Fireproof, and the 2009 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival

Fireproof, and the 2009 SAICFF

~ Thoughts on Fairness, and the Purpose of Competition ~

Recently in this big ol' world wide web, there was a group of well-intentioned filmmakers discussing the fairness of allowing films such as Fireproof and Expelled, established big dogs in the world of Christian films, into the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival.

The comments were along the lines of, 'how are homeschooled filmmakers supposed to compete with that level of film?' Numerous complaints have been raised that 'it is unbeatable,' and 'how could the award go to anyone else', and 'this isn't fair', and 'this will damage the purpose of the festival', and so forth, and so on. Maybe it's something I ate, or maybe it's my Moore blood, but these complaints really grated on me, almost like a child screaming in line at a shopping center.

Well, being a filmmaker who is supposedly going to ‘suffer’ for this decision, I have some thoughts about Fireproof and Expelled being in the festival. And to be fair, these concerns have arisen from members of the HeuMoore production team as well, but we quickly came to the following conclusion.

1.) A competition is never fair.

Varying levels of experience and talent sway the evenness of the competition more so than money, in most cases.

2.) Fireproof is just as independent as any other independent film.

Just because it’s six to twelve months further along in it’s development than our film doesn’t make it unfair for them to enter. In fact Fireproof and Expelled have been worked on for years; The Widow’s Might, from the first day of shooting to the final submission to the judges LESS than 5 months. In the big picture, where will we be with The Widow's Might 13 months from now?

3.) Fireproof legitimizes the festival, and thus, our film.

I do not, I repeat DO NOT feel the honor in being part of ‘podunk and bob’s indie film fest’. Having films that are where I intend to be, causes me to stretch, and ultimately gives me more power by way of association, when marketing or pitching future projects. I’m thrilled to be able to say to any investor, ‘Ya know Fireproof? Expelled? Secret of Jonathan Sperry? Well, The Widow’s Might was chosen along with those three to be part of the largest Christian film festival in the world." For that reason alone, I’m grateful that Fireproof is in the festival… This pursuit of excellence is what separates the SAICFF from 'podunk and bob'.

4.) Every film has the same chance.

Fireproof will probably be given a far more critical eye by the judges, for the reason that they had more time, experience, and financial support. It is stated on the festival website that budget is one of the things taken into consideration when judging the films. I think a film like Pendragon has ultimately the same amount of power to win as any of the others. It’s a film I would imagine the judges would tend to favor, especially when considering budget and the level of creativity exhibited by the filmmakers.

5.) Audience Choice is still the king of the hill.

The film that comes away from the festival with the Audience Choice award, will be able to say decisively that they beat out Fireproof. That’s just the coolest thing in the world, and it could very well be a short film; there, the audience is a true judge. Winning audience choice with no Fireproof would still be grand, but certainly not to the same extent.

6.) I hope to be next year where Fireproof is now; they’re not a studio picture.

It's not a huge budget film. It's just a well crafted indie film, that is an itsy bitsy miniscule drop in the bucket compared to even the lamest of Disney Channel TV shows. We need to take the blinders off, look at the real world of films, and grow up. Moaning about Fireproof and how unbeatable it is ultimately shows how small our picture is of the filmmaking world. It's time to think big, grow up, take charge, move on.

~ In Christ, John.

Shoot 2, Day 8 - Production Photos

Tuesday, we had the opportunity and pleasure of filming Terry and Lori Taylor ( as Mayor Sam Warner and his secretary ), and Larry Winters ( as Carl Kilgore, seen with Gator above ). These folks were examples of tremendous patience and rapid-fire learning. Having no working knowledge of film or the film process, they radically switched mental gears for their performances and despite being very affluent and influential men, took direction and humbly asked for advice when they felt it to be necessary.

Finding men in their position with that kind of giving attitude is a rarity. It was a true pleasure to work with them, and we at HeuMoore really think that Mr. Taylor should run for office. He has the heart and mind of a Godly servant-leader, plus he has the face and presence to match.

That may be why he was such a perfect and natural casting choice for Mayor Warner in our story... ;-)

Can't give away too much about Larry's performance. It's fun and fantastic as well, I think you all will really enjoy their work.

~ In Christ, John.

Shoot 2, Day 7 - Production Photos

After our God-given rest, we picked up filming again on Monday, August 25'th. Day seven of the second shoot, we were blessed to have multi-award winning producer Colin Gunn as a guest star in the film, and he brought one of his awards with him.

Colin is a modest man, but his accomplishments are not. Working with him and learning from him was a great experience, and we would gladly do so again. For those of you who didn't think this documentarian could pull off dramatic acting, we were pleasantly surprised and we believe you will be too. :-)

HeuMoore hopes to work with Colin again in 2009 on an untitled issue documentary project, but that idea is still in the talking phase.

~ In Christ, John.

Day 5: Behind the Scenes

And now, Day Five.

As the disclaimer states, there isn't much to day five. Day six will be posted around 10 o'clock tonight. (July 12'th.)

Excursion Around Enchanted Springs Ranch

Hi there! This is Gator, just back from our trip to the Enchanted Springs Ranch in San Antonio!

We drove down to San Antonio, to check out set locations for The Widow's Might. Of course, this led us to the Enchanted Springs Ranch.



Five of us drove together; Derek Moreland, David Heustis, Johnny Reighard, Me, Jeff Moreland (off camera) and my older brother John (behind the camera). Come to think of it, that's six of us.

We were all very excited to see the western village. After 5 hours in the car, we were eager just to get out and stretch our legs!!

The first building we saw in the western village, was the sheriff's office. It looks a lot like what I had pictured when I read John's script!

