Good night Hamilton!

And so ends this year's ATF in Hamilton! Wow! What a weekend it has been! For those of us behind the scenes, our work is not quite done, but we can finish strong knowing that all of our work has moved mountains in the heavens, and teens in Canada have been reached for Christ.

As the crowds pour out the doors, our team, as well as the ministry team, pour into the arena to begin tearing down equipment. The Live TV truck is being loaded and pulled out, our cameras are being taken down and safely stowed away for the trip home,

and the jib must once more be taken apart and snuggled into it's cradle. All of us in the production office are finishing up last minute detailing and finalizing, and putting away our computers to join the rest of the mad rush to vacate the premises. We're finally in the last leg of the race...

So much has gone into this amazing production: from lighting for live interviews, make up for the VIPs (speakers, artists, actors), recording live feeds from multiple cameras, or simply praying for the various functioning parts of the event, so that things would run smoothly. Every little piece of this gargantuan puzzle has fit together perfectly, effectively creating a finely tuned, coordinated set that has not only reached thousands of young people here in Canada and around the world, but has also stretched and matured those who were involved.

A quick testimony from one of our crew: part of the event involved shout outs being sent in via text messages, which would be posted onto the screens for the audience. One text received was

from a young teen who was contemplating suicide even as she watched the event (presumably online). Ron, in the finale of the weekend, read aloud a few of the texts, including that one. After hearing him talk about it, the teen texted in again, alleviating some of our fears by telling us that hearing Ron talk about their text and CARE enough to say something showed them some real love. God truly does miracles in and through the lives of those involved with ATF!

More blogs to come when we're on the road, because our trip is still not over til we pull back into the studio on Tuesday. Good night all!

Nearing the Finish Line...

So I'm not sure if it's entirely possible, but the arena looks more crowded now than it did last night or this morning. Acquire the Fire has reached the final session, Saturday Night's "Be the Love Encounter," and CCM's live broadcasts are winding down.

Now comes the fun part; after the crowd goes, all the Teen Mania hands go to work breaking down the event. CCM will have the jib, the dolly, the tape table, the production office and the interview room to break down, as well as a whole lot of cable and tape to pull up -- then it's on to helping MT and SWAT/Support break down the rest of the setup, including lights, sound and merchandise.

But for now, we're still streaming live on http://www.god.tv/node/1085 -- make sure you're watching! Our very own Shannon showed up live earlier, and there's always a surprise or two to come.


Production Manager Katherine in our amazing Team Room


The jib swings over the crowd as Unhindered plays


Bob checks in with Alex


Taking stock of the day's broadcast


Celebrating a job well done

All Hands, Hold the Line!!

BREAKING NEWS

The Thousand Foot Krutch concert has BROUGHT DOWN THE HOUSE in Hamilton, to the point that Security and ATF volunteers needed backup to hold the line from the moshpit, to make sure nobody got squished against the speakers.

We got bound together, arm in arm, with everybody else bracing us... nobody push back, just hold the line! The call goes down as if we were Braveheart's army -- just hold the line!

Well done, CCM, ATF volunteers, Ministry Team, SWAT/Support and Security!!

Saturday Afternoon: With Pictures

Have you ever seen something you imagined come to life on the stage?

Just now, I saw four live skits -- two of which I wrote, one I co-wrote, and one written by a good friend of mine -- performed very, very well by our ATF Ministry Team, and they've taken on a life of their own. They're different than I imagined them, and possibly better.

"Do Not Disturb," the Love & Relationships talk for this year's tour, was the session I was looking forward to writing for the least, yet it ended up being the one I wanted to see the most when the event actually came around. How's that for God using His resources in ways you'd never imagine?



Cameras -- a TV pro, a ministry teamer, and our own Ben


Jeff signs a T-shirt as one of the Teen Maniacs who made the event happen


Our camera lineup as viewed, uber-dramatically, from behind


Ben watches his camera closely


Jared (aka "Jigga") crouching for a shot


Jigga checks his camera as his grip, Mason, is a blur of activity around him


The film crew mans the front of the stage

Too Young?

