During my not so brief six and a half year stay at Texas A&M University (at least I emerged with a Master’s), two student organizations have held a very special place in my heart.  The first is, of course, Impact – an organization that I have had the great opportunity to make many videos for over the years. The second organization is Aggie ARTISTS; a group of people at A&M that love being creative and love loving Jesus.  Imagine my joy at finding a group of people that share in the same beliefs and talents.

I have always wanted to make a video for ARTISTS and in my final semester of college I finally had the chance.  I wanted to make something that would capture the creativity inherent in all of the ARTIST’s members; and what better way to do that than actually film them creating something.  I don’t believe anyone had a set idea of what they would do once they arrived, but they all brought their art.  For three hours, some played instruments, a few sketched and worked on abstract pieces, friends sang together, and nearly everyone painted.

Because (nearly) all good videos need music, I turned to two of the talented musicians in ARTISTS to lead their talents in the form of piano and guitar playing.  My original vision was for a layered track where instruments were played separately but came together into one song.  Lauren and Zac really helped bring this idea to life with their talents.

It has been a good two years getting to know the people in ARTISTS, and I have graduated with the knowledge that I will continue to be friends with many of them for a long time.  I would also say that it only seems fitting that I make at least one video for them before I leave – it is the best give I can give for an organization that has given me such a great community.

Besides the people in the video, I also really enjoyed creating it from a technical aspect.  I always enjoy trying new things and my recent obsession with vintage photography (thanks Instagram!) led me to experiment with a different color grade in Magic Bullet Looks.  Couple that with some light leaks and things started to look pretty good.  One of the last effects I applied was a free medium film grain from Gorilla Grain.  It made everything pop and really separated the look from regular DSLR footage.  I filmed the musicians on my own – big thanks to Lauren and Zac for putting up with my demands to continue playing the song over and over.  The actual painting footage was shot over three hours with help from Ashley Stineman and Taylor Stanley.

For more information about ARTISTS, check out ARTISTS.TAMU.EDU

:: DOWNLOAD AGGIE ARTISTS :: PROMO VIDEO ::

-AggieArtistsPromo (12)

[Show as slideshow]

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Cameras

• Canon 7D x2
• Canon T2i

Lenses

• Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM
• Canon 50mm F1.4
• Canon 16-35mm F2.8
• Canon 24mm F1.4
• Canon 70-200mm F2.8
• Canon 50mm F3.5 Macro
• Canon 18-135 F3.5-5.6

Audio

• Zoom H4n

Equipment

• indiSYSTEM indiSLIDERmini
• Manfrotto 501HDV Head, 547B Legs – Tripod x2
• Glidecam HD4000
• Steadicam Merlin
• Manfrotto Fluid Video Head Monopod
• Steve Kaeser Softbox Set x 3

Editing

• Premiere Pro CS5

Coloring & Effects

• Magic Bullet Looks
• Gorilla Grain

Last Summer I had the chance to work for Woodlands Church in The Woodlands, Texas with their Creative team.  I filmed, edited videos, and worked with some of the most talented people I have ever met.  On the day I arrived, I was immediately given the project of promoting the upcoming Super Summer Baptism that the church would be putting on in a few weeks.  The second day I showed up to work in a swimsuit and swam around in the baptism pool filming with my GoPro camera.  The footage I helped shoot there turned into two videos that Woodlands Church featured to their congregation of over 17,000 members.  This video is the first and was made with the intention of creating awareness of the baptism days.  It was a huge success and over 1,100 people were baptized!

Over the next month I will be posting various videos that I helped create for Woodlands Church.  If you or your church would like help with creating a video, please contact me and we can make it happen!

These photos don’t compare to actually being there, but I hope they at least give you an idea that God is moving and active in the hearts of young people today and while we may be a generation that many believe isn’t worth looking at, God is raising us up for His glory.  You can find out more about Passion on the 268Generation website and by following passion268 on Twitter.

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for a bonus video.

[Show as slideshow]

As a bonus, I filmed the intro to the Passion 2012 conference with my iPhone 4S in 1080p HD and uploaded the video to YouTube for you to watch if you weren’t able to attend.

Two years ago I met Will Bakke at the premiere of his independent film “One Nation Under God.”  Little did I know that I would be filming Will’s sister’s wedding this year.  The first time I spoke to Brittain I had to ask her why she wanted me to film when she had such a talented brother, to which she replied that he was in the wedding.  I figured he could always wear a helmet camera if he needed to, but regardless, I was excited to be able to film her wedding.  Knowing that Brittain has a brother with two feature length films under his belt, the pressure was on for me to create an epic wedding film.   This highlight is just a sample, but I believe it captures the joy and excitement of the day.

