Editing

I’ve been editing several long-overdue projects the past few weeks. A friend’s vacation documentary, and another friend’s wedding from last year. I always forget, but when I sit down at the computer, and map out the clips from the tapes, and name, and capture, and lean back with a nerdy, intense look of busyness- it’s a peaceful feeling. It’s one of the few things I can do without much thought, and something I’m usually happy about the final product with.

Let me tell you, I’ve edited a lot of stuff. I’m just realizing…four, almost five years of editing all kinds of random movies. My brother and I filming “The Lord of the Modge-Podge” (our LotR parody) back in 2005 in Connecticut. My first three music videos when we moved to Palm Bay. Numerous weddings and dances with my business partner Daniel Gierling for a few years. A mission trip to Biloxi with our youth group. Two music videos set to original ballet choreography with my good friend Marinna. An award-winning short film this past February. Such a variety. And with every finished timeline, every completed DVD, I felt a part of my soul worshiping. I know God is pleased when I cut and paste my movies.

It’s our joy. It’s our therapy. It’s our rest. And, of course, it’s the hardest thing to sit back at the desk, knowing how long you’ll be there.

But force me to do it! Because even if the outcome isn’t fantastic, I’ll know I’m praising my God through my mouse.

So here’s to happy editors, smiles from God, and massive carpal tunnel.

Love Is…

….um…well, what is it? What is Love?

Despite the failures of all its off-brand competitors, cheap rip-offs, and misleading salesmen, Love is actually worth more than we are. It’s something we’ll never fully understand, and therefore, should never purposefully say its name without a hushed, precious reverence to the tone. The concept is jarring. The repercussions- serious and expansive. To define actual Love is to discover the sham of a life we live, and forever alter our state of mind.

The All-Powerful Update

“There is a new update available for download (ver. 2.2.1). To install, click the link below.”

Ahh…updates. No, I’m not talking about me writing a blog post to say how much work I’m not doing, nor to ramble on about things happening in my life. I’m talking about technical updates for programs, hardware, software, and most importantly…operating systems. Because this is a tech post. And unless you’re a nerd, it will be boring. Go read something else.

The Faith of a Child

God’s really been showing me a lot this past month. What is it…the 18th? Yeah, exactly a month. He’s been challenging every aspect of my life, from the physical to the mental to the spiritual to the habitual to the ridiculously-ordinary Matt. It’s true. What you sometimes consider to be very normal and everyday can sometimes be your worst and hardest-to-kill weakness.

Thankfully, I don’t have too many of those. God’s been digging away at my body, for the most part. What motivates me to work hard? What habits have I created that need to be destroyed? What is my weakness, that I might buffet my body, and make it my slave? But I’m beginning to notice a pattern of returned attention to my own faith.

Faith in what? In God? In this lifestyle that must revolve around a deity I have placed my faith in? In people and occurrences and families and leaders and everything we mindlessly take for granted?

Well, yes. Yes and no. For the most part, no, but for the part where my faith in God is essential, YES. VERY YES. Because honestly, it’s starting to get through my skull that faith in anything else is unfounded and unnecessary. It’s true. Humans sin, and we can’t help it, and therefore, letting other people down is kinda normal for us, even if we really don’t want to. And since God is not human, and God does not sin, my faith, and ALL my faith, should be in Him.

This is a pretty casual statement. Lots of professing Christians like to say it. Lots of people in many different religions say it, all the time. It’s the kind of thing you enjoy saying, because it makes sense, because it sounds great, and because it effectively lifts blame from yourself. Come on…admit it. It’s just one more thing you don’t have to be responsible about. It’s my sin. It’s your sin. Let’s be sinners together, and trust in God to save our sorry butts!

That is actually true. It’s what I believe. But there also a catch to that: I have to care about it, and work to NOT sin so much. Grace is sufficient, but it’s not to be expected. Grace is overwhelming and gorgeous, but it should also be surprising and heroic. Our faith is not called to be in Grace- it is called to be in God.

So where am I going with all this? My faith is being challenged. Not in the usual is God really real? kind of way. More like the can I trust God to take care of me, in EVERYTHING?? A job, for instance. As a student, I was hoping to be able to live off scholarships for the remainder of my education, and not have to worry about a job. However, since I am a lousy student and a lazy person, and this is not possible, I have to start looking for work. I trusted God would get me through last year with practically no funds, and He did. I trusted God would give me a job when I needed it, and He did. Not only can I be assured that He wants me here, in school, in this major, right now…I am assured that God knows me, and knows my needs, and provides for me. This is a comforting thought. But it is in no way challenging. In order to hold up my end of the deal, I must make sure I am actively listening for Him, actively and intensely pursuing a relationship with Him, and finally, make sure I am willing to lay it all down and follow Him wherever.

I’ve always felt called to a life of uncomfortable amounts of faith. It would be a really difficult thing for me, because I’m inclined to enjoy comfort. But it would also be amazing, because there would be no reason to NOT mature in every way. However, before I can begin to learn and grow through Faith, I need to understand it first. So this is my prayer. This is the new goal.

A quote from Psalm 116, verse 7:

Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.

This, I pray, is what your faith, and what His Faithfulness, becomes for you.

