Filmmaking is a really beautiful process of getting to know people. I’m going to be sharing more on process in my next few videos 👀
Getting to make documentaries about the need for orphan care has been the job I never knew I needed.
Ironic as this may sound I’m not a big “kids” person. I’d prefer cats to kids for company 🐱
I was apprehensive about taking a job that would involve me working with kids and filming them, but this year has been so refreshing for me.
To learn greater compassion, to be able to serve these kids who have no family, no resources, no support and to provide with the greatest gift of all, the hope of Jesus.
If you’d like to be a part of helping these kids, DM me for more info about coming with us to Tijuana in 2022!
#tijuana #orphancare #servingothers #documentary #documentaryfilm #femalefilmmaker #missionary #missionarylife #shorttermmissions #christianfilm #christianfilmmaker #christiancreative #mediaministry #christianmedia
4 days left until Tijuana! Please continue to pray for our Renewal Missions team!
I was nervous about how these shirts were going to turn out, but now I’m so excited to give these out to the orphans and our team in Mexico!
Sam is also really happy to have a new shirt 😂
If you would like to receive updates after the trip, please leave a comment below. :)
I was nervous about becoming a filmmaker because I didn't think I was good enough. It's exciting to be making videos about orphan care in Mexico and I hope that more will join us as we share God's love with those in Tijuana!
Our team is getting ready to travel to Tijuana! Check out how I pack my camera bag with my camera essentials :)
I would have never imagined that I would help self-publish a children's book on a Bible Story.
Designing a book is something I practiced in my design classes, but having the opportunity to design my own book for God's Kingdom is something far greater than I imagined.
Working with Renewal Missions has shown me that God does great things for those who are willing to trust Him in obedience.
We are going to Tijuana!
After a year and a half of serving pastors and orphans online that we are FINALLY going out to meet them in person!!
From July 31 - August 1, I’ll be joining a team to serve orphans in Mexico by bringing them toys, food, clothes, the Book of Jonah in Spanish, and hosting a day retreat for them.
We are partnering with local pastors Rolando Coronado and Rubi in Tijuana to support their work in the orphanages and share the love of Jesus with them tangibly.
Join me as I raise funds to not only give out these items to the kids but also as I film a short documentary about issues that surround orphan care in Mexico!
My personal goal is $2,000, but we hope to raise our team goal of $20,000 before we go. We are currently almost 50% there!
My Wedding Video!
I haven't posted some of my personal work in a while, so I thought I would share part of my wedding video that I edited.
It honestly takes me so much effort to start my own creative projects. I was supposed to film and edit a whole wedding planning series, but I ended up only releasing 1 video. 🙈
Even though my husband and I originally planned to hire a wedding videographer for the whole wedding, COVID really threw us for a loop. We ended up having a friend livestream it for us. He ended up shooting some extra footage for us which was so AWESOME.
Shoutout to Cameron Kuey Photography and Productions for helping us live stream and film our wedding! If you are looking for a wedding photographer and videographer in the San Diego area, check him out 🙌
3 Mistakes I Made When I Started Filmmaking
👇Here are 3 mistakes I made👇
1. I didn’t invest in BASIC camera gear. 🎙🎧
You don’t have to go and buy the top line of equipment, but get yourself a good set of basics to practice your technique.
2. I didn’t plan out my videos using a shot list! 📝
If you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail. So do your research and think about what kind of shots you envision for your videos.
3. I didn’t practice my camera movements. 🤷🏻♀️🎥
I actually didn’t even know camera movements were a thing until I started shooting. But I quickly realized after looking at all my shaky footage that I needed to slow down and get those movements right to get good broll.
It took me years of trial and error to figure out how important understanding and learning camera equipment and lighting is.
Failure is just a small step along the road to growth. I’ve learned that failing is necessary to know what we lack.
What are some mistakes that you’ve learned from this year?
4 Basics of Documentary
I wish someone had told me this when I started documentary filmmaking...
Here are 4 Basics of Doc Work (starring my house husband & home chef)
1. The Interview (Sound on Tape) - The visual portion where your subject shared about the topic!
2. Broll - The supporting footage that paints a picture of what the subject is talking about 👩🏻🎨
3. The Voiceover - This is the narrator or can be audio used from the interview.
4. Natural Sound Break - Capturing atmospheric sound from the surrounding area to give your video a space to live in!
Original Source: Indy Mogul, a YouTube channel geared towards independent filmmakers and creatives!