Brittain and Aaron were married August 6, 2011 at Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas.  The reception was held at the Northwood Club.  The wife husband team of Thisbe Grace Photography expertly handled the photography of the night.

Cameras

• Canon 7D (x2)
• Sony HDR-UX1 (backup)

Lenses

• Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM
• Canon 50mm F1.4
• Canon 16-35mm F2.8
• Canon 24mm F1.4
• Canon 70-200mm F2.8
• Canon 50mm F3.5 Macro
• Sigma 70-200mm F2.8

Equipments

• indiSYSTEM indiSLIDERmini
• Manfrotto 501HDV Head, 547B Legs – Tripod
• Glidecam HD4000
• Steadicam Merlin
• Manfrotto Fluid Video Head Monopod

Editing

• Premiere Pro CS5

Coloring

• Magic Bullet Looks

Wedding Photographer

• Thisbe Grace Photography

It is a big help to me when you use any of the above product links to Adorama, Amazon, B&H, and Newegg, and, and when you get anything. It costs you nothing, and helps me keep my site running. I have bought from all of these websites and I highly recommend them for their service, quality, and shipping speed.  I recommend them all personally.

As promised, here is the Impact Delta Session Camp video.  I filmed this for the first three days and then had to leave to be in a friend’s wedding (Jason and Bryn who you might remember from their engagement film), so all editing was handled by the expert eye of Emily Kiel and Animoto.

I also highly recommend watching the Alpha Session video as well as the other videos I have filmed and edit for Impact Retreat over the years.

You may remember Sara and Jason from their engagement film back in July.  These two met in March, were engaged in June, and married in November.  It just goes to show that when you find the right one, there’s no need to hesitate.  I’ve seen a lot of happy brides on their wedding day, but Sara was one of the happiest.  While she was at the beauty salon she kept exclaiming how pretty she looked.  What better expression for a bride on her wedding day?  That is the perfect mood for the occasion. This was my first official Same Day Edit that I was in charge of.  For the Same Day Edit I handled last year, I was only the second shooter.  Keeping that in mind, me and my friend Ashley finished the video with perfect timing.  I learned a lot, and expect to be doing more Same Day Edits in the future. Wedding photography was expertly handled by the talented Chandler Adaway.  He’s already posted a teaser of the wedding photos on his blog if you would like to see them.

Cameras

• Canon 7D
• Canon T2i
• Sony HDR-UX1 (backup)

Lenses

• Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM
• Canon 50mm F1.4
• Canon 16-35mm F2.8
• Canon 24mm F1.4
• Canon 70-200mm F2.8
• Canon 50mm F3.5 Macro

Equipment

• indiSYSTEM indiSLIDERmini
• Manfrotto 501HDV Head, 547B Legs – Tripod
• Glidecam HD4000
• Steadicam Merlin
• Manfrotto Fluid Video Head Monopod

Editing

• Premiere Pro CS5

Coloring

• Magic Bullet Looks

Wedding Photographer

• Chandler Adaway

It is a big help to me when you use any of the above product links to Adorama, Amazon, B&H, and Newegg, and, and when you get anything. It costs you nothing, and helps me keep my site running. I have bought from all of these websites and I highly recommend them for their service, quality, and shipping speed.  I recommend them all personally.

This past September, my good friend Liz brought to my attention that Gungor’s Video DJ (see the above video for a definition of Video DJ) was having an artistic collaboration for their CD release concert.  Gungor’s new song, Brother Moon was, as Stephen put it, crying out for an epic artistic collaboration.  Having been a longtime fan of Gungor and seeing that the only requirements for the artistic collaboration was that it be able to be viewed on a projector, I quickly set about creating a video that visually represented the song.

Over the past two years I have been filming various timelapses around the country.  I decided to use all of these timelapse videos for an epic video that could be chopped up as Stephen saw fit and played during the song.  When Stephen finished remixing my video for the collaboration I was surprised to see that pretty much the entire second half of the song was used in Gungor’s video.  Meaning that my videos played behind Gungor at their concert!  Not much beats public performance of your work, especially when it in the context of being played with many other talented artists.  To God be the glory.  I’ve embedded the remixed video that played during Gungor’s CD release concert below.

Let me preface this entire post by saying that all credit for the songs goes to The Band Perry, Cookie Monsta, and Arion who had the idea and creativity to mix it all together into the epic beat that is no doubt blowing through your speakers right now.  

