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For those who have ears to hear….
I heard on the radio this afternoon, during my lunch break, some very worthy causes, Christian freedoms being taken away, peril for Christianity, etc. I was moved to act within my soul. I wanted to take the whole government, the whole world and tell them how I felt about the hot, controversial and painful issues that I was hearing about. They need to do what I think is right!!!!!!!!!!!!!
……hmm…….
Then this Voice broke my burning anger , my righteous indignation and it said:
“Don’t cut off the ear.“
I knew the reference so I looked up that passage.
In John 18:10, we read this account:
10Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)
But JESUS answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
What has happened here? JESUS was going to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane and his disciples were (or at least one of them was) going to take things in to his own hands.
That man was Peter. We all know Peter. I think most of us deal with things as Peter did, and that is why we so relate to him. But here is Peter taking things in his own hands. He was sincerely trying to do something for JESUS, why, he, Peter, was going to save JESUS from the guards….
First of all, JESUS never needs us to save HIM, it is always the reverse.
His actions resulted in his cutting off the ear of the man, Malchus. This was something JESUS condemned and said, “No more of this!“. It was man’s way of doing things, but not GOD’s way of doing things. JESUS doesn’t need us to do “our thing” for HIM. What HE really needs is us to do “HIS thing” for HIM.
And when we move forward, do, create, speak or otherwise take action in our own accord without having taken a direct command from JESUS to do so, what we do is cut the ear of those who most need to hear.
Like Peter, when we act of our own accord, we disable those who need most to hear our message by our action. Do you think Malchus was really open to a message about a Loving CHRIST with a violent act put upon him by one of JESUS‘ followers? I think he had his ear cut off, literally and figuratively.
That is why JESUS healed his ear.
We cut off the ears of those who need to hear the Gospel of JESUS CHRIST because we march without marching orders, we sing out of harmony with CHRIST, or we just simply stay put when JESUS says to go and do.
That’s what cutting the ears off of the unsaved is.
JESUS said on the cross, “FATHER, forgive them for they know not what they do.” HE still wanted them to hear the message of eternal life and redemption.
Peter thought he was acting for the good of CHRIST, but he was not. He was acting in the ways of men.
We need to do drama when JESUS commands us to do it. We need to start a ministry when JESUS directs us to do it. We need to make a video presentation when we are lead by the SPIRIT. The rest is not only vanity and the ways of man, but in the end it will cut off the ear of the very ones who need to hear, see and participate in what GOD has given you to do.
Look at a lot of the current blogosphere. There are voices against Christianity and some are actively seeking to put JESUS to death if not in actuality then through CHRISTianity. An atmosphere against true Christianity like this comes from one of two things:
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the work of the enemy, or
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the work of Christians doing their own things. Christians not doing what JESUS has asked them to do or Christians NOT doing what JESUS told them to do……any of these are considered ”not gathering for CHRIST“.
Look around you locally and see how many ears are cut off from hearing a true Gospel message. Why is that? The Gospel they are hearing many times is the Gospel + someone’s agenda attached – a man-made agenda.
We need to stop trying to carry out our own agenda and carry our the commands of our LORD. It still doesn’t guarantee all will listen, but they certainly won’t hear it if you cut off their ear with your personal agenda which did not originate from GOD..
Follow GOD’s direction and don’t cut off anyone’s ear.
LORD, forgive us of our dullness of spirit to allow our own agendas to dilute what YOUR true message is. Heal the ears we have cut off and teach us YOUR ways.
In JESUS’ precious name.
The beginning of this series is Drama Tech 101.
While Movie Edit Pro 12’s $59.99 is cheap enough for starters, it became apparent for me to move up into newer levels on what I could do.
MEP 12 continues to perform, especially in the are of managing a soundtrack, but I needed some added visual umph! for my productions. This is where FXHome.com came in to the scene.
FXHomeoffers some of the most exciting programs available and can be used in addition to not only MEP 12 but also Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro.
There are three main programs FXHome software offers and they are:
Each of these are available in Pro or Lite versions depending on your budget. In fact, that is the tag line for FXHome products: “Ideal for low-budget productions”. The prices range for 109.99 to 499.99.
I chose to go with EffectsLab Lite for the 109.00 (which all three are available for immediate download!) and got to work right away making, solar flares, light bursts, and all other kind of visual effect. Effects come in four main categories:
- Particles - a particle generator that creates astoundingly realistic effects like smoke, fire or even a speeding comet.
- Muzzles - various kind of muzzle flashes for gun shots but it also has this cool event horizon effect, as well as a searchlight
- Optics – my personal favorite. I can create light flares, flashes, moving lights, balls of spinning energy, and the like. I never knew how much I could enhance my main design in a video until I used this feature. Try the “Explosion Grow”
- Neon – yes, like Star Wars light saber effects, as well anything that need to glow. It can be formatted in 4 points or by freehand.
Really there is so much to say about this program that I cannot do it justice in just one small blog. So do yourself a favor and visit FXHome here and see for yourself.
EffectsLab can convert you video footage (for example what I create in MEP 12) and encode all of my chosen effects on to that video and export it in AVI, MPEG or Quicktime formats. You can even take the new EFX version of your video and add more things to it back in your editing software. Say you add an optic effect and want to put a sound effect with it. You can also create video from scratch with EffectsLab.
