reelstoriesfilmfest

when my roommate passed along a link containing a talk by a filmmaker regarding hard work and dedication to film, i was struck by what he challenged us to do.

the challenge was to go out and shoot a whole month of sunrises in a row and put them together in a video. we both heard the talk on september 30th and the next month was already set.

too many times we forget that with passion comes dedication and hard work. what we learned is that it's often in these small moments of beauty, that we are able to peek into the glory of an amazing God.

this is a little video on how this whole project came together

song: "Needle and Haystack Life" by Switchfoot
Cast: JJ Starr, A.C. Eagon and Darren Doane

when my roommate passed along a link containing a talk by a filmmaker regarding hard work and dedication to film, i was struck by what he challenged us to do.

the challenge was to go out and shoot a whole month of sunrises in a row and put them together in a video. we both heard the talk on september 30th and the next month was already set.

too many times we forget that with passion comes dedication and hard work. what we learned is that it's often in these small moments of beauty, that we are able to peak into the glory of an amazing God.

song: "Phos Hilaron (Hail Gladdening Light)" by David Crowder Band
Cast: JJ Starr, A.C. Eagon and Darren Doane

Young Life doesn't start with a program. It starts with adults who are concerned enough about kids to go to them, on their turf and in their culture, building bridges of authentic friendship. These relationships don't happen overnight — they take time, patience, trust and consistency.

So Young Life leaders log many hours with kids — where they are, as they are. We listen to their stories and learn what's important to them because we genuinely care about their joys, triumphs, heartaches and setbacks.

We believe in the power of presence. Kids' lives are dramatically impacted when caring adults come alongside them, sharing God's love with them. Because their Young Life leader believes in them, they begin to see that their lives have great worth, meaning and purpose.

This is the Young Life in Naperville and Aurora, IL banquet video for the 2009-2010 year.
Cast: JJ Starr

with the chaos of everyday life consuming our senses, it is nice to sit back and enjoy moments and experiences that are often overlooked. This project aims to study the forgotten moments and times in life that we often pass by without acknowledging.

i drive past the santa monica pier nearly every day and always, without fail, watch the ferris wheel, it's awesome
Cast: JJ Starr

with the chaos of everyday life consuming our senses, it is nice to sit back and enjoy moments and experiences that are often overlooked. This project aims to study the forgotten moments and times in life that we often pass by without acknowledging.

got to love the third street promenade

shortly after i finished shooting this and as i was galloping away from security, the street singer man got a noise violation, apparently playing music that loud at 10 pm on a monday night is not legal? who knew
Cast: JJ Starr

with the chaos of everyday life consuming our senses, it is nice to sit back and enjoy moments and experiences that are often overlooked. This project aims to study the forgotten moments and times in life that we often pass by without acknowledging.

setting up for our sunrise shot at the little league field, i captured this image and was just blown away by the colors and shadows.

this is unedited and untouched by any color treatment, my roommate daniel is brushing off the plate at the beginning for our shot, i left the audio and everything, it's just beautiful so i figured i'd put it up
Cast: JJ Starr

my roommate and i decided to film every sunrise in the month of october, this is a little "half-way" point update video, revealing a tiny bit of our footage.
Cast: JJ Starr

with the chaos of everyday life consuming our senses, it is nice to sit back and enjoy moments and experiences that are often overlooked. This project aims to study the forgotten moments and times in life that we often pass by without acknowledging.

i've been shooting the sunrise every morning and while on vimeo the other day i came across this project

on this particular day, the sunrise did not really happen (too many clouds) however as i was driving back home the clouds started to break up, and i saw this moment of beauty that i captured for the project
Cast: JJ Starr

students of markham middle school in watts, california raised over $1,500 and used that money to bring clean water to a community in africa that will last a lifetime

if you, your school, or organization would like help make sure that every person in the world has access to clean water, visit globalfast.org
Cast: JJ Starr

while spending some time with my grandma's i started to think a lot about my story, more specifically my family's story. i found a ton of 8mm rolls of film and went and got them developed. what follows is kind of a music video showing the "story" of my family. i think it's pretty cool.
Cast: JJ Starr

i had the amazing opportunity to help out a project called, "i am zambia" with some editing

in that process i had this idea for a video that i wanted to shoot for a "catchy" kind of promo

so i called up a very talented friend of mine, daniel de la rosa and asked him if he would be willing to head into the studio and help me create something

we started at 12 midnight, and after lots of espresso, we finished at 4,

it took 4 hours, and this is what we came up with
Cast: JJ Starr

i hear all the time to follow my passions and pursue a "vocation" which i truly enjoy. the concept of this "pursuit", no longer seems far-fetched. maybe it's because of where i go to school or the amazing people that i surround myself with. but i often wonder how many of us are living from a place where the routine of everyday has become common-place to us? the "school system" seems to measure all of us based on how well we do compared to others, A, B, C, and so on, but i wonder how many us just need to room to create and step back from the "routine" that we have found ourselves immersed in and live from that place where we experience deep joy.
Cast: JJ Starr, A.C. Eagon

A short promotional video using Sony EX, and a home made PVC pipe dolly.

Castaway Club, owned and operated by Young Life, is located in beautiful northern Minnesota, miles from downtown Detroit Lakes. In the summer season Young Life campers will experience nothing less than “the best week of their lives!”
Cast: JJ Starr

each year, the Pepperdine community comes together for a day of service. Over 1400 students, faculty, staff and alumni gather to help over 50 non-profit organizations, schools, churches and parks that span from downtown Los Angeles to Ventura County. During this one day the Pepperdine community serves a collective 4200 hours (equivalent to 2 years of work for one person). For the volunteers, the tradition of Step Forward Day reflects a commitment that lasts beyond this single day of service.

shot on a sony EX1 with a homemade pvc pipe dolly
Cast: JJ Starr

What if you could fast just one meal a week, and literally save a life? Your budget doesn't change, but your lifestyle does. It's about sacrificial living - being so committed to others that we make a sacrifice of ourselves.

Special thanks to Karley Osborn for the drawings, Stephanie Guina for the VO, and Alec Eagon for the audio editing

Water facts taken from:
unwater.org/statistics_san.html
wateraid.org/international/what_we_do/statistics/default.asp

For more information visit:
globalfast.org
Cast: JJ Starr, A.C. Eagon

high school students from around the country, created a message based on the "post-secret" campaign. These cards are all real, none of them were made up...

They give us a glimpse into the reality that high school students are faced with. This is part two of the video series from Castaway Club. When we look at these cards, the question is where is the answer?
Cast: JJ Starr

High School kids from around the country read the account of the cross. The cards being pinned to the cross are all real issues that kids wrote a few days prior. This video is a calibration between myself and a very talented friend of mine, Jose.
Cast: JJ Starr

a local initiative designed to create a better future for the lives of HIV/AIDS affected orphans in Africa.

See iamzambia.org for more information
Cast: JJ Starr

this is a very short promo that i put together
Cast: JJ Starr