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Multnomah students serve God
through video

Videos run on the screen in Central Bible: Anna Aldrich, sitting in front of the fireplace in Memorial Dorm cradling her ruined camera, tells Ben Jackson, playing Walter Cronkite, about a monster wave at the previous year's Jamaican Jam.

Brian VanDyke assures his roommate over the telephone that seeing fairy tale characters around campus is not a result of his recent Dr. Patty test. Jackson, as Rod Serling, looks on.

Joe Slavens, sitting in front of the gas fireplace in Aldrich Hall, tells of his experiences at MBS.

Jackson, Jeff Livingston, and Dave Selle, all sophomores, created two short promotional videos for Stugo, two videos for the World View team and a promotional video for Multnomah's Trustee Banquet in March.

"In high school," Jackson said, "I put together a couple of videos for my Spanish class, and I enjoyed those very much. I have definitely taken a step up in quality."

"Everybody does the home videos when you [sic] were a kid: you're a gangster and shoot people. But nothing of this kind of caliber," Selle said.

Livingston said he loves camera work, directing and editing. He received a video camera as a high school graduation present.

"God's sovereign will brought us together," Livingston said. Livingston, Selle and Jackson were all part of the Destiny team last year and formed a strong friendship.

The first two videos promoted Stugo-sponsored events: Jamaican Jam and Fall Banquet, "A Night in Never-Never Land."

In the Jamaican Jam video, Jackson played Walter Cronkite reporting on the horrific occurrences at the previous Jamaican Jam. A monstrous wave had devoured the beach where more than 200 Multnomah students relaxed, played volleyball and hung out.

The Fall Banquet video spoofed "The Twilight Zone." Brian VanDyke saw strange things all over campus--Stugo members and classmates dressed as fairies, princesses and princes.

"We learned so much from [The Twilight Zone]," Livingston said. The Twilight Zone was the first video they storyboarded--outlined the order of events in the video. They wrote a script for it and worked with a record number of actors. The Twilight Zone was also the first video the trio edited on computer using a digital editing system, Livingston said.

"[Students] saw a picture of what was in our brains," Selle said.

"It was the first time we had a vision in our minds, and we saw it materialize onto the screen. I think that's what made it special," Jackson said.

In December 1999, Ray Keen approached Selle, Jackson and Livingston and asked them to produce a video for Multnomah's trustees.

"[Keen] knew our interest in film and video," Selle said. "He approached us, and we went ahead with the deal. Dr. Lockwood and Paul Griffin thought [the video] was a good idea."

"To my understanding, Ray Keen saw our previous work such as The Twilight Zone and Jamaican Jam, and he was impressed. That was what led him to approach us," Jackson said.

Jackson said that they didn't have a strict storyboard or script for the trustee video.

"We had a basic idea and then took that basic idea and started plugging in images we got from around the campus," Selle said.

Jackson said the trio spent more than 100 compiled hours taping and editing the video. Steve Longan and Daniel Hutchison provided background music for their video.

After the trustee video, the World View team requested a video and "The Matrix" was born. Livingston and Jackson all said that "The Matrix" was their favorite finished product.

"'The Matrix' was a very intense three-day blitz," Jackson said. "[We worked] an incredible amount of hours in three days. I actually did some writing previously so the script was written and it was storyboarded."

Now the college admissions department has asked the trio to produce a 30-minute promotional video.

The trio also hopes to continue to make promotional and other videos for the World View team.

"That would give us continued opportunities to utilize our passions and our skills and our gifts," Selle said. "We were the cameramen for the Men's Conference in March. We're also helping to put together a promotional video for a student here.

"[Right now we're doing] odd jobs--opportunities to be involved with actual movie sets. People approach us to do weddings, and we might do a couple of those."

"We'll just see where the Lord takes us," Jackson said.

"We admit we are lame and amateurish...." Jackson said.

"But we have fun," Selle finished.