How old do you have to be to be a doctor? To be a teacher? How old do you need to be do make a movie, or fix a car for someone? Young? Old? Somewhere in the middle?

What if I told you age didn't matter? Not really, not in the long run. What if I told you God wanted to use you NOW? Just as you are?

I can tell you, God can do amazing things with teenagers. Heck, look at David: he slew a GIANT when he was barely old enough to get his driver's license (or camel license). And Samuel? God was talking to him when he was just a kid. But here's an amazing true life story, one from TODAY, as in RIGHT NOW...

Born and raised in Canada, our young lad was homeschooled by his parents, only to graduate early and move on to bigger and better things, namely, the Center for Creative Media. He's already been a part of a music video for the Newsboys (the NEW Newsboys, with Michael Tait), and several other projects used for Teen Mania and others. Right now, as we speak, he is helping us broadcast the Hamilton Acquire the Fire LIVE, from his laptop, an amazing feat in and of itself.

His name? Michael.

He's 16.

God can do amazing things in the lives of young people, something Ron has been trying to tell thousands all over the US and Canada since the beginning of ATF's history.

Will you be one of them?

Family Reunion

One of the joys of working in a ministry is the sense of family, the bonds that last for a lifetime when you are all working towards a common goal; in this case, advancing the kingdom of Christ through new media.

ATFs are popular convergences for former interns and alumni. Hamilton is no exception. So far, at least 10 alumni (Honor Academy and CCM alike) have made their presence known here since before the official start of the event.

Our good man and soon-to-be-groom Bob Nunziato happily showed off his bride to a couple of former interns, Andrew and Natalie. Natalie promptly

informed everyone that she was procuring Bob to help her create Canada's own CCM. (No official statement was given from Mr. Nunziato, so we'll be checking our sources!) Young Mr. Mistretta has also had his share of run-ins with alumni, including a guest appearance from David Ecknier, a native Canadian and former CCMer. Our 'other intrepid blogger', Tyler Whetstone, was reunited with a former intern and GE co-missionary, Zach Moggach. Needless to say, we're all looking forward to the day when we are

being introduced by Bob and Doug to the newest of recruits as amazing CCM alumni, with several Emmys under our belts.

Call Me "Oddjob"

Are you watching closely?

I mean, um, reading closely?

Because I'm going to share with you one of the biggest secrets to being a CCMer. It's called the willingness to be flexible.

Since arriving here, we've had jobs change (one of the roles was essentially eliminated by the consolidation of crews, and our fearless Sam D. has become a jack-of-all-trades running P.A. work), and others changed only recently (yours truly was made a blogger the day before we left).

But even assuming everybody stays with the jobs they planned on, you never know when you're going to be called on to be a "runner" and go out and grab something the rest of the crew might need. The secret to success here is to just GO DO something!!

Sometimes it might mean running out to a gas station or a Best Buy (I did one of these in New York, and driving there left me thinking I had nothing left to fear in life until I drove in Los Angeles) or, as in here in Hamilton, running to the mall next door.

This is also, by the way, a shout out to the "Inkjet Island" in the Jackson Square Mall, for helping us with our HP All-In-One needs.

Anatomy of a Shot

One of the shots we're using this weekend looks simple enough--but looks can be deceiving.

I'm referring to the "Walk & Talk," where the event host (in this case, GodTV's fabulous Brit Emma Owen) addresses the camera while moving from one place to another. In most cases, the camera goes backward ahead of the host, so she can move forward effortlessly.

But, though you see it on "Saturday Night Live" occasionally, there's a reason most monologues stay confined to the stage. This shot is actually pretty intricate and take a lot of people to pull off.

At least four Walk & Talks take place during the course of a full ATF event broadcast weekend, and each takes, in addition to the cameraman, an extra ten people or so.

1 Cameraman -- In place to actually take the footage for broadcast, walking backward ahead of the host.

1 Steady -- Walks behind the cameraman, to help steady him in the difficult project of walking backward with a piece of heavy and expensive equipment, and helps avoid any obstructions in his path.

