One of the things I love best about NFAF is the opportunity to sit down and collaborate with my fellow artists and dramatists- some of whom I only get to see once a year. I am lucky enough that one of my very best friends is a distinguished evaluator. After a workshop we moderated with a few other evaluators, he and I sat down and I asked him what his top 5 pointers would be for those preparing for Fine Arts or preparing a human video for ministry, and here they are:
- Develop smooth and organic transitions- So you need to go from one scene to the next? No problem! All you need is a transition. But before you go forging ahead with your choreography, remember that the movement of a transition, just as all the movement in your piece, should flow organically from the intention of the characters. Make sure that it's not so complicated that the audience is conscious of you being in the choreography.
- Show passion- No one wants to watch a presentation where the performers don't even want to be there. If you don't have passion for your subject matter then perhaps you should think about a re-write. This is why it is SO IMPORTANT that the stories you create be organic (growing out of your own spiritual journey, or out of the spiritual journey of your group- coming directly from God to you for your audience) because if they don't, how will you find the passion?
- Be crisp with your beats and with your rhythm- This art form is based on music and moving with the music. If you are not one beat, we can tell.
- Keep your focus strong- As my youth pastor used to say, " When you're on stage, someone is ALWAYS watching you." Don't think that because your back is turned you can have a lazy neck, or pick your wedgie, or fiddle with your shirt. When you are on stage you are ON STAGE! People are watching!
- Make it clear- Your audience may not have the background on the piece that you do so make sure that someone who has never seen it, never seen a human video, or never cracked open a Bible can understand it. If not, if your evaluators have to conference after the performance to figure out what you just did, then you've missed the point. The point is to communicate God's Word to a lost and dying world. If Pastors and ministers can't understand it, then, "Huston, we have a problem."
If you have ideas or request for future posts, please email them to me: humanvideogirl (at) gmail (dot) com.
1 comment:
I saw your reply to me on twitter. That's a tough situation. I've seen so many times when someone has accused the church of failing them. Many times they were right, other times they were probably looking at the situation wrong. Often they were referring to one particular church body, and not the church at large, though they came across that way. Let's keep chatting about it through email if you like:
toby@neag.org
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