A Guide to Popular Filmmaking.
I love storytelling. As humans, we love stories because we see ourselves in them, and they inspire us by making our lives feel bigger and a part of something greater. This is why storytelling is so powerful and why it’s been a major communication tool for thousands of years. The methods have evolved, but the fundamental action and pattern of telling a story has not.
There is one basic pattern of storytelling that most, if not all, storylines follow. It’s called “The Hero’s Journey.” This pattern starts with a single hero, who lives in his own known universe, but is called on a great adventure in an unknown territory. As the hero’s journey begins, he meets a supernatural aid, helper or mentor. From there he faces challenges, temptations,meets his enemies and his allies. At the arc of the story, the hero faces death and rebirth. From there he is transformed, must undergo atonement, and then ultimately he returns home. Doesn’t this sound like a story you and I are familiar with? It is the same pattern that the Gospel follows.
Let’s take the movie Star Wars as an example to highlight this pattern. If you’ve never seen Star Wars, you can still read through this pattern and get a great understanding of the plot and how it relates to us as Christians.
Luke is in his known world when he lives on a moisture farm on the desert planet Tatooine. Luke’s call to adventure comes when he finds a message stored in R2-D2. Luke meets his aid/mentorwhen he meets Obi-Wan Kenobi who gives Luke his father’s lightsaber and agrees to train him to be a Jedi. He crosses the threshold when he travels with Obi to Alderaan to deliver plans for the Death Star to Princess Leia’s father. He comes face to face with his challenges/temptations/enemies and allies when he meets Hans Solo and Chewbacca and they travel to Alderaan with Obi Wan. He approaches the abyss when the Death Star destroys Alderaan and they invade Death Star to rescue Princess Leia. Here is also where death and rebirth happens, when the group rescues Leia but Darth Vader kills Obi Wan Kenobi in the process. The transformation happens when Luke joins the Rebels and destroys the Death Star. He approaches atonement when he refuses Hans Solo’s offer to leave, and chooses to overcome the Galactic Empire. He passes the atonement stage when he remembers Obi-Wan’s advice and uses the Force to help him destroy the Death Star. He returns transformed with his reward when he receives the medal and takes his first steps toward becoming a Jedi.
Let’s see ourselves in this story, not as intergalactic jedi masters but as followers of Christ. Just like the hero in the story is called out of his or her known universe, we too are called to adventure, into the unknown where growth and transformation happen. Along the way we receive supernatural aid, help and mentorship through the Holy Spirit to face challenges and temptations. We then face our own ordeals, undergo supernatural death and resurrection when we choose to die to our old-self and be reborn into new identities in Christ where we then walk the path of transformation back home.
It’s easy to see ourselves in any story when we realize that all storytelling follows the pattern that God himself outlined. The next time you’re at the movie theater or at home watching a movie about a triumphant hero - picture yourself there instead and ask yourself where you are on “The Hero’s Journey.” You are the movie star.
Written By Mithun Abraham,
Edited by Kamber White.
Essentialism
It has been almost a year since I have moved from California to New York. Since I have been here, I have moved apartments 5 times and accomplished a significant amount of progress at work. Things haven't always been easy, and every step of the way there were obstacles and hurdles to overcome. I would be lying if i said i haven't felt restless from time to time about moving to the next "big thing" because my idea of where I would have been, looking back a year from now was different from the reality of my present.
Have you ever felt that a million different things are trying to get your attention all at the same time?? It could be motivated by things not happening as you have hoped for at work, or personal life...It could sometimes simply be your own goals, and how frustrating and discouraging it can be when the reality of life's timeline doesn't align with yours.
This was one of those days when I felt restless, but encouraged to stay the course and and keep moving. I got up that Friday morning, decided to go on a drive and revaluate my priorities. What's important and what wasn't. What was worth my time and what I had to cease investing into.
I chose Letchworth State Park in New York as my destination and set off.
On the journey I learned that in order to regain clarity on my purpose and focus in on the grand purpose of my journey, i had to "declutter" all the things that were fighting for my attention and remove all the things that were non-essential.
I understood that in order to focus on a strategy to achieve my goals, I had to take a good look at all the things I was doing, cut out the non-essential things and keep only the essential.
The other BIG thing i learned is that, your purpose is not defined to anything but YOU. It is not defined by place, a job, a people group... or anything else. When you find your purpose, what you are designed to do with your life, it forever lives within you. Usually it's when you truly pause, reflect and invest into yourself that you hear and see this reality. When you steady the heart and listen, you will always hear the voice of your purpose.