Derek Moreland used John's HV2o to capture location video for documentary purposes. We'll try to get some online for you later...

Although it looks like I'm in jail, I'm actually just looking in. Doesn't look like a place I would want to be!! I read a story about Charles Spurgeon leading a group of men to repentance in a jail cell, the day before their execution.

What is that evil beast standing behind Derek?

It's a Llama! I can't believe such wild creatures are allowed on these public streets.

Duel of the cameras!

The center of town... This would be a great spot for an epic gunfight, and as you can see by our shadows, it's only slightly past 'high noon'.

Ah, the six gun saloon. Many a good man has been led astray in such a place as this!

The most important place in a western town; at the opposite end of the town square from the saloon; the church meeting house.

Jeff Moreland chats with Steve, the owner of the ranch, about the construction and arrangement of the set. Steve is a great guy, and gave us a personal tour of his ranch.

I loved the big blue sky and the fresh air of the old west!

Johhny Reighard, visual designer and storyboard artist for The Widow's Might, carefully surveyed the set looking for visual themes to use with the movie. He thinks a nice desaturated 'dusty' look will work well.

I know it's just a western set, but even this tombstone reminds us of men who gave their lives to defend justice.



I bet I'll be courageous enough to do the same if necessary.

The buildings all look very authentic to me!

We looked out this way to find a building suitable for the Widow's home.

I'm glad Thomas Edison kept trying, even after failing thousands of times!

David Heustis and Mr. Moreland hear stories of famous gunfights, and also get valuable advise about filming on this ranch.

This looks more like a mining shack than the widow's home... John can't make up his mind about using it. What do you think?

John grabbed the HV20 for a few clips... He likes being a director.

There was a nice breeze when we were there... but we'll be filming on the western set in August! I hope the breeze is still there, or we might just evaporate!

Another angle of the Saloon. The saloon in our town serves milk, water, juice, and sandwiches. We don't want the film crew to get drunk in the middle of the project. The actors wouldn't be able to walk straight!

In the middle of our excursion around the ranch, we were joined by friends from the set of Heartstrings; Juan and Daniel Rivera! They joined us on set and helped us take pictures of the whole thing.

Mr. Rivera loaned me his hat!

Hmm. A perfect fit. I'll have to make sure John gets me one just like this for The Widow's Might.

A wagon. I wonder how many miles per gallon this one gets?

This place was really neat! I can't wait to back in August!

See how happy I am to be there?

Walking through the streets, I met this fellow. A former prospector, he is now the county sheriff, and fastest gun in town.

I wasn't the only one enjoying the set, the whole crew absolutely loved it!

We walked through the barren streets, hoping to spot a bank robbery or something else exciting, so we could have a shootout!

But, the only shooting that takes place here is shooting movies and shooting pictures.

Derek liked the windmill. Too bad there wasn't more wind...

Here's a pretty fancy hotel... Maybe we can stay there during the shoot! Johnny looks awful tall in this picture!

But here he is, standing in the same place. Be careful that you don't believe everything you see!

Johnny and Juan. (John and John).

I loved the old fashioned stuff all over the ranch. For a whole day, I felt like a cowboy!

David got himself locked up for not following the rules. We'll have to pick him up when we go back in August.

And we're back in the center of town.

Mr. Moreland decided to take it easy for a minute, relaxing in the ambiance of 1880.

Mr. Rivera loaned him a hat too... How many hats does Mr. Rivera have?

Uh oh. The tax assessor's office. This is the guy who should be in jail. Mr. Moreland decided to swap the tax assessor for David Heustis.

While we busted David out of Jail, Mr. Rivera kept watch.

Then we all hopped aboard this wagon thingie, and rode out of town as fast as our horse would tow us!

Mr. Moreland watches to make sure the posse isn't following us. Uh oh! He spotted something!

Oh, just a herd of cattle. And deer. They don't pose a threat at this point.

YES! We're free! Juan rejoices that we lost the posse way back in town.

So does Mr. Moreland!



"Hey... That building looks familiar."

"It's the gunsmith's shop. Isn't that back in town?"

"Hey! Look who's driving this thing!"



It's Steve, the owner of the ranch!

So we jumped out of the wagon, and hopped the wall.

We made it out of town alive, and Derek took some good video.

All in all, it was a really great day, and John says the town will look great on Mr. Burgess's RED camera.


David will just have to disguise himself in August, because we'll be back there filming The Widow's Might, and the producer can't be in jail while we're filming!

If you want, you can join us on the scene of the shoot! If you're in San Antonio in August, be sure to let us know when and where! Email my older brother: John@EveryFrameCaptive.com

Also, be sure to stay updated on our progress as we make this film by subscribing to updates on WidowsMightTheMovie.com .


Until then, thanks for reading!

~ In Christ, Gator.

Here it is!

Here it is! An 'official'-ish website for The Widow's Might, the fourth installment in the siblings set of family movies. The Widow's Might will be like nothing we've ever worked on before, in terms of scale.

This site is temporary, until the full site is put into place, but please check it out, and watch the video.



Watch the video and sign up for updates!

The website and video will be updated in a couple days, slight errors removed. The problem is, we've been in Kentucky for several days, and won't be able to update it until we get home.

Please pass the site around to your friends, and do sign up for updates. We won't be spamming your inbox, you know that, but we'll keep you in the loop on major developments or releases.

Also, we'd love your input on the following; which domain should we use as the main domain for the site?

WidowsMightTheMovie.com
TheWidowsMightTheMovie.com
or
SiblingsTheMusical.com ?

Comment, and let us know!