Here is the sermon intro video for our “Constructing Christmas” series at SSCC. We will play this video to set up the sermon for the next few weeks.

Chris and I tossed around a few ideas for the final look of this series’ graphics before we landed on this one. We were going for the feel of old blue prints but not technical drawings. As with many of our videos, I worked backwards. Chris designed the “series art” which appears at the end of the video. I worked backwards from there to cut everything into Illustrator layers and animate it in After Effects.

I bought John Williams’ “Carol of the Bells (Voices)” on iTunes (off the Home Alone soundtrack one-the-less). I chose that song because it instantly makes me think of Christmas when I hear it. Also, I wanted to communicate the peace and joy of Christmas and also a sense of urgency or hurriedness. I felt like the vocals accomplished all that.

Without further ado…

Constructing Christmas Intro Video from SSCC on Vimeo.

I am the first to knock “What Would Jesus…” about anything. But I was perusing The Onion this morning and I found this movie trailer which I thought was a joke. But its apparently not. The same guy that did Super Size Me has done this documentary on American consumerism, Christmas spending and debt. I cannot vouch for its theology, for its ’safeness to watch.’ or for its content. All I have seen is this trailer and a few reviews on it that I just found elsewhere in my search to determine if it was real or not. It seems to be in line with Dave Ramsey & Crown Financial as well, but who knows at this point. It does apparently take a shot at the ‘televangelist character’ (and who hasn’t) but I do not think it is anti-Christian in any way.

What do you think?

-Travis

WWJB