I realized two things when I first heard this remix:

One – This song needed a video to go with it!

Two – The sexy sounds in it needed to go!  (Keep in mind I’m trying to play this at Christian dance parties)

After careful editing and re-timing of “If I Die Young” by The Band Perry (Arion sped-up the song speed slightly) and downloading all the transformers trailers I managed to create the monstrosity that you see before you.  It contains a visual representation of most of the Transformers movies and still keeps the vibe put off by  The Band Perry.

:: Download The MP3 ::

The Band Perry – If I Die Young Vs. Optimus Prime (IMPACT Remix – Dubstep – Clean)  :: Mediafire

:: Video Links ::

The following videos were used to create the remix…

The Band Perry Vs. Optimus Prime :: Original Arion Remix

The Band Perry :: If I Die Young

 Optimus Prime :: Cookie Monsta

 Transformers Trailer

Transformers :: Revenge of The Fallen Trailer

Transformers :: Dark Side of The Moon Trailer

This summer, I had the opportunity to work with Ryan Booth at Woodlands Church, making videos that engaged and inspired its 17,000 members.  In June, Ryan asked me to help with filming a behind the scenes of his current project, Serialbox – a live, one take, multi-camera performance of a featured musician.  The featured musician this time was the extremely talented David Ramirez.

You can find out more about the shoot at David Ramirez SerialBox Page, and  be sure to follow David Ramirez, Ryan Booth, and Serialbox on Twitter.

In the coming weeks I will be posting videos that I created this Summer for Woodlands Church.

:: Technical Details ::

Camera

• Canon 7D

Lenses

• Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM

Misc

• Indisystem indiSLIDERmini
• Manfrotto tripod
• Edited by Ryan Booth

Having been in the hill country of New Braunfels, Texas, I am no stranger to the various forms of wildlife that end up on my back porch wanting food.  The deer in our neighborhood are for the most part tame, overpopulated, and always hungry.  This being one of the hottest Summers in Texas history, it comes as no surprise that food is scarce.  Grain Sorghum (also called Milo), is a common feed that deer, squirrels, and birds all enjoy.

When I was last at home, I was about to feed the deer when I had the idea to grab my new GoPro HD Helmet Camera and wear it while feeding them to really give others a perspective of how tame the deer actually are.  Several minutes into the video, I actually took off the camera and placed it in front of the feed, which led to the deer putting their faces right in front of it for a closeup while eating.

:: Download Feeding The Deer With A GoPro HD Helmet Camera ::

- High Definition Download Coming Soon

:: Technical Details ::

Camera

• Filmed with a GoPro HD

Having served on Impact Retreat’s executive staff last year, I had the chance to interact with hundreds of freshmen and their parents via email in the months leading up to the retreat.  I often had the feeling that the parents envisioned the staff of Impact working full-time on emails and phone calls, replying before 5pm, and generally being run much like a business.  While Impact being run like a business (and some parts of it need to be and are) might be a good idea, I can’t help but feel like some of it might end up like this video.  Especially if the above people were involved and stuck in the same office.

Needing to top last year’s rules video, I enlisted the help of Emily Kiel in coming up with the original idea of a parody of the popular television show, The Office.  Her and Amy Marks handled all aspects of production while I filmed and edited.

One Sunday before Impact, we secured an office space in the new Emerging Sciences building on the Texas A&M campus and directed our actors to arrive dressed and with random props to populate their desks.  We finished filming within four hours and left the building as unoccupied as we found it. 

:: Download The Impact office :: Impact 2011 Rules Video ::

- Download Coming Soon

:: Technical Details ::

Cameras

• Canon 7D
• Canon 5D Mark II

Lenses

• Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM
• Canon 70-200mm F2.8L
• Canon 50mm 1.8

Misc

• Indisystem indiSLIDERmini
• Glidecam HD-4000
• Indisystem DSLRsm Shoulder Mount Rig

Editing

• Premiere Pro CS5

Coloring

• Magic Bullet Looks 2.0

Filming

• Matt Johnson
• Amy Marks

Production

• Emily Kiel
• Amy Marks

 If you would like more comedy, check out Impact’s 2010 Rules Video.

Emily and Daniel were married May 15, 2011 at the Marty Leonard Community Chapel in Fort Worth, Texas.  This was my second time filming at the Chapel, and it was still as beautiful as I remembered.  Filming Emily and Daniel was easy because they were such a happy couple.  Any time the camera was on them they were laughing or smiling and I didn’t even have to make lame jokes.

Download coming soon!

Technical details coming soon!

