virtue media...Catholics come home commercial

Just the other day I had the experience of shooting a scene for a "Catholics Come Home" commercial produced by Virtue Media and Veritas productions. I was involved in a very short clip--just a few seconds long--but it took hours to set up and shoot. It was fun, but man, it made me realize how incredibly hard it must be to shoot a full length movie...

The scene was of my doing the elevation of the host and chalice (of course in this case it was non-consecrated!) at the "This is the lamb of God..."

The cool thing was since the commercial won't run for months, I used the new translation, which took a little practice: "Behold, the lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world...." It was really powerful to say those new words again and again (and again, and again...)

The way they set up the shot, the panning of the camera, the slow-mo of the final shot, the filters used to make the afternoon light in the church (Immaculate Heart in Phoenix) look like a heavenly light-filled sunrise morning...very cool stuff. I'll post when the final project is done, and let you all know when and how it will run.

FOCUS code names

Here's a post simply derived from the fact that you have GOT to get to know ASU's new FOCUS missionaries. They are outstanding people! (FOCUS=Fellowship of Catholic University Students...here, they are a team of four full-time Catholic missionaries to ASU)

Our four FOCUS missionaries are--as I write this--running,romping, roaming, and roaring about the campus of ASU as freshmen move in. They are, in a word, dynamos. Here's an update about who they are--with a little edge to it--I've taken the liberty of giving each one an "evangelization code name":

1. James Timberlake. Code name: Purple Lion. The fearless leader of the team of missionaries. Confident and a go-getter, he is at the same time comfortable being the last in the room to speak. I'm not joking about fearless. He is a former college football player, gave up med-school to be a missionary, and is able to catch two volleyballs thrown at him while racing down a pool slide.

2. Andrew Dennis. Code name: Uhaul. With comparable towing and hauling capacity to a small Uhaul truck, Andrew earned his name by arriving in Arizo-

na driving an actual Uhaul truck, and then promptly and generously asking me if I wanted to partake in a protein shake. In the middle of a street. At 12:45 am. He has major evangelical hauling capacity, too. Also a former college football player, he is a missionary rookie with huge potential. Recommended for your FOCUS fantasy team.

3. Sheen Byrne. Code name: Little Sparrow. Coming into her third year as a full-time Catholic missionary, Sheena has the heart of a falcon packaged in the gentleness of a spring song bird. You'll see her on the power wire outside your room

when the sun rises. She'll perch on your window-sill as you cook breakfast. Then she's on the kitchen table as you sip your coffee. Next this you know, she's on your shoulder reading the morning paper with you, and chirping about Jesus. A saavy veteran with rookie zeal. Deadly combo.

4. Jessica Petersen. Code name: Peach Eagle. Unlike Little Sparrow, capable of swooping in at high speeds...yet students find that her precise talon strikes are as easy-going and agreeable as a summer peach tea in Alabama. A

rookie who was reaching out to students within hours of her unpacking her suitcase, "JP" is a remarkably effective missionary even though in her first year of full-time mission work.

*5. Daniel Tansil. Code name: Turtle Dove. The "liason" from the Newman Center to FOCUS, Daniel is practically speaking a key element of the FOCUS team, though officially a New

man Center employee. Tough and shrewd as an old turtoise, but possessing the soft coo of the Holy Spirit, Daniel brings to ASU not only his experience as a former student but a myriad of skills, including selling real estate, frisbee, and cross country cycling. This is one turtle that

runs circles around the Hare.

The whole FOCUS, working in close collaboration with the All Saints Newman Center, has a secret code name as well: Voltron. If you we're a seven year old in 1985, you'll understand what I'm talking about. Wikipedia it. Defenders of the Universe...unite!

new missal video

Video on the Roman Missal is done!

Great feedback on the video had been pouring in. Life Teen did a great job producing the video. It's a cool experience of the amazing "ripple effect" of a piece of online media. You make it. You post it. And it keeps going, and going, and going.

Here's a link to the video as it is linked at an excellent Catholic blog:

http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2011/08/dynamic-new-video-on-forthcoming-new.html

Basic point: the new English translation is not simply about a long process of translation or some esoteric battle between "liturgists." It is about allowing the voice of Christ in the liturgy--which is the voice of the Roman Catholic Church, the Latin Rite, in this case--to resound more truly, more convincingly.