We often equate vacation with rest, but I'm one of those people that goes all out planning and researching things to do while I'm supposed to be "resting".
By the time I get back from my vacation I'm usually more tired than I was before I left.
I realized that this is not rest, it's restlessness.
That instead of feeling rested after work, we found that we just busied ourselves with more things to do. That feeling of keeping busy is our restlessness.
Instead of actually resting, we start a side hustle or we vegetate in front of the TV and binge watch TV shows for a weekend or go on a food tour on Yelp.
I admit it's hard for me to step away from my calendar of activities, especially when it feels like I could be doing so much more. But true rest isn't just the absence of work, it's allowing yourself to rest in God's peace.
When we fill our minds with anxiety and constant to-do lists, we miss out on opportunities that God is inviting us into to rest in His promises and presence.
5 Years of Filmmaking
I started making my first video as a Graphic Design major at Pasadena City College. I honestly didn't even want to make the video, but I did it for the grade. It was so hard and I was so bad, but I fell in love with making videos after that.
It's crazy how years later God has opened my eyes to how much I love capturing the stories of people around the world through filmmaking.
So if you are trying something new for the first time, give yourself space and grace to have fun with it!
Being on social media can be hard...
Last week, I was sharing with a good friend about my struggles with placing all my efforts into creating a thriving and successful social media presence. It felt like whatever I did wasn't good enough and that I constantly had to do more.
Do you ever feel like that when it comes to your work?
I know I do. 🙋
The trap of perfectionism and obsession with productivity.
But as she was praying for me, she said, "God pray that Christy would remember that her work doesn't define her worth."
...and that's when I realized that my work ultimately isn't about me, it's about giving glory to God.
Dropping off all the boxes today felt a little anti climatic after working so hard these past few weeks running around to pick up various items and coordinating, but I know that these gifts will be a huge blessing to the foster kids at David and Margaret Youth Services!
Sadly because of COVID, we didn't get to see any of the kids or even see their reactions to the gifts, but that's not why we give generously to those in need. Even when we don't see the ultimate reward of all our labor, we serve orphans because we know that this is God's command for us to care for those who are hurting and who need His love.
Thank you for showing up and helping us to bless these kids with God's love <3 I can't wait to continue to see how God uses our blessing.
Sam and I went to pick up some fun toys and crafting kits for the foster kids at David and Margaret’s! Anyone interested in donating here’s an update on the collection so far! 👇
Currently we have enough:
✔️Glue sticks, notepads, notebooks, tape, pens, pencils, crafting kits, sewing and knitting supplies, markers, color pencils, crayons
We are still collecting:
🔎 Sports games, board games, puzzles, educational games, books (English & Spanish)
Thank you for everyone who has helped to give to our Toy & School Supplies Drive 🙌 I can’t wait to drop off the donations next week.
I was a bit scared to get a gimbal because I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle the weight. I specifically bought the DJI Ronin-SC because it was a smaller and lighter version of their Ronin-S.
I'm a relatively small woman and carrying around 5-6lbs with one arm to film for even a couple hours terrifies me, but I wanted to also try getting more professional and cinematic shots into my videos.
Being a female filmmaker, I'm always thinking about what equipment I can handle physically. Unfortunately, my smaller frame does end up limiting a lot of the heavier and higher quality lenses that I just wouldn't be able to carry around to shoot. So here's to building up my arm muscles and stepping up my videography game.
Jonah is a really miraculous story of how God uses the most unlikely people to demonstrate His mercy and love.
I chose to help produce this book because I think there is a need for orphans to know that God knows them and is willing to save them.
I really wasn’t sure if it was something that I would be able to do well, but I’m glad that it has been well loved and received by kids
and orphans from LA to Tijuana! I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn and continue to create media and book resources for orphans globally.
Recently I’ve become a little too familiar with this small spinning circle.
In art school we used to jokingly call it “the spinning wheel of death” because usually once you saw it on your Adobe program it would eventually crash it and then you’d have to restart on it. (If you haven’t yet, hit save on that current project.)
However this spinning circle has been given a new story and that’s because of my terrible internet service I’ve been getting since I moved to my new place.
Some days, the dark chrome screen and this struggling circle are all I see. Sometimes life feels that way too. We are constantly buffering and trying to figure things out and that’s okay. It’s necessary to prepare us for our next steps.
We are all a work in progress. Life is in loading 😊
If anyone else is having internet struggles though, I deeply empathize with you. 🙋🏻♀️You are not alone 😂
#workinprogress #nointernet #creativeprocess #someonesendhelp
