 |
|
How did you think up the storyline for this series?
In my own life, I owe a great deal of who I am to a couple of fantastic youth leaders and Bible teachers. My teenage years were a key part of my own spiritual growth, and I've always felt that Christians have really missed the boat in terms of using visual media to minister to this age group. We've provided a wealth of resources for toddlers and young children, but we haven't even cracked the surface when it comes to teens. And, honestly, it's very challenging to move into the production quality and genre of media that teens are currently used to watching, like Saturday Night Live and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I wanted to do something extremely exciting, surpisingly funny -- something that when you popped in the tape in your church, the kids wouldn't roll their eyes the minute it started playing.
The Sparky Chronicles idea came out of my memory of shows and films that really grabbed me when I was younger. There were The Monkees -- the wacky roadtrip adventures of a group of misfits, The A-Team -- over-the-top action sequences, and The Princess Bride -- the classic youth group film with lines that everyone quoted constantly. The Sparky Chronicles is bits of all those projects and others as well. It's a sarcastic spoof that pays tribute to the massive glut of action adventure cliches that we've come to love. It's got a streak of sarcastic teenage humor and yet an underlying theme that integrates spiritual truth.
What is the take home message or value from the first episode?
The Sparky Chronicles is the toungue-in-cheek story of three bumbling hereos who are searching to unravel the global conspiracy behind the mysterious kidnapping of their pet dog. In this first episode, the heroes find a map that would lead them to the whereabouts of "Sparky." The whole plot of the story and how the heroes interact with this map is a parallel to how people react to the direction God has give us for life through His Word. These heroes ignore the map, they turn to the opinion of those around them, they doubt the truth of the map, and they fail to study it properly. Finally, after experienceing a variety of mishaps they realize the true value and benefits that a map can have when used properly. Psalm 119:9 says "How can a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your word." (The Message Bible). This episode challenges viewers to know the scriptures for themselves and make life decisions on it rather than basing choices on their friends opinions or their own knowledge. It shows how God's map is there to protect and provide for us, not restrict us.
What is the bottom line that you would tell someone who is considering buying this first episode?
More than anything, this is a really fun project. I worked to keep the message of this project obvious, but not overwhelming. So for kids...
they'll see it not as a churchy teaching video, but hilarious entertainment that they can watch again and again and quote with their friends. For
parents or youth leaders, it's a way to connect with their teen's humor and bring in the moral values that they're trying to teach. The DVD is packed with extra features that everyone will enjoy including goofy bloopers, behind the scenes footage, photos, info on cast and crew, storyboards, trailers, and director's commentary.
|
|
|
|