1 Lighting -- Holds up the "sun gun," a small but very bright piece of lighting equipment to light the immediate area in which the host stands no matter how dark the rest of the arena is.

3 Grips -- To handle cables from the camera, as well as any additional cords needed, for power, microphone or lights.

4 Security -- Given that we have the arena backstage area and the hallway, people will need to stand at either end of both in order to keep others from walking in and out of the shot.

In addition, production assistants have to make sure the shot is set up correctly, running for gels (to color or temper the light), making sure everyone is in position, calling for makeup touchups and making sure the interview room -- the destination of the Walk & Talk -- is ready, complete with talent inside.

Running these as a grip in New York in April, it's surprisingly complicated, with the only cable being used for the camera itself but an extra grip needed just to keep cable behind the rest of the crew so the grip doesn't walk over it while winding. Here in Hamilton, the path of the Walk & Talk is a less complicated straight shot, but the cables are more involved.

But the result seems simple and effortless… when the "SNL" host decides to take his monologue backstage, you'd never know he's got a dozen staffers on the move ahead of him. When Ms. Owen takes her viewers back to the interview room, you'd never know it either, unless, of course, CCM took you behind the scenes.

Two down for Hamilton!! Bring on the rest.

BTS Video

A video inside the TV truck, shot by our executive producer and program director, Doug Rittenhouse.

Friday Night: And He said to me, it was worth it

While our other intrepid blogger remained backstage surveying the drama on the monitors and keeping our brave and dauntless production assistants' heads on straight searching the PO, I was out on the arena floor snapping pictures of our film crew in action, and I have to tell you, seeing this whole thing live is pretty flippin' powerful.


Caleb watching the camera as the jib rises over the crowd

Having been involved in the creation of these pieces from the very beginning (down to the Unhindered "We Will" worship-lyrics screens we did with GFX guru Joe way back in January!), there's a part of me that feels a little like this whole enormous event is my baby (and I know every other CCMer feels like they've birthed something amazing, too).

I'm every bit as proud of our team as my fellow blogger mentioned before. At least twice in the hours leading up to the event and once during, we went into a mini-crisis-mode, only to see it handled swiftly and confidently as the right people found the right equipment and did what professionals do-- GET STUFF DONE as if there were no problem at all.


Alex monitors the event opener from "Video World"

Audience reaction changes everything. That's all I can say. You can watch these videos for quality control 18,002 times, but when you actually get a room full of hundreds of people laughing, applauding or cheering wildly, the entire experience is different. The cheer you hear go up can make you love something you thought cheesy, can make you want to sing along to a song you didn't really even like, and, for those things you already loved, can actually make you cry.

That's right. I'm man enough to admit that at the John 8 music video, I teared up. Right there in a crowd of people who were just watching and listening for the love of God, that piece went from being amazing to being PHENOMENAL.


The control desk for lights and video, from behind our cameramen

Props go out to every person who stayed up late at night--night after night after night--to get those components finished and ready for broadcast.

Thanks to our live TV crew for enabling us to have a part in sending this out worldwide.

And many, many kudos to the ministry team for performing the drama better than this writer ever thought it could be done.

As we wrap up on tonight, we're looking forward to tomorrow, when we'll be live on the air an astounding 15 hours. At least, I'm certainly looking forward to it. Once more unto the breach, CCMers!


Ben mans a camera for live international television(!!)

(By the way, how amazing is it to hear someone say "15 hours of live TV… are you ready for that?" and be able to respond "I've done it!"?)

We are LIVE

From Hamilton, Ontario:

We've been streaming live for GodTV and the internet for almost two hours now, and things are running smoothly. The drama is in full swing (sorry, no spoilers!) and the audience response has been pretty good. Unhindered helped start the show earlier with several amazing worship songs, many of which are near and dear to the interns' hearts.

A great big shout out to our guys on camera, going steady and strong out there: GREAT JOB! Having seen many of the shots from a monitor's perspective, the overall professionalism displayed by even the greenest among us is astounding, not only to myself (a mere blogger), but to those above us, those with a vast amount of experience to flount. Another shout out to our Production Assistants, always on the move, and always ready (SEMPER FI!). One is, at the moment, in desperate need of a sun gun...