If you would like to see the first wedding I filmed at the Marty Leonard Community Chapel, check out Caitlyn and Wyatt’s Wedding Highlight.

This was the biggest Impact retreat ever. Over ten days, 1,500 freshmen attended one of three camp sessions at Latham Springs Baptist Encampment.  As always, there was cheers, laughter, a spirit stick, and of course – an epic slip’n'slide.  For the first three days of Alpha session I filmed, and the last night I edited this video.  Combining an epic intro with a solid musical score courtesy of T.I.C. really made things fun.

Expect Impact’s Delta session video (that I filmed but I didn’t edit) and the Omega video soon after that!

Download coming soon!

 



Every year, Impact Retreat has a dance party, and every year it has become more epic.  This year was my last year volunteering with Impact, so I really wanted things to be big.   Of the approximately 30 songs we played at the dance party, all of them had a video associated with them that played on projectors.  Toss in a couple sound controlled lights, 10,000 watt sound system, 1,500 freshmen and 5,000 glowsticks and you have yourself an awesome dance party.

In the process of making the videos played at the dance party – which consisted of either playing already existing music videos, or generating new motion backgrounds – I really wanted to play a remix of the song Rolling In The Deep, by Adele.  Earlier that month, Amy Marks (Media Exec/Commander) had recommended looking up remixes of Rolling in the Deep.  After searching through thirty or so dubstep remixes of the song, I stumbled across the Proximas Remix.

Originally planning on just playing the Proximas Remix of Rolling In The Deep that night at the dance party, I had the idea to mix the original song with the remix.  This would result in lulling everyone dancing into a false sense of security in knowing how the song would turn out, then blowing their minds when it went in another direction entirely.

I recut the Rolling In The Deep music video to match this song, and this video is the final result that played at the dance party.  At :55 seconds in, the song appears to glitch, and all the lights shut off in the room.  When the remix hits at 1:10 all the lights went up and projectors played the remix.  This was literally one of the most exciting moments of my life and just goes to prove that dubstep makes everything better.

If you would like to listen to this on your iPod, iPhone etc. you can download the MP3 below.  I will be posting another dubstep remix that I tweaked soon.  I enjoy mixing these songs together in a way that is completely clean.  More often then not you’ll find a remix that says its clean and is still questionable.  My goal is to create/tweak/fix remixes so they are suitable for playing at Christian dance parties like Impact while still being fun.

:: Download Adele :: Rolling In The Deep :: Impact Remix ::

Adele :: Rolling In The Deep :: Impact Remix :: 320kbps :: MP3 :: 8.25MB

I had the chance to attend Metro Live at First Baptist Church, Houston this Summer.  There, Afshin Ziafat spoke to several hundred young adults about the life of David.  He made me think about my plans for my life and where I see God using me.  The talk all came down to one question that God asks us, “If you don’t have the life you envision, am I enough?”

That got me thinking – we are not guaranteed wealth, prosperity, a roof over our heads.  If I did not make films or do anything like that, would God still be enough?  It’s awesome to think about how God, the creator of the Universe, wants a personal relationship with us.

Think about what God has for you.  What have you been planning out in your life?  Are you going to be alright if God sends you in a different direction?  If you do not have the life you envision for yourself, is God enough?

Sara and Jason met in March, were engaged in June, and are getting married in November.  It just goes to show that when you find the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you don’t want to spend a day longer than you have to, without them.  They can’t wait to get married and I can’t wait to film their wedding, come November 5, 2011.

This entire shoot came about from Sara wanting something that she could show at her reception that would amaze her guests.  Her and Jason later decided that they wanted a Same Day Edit, which means I will be incorporating this into the film shown at the reception.  The highly talented photographer, Chandler Adaway, had already planned on photographing Sara and Jason, and he agreed to let me tag along.  Between the hours of 5pm and 10pm we visited a coffee shop, Beaumont’s only frozen yogurt eatery, historic downtown Beaumont, and the beach.  Sara managed to cover all this ground in heels, while Jason was thankful for the chance for some PDA.  You can see the photos at Chandler’s blog!

This was also my first film that I have ever edited with the Cinescope aspect ratio in mind.  This results in a crop where the movie ends up being 1920×800 instead of 1920×1080.  The film ends up looking more cinematic and allows me to focus the picture exactly on what I want viewers to see.

