Under the Influence

A few months ago, I volunteered to work with the Oliver Creek Church of Christ (Arlington, TN) youth group on a short film project. The congregation is involved with the Lads to Leaders program, a youth development organization that trains kids from Pre-K through College to cultivate their talents and use them in service to their churches, schools, and communities. Participants can sign up for a variety of competitive and non-competitive events, including the short film competition.

The Oliver Creek teens had never produced a short film, so last fall we started meeting weekly to discuss the basics of storytelling and how to script a short film. From those early meetings, the teens started to brainstorm and discuss ideas centered on this year's Lads to Leaders theme of "Here am I. Send me." The video below is the result of their efforts. The team was awarded first place for the 10th-12th grade division at this year's Lads to Leaders convention.

Click here to watch Escape, another short film I produced with the teens of the Hoover Church of Christ in Birmingham, AL.

I worked with the Oliver Creek Church of Christ Youth Group to produce this short film for an annual competition. Each entry has to be centered on a specific theme. The theme for 2014 was "Here am I, send me." I acted as coach for the team and provided the participants with guidance on writing, shooting, and editing short films. This short took home the first place award for the 10-12 grade division.