With the holidays fast approaching, it’s time again to look at some of the best holiday media resources around. This year, we’re focusing on new short films, or sermon illustration videos, that are making their debut this holiday season. A few church media producers were gracious enough to let us know what they were working on, and we’re pretty excited about this new crop of resources.
New Holiday Videos
The Work of the People
The Work of the People is preparing three Christmas short films in addition to the weekly Visual Liturgy films they are releasing for Advent. They tell us one of the new films will explore childbirth, hope, and despair in the biblical narrative and then culminate in this moving bit of poetry:
God here,
In our filth, our violence, our lust, our apathy
God among us,
A hope from barrenness
Emmanuel,
God, our hope, has answered
Floodgate Productions
Our friends at Floodgate Productions have two intriguing videos in the works. “Thanksgiving 2008” surveys the tumultuous events of 2008 and asks “How do we express thanks and gratitude to God after a year like this one?” Floodgate’s Christmas offering, “A Christmas Prayer (We’d Like to See),” encourages Christians to act like Christians this holiday season, especially as the world watches while we celebrate the birth of Christ. Both new videos will be available with complementary motion loops.
Igniter Media
Igniter Media (COLLIDE’s sister company) has big plans for an animated piece titled, “Retooning the Nativity.” The video will encourage viewers to re-evaluate what they know about the Nativity. The upcoming Igniter Christmas collection will include “Retooning the Nativity,” Christmas loops, stills, and a countdown.
Crossroads Creative
Crossroads Creative has three new releases on the way: “Muchas Gracias” and “At the Table” for Thanksgiving and “Home” for Christmas. Each of the three is part of Crossroads’ “Sermon Starters” collection and designed to introduce a topic for teaching or discussion rather than tell a complete story or make a stand-alone point.
Filmosaic
Filmosaic recently shot a short film titled “Mary and Joe” that depicts the feelings of doubt and uncertainty that Mary and Joseph must’ve felt in the wake of Mary’s pregnancy. By depicting Mary and Joseph as modern teenagers, the film allows us to better understand their humanity, as well as their faith in the promises of God.
Unblind Productions
A new film from Unblind Productions illustrates the ease with which life can distract us from the Christmas story. In “Christmas Distractions” a man reads the story of Christ’s birth from Luke while standing on a highway, in an airport, and at a shopping mall. Be sure to find a quiet place to watch this one.
Our Favorite Videos From Years Past
Christmas
- “A Brief History of Christmas” by AngelHouse Media
- “The Nativity: All Too Familiar?” by eleven72
- “He Came” by WorshipFilms
- “12 Crazy Days of Christmas” by Restoration Videos
- “Cradle to the Cross” by Highway Video
- “Christmas Again” by Floodgate Productions
- “Be Still (Christmas)” by SermonVideos.com
- “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” by The Work of the People
Thanksgiving
- “Give Thanks” by Chris McGowan
- “The Kids Table” by eight20eight
- “Giving Thanks” by eleven72
- “A Thanksgiving Moment” by Igniter Media Group (our sister company)
- “Thanksgiving Proclamation” by WorshipFilms
New Year’s
- “This Year” by eleven72
- “All Things New” by Floodgate Productions
- “Resolutions” by Floodgate Productions
Where To Buy
The most efficient way to browse through a variety of holiday media resources is to visit the holiday sections of church media reseller sites such as sermonspice.com, shoutable.com, faithvisuals.com,and worshiphousemedia.com(another of our sister companies). It’s also worth your time to browse through the sites of each individual producer (e.g., highwayvideo.com) to find sales, free downloads, and resources that don’t appear on reseller sites. If you’d like to try your hand at editing your own videos this year, visit stock footage sites such as istockvideo.comandrevostock.com to purchase and download raw, holiday-themed elements.
Whatever shape your holiday services take this year, we hope this little guide was helpful and your days are merry and bright. If you missed last year’s Holiday Media Guide, read it here.