Download Sara and Jason’s Engagement Film in High Definition

:: Coming Soon ::

:: Technical Details ::

Cameras

• Canon 7D

Lenses

• Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM
• Canon 70-200mm F2.8L
• Canon 50mm F1.4

Misc

• Indisystem indiSLIDERmini
• Glidecam HD-4000

Editing

• Premiere Pro CS5
• After Effects CS5
  • Twixtor Pro

Coloring

• Magic Bullet Looks 2.0

Wedding Photographer

• Chandler Adaway

Film Strong Productions was born out of the need to separate my personal and professional content that I create.  Midway through last year, I realized that directing potential clients to Who is Matt offered a broad look at my talents, too broad in fact.  Having spent many hours forging this new website, I now stand with the capability of maintaining an uncluttered professional front, and still being able to have fun here.  I hope you check out Film Strong, and if you have any questions or notice any oddities, I’m only an email or tweet away.

Every wedding day has a story to tell.  Lauren and Kevin’s day was no exception.  Their joy, as evidenced by this video, was palpable.  Not only were they excited though, but their friends were as well.  That is one of the things that made filming their day so much fun.  Everyone was so excited to see this moment that really was, as the minister put it, a reflection of the intimacy, love, and relationship that Christ wants from us.

Download Lauren and Kevin’s Wedding Highlight Film in High Definition

:: Lauren and Kevin - 1080p (75)

:: Technical Details ::

With the ever capable Taylor Stanley helping, we brought out everything we had.

Cameras

• Two Canon 7Ds
• Sony HDR-UX1 (backup)

Lenses

• Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM
• Canon 18-135mm F3.5-5.6
• Canon 50mm F1.4
• Canon 28-135mm F3.5-5.6

Misc

• Indisystem indiSLIDERmini
• Manfrotto tripod
• Steadicam Merlin

Editing

• Premiere Pro CS5
• After Effects CS5
  • Twixtor Pro

Coloring

• Magic Bullet Looks

Wedding Photographer

• Braeden Rogers // Ambient11

If you are an Instagram, Picplz, or Twitter user, you owe it to yourself to check out these photo apps for iOS.

The Apps

(In order of my amount of use/preference, mostly)

Pro HDR ($1.99)

Pretty much my favorite photography app.  This is the app that made me realize that the iPhone is capable of taking awesome pictures.  I don’t even have an iPhone 4 with its new camera but you wouldn’t know it with this app.

Instagram (Free)

You mean to tell me that there is a niche social network devoted to people sharing awesome retro-styled photos with one another?  I’m not sure what exactly generated this current fascination with retro/analog/polaroid/lomo/hipstamatic/whatever you want to call it.  Maybe it has always been present and I just haven’t been aware of it until now.  All I know is that I love it and apparently a lot of other people do too.  Instagram gives me an excuse to share photography with others and offers some pretty cool filters while its at it.  Toss in integration with the major social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Posterous, and Foursquare and you have a way to share photos with way more than just other Instagram users (or IGers as the hipsters refer to them)  Get it now if you have an iPhone, it’s free.  (I’ve heard rumors that there is an Android version on the way)

AutoStitch Panorama (1.99)

Wishing your iPhone had a wider lens?  Having run into this issue multiple times, I found myself researching the various panorama iPhone apps.  This led to me discovering AutoStitch; an awesome way to make massive images relatively quickly all from your phone.  The main benefit of this app is the auto-crop feature.  It may not seem like that big of a deal, but when merging a lot of handheld photos together you’ll inevitably end up with jagged edges.  The auto-crop feature of AutoStitch takes care of this and gives you a perfectly edged image.  Here’s a tip: Combine Pro HDR photos and Autostitch for massive resolution HDR images.

Timelapse ($1.99)

I bought this app after my roommate showed it to me.  To be honest, I haven’t had a chance to use it yet but the concept is rather cool and I have seen decent videos created by others from it.  I’ll update this more after I get a chance to use the app.

Best Camera ($2.99)

One of the first photo editing apps I ever came across, Best Camera comes from the famous photographer Chase Jarvis’ statement, “the best camera is the one that’s with you.”  Best Camera takes this phrase to heart by offering a smattering of filters, photo cropping, and borders.  While not offering as many fine grained photo editing options as other photo editing apps, Best Camera still holds a spot on my phone due to its ease of use.   It also offers a cool recently created/popular photos page showcasing pictures taken with the app à la Instagram’s popular page.

SynthCam ($.99)

I love app concepts and this one delivers.  Synthcam claims to allow you to take photos with the same depth of field as a DSLR camera, but with your iPhone.  While originally not much more than a technology demo, Synthcam has grown into a decent photography app that lets you take photos in a way you never have before.  Using roughly 5 seconds video and tracking points, Synthcam combines all the frames into one image.  This coupled with slight movements during the video results in a really interesting effect.  I can’t wait to see how else the developer improves this app.

