What it is:
Short animated film/video to be shown at youth oriented Christian
outreach services.
Target Audience:
Non-believer teens to twenty-somethings. Those that may be resistant to traditional Christian doctrine. The audience perspective is assumed to be
that of ones who perceive themselves as having been adversely “affected”
by their parents, authority, society etc. leading to a self centered victimhood.
Goal:
The Gospel and its traditional parables was written to an agrarian culture.
We will tell the parable of the seeds in a different way. The hope is that the target audience will be somewhat receptive to an abstraction that
provokes thought.
The film will be an animated modern metaphor of the sower
from Matthew 13.
Through an abstract analogy, we will show them how dire their
current course is. How it leads inevitably to death and an empty eternity.
So, when they encounter the name of Jesus, as they will when they view this film, how will they react? We want to make them aware that accepting the name of Jesus will change their lives in this world and the next.
After we get them to identify with situations and characters depicting the
types of soil from the parables, we want to leave the viewer with the question: “What kind of soil am I in today’s world? And who is this Jesus that changes?”
The film does not directly elucidate Christian doctrine in the traditional way
(explaining the saving grace of the Blood of the Cross, or who Jesus is in history, or why atonement is needed). Using some obvious but strong metaphors, it presents the fact that in an increasingly distracting world,
Jesus will change your fate in it and for eternity.
The greater purpose of the presentation is to spur curiosity and investigation into Christ’s saving message, not to explain what the message is
or even whom the person of Christ is.
Vehicle:
An animated CGI short (estimated 8-10 minute) depicting common human experiences in an abstract way. We want to create a “think piece” that will stir the mind and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.
Explanation will be the responsibility of the follow up ministry (yet to be outlined) to drive home the Scriptural message. Many opportunities for discussion will naturally proceed.
Plot Outline:
The audience sees through the eyes of an “alien” explorer piloting
some sort of craft through a strange world. We watch from his craft and through his 2 drones as they follow the experiences of multiple characters on their journey flying though life. It will become obvious that the wold he is exploring is our human existence.
The characters we follow are based on the Biblical soils in both humorous
and tragic ways that mirror a modern non-believer’s experience.
The world is a grey place, in fact the entire setting is in shades of
black and white.
Color is used only to accent our Spirit. The human characters start in color
and gradually turn grey as they fly through the world. The only dialog
between characters consists of variations and inflections of “blah, blah, blah” and the spoken Word “Jesus”. The contrast of gibberish to the spoken name
of “Jesus” will be stark for impact. The Word, “Jesus” brings color back into grey characters and changes their direction.
As the human characters experience transformation, so does the alien transition from that of a safely detached observer to one being physically affected by what he observes. This interaction causes the explorer to have to make life changing decisions to survive. The viewing audience, as casual observer, identifying itself from the point of view of the alien, will in turn be drawn into the decision making process.
Since the bulk of the movie takes place in mid-air, until this point all The AE camera angles have supported the notion that all objects and characters were flying through the air from stage right to stage left. The barrier debris wall is stage left and the probe and The AE craft perceive it as a wall.
The AE screen begins to tilt a few degrees at a time as it moves along the plane amongst the debris. As there are no more probes to augment The AE’s vision, we are left with the single AE craft camera angle and we begin to perceive the debris plane more akin to how The AE craft had viewed the ground in the beginning. The AE is skimming the surface, up and down over all the debris. In the distance along the gray, now darkening ground plane of debris, a colorful beam of light shines outward.
The AE approaches the source of the beam.
The debris plane is now so dense that for all practical purposes it is the ground. When the angle changes, there is now a strong sense of gravity. The angle from which The AE craft scans is fully turned ninety degrees from where it was when the first character (PG) hit. The debris wall is now perceived as down and we realize that the the objects careening toward it are actually falling! The invisible wall has drawn all this stuff to it like gravity draws objects to earth.
From a cautious distance above, The AE watches as the debris parts in the shape of a cross, the powerful light streaming out like headlights on a foggy night. The view is now as if the light is coming from a hole in the ground below it, since there is a sufficient amount of stuff caught in the plane to imply solid ground. In the distance at the very end of the light beam is a person with arms stretched out to the side, colorfully glowing, peacefully floating, approaching the plane. The AE moves along the beam away from the source and closer to the person floating down. He follows alongside and takes a lingering look at the person with a smile on her face. It’s The Nurse from Act 3, glowingly colorful, who first introduced The Word “Jesus” to PG. We follow her down to the light source in the debris plane. We watch her float through the debris and beyond into the light as the junk closes behind her and snuffs out the light beam. The audience is left in the gray darkness as The AE camera re-adjusts to the low light.