All is quiet here in the fort (fondly named closet we are currently holed up in), even though we are directly beneath the seats behind the stage. Unhindered is back on stage, leading out our final worship session for the night. Very soon, we'll be very fortunate enough to hit the sack, and catch up on some sleep, so we're refreshed and ready to start another day...

Bree Interview

While the live event goes down, we bring you one final story from setup...

Bree Interview from CCM BehindTheScenes on Vimeo.

What happens when plans change on the fly? Learn how CCM handles it with a smile.

In the Beginning...

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! BOYS AND GIRLS! CHILDREN OF ALL AGES! MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION!

Acquire the Fire has OFFICIALLY begun!

And so starts the 2009 Hamilton Acquire The Fire!

A Few More Event Setup Pictures

The event floor, all lit up

Jared surveys the stage setup

Dolly assist Cody shows off his gloves, ready for an event over ice

Checking the wiring again

The Invention of Abbreviations

One thing you learn very quickly when you work at a live event is that conversations have to be kept short, as time is a precious resource. To that end, things get abbreviated.

Some important ones we've learned here so far:

ENG -- Electronic News Gathering
ENG is essentially the collection of firsthand interviews by small film crews. In this case, it'll be attendee testimonies recorded by three-man teams consisting of a shooter (cameraman), an audio tech and an interviewer-producer.

VO -- Voice-over
This one's fairly simple, but any time we have a video where the voice is spoken by someone who doesn't appear on-screen, it's a VO. For the event, though, we use it to refer specifically to voice-overs outside of video, for sound effects in the drama or the start of the Saturday morning session's "Voices" skit.

PA -- Production Assistant
This is, essentially, the go-to person to get things done. On a video shoot, they're the people who do odd jobs -- holding the bounce card, doing the white balance, running the clap-board. At a live event, they're the ones who run around, insanely busy, because it's up to them to make sure everybody else is getting their jobs done.

DP -- Director of Photography
The DP is the guy who sets up a shot -- the guy who knows how he wants the lighting and the set design and the actor to come together. He heads up the team of shooters, or, on an ENG crew, is the lone shooter.

ATF -- Acquire the Fire
Natch.

Also, while we're here on the live event, we have specific offices for who handles what. Right now, I'm blogging from the P.O.

PO -- Production Office
The Production Office is where CCM staff keeps tabs on our organization and equipment, in conjunction with the TV truck just outside.

EO -- Event Office
Where ATF staffers and supervisors keep tabs on the customer service teams and the schedule.

To that end, we here on the Social Networking end of CCM-ATF Production are proud to declare this corner of this room to be the Electronic Intelligence Event Integration Office.

That's right. We're the EIEIO.

B-Roll Interview

Kelketek from CCM BehindTheScenes on Vimeo.

Ever wondered what it means to say we shoot B-Roll?

More from Hamilton

We're now getting settled into the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, and the excitement is building for the start of the event.

By now, we've gotten the interview room set up, as well as the makeup room, our equipment and our shots. Within only a few hours, though, the bands and speakers will be filing in for makeup, the doors will open for the crowd to come in, and the event starts in FIVE AND A HALF HOURS.

The drama rehearsals have been unbelievable. One of the videos -- which is perhaps one of the most remarkable things CCM has ever made -- keeps being brought up if only inadvertently, as it's not just a drama video but a full-on music video for a song that everyone catches himself singing at one point or another.

The video itself is pretty awesome, narrating a modern-setting version of a story found in the Gospel of John. The look of the video, following a spotlight-vignette, was inspired by the video for Fiona Apple's song "Criminal," and was shot just down the road from Teen Mania's campus in Texas. And in the weeks since I was on the shoot (yours truly makes a very brief appearance in the video), going through quality-control checks and final formatting, first for the Amherst event and then for broadcast here in Hamilton, the different layers added to it have only become more and more amazing -- not only is it unlike anything CCM has ever produced before, it is a professional music video, whether it came from the drama or not.