Pocket Light Meter (Free)

This app is not for iPhone photography but more for anyone using a standard digital camera, DSLR, or video camera.  For a low price it uses the iPhone’s camera to mimic the same light metering capabilities of many expensive standalone light meters.  If you’re unsure what to set your shutter speed, F-stop, or ISO to, this app will help quickly.  As always, trust your gut though, not the app.  It probably works better on later generation iPhones as well, due to better quality optics.

SlowShutter ($.99)

I was both surprised that no one came out with an app like this sooner, and mildly disappointed that it seems more like a technology demo than a quality app.  Slowshutter bills itself as letting you leave the iPhone shutter open to take in more light and therefore better pictures.  Unfortunately, I feel that it doesn’t do much more than increase the ISO for many of the photos that it takes.  Maybe I just need to play with it more, or maybe I’m asking too much if I want DSLR quality star photos from my iPhone.  The only other drawback is that to really use this app effectively you must have either a tripod or the steadiest hands on the planet.

Time-lapse Calculator ($4.99)

Yet another app that is useless on its own but extremely helpful if you are ever in need of calculating just how long you should be standing out in the freezing cold to take a time-lapse.  It’s a simple matter of plugging in the variables that you know, and then letting the app handle the number crunching.  Simply set the video frame rate that you are wanting when the video is done (usually 24fps), the frames per interval (I’ve never set it to anything other than 1), and the event duration, or frame interval.  The app will then spit out a “clip length” which will tell you how long your video will end up being if you use those settings.  This is extremely helpful if you know you need an extra ten second clip to put in your (epic I’m sure) timelapse reel.

Halftone (.99)

Halftone makes your photos look like comic books.  Faded or new paper backgrounds, coupled with grainy ink styling and custom word bubbles makes this app a great deal of fun.  If you feel like a photo needs a caption, consider trying this to add some humor and comic styling.

Photosynth (Free)

Hailed as Microsoft’s really cool, yet rather late, addition to iPhone Panorama photography, Photosynth still makes for a really cool interface and app.

Plastic Bullet ($1.99)

I love the concept of this app because it is more realistic than many of the other photography/retro/toy camera apps out there.  Simple take a picture or choose one from your camera roll and it will apply a variety of retro effects to it at random.  No photo will look the same.  Sure, you lose the ability to fine tune your effects, but if you’re wanting something unique you can’t go wrong with Plastic Bullet.  I managed to pick it up for free on a sales day.  Follow Red Giant Software on Twitter to find out when they will put it on sale next.

Dynamic Light ($.99)

This is one of the coolest apps that I have found for tweaking iPhone photos.  Whether you have an old photo that needs a spark of light, or an HDR photo that you want to really make over the top, Dynamic light offers an effects toolkit that is sure to make your photos look great.  I often use it when posting photos to Instagram.  I wouldn’t recommend using it at its maximum intensity, but including it at around 30% strength adds a perfect amount of light to shadows.  Toss in color filters and vignettes (I swear, everyone is including vignettes these days), and you have an app that is easily worth the cost of admission.

QuadCamera-Multishot ($1.99)

File this directly in the fun but very niche app bin.  Quadcamera takes anywhere from four (notice the app title) to eight photos and arranges them in a 2×2, 4×1, 4×2, or 8×1 image.   It also has a built-in timer and can make animated GIFs from the images.  Fun, but like I said, niche.

Diptic ($1.99)

This is one of those apps I found out about on Instagram after seeing many other people using it and begging them to tell me.  Diptic lets you lay out and combine up to four photos in an extremely customizable way.  The end result is a compilation of photos that ends up looking pretty cool.

Color (Free)

I’m sure you’ve seen this effect before.  One item or section of the photo is in color and everything else is black and white.  There are several apps that offer this effect but this one has an interface that I found to be more intuitive.

iQuikDoF (Free)

This app labels itself as free depth of field emulator.  Much like the Color app, this one requires you to “paint” with your finger the area that needs to be blurred.  Don’t expect huge realism here but it is great if you need to censor something like a license plate or emulate a rack focus of some sort.

Xiamen Meitu Photo App (Free) (I don’t know the name due to not understanding japanese/chinese letters.  If someone could help translate that would rock!)

I found this app after seeing some interesting effects being used on photos by other Instagram users. To find it like I did you will have to go to the App store’s photography category and begin scrolling through the free apps.  You should make it past around 200 apps before you see the familiar red app icon.  Or, you could just search for “Xiamen Meitu”.

