Film & Media Students

I feel like lately I have been on camera and stuff more than ever before which is good in one sense as it creates/documents some of the work, and provides a way of sharing information and the "good news" at work in my life but on the other side it is super exhausting.

What I have been enjoying more and more however is when this work is for aspiring writers, film makers, etc that are in school working on projects for this stuff.  In the past months I have been interviewed a number of times from young adults I have met in different places as help for their school work.  Here I am finding more of a place to dialogue and do more relational ministry because the projects for the most part haven't had to do directly with the faith, but instead with my life, art, and media work where I am able to slip in some of the ministry stuff and plant some seeds.

This has also put me in a place of a reoccurring  thought/conversation about how "good" the quality of someone's art is.... from its concept to execution. For music it has been not only musical production quality, but also the depth of the lyrics and song-writing, the thought behind it, the melodies, and rhythms used etc.  For film it has been not only the camera quality, but also the creative twist/spin on angles; storyline; etc.

What has been coming up with this however is that people should be attracted to your art because it is good - not because of where you are from, or who you are connected to/involved with etc. And what that means for us as a church is that of course we have great depth theologically/philosophically, etc. but also its creative approach in which it is represented should dialogue with the culture as well as challenge the culture with its quality.

I have found myself many times approached by people within the church to collaborate on projects and I always have a hard time telling certain people that their quality isn't up to par - how I love their enthusiasm, and their fire to share our faith but also want to challenge them to grow in the quality of their creative expression.  Especially living in a day like today where due to technology almost everyone has access to produce works and mass market it from the comfort of their home, we seem to have an even bigger responsibility to be better at our crafts.  And I know this has been a challenge even for me due to a lack of financial resources to get better equipment, but I have to always even challenge myself to be better.

I say all of this to say - we are all students.... We should all be growing;  in our knowledge, and should push our standards forward so much as they stay in the realms of morality and good catholic social teaching. Let's challenge ourselves in the way we write; in the colors we use; in the depth of our art expressed, and let us never be afraid to enter into new territory to expand our creative expression plus it's reach.

- The Symbol
- All is Love