This last sunday was a special sunday for Ecclesia because it marks the church’s 4th anniverseray. It is a great community of believers and Katie and I have found quite the church home.
Anyways… this last Sunday was not only special because of the anniversary but also because they showed a new “promo” but most importantly because it was baptism Sunday. Unlike every Church of Christ I have grown up in this church does not have a baptismal area ready at the call of an invitational. This church chooses one Sunday out of the year and gathers all those who feel called to baptism and baptizes them in a plastic coy pond shell. It was very special and very unique to Katie and I due to our C of C upbringing.
On the way out of church I was talking to some good friends and this was the first time they had seen adult baptisms because they grew up in CRC?( Christian Reform Church… I think…) They found the baptisms very special and unique from a whole different persepective then Katie and I. It’s because of this I love our church. It is made up of so many backgrounds and perspectives that we are always learning something new and experiencing the Love of God in a whole new light.
Katie went on a women’s retreat this past weekend. She had a great time. You should bug her to blog about it.
BTW: Her birthday is coming up this weekend. Does anyone have any birthday suggestions? I was thinking a new Wii game…
Katie and I just saw the latest commercial from Toyota advertising their brand new 2010 Prius. The similarity between the commercial and an ACU SingSong performance is quite uncanny! SingSong is hard to describe and must be seen to be believed.
This is a music video that I shot and edited. This video is in conjunction with a few other videos that I am currently working on for Sally Gary. Sally is a dear friend and has started a great ministry called CenterPeace.
The other videos are more promotional in nature but Sally and I had alot of fun with this music video.
Haley, the vocal artist, did a wonderful job and I must thank the Boone’s for their wonderful time and talent.
I also must thank Bryson Allen and Dani for their help throughout the entire shoot.
Last week I was lucky enough to have the “free time” to work on Jeremy Casper’s independent film Vacant House. Its a wonderful story about an escaped convict who seeks refuge in a house in which the owner has been dead for years. Jeremy, the writer and director, is one of my former professors from LAFSC and is not only an incredible teacher but a great friend. He kept the set so light hearted and comfortable that it was impossible not to have a ton of fun. On set there was alot of hard work, quick shots, heat and lots of laughter.
I had a wonderful time working with the crew. Tom, the DP, was incredibly nice and considerate about the lack of knowledge that most of us volunteers had. Chris, the main actor, is a wonderful guy who has owns a production company in Nashville. The producer, Kelly, was very sweet and a killer cook.
Throughout the four days I worked on the set I mainly worked as a Grip and Set PA. Tom later gave me the responsibility to pack and unpack the Grip Truck which was always a pain but it felt good that he thought I was responsible enough to be in charge of it.
I recently traveled back to Abilene, Texas to do some production work for a nonprofit organization. I really wanted to use a dolly for certain portions of the project but I didn’t want to rent one nor travel with one. When I reached Abilene I talked it over with my dad, pulled up some youtube videos and discovered that many people have made track dollies out of ordinary ladders. We decided to give it a try and ended up with a quick and dirty track dolly system.
Check out the video on how it was made and for some example footage.
Today was a wonderful Easter Sunday. Katie started the morning with breakfast in bed! Wow! She made a Paula Dean special: French Toast Casserole. I wish I would have taken a picture of it because it was beautiful… Dang… I married a pretty awesome lady.
After breakfast we loaded up the car with all our picnic goodies and headed to Ecclesia. This morning I parked a couple of block over on Sunset (because Katie was volunteering) and I was able to walk through the beautful Sunday Farmer’s Market that takes over several streets between Sunset and Hollywood. As I walked I could smell all the wonderful flowers and fruits that the vendors were selling and everyone looked so happy and cheerful to be outside on this beautiful sunny california morning. Everyone was wearing their spring colors and looked very cheerful.
The Ecclesia service was wonderful. The sermon was given by D.Paul Thomas and was filled with funny sarcasm and hope. It was so nice to sit in this beautiful historic theatre and look around and see almost all the chairs filled. Since Ecclesia is so young (they are about to celebrate their 4th anniverery) the services are still small but not today.
Once the service was over we met up with all our friends and again confirmed our picnic plans. Katie and I picked up a bucket of KFC and left for Griffith park. Now we have never been to Griffith and were very surprised at how wooded and forest like it was. I thought it was going to be more like a big grassy area but not where we were. Now I imagine that there are plenty of grassy meadows around the huge park but where we all met felt like we were in Big Sur or some far off forest and not actually just a few miles from downtown Hollywood. Pretty amazing.
Once we claimed a picnic table and laid out our smorgishboard of chicken, pasta salad, fruit salad, pulled pork, unleavened bread and many desserts we all dug in. It wasn’t the best food ever (correction: the food was fantastic) but it was incredible because we shared it with people we love.
Katie and I have been blessed with many friends out here in Los Angeles but those friends from LAFSC are more family then friends.
We capped our lunch picnic with a jelly bean spitting competition. We all took three jellybeans and spit them as far as we could and I am proud to announce that I beat everyone… even the all time champ: Matt Berkenpass! However… Matt B. couldn’t stand being beat so he spent a handful of jelly beans and about thirty minutes trying to beat me and finally by about one inch he beat me. Haha… good times.
The service was just wonderful tonight and was another reminder to me of why I love our church. Ecclesia is a fantastic body of believers which many are heavily involved in the “industry” yet come here to ever so simply worship with one another.
Blah Blah Blah…. Katie was outstanding tonight. I must say that she was probably the best player up there (but they were all good too). Video to come.
The pictures are of everyone practicing before the service.
I just added another Pet Painting to the website that my mother painted for one of our friends. Another beautiful Golden Retriever. A golden is one of those dogs that I see myself owning sometime in the future but right now Katie and I have our eye on a little dog breed called Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. They are so cute and would make a great little apartment dog.Since we are kinda on the dog topic I need to show you some pictures of one of my best friend’s new puppy. His name is Doc, he is a beautiful black lab and Bryson Allen loves him to death!
I spent most of the day yesterday working on my demo reel and revising my resume. The demo reel is not perfect but I am overall pleased with the way it turned out.
Life is going well even-though I am still unemployed. I have made several positive contacts within the last week and hope to be on a few different sets by the end of the week even if I am not payed. It seems that if I want to get on film sets I need to make myself known in those areas which means I need to simply volunteer on a few different projects.
I’ll let everyone know what is going on in the next couple of days. Thanks for all your support.
Here is Katie practicing for the 7:00 Maunday Thursday service. Anyone who reads should come and see Katie perform. Contact me If you want to join me.
I have always loved the orchestra and consider it one of my biggest regrets that I did participate during grade school days but I think it is a hidden blessing that my wife is so talented in this area. Love it all.
I will try and record some footage of her and post it online.
Last week I was lucky enough to have the “free time” to work on Jeremy Casper’s independent film Vacant House. Its a wonderful story about an escaped convict who seeks refuge in a house in which the owner has been dead for years.
Jeremy, the writer and director, is one of my former professors from LAFSC and is not only an incredible teacher but a great friend. He kept the set so light hearted and comfortable that it was impossible not to have a ton of fun. On set there was alot of hard work, quick shots, heat and lots of laughter.
A golden is one of those dogs that I see myself owning sometime in the future but right now Katie and I have our eye on a little dog breed called Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. They are so cute and would make a great little apartment dog.
Since we are kinda on the dog topic I need to show you some pictures of one of my best friend’s new puppy. His name is Doc, he is a beautiful black lab and Bryson Allen loves him to death!