Tiny Planet Photos (Free)

I originally read about the technique of turning pictures into what looked like tiny planets on a Photoshop tutorial website.  The tutorial was rather complex and I didn’t have the time to dedicate for making a photo like it offered.  Thankfully, I managed to find this iPhone app that does the same thing as Photoshop, in around 30 seconds.  Simply pick the photo you want and select either Tiny Planet or Tiny Tube.  The app will take care of the rest and results in either a photo that looks really awesome, or really deformed.   Experiment with it, it’s free.

Clayton called me the day before his engagement asking if I would be available to film him proposing to his girlfriend (now fiancé) Raegan.  Having known him and Raegan several years, I immediately agreed.   He really went all out on this proposal – 450 individual tea candles lit all throughout the Grace Bible Church.  The candles made a path from different photo tables throughout the church that showed the different places of Raegan and Clayton’s relationship.  At each table was two different candles to light, each signifying Clayton and Raegan.  The final table had just one candle, and it symbolized the unity of marriage.  Raegan had no idea until they arrived at the church and Clayton insisted that she come inside.

:: Download Raegan and Clayton’s Engagement Film in High Definition ::

- Raegan and Clayton Engagement 1080p (139)

:: Technical Details ::

(I managed to keep equipment relatively light on this shoot.)

Camera

• Canon 7D
• Sony HDR-UX1 (backup)

Lenses

• Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM

Misc

• Indisystem indiSLIDERmini
• Manfrotto tripod

Having known Jason for many years, it came as no surprise when he informed me of his desire to propose to Bryn.  He spent months planning the engagement.  After organizing the proposal with her family, investing in rose petals, photographs, and approximately 150 candles, he was ready.   The day of the proposal, Jason would drive with Bryn to Dallas to see her family go with her on a “date”.  Little did Bryn know I would be traveling up as well, camera at the ready to film the proposal.  My good friend Ashley Stineman offered to help with filming and is responsible for some of the greatest shots in the film.  It all happened at the Kessler Community Church in Dallas, Texas

Bryn had no idea up until he got down on one knee.  She claimed the dancing to their favorite song, candles, and rose petals were clues, but she didn’t know for sure until then.  As you can see from the film, she said yes.

Download Bryn and Jason’s Engagement Film in High Definition

- Bryn and Jason 1080p MP4 (108)

:: Technical Details ::

Thanks to Ashley Stineman of For Love of You Design for all her help filming this!

Cameras

• Canon 7D
• Canon T2i

Lenses

• Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM
• Canon 28-135mm F3.5-5.6
• Canon 50mm F1.4
• Canon 17-35mm L

Misc

• Indisystem indiSLIDERmini
• Manfrotto tripod
• Steadicam Merlin

Day and night I’ve been walking here
Complacently reciting clichéd  prayer
And I find myself caught unaware
Lord I beg, just take me there
Away from here on this beggar’s throne
And into your arms oh how I groan
But in this valley, still, I know,
I do not walk this path alone.

Like a sheep I tend to stray
When darkened valleys come my way
I stand on rock instead of sand
For no one can snatch me from your hand
You gave me not a spirit of fear
And in this desert, I can hear
A still small voice that’s growing loud,
I hit my knees and humbly bow
To worship you
With all of me
You’ve broke my chains and set me free
How great the love you’ve surely shown
I do not walk this path alone

Oh praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
I know that I am Heaven bound.
I pray this life become salt and light
I pray this campus you ignite
Reveal your glory for all to see
My Father God, my Savior King
My Rock, my Hope, My Cornerstone,
I do not walk this path alone
And of your praises I will sing
And boldly stand, exalt my king
This seed you gave me I will sow,
To make disciples I will go
And preach your word,
Proclaim your name,
My life exists to bring you fame.
I know I’m saved by grace alone,
Through faith alone
In Christ alone,
To know you Lord and make you known,
I do not walk this path alone.

Written by Brad Russell.  Filmed by Matt Johnson, Emily Kiel, and John Turbeville.  Edited by Matt Johnson.  Created for Impact Retreat at Texas A&M University.

Filmed on location at the Brazos Valley Community Church of God.

