I recently spent a week shooting at archaeological dig sites in Israel collecting material for a new program GP is developing with an eye on National Geographic Channel. I had the privilege of shooting interviews with famous Israeli archaeologists Gabriel Barkay, Ronnie Reich, and Doron Benami. The show is tentatively called “New Finds – Recent Discoveries in Biblical Archaeology.” Stay tuned for further developments!
Posts by John Grooters
The standard is set here. The years of satisfied and repeat customers, as well as Grooters' longest running client relationships, exist because of John's belief in giving people strong, thoughtfully conceived pieces. Delivering consistently unbeatable camera work, smart editing, and uncompromised sound quality, John is much more than just our boss, he is hands-on as a director, cinematographer, writer, musician, and editor.
New Finds
Monday, June 15th, 2009The Happening
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
GP has recently produced an otherworldly two-minute film promoting a new book by Leonard Hoffman called “The Happening.” Grooters shot 1st Century period scenes with actors and costumes in Nazareth, Israel for the spot. The dreamy supernatural look of the promo corresponds with the premise of the book, which focuses on visions and mystical experiences.
Biola Media Conference
Thursday, April 30th, 2009I was at the Biola Media Conference on the 25th of April. It was held at CBS Studios in Studio City, California. Not only was it a great location for a conference, it was also a day that brought real players into workshops and general sessions, and left some time for networking and meeting people in the industry. I enjoyed speaking with Mark Zoradi, President of Walt Disney Pictures, Ralph Winter, Producer of X-Men (which opens this Friday), Ken Wales, Producer of Amazing Grace, and Phil Cooke, who has become a friend and who did a terrific job as the host of the event. For anyone interested in media and interested in following Jesus, I would highly recommend this conference. The final speaker was Joe Eszerhas, author of films that have grossed more than a BILLION dollars at the box office. Joe’s testimony is the kind of “Saul to Paul” story that points to the incredible power and compassion of God. The author of films such as Basic Instinct and Showgirls now says, “This cross I wear, it’s not just jewelry. It’s the symbol of the redemption and suffering of Christ. I will wear it and it will give me strength till the day I die.”
Meeting with Movie Execs
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009This week I’m representing Grooters Productions and Ferocious Films with a slate of meetings in LA. We’re seeking partnerships to develop our family friendly feature film, “The Frontier Boys.” I’m meeting with executives at Disney, Fox, Sony, Starz, Promenade Pictures, Motive Marketing, Walden Media and others. Dick Rolfe, Executive Director of the Dove Foundation, is traveling with me and opening the doors on these incredible connections. He believes in the film script for The Frontier Boys, and sees how this film fits perfectly with the mission and objectives of the Dove Foundation.
A Good Day
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
Two meetings today – first one with Krista Mason, founder and dreamer behind an absolutely jaw dropping vision called Benjamin’s Hope – a place where people with autism, downs, or other developmental differenecs can find peace and meaning in a farm-like setting. Krista hired GP to help her tell her story and raise the money to bring her dream into reality. Today she and a friend came in to review my script. Krista is everything you could want in a client – she’s smart, she’s passionate, she knows her subject, and she’s authentic. She is living this story herself. Her fifteen-year old son has autism. I felt great when she came today and said to me that the fund raising consultant she works with loved the script, and she did as well. “He sure knows how to weave a story,” were her exact words – words about me and this script. Now, I love to hear that. We are always working hard to tell other people’s stories. People come to us because they recognize that they don’t really know the best way to tell their own story. I’m thrilled that Krista Mason and Benjamin’s Hope came to us for our help. I am honored to be a part of helping Krista make her dream a reality.
Second meeting – rough cut screening for the fourth and fifth episodes of a travel/teaching series we’re producing with best-selling author and host Ray VanderLaan. Today we showed RVL, as he is known, an episode we had cut together that takes place on either side of the Red Sea in the Egyptian desert. RVL doesn’t need much help with his he is a veritable encyclopedia of Biblical knowledge. We just produce his lessons in ways that are powerful, visual, compelling, and moving. Today we showed him some initial comps of a shoot we pulled together just last Friday. I shot, here in our studio, several scenes that our graphics guys would comp together to create a “you are there” moment when the Israelites were crossing the Red Sea. Now we weren’t after a Charlton Heston moment, but we did want to get a great visual sense of the fear, the uncertainty, the blow-your-mind moment the Israelites were experiencing. It was the result of some creative mixed color temps, some huge fans, some decent costumes, a lot of shadow, a chroma screen, and a vision for a great night crossing scene. RVL saw the comps of these today, and combined with the other graphics we’ve created like Pharoah in his palace and a hoard of 600 chariots kicking up dust along the desert horizon — he was delighted and surprised.
Now, neither of these two projects are fully complete yet. But satisfaction in this business comes, for me, every day the process goes well; every day the client is satisfied, every day we can be proud of our work. Today was such a day.