The Best

Everyone’s heard the phrase “Save the best for last.” It’s applicable to all kinds of situations, and it certainly makes sense, for the most part. There’s the excitement about something you want, and then the decision: Take it now, and gobble it up, and then, based on past experiences, wish you had waited; or actually wait for it. If you choose the “later” option, a period of intense self-control and restless anticipation is sure to descend, leaving you immediately regretting your adult-like wisdom. And when, finally, the time comes for your just desserts, you carefully knead every bit of joy from it and, quietly content, feel completely satisfied.

This is an experience we’ve all had at some point. Whether it was ice cream after dinner, or the pool party for your friend, or a trip to the driver’s license office, or…I could keep going, obviously. But now I’m going to take a different approach.

I’m not going to save the best for last.

Alright, well, okay. Moron. First off, what’s your “best”?

What’s the best thing I could possibly get? What’s the one thing I want more than anything else in this world?

I want a really, ridiculously-strong relationship with God. I want to be able to hear Him, and to be literally moved by Him, if it comes down to it. Above all else, that is what I want.

* * *

That should be easy enough to understand. Not really sure where I was planning on taking that thought from here on out. Hmm…

* * *

Okay. That’s all I needed to say. Maybe something deeper later.

Some More Updates

Alright, so…here’s a few more Blinding Light-related updates.

• The website is down until further notice. The reasons are 1) BLV is currently not advertising, so the information is null and void, basically. And 2) I couldn’t figure out how to set up my server, and don’t have any money for hosting. There.
• However, just because I’m not accepting jobs doesn’t mean I’m not doing anything. Currently, I’m designing three separate websites, a company logo and form template, a short film, a book, and my career through education. So don’t be hating.
• There will be a serious lack of media output from me until next Summer, most likely. Of course, I’ll be posting to this site, and in February we’ll be filming our next short film, which is not available for public gossip. Sorry. But that’s probably going to be it. I will keep whoever reads this up to date on current cool things.

That’s the updating. My education in UCF’s Digital Media department is progressing. I’m currently trying to schedule next year’s classes, and hopefully will fill up my calendar nicely. That’s all. I promise to post more exciting topics in the future.

Bitte.

Requiem for a Symphony

To define modern media is to be dashed to pieces on the shores of self-ruination.

It breaks down all barriers of distance. It defies every cultural separation. It contaminates the most hardened advocate for Truth, decimates the foundations of the morally upright, and eviscerates every core value for good left in the world. Its bed is with Deceit and its foe is Conscience. It has no regret. It has no pity. It has no control. And with every year that passes, it becomes stronger and more powerful. And this will continue until the end comes.

The end of the world, that is.

The Greatness In Us

Today was one of those days that flew by so quickly. It also managed to give me some time to think, and consult the muses of wisdom and happiness. (They don’t exist, by the way.)

Anyways, so there I was, walking down the sidewalk after dropping off my rent check to the nice postal service lady. There was a fair amount of cement to cover, and it’s hot in Orlando this week, and I was wearing long pants. As my mind went through its usual cycle of images, evaluations, simulations, and imaginations, I hit upon a valid question for the internets: What do you define as greatness?

All About the Macs…

In this day and age, we have lots of things to argue about. Wars in the Middle East, Korea and Iran’s nuclear stashes, Obama’s Nobel, corporate bailouts, global warming, human rights, etc. etc. But hailing from the year 1981, an argument that has yet to be settled ensues, and its animosity and victims range worldwide. I am talking, of course, about the ultimate question: Mac or PC?

“Ha ha ha!” you chuckle, straightening your polo shirt and finishing your 204, 667th line of C# code on your new survey analysis program. “PCs are far superior to the unwelcome menace of Apple computers! Stability is 100%, customization is near infinite, and mechanic control  is unfathomable! Death to the infidel, Windows!”

Or perhaps you’re quiet, with a knowing smirk and a quick glance down at your iPhone, checking the DOW offhandedly. “Apple’s the future, bro. They have the look, the goods, and the graphic speed and accessibility to back it all up. Get in while you can, or it’ll be just too cool for you.”

(I failed to mention you..yes, YOU, off in the corner, popping your third pimple and drooling on your already-dirty keyboard as you yell in an obviously-uncultured voice, “LINUX! You fools!”, because no one’s listening to you. Nerd.)

An Idea to Be Excited About

Hey everybody!

Well, the website is back up and running, and while the podcasts and BLStudios is not, our business is safe…for now. (I’ll get the rest up as soon as possible…this server is tiring to learn.) But as for the rest of the year, not much else is happening with this company. Next year, I expect things to start happening VERY FAST. Too fast, actually, and possibly harmful if not planned out. Which is why…

I have an idea. It involves lots of marketing investment…word-of-mouth, social ads, mailings, hype, blogs, etc. And it’s pretty much all about a series of videos about a character (for now, we’ll call him “Stephen Priest”), and his marvelous life.

To be honest, the story idea is not all mine…my brother Dan is the main contributor of the character and plotline. We’ve developed a story for the next Campus MovieFest contest, and were hoping to have a solid story and production plan set up before January. However, the idea of spreading the story out across multiple videos over several weeks (I’m thinking twelve) is a new idea to experiment with.

To do this, we would hype the idea up among our friends, and ask for a pass-on for everyone’s friends, until we have an good amount of excited viewers. Then we release a video every week for twelve (give or take a few) weeks, bringing out social networking, games, discussion boards, “chatting with Stephen” times, photos, downloads, etc. While a lot of work, this could possibly take off and flap around for twelve weeks, and afterward, the short film, which is a culmination of the entire project, would be released for public viewing.

So that’s my idea. Let me know what you think.