"A Day To Remember" short film

Stephen Ridley made this short film based on my dramatic skit script of the same title. Read the original here. Great work, Stephen!



View it larger here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbIkLv3wlg8

Here is what Stephen posted on his website about the film... it does contain spoilers, so please watch the film first then read the details.

“A Day to Remember” is a story about a man named Mike who falls into a position where many people would feel anger toward God, but he doesn’t. Mike assures Jeff that he has complete faith in God, and that he trusts Him to use Mike to do His will. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Does that mean that if we follow God, only good things will happen to us on earth? Absolutely not. But our time on earth is NOTHING compared to our time in Heaven. We are here to glorify the Lord and do His will, and our reward is eternal life with Him in Heaven. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Fulfilling God’s plan for us is the greatest thing we can do, and whatever sufferings we may endure should have no effect on our faith in Him. 1 Peter 4:16 says, “However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” God has chosen us to serve Him, what higher honor can there be? Doing God’s will is our ultimate goal. Paul wrote to the church of Philippi about remaining in his faith through sufferings. Philippians 1:18-21 says, “(18) But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, (19) for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. (20) I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. (21) For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

God chose to save Mike from the tragedy of the twin towers, because he had a different purpose for him. Many lives were lost in the collapse of the buildings, but just like Mike had faith in God’s sovereignty in the face of trial, we too can trust that God has a reason for even tragedies like this. This video shows the importance of having faith in God. Everything He does has a purpose, whether it may seem like it or not. My mother once used the analogy that we are driving in a car and God is in a helicopter. We only see what is right in front of us, but God sees the entire road. So whenever you encounter hard times, maintain your faith in the Lord and know that all things have a purpose.

UPDATE: Stephen has sent me some details on the making of the movie, below:

Behind the Scenes of “A Day to Remember”

I’ve had a love for filmmaking ever since I was seven years old. I have made several videos in the past, but this was my first dramatic video, and I learned a lot while filming it. I asked a couple of my friends to come film the video at my old school. When one of them was unable to show up, we were forced to reschedule. We decided to film at my friend’s church. Unfortunately, I had no idea what I was doing. I asked my other friend to film it all the way through several times, and I planned to just fit everything together with all the different angles. The problem was, we never did anything the same way. In one take, I was saying a line while taking my jacket off, and in the other, I was saying my line was adjusting my tie. Everything was all mixed up and it looked terrible. As much as it pained me to say it, we needed to do it again. We weren’t able to use the church again, because it was being used. So we went back to my old school, and used a room upstairs. Everything was working perfectly, the scenes were looking good and we had just two scenes left. All of the sudden, my camera cut off. It wouldn’t turn on, even with new batteries. So we had to reschedule yet again. Being in college and all of my friends having different schedules, this was no easy task. But I was determined that this would be the last day of filming. I drew out every scene and how I wanted it to be shot, I got a new camera, we had the room ready, everything seemed to be going as planned. However, when it comes to my videos, I am a bit of a perfectionist, especially with this one. I realized I would never be happy with how the video looked unless I could get behind the camera myself. So I decided to cast someone else to play my part, and we rescheduled once again.
It was hard not to be discouraged after so many failed attempts. I had never had so much trouble with a video before, but I trusted that God had a purpose for what was going on, just like the video says! I got in touch with Anthony Dimaria, who is just as passionate about acting as I am with filmmaking. He has been in many videos, including ones that have won contests! So finally, on December 13, we set out to film once more. It took a few hours, but we finally completed it! Anthony’s mom even made barbecue for our lunch break! I immediately made my way home and finished editing that night. Taylor Clyde, who played Mike, wrote the music for the credits and the video was finally finished. I was so eager to upload the video that I was a tad late for work (probably not the best decision). I have learned a lot while making the video, especially that I need to use microphones next time! But I’m pleased with how it turned out and I hope everyone enjoys it! Hopefully it is a good reminder of the sovereignty of God and His love for us all!

Thanks again to Mr. Passmore for providing outstanding scripts for young filmmakers like me!

-Stephen Ridley

Others have sent me video of their performance of this script. Here is one from a past entry.