Easter at Riv

Recently I chatted with my Creative Director at Riverview, Josh, about a tangible way to measure growth in my time as video intern. We came up with the idea for me to backtrack, reflect and write on various projects that we produce at Riv, focusing on the purpose of the pieces, challenges we overcame, and how they all tie in to the greater vision of the church. A blog seemed appropriate.

First up will be the Easter film we shot, which served as a segue from the music portion into the teaching.

PRE-PRODUCTION

Our first discussion was about the service as a whole. Josh wanted to shape the entire service into a narrative of sorts, even if it was implicit. For example, the beginning of the first music set was high and celebratory. As the set progressed, the lyrical content and lighting shifted back toward a Good Friday feel, a state of emotion where Jesus is convicted, crucified and seemingly defeated. The narrative is in tension at the point of transition into the message, but over the course of the teaching the hope of Jesus’ resurrection is presented, as well as our position moving forward in Christ.

With that staked out, we moved on to the narrative video itself. The theme was “Death Let Go, Jesus Won’t”. We wanted the beginning of the piece to start on an emotional low and match the end of the music set, with our set elements (edison bulbs) in flux. The chaos and disunion of the bulbs was meant to convey the pre-Christ condition. On the back wall Josh painted out Romans 5:8, serving as a crescendo to the point of hope where a wooden marquee cross would flood the set with light.

After nailing down the rough story arc, we started planning out some shots. Most were stabilized slides and dollies, either past or between bulbs. In addition we planned to do handheld and glide-cam shots between the bulbs and approaching the painting.

PRODUCTION

Using our shot list we grouped up shots in accordance to the story (flickering shots, shots during painting, stable lights, and post cross shots). We basically ran around the set and shot whatever looked awesome. We shot on a 60D and 5D MIII, with 24mm and 50mm lenses. We didn’t need to add any other light sources outside of the set elements.

POST-PRODUCTION

In post, I started the edit, pulling clips that were visually interesting and relevant to the arc. Josh took on the bulk of the edit, and cut something really fantastic. For sound design we mixed in faint clips of news reporting on recent disasters and attacks, reinforcing the chaos experienced in the world. The music bed underneath was found after the fact as well, but served the mood of the piece perfectly.

Here’s the final output:

CONCLUSION

The project was great practice for me, to be involved in crafting a vision and coming out the other side with something very close to that initial vision. Josh’s work on the edit really brought everything together. The emotion and implications of the gospel shine through, and the piece served its purpose to set up the Easter teaching.

More projects to come.