Stephen’s Story

CONNECT CHURCH | Direction Sunday 2022

FILM REVIEW:

CHARACTER BRIEF: Stephen Douthit

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He’s a manly man, deep voice, stubborn, self-employed, doesn't like being told what to do not even by himself.
Achievement. He has always taken pride in his work and doing it well.
The sense of pride from working hard, doing work that many can't, living on his own terms.

KEYWORDS

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He went from having very destructive relationships and avoiding relationships altogether, to having a relationship with God, stepping out to have relationship with others in the church, and mending his own relationship with his son.
His work is a driving theme in his story. He was a very hard worker and very skilled and he took much pride in that- it made him feel like he deserved to live how he wanted (drinking, drugs, infidelity.)
People that have a similar personality to Stephen of being stubborn, hard-working, keeping to themselves will relate to Stephen. These characteristics are relatable to most people as well.
The audience that most closely relate with Stephen should feel recognized and seen. They may like to keep to themselves but they also need the godly relationships that Stephen did.
The story should encourage the audience to step out and engage just like Stephen did- that decision changed his whole life because he gave his life to God.

STORYBOARD

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The approach of the story will be by themes, or chapters, where we take a peek into the main areas of Stephen's life that defined him.

TREATMENT

STYLE

There are several themes to the story I’d like to highlight with a special focus on “THEN & NOW”, being that it is the theme of Direction Sunday 2022.

THEN: NOW:

Loner Intentional on creating relationships
Very focused on work Priorities more on family and relationship
Functional alcoholic Reliance on God
Infidelity Seeking God, prayer, reading bible, learning
Drugs
Escaping guilt Has peace, gives things to God
Broken family/relationships Reconnected with son who gave heart to God, got baptized
Trying to fill a void Void is filled by Christ
Live for himself Obedient to God

Stylistic Choices:

Overall style: handheld camera, lots of motion to mirror his on-the-go type of lifestyle; doing interviews in different settings on-the-go: at his shop, out walking at dusk, driving…
To represent “THEN”: cold, dark, more jerky, harsher transitions, composition to feel lonely, hard lights,…
To represent “NOW”: warm, soft light, smoother motion, compositions filled with people/social connections…