Production diary

I Want His Hair

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:36:10 -0500

When I say “I want David Crowder’s hair,” I don’t really want his hair. How sick would that be? It reminds me of the kid from my old youth group who collected a liberal-sized sample of his girlfriend’s hair, put it in a zip-lock bag, and duct taped it to his kick drum that he played for the worship band. To this day, I have a vivid memory of watching that nasty bag of neon red hair leap from the drum on every down beat of “Give Us Clean Hands.”
What I really mean is that I wish I could pull of his hair style.
Somewhere in between the ratted and spiked exploding mane of awesomeness and the 10-inch wisdom lock hanging from his chin, lies a really great guy. He gave up his time on a Saturday afternoon, opening his home to us for two hours to shoot an interview for Youth Specialties’ 2008 National Youth Workers Convention.
His interview was hysterical. Link coming soon. Here’s some production pics...

Walking With the Wise

Mon, 3 Mar 2008 11:08:03 -0600

We had a blast in Dallas working with Wisdom Works on their promo DVD for this next year’s Planet Wisdom Tour. I must say, these guys definitely have their stuff together--making for a really fun and efficient production.
The two weekends we spent on the tour made me wish that my youth group had been able to go to Planet Wisdom back in the day. In my humble, unbiased opinion, no student conference that I have been to comes close to this one.
Now that the Planet Wisdom plug is done, onto some pics...

Lots of Post

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 22:47:38 -0600

You know those HP commercials where Serena Williams or Jerry Seinfeld move around all kinds of 3D objects with their hands, but you never see their faces? Take that same basic concept, add the Skit Guys and you’ll end up with our next You Teach video, “God’s Will.”
The majority of the production time spent making this video will be occur in post. I’m excited for the challenge, but at the same time, not looking forward to it. In my near future I see many late, caffeinated nights with monitor-fried eyeballs and very slow progress.
Here’s a few of behind-the-scenes pics...

4 AM

Tue, 5 Feb 2008 17:59:24 -0600

What a late night we had last week. Don’t get me wrong--we’ve had plenty of shoots that have wrapped near 4 AM, but I don’t think we have ever gone past. However, the wrap time aside, this shoot will will be a tough one to get out of my head for a long time to come. I attribute that to Renee.
When we first met with Renee, the owner of Beverly’s Pancake Corner, about shooting at her diner, she asked us what our film was about. We simply told her, “It’s about mourning, and how to help those people in their time of need.” What Renee then shared with us made it very clear that we were in the middle of--as cliché as it may sound--a divine appointment.
After moving to the United States from Iran over 20 years ago, Renee and her husband opened a small diner with every intention of capturing the American dream. They did just that.
Several years and a few kids later, Renee and her husband had paid off their $600,000 house. This achievement was soon followed by her husband divorcing her and taking everything... EVERYTHING.
Renee told us how she would sometimes walk out to Lake Hefner (in Oklahoma City) and clinch her fists and scream as loud as her voice would let her. As she drew her story’s end painted in her rich, yet beautiful accent; she told us, ”People need to hear this. I would like very much for you to film here.” We couldn’t agree more.
It was around 4 AM when we started asking each other, “OK guys, which day of the week is going to be our Beverly’s Day?” It’s just that kind of place. As you can see from the production pics, the diner has a magical look to it. You can feel it when you walk through the doors.
So if you ever find yourself hungry in OKC at 3 AM, hop on the NW Expressway. If you drive the strip just long enough you’ll stumble across Beverly’s Pancake Corner--a cozy and cultured all-nighter that serves up the best comfort food for under $6. And tell Renee that Brian sent you.

The Skit Gals

Sat, 5 Jan 2008 17:36:42 -0600

Post production has now begun on a You Teach: Volume 3 video called Need Harmony. I have to admit, there’s nothing quite like working with Tommy and Eddie in full costume and makeup... playing female roles.