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.
There are four basic plot devices that run concurrently through the film. I have included some animated precedents to illustrate each element.
Flying or Falling
The first is the question of whether the characters are flying or falling. Are they defying gravity and flying through the air horizontally, free to experience their life at will? Or are you really being pulled inexorably toward their end on a vertical trajectory straight down? This symbolically mirrors the horizontal and vertical elements of the Cross.
Xbox “Baby to Man to Grave”
https://youtu.be/XyDMqdzPKb8
Kiwi
https://youtu.be/sdUUx5FdySs
Generation (Falling/Flying)
https://youtu.be/ODwNUpUPoDM?t=9m55s
Color or Grey
The second is the use of color and grey. As the characters move from birth through life, the grey Blah drains the color out of them. The Blah world is the domain of the “Prince of the Air” (Ephesians 2:2 – in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience). Color is the reflection of the portion of the light spectrum that reveals the visual qualities of what is being illuminated. Jesus is the “Light of the World. Before we were born we were in God’s imagination, fully illuminated. We enter the world in color and gradually lose our innner light as we move further from our source. Only by re-connecting with Him can we gain back our color.
Alike
https://youtu.be/kQjtK32mGJQ
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
https://youtu.be/qUQmZKw4Zp4
Gibberish or The Word
The third is the use of gibberish vs words. The title “Blah, Blah, Blah” serves the purpose of poking fun at the potential audience perspective pre-viewing the film. As in, “What is all this blah, blah, blah, Jesus nonsense about?” All dialog in the film is implied through the inflection of the words “blah, blah, blah. Like the “Whah, whah, WHAH, whah…” of the parental figures in the Charlie Brown animations. In fact, the ONLY spoken word is the name of “Jesus”. By contrast, and in actual comparison, the name of Jesus is above all others in importance.
In the Rough
https://youtu.be/bCI9AttbIUk
Charlie Brown
https://youtu.be/ss2hULhXf04
In or Out
The fourth is the use of the point of view of the main character. The story is told through it’s eyes…. solely. The film is experienced through the eyes of The Alien Explorer as it navigates it’s craft. The comm deck has multiple video feeds to inform. By putting the audience behind the eyes of the Alien Explorer the intent is to create an immersive experience to provoke the viewer to make a decision or at least consider the premise. Can we remain detached observers? Can we accept the message or do we walk away.
POV
https://youtu.be/ScRPUZuFhd8