Christian Movie Makers:
Daniel Knudsen and Ultimatum
I was packing up my external hard drive while leaving the work station at the end of my film production class. My attention was diverted when my professor asked me if I was interested in doing an independent study. As I walked over to his desk, he inquired whether I had a particular project in mind. A few weeks earlier, a friend of mine had died in a tragic drowning accident. He was almost a year younger than me and it made me think about doing film projects that go beyond simply entertainment value. What if I had just one chance to tell a story? What story would it be? The idea came for a film that was designed to share the timeless truth of God's word with my generation. This was the beginning of a multi-media Gospel presentation called Ultimatum.
Adam and Eve as portrayed in UltimatumMany people have heard Bible stories, but they seldom hear them in the context of the Bible story as a whole. The vision for Ultimatum was to make a snapshot of the entire account of Biblical history. I came to a meeting with my professor shortly thereafter and presented him with storyboards and concept artwork. He helped me refine some of the ideas to make the presentation more interesting. After several weeks of preproduction, we began shooting. Most of the live action elements were shot in a day and a half and most of the computer-generated elements were made in a year and a half. From this project, I really learned that filmmaking is an exercise in art and organization, and both are equally important.
Golgotha scene in UltimatumOn the technical side of things, an animation professor helped me with some of the computer-generated elements. He gave advice on texturing and animation for some of the more complicated shots. We came down to the wire trying to finish all of the rendering. It probably would not have been finished, but one of the college computer labs equipped with over fifty Mac G-5's allowed us in. Animated shots were set up to render and frame sequences were assigned to different computers. This was a real blessing. It is exciting to serve a God who knows every possible production need! Music interprets the visual elements of the film. Going into the project, I was not sure how God would provide for this very important need. God brought a very talented composer and arranger across my path who did a powerful job on the original score. Art is the medium that relates to all aspects of culture. As a Christian filmmaker, it is my privilege to use art to communicate the truth of God's word.
Daniel Knudsen is a Christian filmmaker from Detroit, Michigan. He is a recent graduate of Thomas Edison State College and is currently in pre-production on a feature film.Stay connected with Daniel and his team through Facebook and the Ultimatum website for up to date news.
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