The Mobile Phone and a New Paradigm for Missions Media Production

The Mobile Phone and

a New Paradigm for

Media Production

http://www.flickr.com/photos/karanj/31869410/

The De Facto Model of

Missions Media

Production

Flow of Insight/

Enablement

Local Believer/ Media Expert

Missionary

Professional Media Equipment

Production of

Media

In this model the local believer or missionary passes on their cultural understanding and insight into how the Gospel can be best understood and expressed in their culture and then relies upon the media expert to translate that understanding and insight into an appropriate media end-product.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vancouverfilmschool/5476664145/

An Altered

Equation

Flow of Insight/

Enablement

Local Believer/Missionary Media

Expert

Mobile Phone w/Camera

Web access and/or video

editing app or freeware

Production of Media

In this model the media expert passes on their understanding of media production to the local believer or missionary and also empowers them through the provision of resources they will need (stock imagery/audio, online editing program, etc.) to produce and distribute their own media.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rayand/4199641605/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Reasons to Change the Paradigm

1) The enormous imbalance between the number of local believers/ missionaries (millions) and missionalmedia producers (hundreds)

Reasons to Change the Paradigm

2) The huge percentage of local believers and missionaries that are equipped and able to shoot video via their mobile phones, etc.

Reasons to Change the Paradigm

3) The availability of on-phone online and free/low-cost video editing programs

Reasons to Change the Paradigm

4) The minimal expertise and expense required to produce media that is “good enough” for a mobile screen (the most widespread screen found among the unreached)

Reasons to Change the Paradigm

5) Large-scale distribution channels are available to local believers and missionaries through video sharing sites and the Bluetooth phone-to-phone transmission channel

The ChallengeCan Christian media ministries make the switch from solely being “media producers” to “media enablers” for the Church?

Some Groups Leading the Way as

Media Enablers• Gemstone Media’s How2Video

http://www.how2video.org

• The Global Short Film Network’s Flight School

http://www.globalshortfilmnetwork.com/trained-create-short-films-ta-t-4_5.html

• The Global Virtual Studio

http://www.globalvirtualstudio.com/alpha.php/

What is Still Needed?Among other things:

• Online open source imagery (for instance, background visuals for chronological Bible stories)

• A single-stop Christian website, program and/or phone app enabling users to 1) Upload and/or find imagery/footage/ audio, 2) edit it and 3) both download the final product for offline distribution as well as upload it for online distribution

When the winds of change blow, some seek shelter, others

build windmillsChinese Proverb

Produced by

Mobile Advance

http://www.mobileadvance.org

e-mail: keith(at)mobileadvance.org