Only 103 Days . . .

. . . until Courageous comes to theatres on September 30th! There are HARDLY ANY good, godly, Christian films in theatres these days, so I am thrilled for Sherwood Pictures next film about fatherhood to come out! I haven't actually seen the movie yet, but I have seen the trailer and several movie clips, and some friends of mine recently went to a pre-screening (for pastors and those involved in ministry) and said it was absolutely AMAZING! I can't wait to see what God is going to do with this movie. The producer, director, and others behind the making of Courageous have been sure to put God FIRST, and He has richly blessed them!

I have enjoyed being a walking billboard when I wear my new shirt from my friends who went to the pre-screening of Courageous! :-)

Lydia and I even put the poster in our green and pink bedroom. :-)

You can check out the website to see theatre listings, and Casting Crowns recently put out a new song for Courageous (I will admit it's not my style of music at all, but the message is very good and the shots from the movie are neat)!! As a side note, the creators of Courageous also made Flywheel, Facing the Giants, and FIREPROOF.

So, I hope y'all are able to make it on opening weekend (if it's in your area) to support this intense, exciting film on fatherhood! And, by the way, I hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day!! :-)

Living Eternally by Francis Chan

Excelsior PART 2

Here are some more pictures taken on the set of Excelsior. If you haven't yet, read PART 1 first. Also, the director has done a blog post so be sure to check that out too.

Excelsior's director, Andrew.

 

On set for one of the farm scenes.

The clapper the Bartletts made.

The ingenius, curved, homeade dolly (it worked REALLY well)!!

Caleb and Peter practicing their stunts.

 

The crane that Andrew made (it was fun to get shots with that)!!

The Producer, yours truly.

Can you find David in the picture below?

The soaked and FREEZING team after a very wet, windy and cold shoot.

Our wonderful catering crew. :-)

All those delicious muffins and fresh milk . . . YUM!

Storyboarding. 

Daniel - our great extra cameraman and grip.

Me getting a shot on our last day of filming (PTL for the perfect weather)!

Peter and Caleb - enemies in the movie, but great friends in real life! :-)

We enjoyed seeing the Bartletts wonderful farm again too!
Check out their website at www.bartlettfarm.us.

 

 

 

Thanks to the Bartlett family for your hospitality! It was a great experience for all of us to work with all of you on the set of Excelsior! :-)

EXCELSIOR!!

Excelsior means "ever higher" . . .  and it is also the title of a new film by DayStar Productions, Bartlett Productions, and 9 Lives Stunts!

Two Saturdays ago, we left for a five day trip to visit our good friends the Bartletts, who live on a farm in North Dakota. During those five days, we shot most of the scenes for our short action film. We had been working on the script and planning for a couple months, and now we just have two scenes left to shoot, and then all the post production work!

While the storyline will not be made public until Excelsior's release later this year, I will post a few pictures so you can get an idea of what went on during our production last week! We are so grateful to the Lord for making all the details come together, for safety, and for allowing us to get everything done on time (despite some really bad weather). I am excited to work on editing! We are all amateurs at filmmaking, so we were grateful for this experience to learn a lot by actually working on a set together!

So first, here's a picture of the production crew. Everybody helped in so many ways (more than I can list here)! :-)

A - Peter Bartlett . . . storyboard artist/assistant stunt coordinator/antagonist
B - Caleb K. . . . stunt coordinator/storyboard consultant/protagonist
C - Jonathan Bartlett . . . script writer/co-producer/actor/storyboard consultant
D - Andrew Bartlett . . . director/storyboard consultant/cinematographer/actor
E - Me (Hannah) . . . producer/storyboard consultant/cinematographer/actor/editor
F - Lydia K. . . . actor/grip
G - Daniel K. . . . extra cameraman/grip
H - David Bartlett . . . actor/grip

Of course we couldn't have done anything without our parents, who did a lot of behind-the-scenes work! Dad and Mr. Bartlett picked up the slack around the farm, and Mom and Mrs. Bartlett made scrumptious meals to keep us going! :-)

We have known the Bartletts since before I was born, and have enjoyed making lots of memories over the years!! When we get together we usually get a picture of all of us kids lined up by height. I used to be second in line, but every time we get together I move further down the line . . . now I'm in 5th place, and I have a feeling I'll be last one of these days. lol :-)

SEVEN YEARS AGO!

(Yes, my left-handed salute is pathetic in the above pic - Caleb followed me and and then he made him and Peter laugh because they were bumping arms - what memories!) :-)

 

Andrew was a great director, and - as you can tell - he's loved cameras from an early age. :-) 

Part 2 coming soon!

Exciting Update Coming Soon . . .

 . . . and here is a quick picture to give you a clue as to what it's about!

Short Stunt Movie

Caleb wants to be a stunt man and I'm into filmmaking, so the other day we decided to get some practice and we filmed a short movie together with some friends. It was our first somewhat more serious attempt at trying to choreograph and film stunts (and we were doing it more for the stunts rather than the storyline), but it was fun! :-) Enjoy!

Summer Pursuit 2011 by LTLM

Loving the Lord Ministries is doing a Summer Pursuit from June 1st to August 31st!! I've copied the information and video below. To see past videocasts (that I haven't shared on my blog yet!!) go to this link for #5, and you can see the others on the sidebar.

Dear Friends,
Each of us is always pursuing something. What are you pursuing? We pursue what we think will make us truly happy. We were created for a close relationship with the Lord and there alone will we find true satisfaction and joy. It cannot be found anywhere else.

Our life should be about pursuing Jesus - and since this is the case - so should our summer! Summer can be a special, but irregular time of year. In the midst of the varied schedules, activities, etc. it can be easy to let our time with the Lord become shortened. As a result, our soul and most important relationship with Jesus, suffer. The Summer Pursuit is designed to help us keep our hearts close to Jesus this summer and walk in the joy that results!

I would like to invite you to join me for the 2011 Summer Pursuit - a special time of seeking Jesus from June 1^st - August 31^st. You can watch the "Summer Pursuit 2011" video (above) and visit the website (www.lovingthelordministries.org) for more details. You can contact us at info@lovingthelordministries.org with questions.

Here are the basic details:
Who: You and Jesus
Where: Wherever you are
When: June 1^st - August 31^st, 2011
What is involved: 15 min. of devotions a day, memorizing 1 verse a week, choosing and contacting an accountability partner once every 2 weeks... and an amazing summer with Jesus!
When you complete the Summer Pursuit: You send in your chart and you receive a reward in the mail - in addition to the best reward of knowing Jesus!

This is going to be an amazing summer of pursuing and meeting with Jesus! Pursue Jesus with all that you are this summer, friends. He will meet with you - and you will never be the same!

"...Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth." Hosea 6:3

Looking forward to pursuing Jesus with you this summer,

Amy Vest


Summer Pursuit 2011 from Loving the Lord Ministries on Vimeo.