Two very different people from very different walks of life share how they find joy in the work place, even when sometimes in the face of terrible sadness and despair. Sermon illustration video produced for Peachtree Presbyterian Church.

In this video we interviewed a congregant who works as a nurse in a natal intensive care unit; and we interviewed one of the church’s sextons. As usual, we approached this project from a  storytelling perspective. We knew there would be the traditional “talking head” aspect of the film. But we also wanted to instill that narrative storytelling feel.

Due to time and budget constraints, all the filming had to be done at the church. David the Sexton’s story was simple. He works there. We were already in his environment. Adriane the nurse’s story proved more challenging. We had to make different parts of the church look like it could be her bedroom early in the morning, then at a hospital in the middle of the day. Creative lighting and camera composition really paid off to create the illusion. We bet that if we hadn’t told you, you would’ve never guessed we didn’t shoot at those two locations.

Crushing Stereotypes

An interesting aspect of David’s story is that it was very important to the Executive Pastor to not have the audience watch his story then come away with any stereotypes. The first draft of the film focused entirely on his southern upbringing and his interaction with other church employees. But the Executive Pastor knew there was much more to David. David frequently reads various books on philosophy and faith, then gets into long conversations with her about these books. The pastor said David was reading books that she had to read in seminary. It was so important to the church to make sure this side of David’s story was told, they commissioned us to come out a second time to record that part of the story. What resulted is a more well-rounded profile with a positive surprise.