Seeing it on the big screen, however, ready to be broadcast in more than 200 countries -- that's an experience even above and beyond the rest. It kind of takes your breath away.

And even now, the song is stuck in my head again. Watch tonight, and you'll know which one I'm talking about.
"And there was a man who drew a line in the sand..."

Catch the live broadcast live, starting at 7 p.m. Eastern Time, on GodTV or streaming at http://www.god.tv/node/1085.

Popejoy Interview

Popejoy Interview from CCM BehindTheScenes on Vimeo.

An interview with our very own ENG producer Jared on what it's like to see The Encounter come to life here in Hamilton.

T-minus seven hours to the event opener!!

Friday: Event Start

Good morning everyone! Today is the big day for ATF here in Hamilton! Final run throughs are being done, and last-minute checkups on equipment and lighting are in the works. Things are really pumping as we hurtle towards the start of the event, eagerly anticipating the thousands of teens and youth pastors who will soon be coming.

This morning--after an interesting night's sleep on the bus--started with a quick breakfast and worship. Kemtal Glasgow (one of our speakers and Director of the Ministry Team and ATF, as well as our resident Canadian) not only awakened our bodies but also our spirits with a very powerful and vigorous message on building faith. A short prayer time followed for the teens who would be coming, as well as for all the interns and the work they would be doing (needless to say, the best way to start your day!).

As far as our 'interesting night' went, this is assumed to be one of many: Our fearless Popejoy gallantly answered a knock on our bus door at approximately 3 am (for the sake of our weary bodies, which were in desperate need of sleep) to find a homeless man. Pope listened to the man for a few moments, as he talked about his life, his family, and his plight, and then handed him $5 Canadian. The shock of the whole night came to our young Aspen when she answered the door in the first place, finding someone who wasn't on our team standing at the foot of the stairs, and promptly shutting the door in his face in fright (again to be answered by Pope). All ended well, as it would seem, and we were allowed our sleep again.

Our School of Worship band is currently on stage practicing 'Surrounded', a song written specifically for the Encounter Tour. The prevailing opinion is that it sounds better live, whereas the recorded version may remind one just slightly of the 80's. Other music being performed here this year will include Manafest, Everyday Sunday, TFK, and Unhindered, with a special performance by Stephanie Smith (We also have a guest singer somewhere in the showers; their performance starts approximately when the day ends).

More to come!















One of the ATF Ministry Teamers ready for rehearsal

Some Photos

Anna and Danielle label tapes in preparation for broadcast

The jib, all set up and ready to go

Wes helps Mason make sure the cable's wrapped for the Dolly Cam

GFX Designer Adam watching graphics being tested on the giant screens

Live Broadcast Director Tracy surveying setup

Alex talks to bus driver Jeremy behind the stage

Setting up the jib

Making sure wires are connected

Bree helps set up lighting in the interview room

Jared and Bree set up lights

Jeff lays cable through a protector

Live Cam Operator Jared gets plugged into the truck

Social networking genius Michael, hard at work

Landon surveys the jib

How to be a Canadian

Canadianism #1:

A Loonie (no, not your Aunt Vivian) is the one dollar coin in Canada, known as such for the loon adorning one face of the coin. The two dollar coin is known as a toonie, in keeping with rhyme and reason.

Canadianism #2:

A 'toque' (pronounced tUke) is otherwise known in America as a "beanie" or sock-cap.
(Edited after much debate amongst Canadians over spelling and pronunciation.)

Canadianism #3:

The forever misunderstood "eh" has finally been conquered! And now for a lesson in its use:

Correct:

It's a rather sunny day, eh?

Incorrect:

Hello, eh! (You're likely to get punched for such an insult)

(Please note: Alaskans also know and USE "eh" in the correct manner. This is our way of sticking it to the man, the one who always seems to forget that we are a state of the US, not Canada.)

Canadianism #4:

Skates: what all Canadians wear for their first shoes.