CompositeLab is similar to EffectsLab but works more directly with compositing effects, Keying (Green Screening) and Mattes. The Garbage Matte is an incredible tool that can help turn a smaller home studio (say one green screen background) into a widescreen shot seamlessly. This is my next purchase.
VisualLabPro is everything you could ever want in both programs in the Pro level. More effects, more composite feature. But at 499.99 it carries a hefty price tag. There is this website that offers 20% or 100.00 off the price if you buy the program from his website instead of FXHome. He will even through in a green screen background.
But download the trial versions to see if you like the program before investing the moula for it.
Then go create!
The beginning of this series is Drama Tech 101.
Okay so you have seen the best in the business I suppose with Final Cut Pro. But now I will show you my choice for video editing software. I have created all of my videos on this software, or earlier versions of it (Movie Edit Pro 11, 10, etc…)
What I like about Movie Edit Pro
PRICE – It is just 59.99 (as of 10/26/07) new in a box or $49.99 – internet download for immediate use. Compare that to 1299.00 for Final Cut Pro. You actually get a lot for 59.99, some of the features are only available on programs ranging in to multiple hundreds of dollars.
INTERFACE - I love the interface of MEP 12. It has the ever useful Timeline editing mode. It’s main interface has three sections, the timeline, monitor to view your work and media pool section to grab your photos, video’s and audio tracks.
FUNCTIONALITY - for the price there is not a better deal on the market. MEP 12has titles, transitions, Video effects including green-screening options, video adjustment controls for color and brightness, etc.., and audio controls. It even has HD support, as well as a surround sound generator.
Working with audio tracks is amazingly simple. You just click and drag then you can shorten or copy. You can also add a surround generator with a right click. Interfaces are easy to understand for the novice or seasoned professional alike. Multiple audio tracks are available to work with, as there are 16 individual track lines in the interface.This allows you to really experiment with sound in a way that only programs ranging in the hundreds of dollars can. Working with photos is just as easy.
There are there main tabs of MEP 12 :RECORD, EDIT, and BURN
But video, now there is a bright moment for MEP 12. You can capture video directly from your camcorder in the RECORDmode, HD or DV. One of the few lesser priced programs that actually did this at first set up with out a myriad of adjustments to preset. Here, I just plug in a firewire and capture. Or you can import a ready-made audio file as it recognizes AVI, MPEG & Quicktime formats.
From the EDITINGtab, you can then work directly with a timeline, and adjust your monitor to various sizes including HD.
The timeline is pictured here and you can see the monitor and media poll sections. Again, this is an efficient interface from which to work.
Then there is the editing feature of VIDEO EFFECTS that I most enjoy…..
From this dialog box (pictured left) you have several effects from sand, to fisheye, to motion – a crazy looking ethereal effect. I used this effect to symbolize the power coming from CHRIST in a demon encounter, giving a rare glimpse into the “spiritual” side. This gave the audience a new vision of WHO JESUS really is. Incredible function of this software!.
The editing feature also allows you to key out green, blue, white or black colors with fading ranges to get just the touch you are looking for.
The BURN tab allows you to convert your work into DVD formats with ready-made or customizable DVD Menu screens, so that your work will function as Quality Store-Bought DVD’s. Perfect for sharing.
But ultimately the homerun function for me is being able to convert videos I created to an AVI or MPEG file for use with EasyWorship. The software on our church computer and projector, which allows me to use these videos in a church drama.
Or I can convert it to Quicktime for upload to Youtube.com.
Try Magix Edit Pro 12 and see if you like it as much as I have.
Til Later,
Stormshelter.
The beginning of this series is Drama Tech 101.
Described as the biggest debate of our era…..should you chose a Mac or a PC? Well, first of all, why should you choose?
PC – stands for Personal Computer and is produced by such companies as Hewlett Packard, Sony, Toshiba, Dell and Gateway for starters. It runs the Windows as its operating system. That is the key.
Mac – is an Apple computer that runs the Tiger OS X – thus the iMac, connectible with the various “i”s such as iPod, iMovie, iTunes, etc… Basically the “ILife” as it is called.
The generic tag line is that Mac’s are for anyone pursuing something involved with arts, while PC’s are for business and basic computing. I am not sure I agree with that yet….
The advantage of a Mac is
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Easy interface, connectibility,
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Creatively friendly
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Less virus issues
The advantage of a PC is:
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Price
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Availability of programs
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excellent with spreadsheets, word processing, etc… for other church work.
It is up to you which one you pick, but I have made my choice: PC. I think it is cheaper to operate and has a larger selection of programs to choose from.
Well, there is my two cents on this issue and by no means is it a thorough expository on the subject….just points of view from my experience…
Til Next Post.
The beginning of this series is Drama Tech 101.
The following posts will be reviews of Video Editing Software programs that would enable one to create a video backdrop or music video, on in the case of a drama production in church, opening titles or a main video sequence. It would have the capacity to create video in the form of DVD, or Quicktime, AVI or MPEG for various formats usages and allow the user to have creative control over titling and special effects of still shots and video as well as audio tracks.
I will do quick reviews of these video editing programs:
- Apple’s Final Cut Pro 5 (6 is now available)
- Magix’s Movie Edit Pro 12
By no means is this an exhaustive review but more to discover the practicality that an entry level video editor can “get up and running” for a church drama production.
Here goes…..
