have had.  I ended up exchanging business cards with some people and giving out some GLAWS bookmarks to some who were interested in writing.  Joining GLAWS was my big blessing.  That’s were I met my mentors, joined my critiques groups and met the people like editors and agents that I will need on my writing journey.

After that, the conference was bam, bam, bam, one speaker right after another until the lunch break.  I liked that format.  No time wasted.  Each speaker spoke for about half an hour, got right into their point and gave us a lot of information and practical advice.

Here are some of the highlights:

Actor Bruce Marchiano spoke about his career in the faith-based film industry.  He also gave three pieces of practical advice.  1) Get good at what you do.  Employers will only remember you if you are really good or really bad.  This was encouraging, I’ve been working on my writing since I joined GLAWS.  2)  Social media is everything.  Today, this is how people present themselves to the world.  That’s what I’m doing right now writing this.  3)  This is a do-it-yourself world.  No one is going to just buy your script for $1,000,000.  What connections do you have, what resources do you have?  What can you do to promote your work.

(Sorry, didn’t get a picture)

Matt Green, filmmaker, producer and director spoke about why film is so powerful.  To quote, “When a large group of people watch the same story, they start agreeing.  It changes the collective mind.”  He is studying this topic for his doctorate at The Master’s university.

Brad Silverman, chief content creator of Cappa Studios, spoke about Your Purpose.  It’s not just about making faith-based films, it’s about your work ethic in any production – or job.  “Your job is to make His name great.  To display the wonder and awesomeness and majesty of God.”  So, it’s not what you do, but how you do it.  How do you exemplify Christ?

Joth Riggs, who started his film carrier as a PA on “Pet Cemetery 2”, offered practical advice.  1) It’s who you know.  Get to know as many people as you can.  Word of mouth gets around and you never know who is going to help you.  2) You first need to know what your good at.  3)  Be authentic.  Know your boundaries.  Again, mine is PG-13.

Jeff Brooks, founder of Redrock Entertainment and Candy Rock, spoke on Mastering the Pivot.  How his career took many turns and how he was ready and open to them.

Finally, our own Pastor Jay Underwood spoke on how he went from being a “blue collar actor” for twenty years, to being called into the ministry.  How when he became a Christian, he started having to turn down roles because he couldn’t do what they wanted him to do.  Again, he emphasized, you have to establish your boundaries.

The conference ended with a Q&A session with most of the speakers.  It was a full day even though it ended at 4:30 pm.  I found it to be spiritually inspiring and encouraging, especially since most of the things they said I should be doing I’m already doing.  I thanked the producer of the conference and he said they do plan on coming back next year.  I’m looking forward to that.

Dennis

281st blog completed.

Second Steampunk novel: 4,986 words.  Chapter Four done.

Second Steampunk screenplay:  157 pages.

First Steampunk screenplay:  Updated with notes from the novelization.

First Steampunk novel:  77,546 words.  Completed until an editor reviews it.

Third Steampunk screenplay:  38 pages.

FYI, I was in a car accident last Monday.  I’m mostly okay, but my car was totaled.