Facing the Giants is finally available on Blu-ray and the review from Bluray.com is surprisingly good. Overall it seems like a decent Blu-ray disc that I’ll be sure to add to the collection. I’m interested in seeing how the Varicam 720p source to film, then to Blu-ray look on my 50in Plasma. Fireproof was recorded with the Varicam as well but tethered to a MacPro in-jesting the footage at 1080p Apple Prorez so the film should look a lot better in regards to its image quality.
A new website has been launched for Standing Firm. You’ll see the new design is as slick as its ever been! All the informational pages have been rewritten to be more direct and easier to read.
The single most important addition to the website is the Registration page. Finally a new and automated way to sign up and receive email updates!
Keep an eye out for new videos to be released on the Watch Videos page. One thing God has Blessed us with are amazing and emotionally charged interviews with our cast and crew. If those don’t get you interested or have you itching to see the film and share the news with other people, then no trailer or any other kind of promotional material will. We’re very excited to share these so keep an eye out. If you want to be notified when the first is released then sign up on the register page as previously mentioned.
Another new addition to the site is the Share page. Here you’ll find some easy instructions on how to spread the word, especially for all of you out there who use Facebook. In just 10 minutes you can let your entire friends list know about our film. Imagine the possibilities if only a few of you did this?
Overall we are very pleased with the new design and we hope you all enjoy it! Don’t forget to spread the word to your friends and family.
Unfortunately, Christian films (for lack of a better term) get “crapped on” when it comes to votes via IMDB.com. People get on there who have not seen the films and just give them terrible votes because they aren’t a fan of the subject matter. Bringing Up Bobby for instance, a film created by The Staron Brothers has a 2.1/10 right now with 80 votes. That’s a rediculous rating for a film of this quality.
Go figure that the majority of the votes are from Non-US people. Based on the fact the film isn’t really widespread outside the US, this tells me that most just voted to vote (having not seen the film).
So this is an effort to see if folks who have actually seen the film are willing to help counteract this kind of thing. I’m asking you to sign in and give the film an honest rating, but ONLY IF YOU’VE SEEN IT. Lets not do the same thing the others have done and rate it just because. If you’ve seen it, rate it. If not, then get ahold of the film and see it! …then rate it if you want.
Look for other Christians films you have seen and give them your honest vote. If all of us that actually have an account there would sign in and rate things honestly, I’m sure we could help balance out the injustice given to many of the higher quality Christian films out there.
For those of you who are subscribed to any of the Provident Films subscription lists, you received an email recently that included this at the bottom:
Coming Soon to Blu-ray Disc This September, you will be able to see FIREPROOF and Facing the Giants in a way you’ve never been able to before: on Blu-ray Disc! That means you can soon bring home the high-quality version of these high-impact stories!
The Blu-ray versions of both FIREPROOF and Facing the Giants will be available wherever you purchase DVDs, including your favorite Christian retailer, beginning September 8.
That’s a pretty exciting deal considering both the films have been a smash on DVD given their market. I’m looking forward to buying both and reviewing them when the time comes. I’m curious to see how the films hold up on a 1080HD Blu-ray disc. Facing the Giants was filmed in DVCPROHD on the Panasonic Varicam in 720p so it will be a bit softer. Fireproof was also shot on the Varicam but was captured as they shot via the HDSDI to a Mac converting all the footage directly to 1080p Prores. That means the film while from a 720p source, it’s of a much greater source quality than that of Giants. For those of you who didn’t notice, the Fireproof DVD was given a horrible bitrate on the film itself causing all kinds of artifacting and such in the image, especially in the action sequences. The bonus features had a higher bitrate than the film overall, so hopefully the BR Disc redeems the image quality that was lacking on the DVD.
We have setup a page on our website in association with Rich Christiano to help gather sponsors for The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry and its impending theatrical release. Visit the page for more information and share it with everyone you can!
A new film from David Nixon (Facing the Giants, Fireproof) is now in production. The film is called Letters to God and is currently shooting down in Florida.
“His days had been filled with climbing trees, soccer games, happy pranks on his friends and love from his family. Then one day, 9-year-old Tyler Doherty learned a new word—cancer.
Brady McDaniels’ life was spiraling out of control. The letter carrier had little reason to keep going, until one day he met young Tyler.
The result is LETTERS TO GOD, an inspiring film about what happens when a beleaguered postman must decide what to do with the prayer letters written by a boy stricken with cancer.
Brady’s first day of substituting for another postman on Laurel Lane pretty much sums up his pathetic life…a dog chases him through the sprinklers and he tears his trousers, a grumpy old man threatens him with a cane, and a sick boy throws up on his shoes. But when he discovers a letter destined for heaven, his life really gets complicated. Frustrated with the burden of what to do with the letter, he shoves it in his pocket, not wanting to think about what a little boy with cancer wants from God.
Trying to hang on to the only good thing in his life—his job—Brady continues to deliver the mail and becomes friends with Tyler and the wonderfully delightful and eccentric neighbors on Laurel Lane. In time, Brady opens his heart to Tyler’s family and the love of God that surrounds them. But an open heart is a vulnerable thing and when crisis comes, Brady takes a downward turn.
With all hope lost, Brady reads the letters he had carelessly stashed away and the miracle of Tyler’s handwritten talks with God give Brady fresh hope.
Letters to God is a film filled with laughter, love, hope and triumph—the kind that is found in a friendship with God.”
A new blog entry is available on the Standing Firm website! Click here to view.
“We have one scene to edit before we’ll have a rough cut in hand. There are a few inserts to put in besides that but after this last scene the film will no longer have gaps with scenes missing to be shot/edited, etc! I would say about 35% of the scenes are in their 4-9th cut (really close to where we want them)…..”
Well all, I’d like to thank this community for all the help and support it’s given to me andGreyscale. I’m humbled and awed at all the work that has gone into this thing, and I’d like to share our first trailer with you all first by posting it here before anywhere else as a thank you.
(as a note: this is intended to be marketed as a mainstream film. It’s main story is that of forgiveness, and the effect of it (or lack of it))
Welcome to the Praise Pictures Blog! We hope what is posted here would be a useful resource to all you filmmakers out there. If you have any requests for articles, reviews, interviews, or anything in-between please contact us at kyle @ praisepictures.com. God Bless!
Facing the Giants is finally available on Blu-ray and the review from Bluray.com is surprisingly good. Overall it seems like a decent Blu-ray disc that I’ll be sure to add to the collection. I’m interested in seeing how the Varicam 720p source to film, then to Blu-ray look on my 50in Plasma. Fireproof was recorded with the Varicam as well but tethered to a MacPro in-jesting the footage at 1080p Apple Prorez so the film should look a lot better in regards to its image quality.
A new website has been launched for Standing Firm. You’ll see the new design is as slick as its ever been! All the informational pages have been rewritten to be more direct and easier to read.
Don’t forget to spread the word to your friends and family.