Dave Shaver's blog

The Summit

What an exciting adventure it was to be the guest speaker at the 2011 Sharp Shooter Summit in Houston, Texas last weekend! I had the opportunity to develop some training material for the more technical aspects of film production, as well as provide a discussion on how to budget for filmmaking.

It was a weekend of intense training meant to encourage and inform those in church drama ministry on the methods and techniques of serving God through acting, plays, films, and more. I was excited and honored to be included in such an important event that would equip and encourage many people from the Houston area.

Rex was my contact and the event organizer. We met at last year's 2010 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival where I felt like a true beginner. Since then he contacted me several times and it all lead to this year's summit. I am thankful that God brought us together to collaborate on this training and I applaud the work that he and his associates did to make it a worthwhile endeavor. Everything was handled professionally.

I was blessed to have been part of yet another great Christian film shoot.What a blessing it was to be part of a group of people who are passionate about their film making and their desire to serve God while doing it.

Though there was a lot of driving involved, I enjoyed every minute of it and made some good friends. I got the A/C in my car fixed the day before I headed out. That lasted for only a few hours of my drive as I had to temporarily trade in my car for a mini-van with no A/C. It was HOT in Amarillo, but making a movie made it all worth it.

Photos

The final days of the academy came to a close today. After many hours of expert instruction and guidance, Mr. Doug Phillips and Mr. Geoff Botkin gave us a send off that was encouraging and appropriate. Through hours of discussions and training sessions, their dedication was evident; first to God and His commandments, and second, toward the budding and seasoned filmmakers that stood before them.

While day 1 of the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival 2010 may have come to a close, it will leave me with lasting memories. Though spending time in a large city far from home is exciting, the academy is proving several things.

First, it further solidifies in my mind that Christian film making is my calling. I know that it is what I am supposed be doing.

I'm looking forward to my first film festival... ever. That's right, with all the movie talk and filmmaking adventures, I have never been to a festival.

But that is all about to change.

Do your films demonstrate Godly virtue? Do you want them to? The incredible effort of film making is wasted if it does not show God's virtues in one way or another.

2 Peter chapter 1 describes the progression of Godly virtue.

Let's start in verse 3:

I was reading in 1^st Peter chapter four last night and came across a section that spoke to me about our craft of film making. I thought I'd share it with you because we often don't realize just how much impact we as filmmakers have over our audience.

The medium of film is such a powerful tool for controlling the emotions and even the thought processes of those who watch. If we are not putting God into each and every component of our film, what agenda are we pushing?

I'm so excited to get going on my new website. I am looking forward to all the visitors, all the Christian Filmmakers, and anyone who stumbles onto the site.

This site will be built upon the solid rock foundation of Jesus Christ. There is not a more honorable goal than to serve him and become a disciple and discipler of the great news of his sacrifice. Therefore, I will work to make sure that everything in this site is honoring to God and that it will make a difference to the world in a positive way.