"Special Effects" of "unHolywood"
The heart-pounding, adrenaline-pumping, chair-gripping fight scenes in The Matrix Reloaded have thrilled thousands of moviegoers. The physiological effects are akin to para-sailing off a cliff...but in reality, viewers are comfortably reclining in a safe, air-conditioned theatre.
Film buffs have long thrilled over the "effects" of special effects, especially during action scenes created in films. Since 1938 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has given special recognition to special effects in films that have raised the bar in new technology and visual entertainment. Familiar Oscar-winners include The War of the Worlds (1953), The Ten Commandments (1956), Star Wars (1977) and even King Kong (awarded in 1976 for Special Achievement-though it was released in 1933).
More recently digital enhancement, and even totally computerized films, have set new standards in film making. The movies Lord of the Rings, Forrest Gump and Jurassic Park all pushed the "Visual Effects" envelope. One of the most outstanding examples of new technology is The Matrix, which won an Oscar in 1999 for its famous "bullet-time" scene. A series of over one hundred 35mm still cameras was used to create the incredible effect. The cameras were set up in a specific sequence and pattern to photograph the scene. The resulting skills were then fed into a computer and played back at various speeds as desired. The effect was, of course, stunning.
The desire to be "wowed" or impressed, to see something we've never seen before-whether in film of in real life-excites every one of us. It raises our senses above the mundane to new levels of awareness. We love to be excited.
Many times when something extraordinary is witnessed, it is known either to be made up (as in film) or somehow staged in a real-life event. Other times the feat is actually acknowledged as reality, and homage and honor bestowed upon the one who performed the feat.
During the first century, there was a man who traveled the countryside of Palestine performing feats that had equally stunning effects on people. This man healed people of open, leprous sores, restored sight to the blind, and calmed thunderous, six-foot seas. He even reversed death itself. But these were not special effects designed to awe or impress. They were bona fide miracles of God.
Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. (Acts 2:22)
The crowds who witnessed these incredible feats had never seen a movie, but almost certainly asked themselves, "Wow! How'd he do that?!" Many came to realize that only God could perform such feats, and they came to believe who this man must be.
Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God." (Luke 9:18-20)
His skeptics thought he was either faking, crazy, or some sort of devil-and they wanted to kill him. But Jesus was not a performer, and God is not in the movie business. This was God Himself, in the flesh, come to earth to live among us as a mortal man. "God with us." This God-Man, Jesus, lived without sin so that he could take OUR place when he hung on the cross to die. Then he performed the greatest "special effect" of all. He rose from the dead.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time...(1 Corinthians 15:3-6)
Read the book of John in the Bible. If, when you get to the end, you find your heart pounding, your adrenaline rushing, or you have a strange grip on your furniture, perhaps it's time to decide for yourself. You can either believe-believe that Jesus is God and died for your sins-or remain a skeptic. The choice is yours.
If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
www.ichoosejesus.com
References:
www.oscars.com
http://isd.usc.edu/~kendrav/film/links.html
http://home.earthlink.net/~atomic_rom/moments.htm
www.ATStracts.org Bible references: NIV
Film buffs have long thrilled over the "effects" of special effects, especially during action scenes created in films. Since 1938 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has given special recognition to special effects in films that have raised the bar in new technology and visual entertainment. Familiar Oscar-winners include The War of the Worlds (1953), The Ten Commandments (1956), Star Wars (1977) and even King Kong (awarded in 1976 for Special Achievement-though it was released in 1933).
More recently digital enhancement, and even totally computerized films, have set new standards in film making. The movies Lord of the Rings, Forrest Gump and Jurassic Park all pushed the "Visual Effects" envelope. One of the most outstanding examples of new technology is The Matrix, which won an Oscar in 1999 for its famous "bullet-time" scene. A series of over one hundred 35mm still cameras was used to create the incredible effect. The cameras were set up in a specific sequence and pattern to photograph the scene. The resulting skills were then fed into a computer and played back at various speeds as desired. The effect was, of course, stunning.
The desire to be "wowed" or impressed, to see something we've never seen before-whether in film of in real life-excites every one of us. It raises our senses above the mundane to new levels of awareness. We love to be excited.
Many times when something extraordinary is witnessed, it is known either to be made up (as in film) or somehow staged in a real-life event. Other times the feat is actually acknowledged as reality, and homage and honor bestowed upon the one who performed the feat.
During the first century, there was a man who traveled the countryside of Palestine performing feats that had equally stunning effects on people. This man healed people of open, leprous sores, restored sight to the blind, and calmed thunderous, six-foot seas. He even reversed death itself. But these were not special effects designed to awe or impress. They were bona fide miracles of God.
Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. (Acts 2:22)
The crowds who witnessed these incredible feats had never seen a movie, but almost certainly asked themselves, "Wow! How'd he do that?!" Many came to realize that only God could perform such feats, and they came to believe who this man must be.
Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God." (Luke 9:18-20)
His skeptics thought he was either faking, crazy, or some sort of devil-and they wanted to kill him. But Jesus was not a performer, and God is not in the movie business. This was God Himself, in the flesh, come to earth to live among us as a mortal man. "God with us." This God-Man, Jesus, lived without sin so that he could take OUR place when he hung on the cross to die. Then he performed the greatest "special effect" of all. He rose from the dead.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time...(1 Corinthians 15:3-6)
Read the book of John in the Bible. If, when you get to the end, you find your heart pounding, your adrenaline rushing, or you have a strange grip on your furniture, perhaps it's time to decide for yourself. You can either believe-believe that Jesus is God and died for your sins-or remain a skeptic. The choice is yours.
If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
www.ichoosejesus.com
References:
www.oscars.com
http://isd.usc.edu/~kendrav/film/links.html
http://home.earthlink.net/~atomic_rom/moments.htm
www.ATStracts.org Bible references: NIV
posted by Andrew Brown at 10:22 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home