Internship

I am back! What a miracle!
Well, it has been an intense summer. We ran the film school during July to September this year, and just came out of it. Coordinating and teaching a film school is more than full time.

Now our students are doing an internship with us, which means they work on our values commercials, short films, mini-documentaries etc. It is a little calmer for me, but they have plenty of things to do!

Lately I have continued working on our short film about the soccer schools, I am putting the last touches on the editing, especially after I received some very good editing notes from a producer I know.

Well that is all for now!

Remember: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Fil 4:6-7)

God hears small prayers too

Yesterday we interviewed a person for the film about soccer clinics. We were in one of the "comunas" here in Medellin, the poor neighborhoods. It went pretty smooth, but the audio sounded terrible! I was using a Fostex DCR-302 recorder together with a Canon 60D camera. The recorder is brand new, and I had tested it just before going out, so I didn't understand anything! I changed the cable, tested different gain levels, turned off and on the recorder, changed the battery in the mic. Nothing helped, the signal was extremely weak and there was a loud hiss.

In the process I desperately prayed to God and we went on to use the audio in the camera, it was the only solution at hand. But just at the end of the interview I somehow remembered to check if the mic top was properly screwed onto its base. After fixing it, it sounded just perfect again! How could I have forgotten? (it had happened before, a while ago). We had just arrived at the best version of the interview. Just in time! You may call it human factors, but to me it was an answer to my prayer.

Daily Bible reading is good. Yesterday I stumbled on this phrase, which was encouraging, since the soccer film really is a project promoting peace in Medellin:

Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. (Jer. 29:7)
To seek the peace of a city means to engage in projects promoting peace.

Visa and other stuff

Today I started the process to renew my visa again. It always includes a decent amount of paperwork. Not the most exciting activity, but it has to be done.
I am also continuing the editing of the film about Christian soccer clinics, now I'm into looking for the music rights (something I should have done long ago). I have found a really cool rap song from Medellin that I am hoping they'll let us use for the good purpose.

Quote of the day: There are only two things in life, pretexts and results, and pretexts don't count.

Among the homeless

Today went out with a YWAM team to visit the homeless people of the streets of Medellin. I have done this twice before, at those times I was filming, but this time I was only helping out. It is very impacting to see all these people whose house is a couple of cardboards or a blanket.
Medellin has around 4,000 homeless and I can still not understand how a mayor can know this and be proud of the city.

We gave them sandwiches and hot chocolate, and talked and prayed with them. Of course this is just a drop in the ocean. What we really should do, in my opinion, is to work politically to change the situation.

Prepping for the film school

Today we had a planning meeting for this year's Christian film school in Medellin. It will run from July to September. More info here.

We are now contacting teachers, mainly from the US and Colombia, to teach, either by Skype or in person.

One thing we are trying to get this year, is more people from the current Colombian film industry teaching in the school. For this to happen though, we need finances. Our school fees are very low to get "the average guys" in, so we depend on some miracles. But miracles are fun.

Working on the website

I wish I could write more often in this blog, but the truth is, if I wrote every day, the post would be like "Today I was working on the same project as I mentioned yesterday" or "the same project I mentioned two months ago".

The reason is that the projects I am working on are rather complex, and that we are very few people in our team. Basically, our team is me, at the moment. At least in film. We are praying for more. We have a team, but they work with other things at the moment, like graphic design, teaching and keeping our house.

Anyway, the last weeks I have worked on our website. Our website was basically down for half a year, which is a disaster in my opinion. The website is A and O. So when I saw that no improvement was done, I got in and started doing it. If you want something done, do it yourself.

I am also still working on the film about Christian soccer clinics and today I was working on the end credits. Another day in a moviemaker's life!

Soccer clinics pickup shots

Today I went to film some pickup shots for the soccer clinics. I had to go by myself, because nobody in the team could do it today. I went to a neighborhood that previously was known for its violence, "Limonar". But this neighborhood has gone through a very positive transformation, and the soccer schools are definitely influencing it to the better.

When I arrived I was met by rain, so we had to wait a while, but then we hurried to the soccer field and started filming. The kids and the trainer helped me and did what I asked them. Then I went on to the "barrio" and filmed streets and people. It generally went well and I also had police escort all the time, which was a blessing. But I never felt threatened, people were very friendly and helpful.

Today I used our new Tilta follow-focus rig which was fun.

Editing short film about soccer clinics for kids

These last days I have been editing a short film about Christian soccer clinics for kids in vulnerable areas. The film was partly funded by the Swedish organization behind these clinics - Ankarstiftelsen.
Editing a short film seems easy at first but contains a lot of details, like sweetening sound and correcting colors.
The purpose of this film is to promote the soccer clinics, which have proved to be a viable alternative for kids who else might end up in violent gangs or drug sales.