:: Download in High Definition ::

- Coming soon

:: Technical Details ::

Cameras

• Canon 7D x 2
• Canon 5D Mark II

Lenses

• Canon 50mm F1.8
• Canon 28-135mm F3.5-5.6 IS
• Sigma 17-50mm F2.8
• Canon L Series 24-70mm F2.8

Sound

• Zoom H4n

Lighting

• PBL MX-6F Softbox
• PBL MX300-F
• The Sun

Coloring

• Magic Bullet Looks

Editing

• Premiere Pro CS5
• After Effects CS5
• Video Copilot Optical Flares

Misc. Equipment

• Steadicam Merlin

Having just finished reading the Road To Reality, by K.P. Yohannan as well as Radical by David Platt, I have become convinced of one thing:  God has called everyone to a life of missions, and that includes me.  At this point in my life, I am a mere nine months from graduation from graduate school.  Spit out into the world after spending (what some would consider far too long) six and a half years in the upper level education system generates the emotions that one friend of mine used for describing the future as nervousness, excitement, and fear.  Thankfully, I am not alone in this, and considering the amount of college graduates that have gone on to live successful lives since the most important college in the world was ever founded (in 1876 mind you), I should have nothing to fear.  I am young, healthy, and having survived the crucible of the education system, hopefully intelligent.  By all means the future is bright and the American dream of managing peons in a fortune 500 company, marrying a smokin’ hot wife, and having no less than three children is beckoning.

But what if that is not what I am made for?  What if every single thing that I will ever acquire will in the end be burned up? (Matthew 6:19)  A good friend once described it best as saying that we as humans are just glory coated dust (curtvernon.com).  This solemn and heart wrenching fact as held by me and more importantly, the Bible, must generate a different means of thinking in my heart.  (Philippians 3:7-8)

The desires that the world and I once held are now dead.  Everything else is loss now compared to knowing Christ.  K.P. says it best when he says, “If the men and women of this world can die for such petty causes as political independence, material wealth, and territorial gain – isn’t true servanthood the minimal response we can offer to the love of our creator?  He is, after all, the living God with whom we will spend all eternity.  And He has made it clear that servanthood is what He expects from us.”

This is all bluster and flourish if I do not back it up.  As I said before, in nine months I will emerge from my cocoon of relative safety that is the American higher education system.  What awaits me?  What is my plan?  What is God’s plan for my life specifically?

Here is what I do know. In general, God has a habit in my life of not revealing exactly what He is going to show me until generally the last-minute (feel free to contact me for examples).   By doing this I believe that He generates more trust in Him by making me wait and seek Him.  This is not a cop-out and saying that I am just going to sit around and wait till November before I start asking Him what He wants me to do next year.  Prayer for future direction has already begun, seeking the will of Christ has already started.  I have a general direction of: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19) (I have more callings than just the great commission – prayer, seeking a relationship with Christ daily etc. but for the sake of shortness and focus I’ve chosen to keep my post centered on missions) I do know that I have a talent in film that the Lord has blessed me with.  I do know that I have a desire to serve the Lord and travel.  I will make plans as the Lord reveals them, but whatever plans I make I will make with an open hand, so if God wants to replace them with something better He is free to do so.

At Breakaway Ministries (breakawayministries.org) Go! Missions Conference two years ago, Greg Matte spoke on the topic of Missions from 1 Thessalonians 3:1-3 and said (paraphrasing from memory), that predominantly people think that missions is for someone else.  That is about as true as the belief that heavenly creatures are small and childlike with tiny wings and harps (Ezekiel 1).

Consider this my public statement that I am called to missions.  We all are.  Whether it is overseas filming exotic locales for a missions organization or right here, I have a direction that I am moving in.  All for God’s glory.

It took me nearly a year to make this video.  I had all the footage, I had the idea and knew where I wanted to run with it; I was only lacking the motivation.  Two weeks ago, Lucas Parry, Australian musician extraordinaire asked me to put together a cut for him to use for promotional purposes on his website.

What followed was the most epic three hours of editing of my life.  I never work that fast or as well at that time of night (11pm-2am), but thanks to Godly inspiration, I ended up with a pretty good-looking representation of what Beach Reach represents.  Christians serving a beautiful God by serving others in Panama City Beach, Florida.  If you’re interested in Beach Reach, check out Threads Media or watch my Beach Reach 2009 video!

:: Technical Details ::

Filmed By

• Matt Johnson
• Matt Underwood
• Justin Wylie

Cameras

• Three Canon 7Ds

Lenses

• Pro Optic 8mm
• Canon 16-35mmL
• Canon 28-135mm

Music

• Beautiful by Lucas Parry, Frankie Barranco, Matt Underwood, Michael Coates, Phil Snowden (Originally by Phil Wickham)

Misc

• Slow Motion with 60fps slowed to 24fps in Premiere Pro