You will be able to see road you've journeyed and reset the course for where you need to be headed.
and when you get there.... it will be glorious! and the pains of the journey will all make sense.
Middle Falls - Letchworth State Park, New York
Chasing Craters.
Ever felt like your life had missing pieces? Gaps that keep coming in and out? Questions that needed answers. You may wonder why or what they were... why they exist? Are there good?? Are they bad?? What could fill them? ....
Ever felt like your life had missing pieces? Gaps that keep coming in and out? Questions that needed answers. You may wonder why or what they were... why they exist? Are there good? Are they bad? What could fill them? ..
Introspection is good because it gets you to get out, wander and find answers.
And off course during my time in California, I had to go wander...and go find my own answers. I had some questions for the big Guy upstairs.
I heard there was a crater close to me, well...sortof.
En route to Crater Lake, Oregon.
Mt. Shasta, CA
It was a 4 hour drive.
On the way i pondered what the Creator's intent was in giving us this desire to search for answers.. You know sometimes this "quest" can be mistaken for "missing" something in your life. Misjudged for being "lost", but truth is..it seldom is.
What i do know is that it definitely gets you moving out of this stagnant place you may be in and go towards the place where you may find more of yourself. If you feel curious enough, it motivates you to get out and go on this journey to find answers to the deepest questions in your heart.
and here I was standing almost 8000 feet high on the rim of the crater, at Crater Lake National Park. This is a mountain that blew up in a volcanic eruption hundreds of thousands of years ago and the "sinkhole" created this magnificent lake, which is the deepest lake(almost 2000ft at its deepest point) in the United States of America. (Seventh deepest lake in the World).
It was amazing to experience beauty that was created from something that left a huge gaping hole in the earth.
Never ignore your thirst to search for truth. Though it may take you on journeys, you always end up finding beauty.
Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
Coastlines
Northern California is pretty beautiful. One day I decided to drive to the coast. the route was through the Trinidad mountains. It was a 3 hour drive, but it ended up becoming a 4 hour drive because I ended up stoping a bunch of times like this.
Northern California is pretty beautiful. One day I decided to drive to the coast and the route was through the Trinidad Mountains. It normally is a 3 hour drive, but it ended up becoming 4 hours because I HAD to end up stopping a few times for this :)
I loved the mountains and wondered what would it be like living in the mountains but sometimes exploring yourself is never as exciting as exploring with your gang, and I missed mine.
It was a humbling experience. One where you think about what is important to you. "What" truly is driving you to explore... this hit deep while standing out and listening to the waves crash on the shorelines.
Trinidad Coastline, CA
I stood looking at the waves and felt....calm, peaceful, restful, but strangely not at "home."
I was surrounded by incredible creation but I could not enjoy it like i thought i would. Something was missing. I walked back to my car and kept driving hoping to find whatever it was i was looking for in the Redwood Forrest. Just maybe... seeing the grandeur of these trees would make me feel different.
Well, it didn't. It was supremely breathtaking to see these magnificent trees but I realized that nothing is "legendary" if you have no one to experience it with.
Moody day, for a moody post huh.. such is life sometimes, and that's what makes it real.
I personally came away with a better appreciation for the people in my life. I was searching for something more out of a selfish desire to find something "new" and "exciting", while the entire time what i needed was right in front of me. Right next to me, in the people that knew me. It was time to stop searching and go home.
A Journey into Africa.
I waited sometime for this. I wasn't sure if i was going to be able to go on another trip this year.. and I have always wanted to go to Africa....
In late July of 2015, I was called into an office and commissioned with the task of traveling with a team of 13 people to capture the lives and stories of the people of Bungoma, Kenya. The team was sent out to provide a free medical clinic and secure a property to eventually build and develop a children's home for rescuing and rehabilitating the many abandoned street children roaming the city. These are kids who have been orphaned due to unfortunate circumstances and have no food, shelter, education or any hope in life.
I am proud to say that team with the help of the local church and government are doing something to change this for good.
These pictures don't just capture a moment in the journey but they tell a powerful story of incredible people that choose to give their lives for the benefit of another.
I hope you enjoy viewing these pictures as much as i enjoyed capturing them.
Captured using: Sony A7s. Developed in Adobe Lightroom.
All Images© 2015 Mithun Abraham