10 Years Later...

10 Years Later (2013)

This passed Sunday was the official ribbon cutting for my church's newly renovated children's facility.  I have been a member of Victory Outreach Church of Eagle Rock (voeaglerock.org) for a little over 14 years now.  Hundreds showed up to see the finished product which took 3 years in the making.  Our ministry's founder spoke that morning and did the honor of cutting the ribbon.

As we prepared for this passed sunday festivities, the overseers of our children's ministry asked if I could help them film a project for the event, I agreed and the brainstorming began. 

They wanted to create a video that showed why we care so much about the children's ministry, if not the importance of it in our church.  Ideas were thrown around until someone had the thought of showing a child passing a metaphoric baton.  Originally the story would show someone as an infant playing with a toy mic and passing it on to an older version of them singing on a mic in children's chapel, and finishing with them passing the mic to the adult version of them singing on the church's worship team.

The main thought would be seeing a person growing up in the church.  So with some variations I was able to create a project that I'm very proud of.  This would give me a chance to create a short with no dialogue and tell the story visually and with the help of a great soundtrack.  I was able to experiment with my shots and really attempted to convey emotions and ideas through the camera.

I could see that I'm getting a love for tight shots, close ups really, and as you watch the short you can see a little Terrence Malick influence in it, minus the trees.  In the end I ended up titling the movie 10 Years Later, which you'll get once you watch the film.  I hope you enjoy it.

-Manuel Montanez