At Echo Conference, the creative guys at Willow Creek showed a short film they created. The audience loved it. During a question/answer time afterward, someone asked a sensitive question. They asked, “Why is this movie so much better than other Christian movies? How did you make it so good?”
It was an awkward question because Blaine and Bjorn didn’t want to criticize Christian media. They definitely didn’t want to single out any specific movies. So they answered politely and inoffensively. (Good job, guys.)
But what made their movie great versus so much other Christian media was the thought behind it. They wanted to make their audience feel something. They didn’t care about convincing the audience. And that’s where so much Christian media falls – the purpose of the movie or project is to convince their audience. To convince them to repent, to be a better husband, etc.
It’s not just a problem with Christian media. Many commercial artists run into this problem. They focus so much on convincing their audience that they forget to make them feel something.
But great art is meant to make you feel. That’s how some commercials go viral while others are just annoying. The viral ones make people feel. And people can’t help but love media that makes them feel something.
So I ask you this: What do you want people to feel through your art?
Yes, you probably need to convince them of something. You need to convince them to come to church or to buy a product. If you get paid for your work, you are a commercial artist, after all.
But you should focus on the feeling first. The sell is easy after you’ve made them feel. And if you do it right you can leave the “convincing” out completely. Sometimes the feeling is enough to incite action.
This is so true!
The touchy subject I thought was that they hired extremely talented people and didn’t solely rely on church members to fill in key roles. I thought it was implied that other “church productions” care more about making something and less about the importance of finding good talent. They assume God will pick up the slack or miraculously make a crappy film great because of the heart that was behind it?
Ah, Christian films 🙂
i haven’t visited the page in a while. you cleaned up! there’s only, like, two buttons on the side! when did that happen? something about designing with just what’s needed i assume?
yep! simple is better 🙂