When high quality independent productions appear on the Internet the number of hits it receives skyrockets. Many filmmakers have been discovered based on the popularity of their high quality production. Unfortunately, the average filmmaker can’t afford to produce a high quality film for the Internet, unless it gets notoriety – But, which camp will support his style: Faith & Family Films or R-Rated Films?

The ideal attention getting short film developed for the Internet is one with a high visual concept. These grab the attention of the viewer, but typically lack story. The show is designed for an emotional moment, but doesn’t bring to life a story that inspires a change in our lives.

Few high concept filmmakers are able to cross over to telling in depth stories that lead to social or personal change. However, they do get a lot of buzz. Most of these types of filmmakers are great at creating trailers, but not feature films that rely heavily on story. These two types of films require different skill sets and few filmmakers have mastered both.

Regardless of the format, the filmmaker must find investors or sponsors in order to survive. This has been true since the invention of film. Bad television shows continued airing regardless of its poor ratings when there was a sponsor who believed in the show and the audience it captured. Likewise, many shows have failed when the sponsor pulled out.

Sponsors or donors play the same vital role in the Christian film and television market. Unfortunately, few Christian companies want to fund the bad and low quality programming that plagues Christian media. The Christian television market has also seen the ramifications of the donors, who supported bad programming for the sake of getting some message out, getting old and dying – Without any new programming to inspire young Christians to donate.

This shift in the market forces all production people who want to earn a descent living to produce programs for the general market with or without a subtle message. Oh, there are a few who will do film part time, but their quality won’t be competitive or pull in a large enough audience to make a social difference in our country – Outside of a miracle.

So, how does one build a big enough audience to attract sponsors and get a message out?

Soon we will see another surge in the production of family films by Christians trying to survive in the industry. Competing for screens, will be cutting-edge artists creating more R-rated films to distinguish themselves from the family focused newbies in the industry.

I’m convinced that there will be a polarization of the two markets. It will be a race at the box office to see if a Soul Surfer or a Hangover type sequel will bring in the biggest audience. If I were a gambling man, I’d choose the R-rated films to win. Mostly because controversy sells and the secular community loves to generate it, while those producing family fair try to avoid it so they don’t find themselves shunned by their own audience.

This new competitive market was started when The Passion of the Christ broke all records and proved to Hollywood that R-rated films could make big box office dollars. Prior to it, no studio in their right mind would risk large dollars or big names on an R-rated film. Everyone knew that family films were the only moneymakers, forcing money hungry studios to continue producing them.

The tides have since changed and family filmmakers now battle to bring their audiences into the theaters, but with a great prize of impacting our social interests. And, of course, the one who generates the most controversy or newsworthiness will pull in the largest audience and make a deeper impact in our community and culture.

Who do you think will win… The faith & family films or the R-rated films?

It’s a small world in the Christian film market. Just about every filmmaker knows the Kendrick brothers. Other names within the field include: Ralph Winters, John David Ware, John Robert Moore, Kyle Prohaska, and David Nixon to mention a few. Additional names quickly rise for those filmmakers who frequent key Christian film festivals and workshops like the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival, Gideon Media Arts Conference and Film Festival, and the Biola Media Conference.

Even though the Christian Film market now has a “who’s who” list in filmmaking, one thing has yet to happen that is frequent in the secular field: Creative partnerships.

Hundreds of people flock to see anything created by Pixar, who managed to have a dozen box office successes back to back since their Toy Story foundation in 1995. Their track record of having ALL of their films in the top 50 highest grossing animated films of all-time is amazing.

Developing a company that has averaged $602 million in gross box office dollars per film was only made possible through creative partnerships. George Lucas of Lucasfilm started the Graphics Group as part his computer division. The group created incredible special effects that won numerous awards. Unfortunately, Lucas was not able to make the division profitable and under the recommendation of John Lassiter, prepared to spin it off.

Steve Jobs of Apple fame, acquired the young company and added to the mix tech savvy Edwin Catmull as President of Pixar. This unique partnership with Lassiter shifted the company from a computer graphics organization into a great animation studio – All because of their joint love for seeing computers developed into a great medium for telling story.

It seems to me that Christian filmmakers have some of the greatest stories worth telling, yet many are still working in isolation. Surrounded by some of the best in the industry, you would think that friendships would be developed that lead to collaboration. In fact, since filmmaking is a collaborative art form, I questioned why it hadn’t already happened and explored a couple possible reasons.