Canadianism #5:

The biggest flags ever seen at the Olympic closing ceremonies were Canadian (twice...and the second one was smuggled in against a rule that was made because of the first one).

Canadianism #6:

Toboggan- sled (no, the Jamaicans are not the only ones who drive them.)

Canadianism #7:

Tim Horton's, the baby of Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. Proof that children far exceed their parents. (Note: Some lucky Americans may know the glory of Tim Horton's. It's still Canadian.)

Canadianism #8:

MOST milk comes in bags, not cartons or bottles. (Still trying to figure this one out...)

Canadianism #9:

You drink pop instead of soda.

Canadianism #10:

Serviette- napkin (proof of French influence)

Canadianism #11:

Bilingual food packaging

Canadianism #12:

Smarties: better known as super-M&M's, not the American solidified sugar

Hello from Hamilton!

So, only hours after the Los Angeles Dodgers lost their shot at the World Series, I was so disappointed with American sports that I gave up and crossed the border into Canada.

Okay, so maybe the timing was more coincidental than that—but don’t get after a man whose inner baseball fan always knew he was destined for the entertainment industry, and, thus, Southern California.

Last night, the bus crossed the border into Ontario, with such fanfare that a few CCMers didn’t even wake up. But for the rest of the team, the border crossing proved an exciting milestone. Even more exciting, however, was our stop for fuel in London, Ont., when our Canadian CCMers got to introduce everyone else to the best that Canadian snacks have to offer (Ketchup chips! Chocolate “Smarties”! BILINGUAL CANDY PACKAGING!!).

We actually have video of this momentous occasion, courtesy of Ontario native and CCMer Michael Mistretta:
View here at Vimeo.

Our 35-hour bus ride got off to a busy start, with work for projects back on the home front going on even as we pulled out. Closed captioning for an episode of ATFtv was finished on the road and sent back to the editors at CCM Studios while we settled in for the journey that would end under the Copps Coliseum for our live studio broadcast.

We started with a team meeting where we got the chance to meet up with our live TV crew—we’re about to launch into a weekend of staging a live broadcast event, which will be available in more than 200 countries worldwide!! (Holy cow, Batman!)

For now, we’re setting up equipment; stories to come soon, complete with pictures and more videos. Stay tuned to this Web site (http://ccmbts.blogspot.com), or follow us on Twitter (@CCMstudios), Facebook (Center for Creative Media fan page) or Myspace (www.myspace.com/ccmedia1)!

Here We Go! (Again!)

Hey everyone! Welcome back as we at CCM get ready for another exciting event with Acquire The Fire. Things are really flying here as we make last minute checks and finish packing up to head on out to Hamilton, Canada.

This year's event tour is focused on Encountering God, and we have been working hard and long to bring this message to these kids at ATF. Many of our editors are going over their videos, checking for ab

solute excellence in their cuts; while our camera crew gets equipment ready for the road. Our fearless leaders are busy planning (and re-planning) various details for the trip, as well as preventing chaos from reigning in the mad dash to the finish line. It's been our heart here to be the best for Christ, in the hopes of reaching this generation through media, and we're going to see some of our hard labor come to fruition. Not only that, but Hamilton is going to be a LIVE event, broadcast not only here in the US and Canada, but even in such countries as Israel and China!

For many of our new recruits here at CCM, the Hamilton event will be their first go at a live television broadcast, making it not only a life impacting event, but also an amazing learning opportunity for valuable skills necessary in the media world. Some will be getting their hands dirty right off, putting to work skills in make up, lighting, and broadcasting, while others will effectively be shadowing their more experienced counterparts on camera and production (including interviews with popular bands and guest speakers, like Kemtal Glasgow and Thousand Foot Krutch!)

Please join us in prayer this weekend as we work even more to bring this event to its fullest for those who will attend, that every moment- from the drama, to worship, to the ride home- would

be full to capacity, God-filled, and an opportunity to truly encounter the love of God in a new way, this year at Acquire The Fire: Encounter.

More Pictures

Hey Guys,
Here are some more amazing pictures of what going on!