Here’s what Abandon Films is working on right now…

The editing phase for Goodbye to Muffy has been completed.  The short comedy will be finished this summer.  Keep your eye out for it at AbandonFilms.com.

Development began this month with Portnoy Media Group on a project for Eden Reforestation, a Los Angeles-based non-profit that is fighting poverty by planting trees around the world.  The project will be a graphically-driven intro video for their new website, which launches this summer.

Production on a video campaign for Appalachian Bible College started this month.  We will be returning to the West Virginia school in September to finish filming (and do some white water rafting!) and will complete the project in the fall.

Shooting interviews this month with the founder of Freedom 4/24.  Collaborating with Johanna and Daryl Calfee to produce a video that tells the story of the organization’s beginning and casts a vision for the future.

Currently in production on the video branding campaign for SBC of Virginia, as well as two short documentaries for two local ministries.

Also, Won Novalis is now a contributing author at AEtuts.com, a website that offers free training for Adobe After Effects.  Check out his latest tutorial.

After a long stint of editing and studio maintenance, Won Novalis has returned to After Effects.

He most recently completed a branding package for SBC of Virginia, which was a collection of motion graphic video elements (vanity logos, intros, transitions, etc.) that the in-house media department could use in their video content.

The above video is a reel we put together showcasing some of the work from this past year, which includes pieces from the branding package.  Included in this reel are designs from Nate Listrom, and compositing by Hello Marketing’s Adam Miller.

Go here for more information about motion graphic branding.

When I sat down to interview these people in Roanoke back in January, I realized how much we take our eye sight for granted.  All of them had had vision problems, and some of them expressed appreciation for the treatments they received with an almost religious zeal.  Several of them would be nearly or completely blind if it hadn’t been for their surgeries.

We had a blast working with Bruce Bryan and the folks at Vistar on this project.  For the production, we brought in Marc Hutchins, Jonah Hutchins, Adam Miller, Jonah Guelzo, and of course our own Won Novalis.

Below are three of the stories; the testimonials of Christian, Savana, and Shirley, which are being released as a video podcast on the Vistar Facebook fan page.

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Abandon Films won three awards at the 2010 Western Virginia Addy Awards over the weekend.  The CFO TV ad took home the Best in Broadcast, as well as a gold Addy award in the local single category, and the Taubman Museum spot Best of Both won a silver Addy for ads in the the Arts and Sciences category.  Special thanks to Access Advertising for liking the pitch and giving us the chance to create the CFO ad!

Check out the Behind the Scenes of the CFO spot…

CFO TV ad Back in Time was conceptualized, written, and directed by Abandon Films.  Produced by Access Advertising and Abandon Films.  Lighting and camera provided by Alexander Films.  Casting by Metropolished.  Starring Tyrone Molina, Georgianne Gov, and Marc Hutchins.  Voice over was Adam Miller and audio mixing by Jonah Guelzo.

Last year we had the privilege to work with some great clients!  This reel highlights seven major client projects from 2009.

• Adventure Christian Church Fundraising Campaign
• SBCV Studentz Camp (films, video branding, camper videos, and promo video)
• DRP Trade Show Video
• Taubman Museum of Art TV Ads “Down Home and Outback Concert Series” and “Experience Wonder”
• RENEWANATION Fund Raising Video
• Carilion Fitness TV Ad “First Jump of Summer”
• Carpet Factory Outlet TV Ad “Back in Time”

AF, which specializes in promotional and theatrical content, took SBCV’s “Pushing Back the Darkness through Evangelism” theme and used it to produce a series of short videos, each dramatically highlighting one of the three areas of SBCV’s work: Multiplying Churches, Maturing Churches, and Mobilizing Churches (including construction and disaster relief).

The videos were produced and directed by AF’s Justin Snyder and Justin Rossbacher, with animation and editing by AF’s Won Novalis and graphics by SBCV media specialist Nate Listrom. They feature real people sharing their stories, their passion for helping others, and the big difference that SBCV’s ministries have made in their lives.

“The AF team was delighted when SBCV approached us with this project,” said Snyder. “All of us were eager to take it on, because we’ve seen firsthand what a difference these folks have already made in our state, and know they have a genuine heart for churches—for seeing them grow and thrive. But it also represented a real challenge for our company, coming amid many other projects and deadlines, since SBCV needed the final product very quickly.”

The AF staff rose to the challenge, producing the entire campaign within a month. The videos debuted on November 8–10 at the SBCV Annual Homecoming, hosted this year by First Baptist Church in Norfolk and attended by more than 1000 people. They have since been added to the SBCV web site.

Mark Custalow, a church-planting strategist for SBCV, was ecstatic about the impact of the new “Pushing Back the Darkness through Evangelism” campaign: “The creative work of Abandon Films enabled the Multiplying Churches team to communicate the urgency and excitement of church planting so vividly that a number of churches have already made commitments to initiate church planting sponsorships in 2010 and beyond. I can’t think of a more telling accolade.”

About SBC of Virginia

The Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia is a fellowship of more than 500 Southern Baptist Convention churches from across the Commonwealth of Virginia sharing a strong commitment to evangelism and seeking to have a global impact through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Information about SBCV is available at www.sbcv.org.

To view the video series “Pushing Back the Darkness through Evangelism,” visit their Annual Homecoming 2009 page.

The Idea Camp is a “collaborative movement of idea-makers” in which people from numerous disciplines “gather around topics of interest to encourage and inspire one another, share practical wisdom from the field, and develop intentional networks for idea-making”.

Here is the recap video we created for them.

Written and directed by Justin Snyder

Produced by Mark Gauthier and Justin Snyder

Cinematography, editing, and color by Won Novalis

Lighting and grip by Marc Hutchins