RENEW: PROJECT TRAILER
“Renew” is a 14-episode church curriculum on how to find freedom from the bondage of sexual addiction. The trailer outlines the hopeful perspective that every Christian man can find brokenness, freedom, and renewal in Christ – to become the leader God called him to be, in his family and community.
THE PROBLEM
The creators and executive producers of the content needed a piece to use for fundraising for the project. They wanted to impart the vision of the project, inspire men, and also use the footage as a cinematic series opening title once we hit post-production.
The project curriculum director had the idea of restoring a truck, and John-Clay found visual references from other films of an old barn, a mechanic, and the truck restoration. Once John-Clay and the client settled on a visual style and direction, we went to work on pre-production.
THE PROCESS
For casting, we discussed with the client the age of the mechanic character. We discussed younger and older actors, and finally landed on someone in their 30-40’s who could convincingly play the part of a mechanic. We knew Brooks Ryan could play that role perfectly. His rugged feel and convincing seriousness would work well, and we were confident he had the skills to work with the various equipment that was required for the project. We were excited when he agreed to be part of the project!
The biggest challenge for the project was finding the perfect truck, and we ideally wanted a barn nearby so there wouldn’t be a lot of transport for the vehicle. Sarah, our producer, set to work, starting by reaching out to friends and family. We found the perfect barn, but still didn’t have a lead on a truck.
We turned to the film community, and then a personal friend recommended a large Facebook Group with thousands of Oklahomans who keep the memories of Oklahoma alive. After researching over 40 options of trucks and barns, someone commented on Facebook and said he had just what we needed.
We went down for a location scout, and the location had the perfect combination of everything we needed. As a car restorer, the owner had multiple vehicles, including a truck near completion, as well as a furnished shop, paint booth, and a storage “barn” on the same property!
Since this film would include the “old” truck, then restored, we knew we needed a professional art director for this project. We brought in our friend, Joseph Graber, who had mechanical experience as well as experience with art department and weathering props.
For the set decor, the barn already had many authentic elements, but Joseph brought a workbench and tools, and we borrowed some elements as well.
For wardrobe, we put Brooks in a mix of button-down plaid shirts, sometimes with a tan jacket, adding authenticity to what an actual farmer/mechanic would wear. We also asked Brooks to have a beard to add some maturity to his age and more ruggedness to his role. Jeans and work boots completed the outfit.
The green truck was our ideal color, signifying life and growth that comes when finding renewal in Christ. We used a mix of black tea and soap to dirty the truck, and movie dirt for weathering.
THE PROject
We spent one day prepping the location and the truck. Although the barn had many of the elements that we wanted, Joseph spent time rearranging so that signs and layers of props were in all the right places. He also prepared the paint booth, and prepped the truck with the layers of aging. Our gaffer worked on prepping lighting and discussing the look and feel of each scene with John-Clay as the director. We left, ready to start filming bright and early the next morning.
Andrew Smith was our gaffer, and he worked to create the iconic beams and streaming warm sunlight into the barn. The lighting was motivated by natural light streaming into the barn, and we enhanced it to create the beams. We used a hazer to create ambient haze, but the slight breeze and dusty floor also helped add to the dusty atmosphere.
We used a small but very experienced crew, which allowed us to move quickly and nimbly. The barn was small, so the small crew also helped us all stay out of frame. The shot list for the project took the truck from old to restored. We shot in order to save time on the cleaning and to have as few moves as possible.
We started in the morning, filming Brooks opening the barn and then uncovering of the truck. We focused on gathering a variety of angles, to show vignettes of each stage of the restoration process. We also used the glass windows to allow us to shoot from both inside and outside of various scenes.
We used a piece of fiberglass to protect the camera from sparks, creating the beautiful scene of the mechanic welding a piece of metal, signifying God’s work in us. After a short lunch break, we moved to the paint booth during the middle of the day to work in a more controlled setting, then returned to the barn to finish the scenes with the truck.
On a technical side, we filmed with the Canon C70. We shot with Vazen anamorphics to create a more cinematic look. We used the light streaming through the barn door as our primary source, and augmented with minimal lighting and a haze machine.
Joseph washed the truck and then we shot the scenes with the clean truck. A storm had been threatening all day, so we took a short break after finishing our barn scenes, and prayed that the weather would hold. When sunset came, the sun broke through, and we were able to shoot the beautiful closing shots!
We wrapped and packed up, enjoyed some BBQ and headed home!
John-Clay brought in two writers to write the voiceover. Eric Ludy developed the initial concept and layout, and after discussing with the client, we made adjustments, and then brought it to John Fornof to finish a final version. Through back and forth with the client, we created a version they loved and John Fornof recorded the voiceover, highlighting the feel of the film with a deep, rugged tone.
In post-production, John-Clay brought the edit together, telling the moving story through the visuals of the mechanic and the truck. Color grading and music helped tie it all together into a finished piece…that the client loved!
Response
We were so grateful for the opportunity to create a cinematic piece that conveys such important biblical concepts!
With the footage we captured, we were also able to create fourteen unique intro segments, one for each episode of the series.
The film went on to win “Best Promotional Film” at CWVFF in 2023!
If you have a product, service, or mission you want to share with others, let’s talk about how video could be the best investment to grow your impact.
2022 Year In Review
In 2022, we traveled across the United States, managing production for a 14-episode small group series along with shooting promos for clients and overseeing post-production for several documentaries. Here’s a look back at some of the highlights from 2022!
CAPITAL
Texas Homeschool Coalition defends the rights of thousands of families across Texas and also provides support to families on their homeschooling journey.