One thing I noticed when attending secular film conferences is how willing everyone is to help each other learn new techniques and improve their craft. When attending Christian conferences it seemed that most attending were still star struck caused by some level of glamour. This elevated some filmmakers to a higher artificial level that gave them something to lose if others caught onto their tricks of the trade – Causing filmmakers to withhold important lessons from each other.

The other notable difference is that secular filmmakers pick a craft within filmmaking that they are good at and practice it until they are the best. Most Christian filmmakers feel compelled to be the writer, director, producer, editor and sometimes actor on every film project, not to mention manage distribution, leaving mastering any given job a distant dream.

I can’t help but wonder how things might be different if Alex and Stephen Kendrick wrote a film produced by Ralph Winters and David Nixon, with distribution managed by John David Ware, directed by Kyle Prohaska, and acted in by John Robert Moore. With each one having a growing audience and the ability to fit into the above positions, my speculation would suggest the film could be an independent success story.

But what are the odds of this combination coming together?

In the secular film market, the creatives share the joint desire to tell a great story. However, in the Christian film market story isn’t always a prime consideration, nor do all aspire to it. Instead, some Christian filmmakers focus on evangelism. Some might be in it for the sake of God’s art. One might see no problem working with secular crews in order to use the best craft, while another wants people that are right before God, so God can honor his or her film.

The list of variations is almost exhausting to review. All because Christian filmmakers share different passions when it comes to their filmmaking approach. So, until each filmmaker gets to the place where they’ve mastered the wearing of multiple hats, or they change their approach, Christian films will not be able to compete against the likes of Pixar.

Copyright © 2011 By CJ Powers
Photo © Disney/Pixar

I recently judged another film festival and found that the number one issue creating a great chasm between a great film and a lousy one was the story structure or lack of it. While experience and technical expertise plays a role in making a film great, most filmmakers could have jumped ahead of many competitors just by improving their story structure.

Story structure for a short film is as simple as having a beginning, middle and an end. Some filmmakers expand the formula by adding on an epilogue. However, this simple three act structure is the one thing that drives the story forward and creates a desire in the hearts of viewers to see the story to completion. Without it, the audience asks why they wasted their time.

The festival I judged was a 36-hour competition, which forces filmmakers to be extremely creative in their story ideas and how they pull off the exercise. Most filmmakers attempting such competitions never meet the deadline. The next largest group of entrants turns in films that aren’t worth the entry fee. But, for those who come away with a good story, they find the experience a jolt to their career.

For those who don’t place, here are a few simple tips for your story structure:

1. Create a likeable character. A short film doesn’t have the ability to develop a unique or paradoxical character, so simplify things by making him or her likeable. In the first scene, show the character doing something that warms the heart of the audience.

2. Set-up your story in the first scene. The opening of a short sets the tone, flavor and pace for the entire film. It is important that you make a comedy’s opening funny, or a dramas opening tense, or an adventure film’s opening exciting.

3. Give your character a challenge to overcome. It is important that your character has a flaw they have to learn how to overcome during the middle of the show. This prepares them for the big climax where they cause the audience to cheer for their victory.

4. Create a huge obstacle. Whether the main character has to overcome nature, an obstacle, or antagonist, it needs to be bigger than life. This will make the character’s win even more powerful for the audience.

5. Give the audience time to reflect. Once the main character succeeds, the audience needs time to emotionally come down from the excitement and realize what happened. Allow the final scene to play a little longer or add in an epilogue.

These simple steps give direction to a short film that most lack. It will cause the viewer to desire a second or third viewing. Without it, the audience will walk away disappointed.

For those filmmakers in a rush due to deadlines, they can simply build a short story around the following questions:

1. What fun or cool thing can my main character do?

2. How can this play out visually and set the tone for my film?

3. What is his or her flaw that needs to be overcome?

4. What things would block that growth?

5. What might happen that allows the main character to use his new found strengths to overcome what he would normally have failed at?

6. What is the best way for my main character to celebrate the victory?

The answer to each question creates an outline that will match up with the story structure explained above. By simply following this process, the filmmaker can get into the top 20% of competing films. And, with a flair for artistic expression and a clear understanding of technology, the filmmaker can get himself into the winners circle.