Tim Frakes on Vision Video
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Award winning video, Documentary, History, Tim Frakes Productions
Most of my productions serve clients with specific needs. However, some of my work is available for purchase. Vision Video, is a Pennsylvania based Christian and family DVD distributor that offers drama, documentary, live events, curriculum, and rare historical footage among the many genres. I am proud to be associated with them.
Most recently, Vision agreed to distribute People of Faith: Christianity in America. Here is a list of documentaries available for sale through Vision Video that I have produced for the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College and earlier in my career, through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
People of Faith: Christianity in America
Is America now or has it ever been a Christian Nation? What is the meaning of separation of church and state? How can the church be a faithful Gospel witness in a pluralistic society? What will the church look like in the future? People of Faith: Christianity in America brings perspective to these questions and more.
Saving the World?
In 1910 over a thousand Protestant missionaries, theologians and church leaders from around the world gathered in Edinburgh, Scotland for an unprecedented World Missionary Conference. Saving the World? chronicles the assumptions and expectations that Protestants carried into the 20th century and highlights some of the major — and unexpected — developments in the hundred years since that meeting in Scotland.
Glory to God Alone: The Life of J.S. Bach
In this video journey we are accompanied by Bach authorities including classical guitarist Christopher Parkening. They guide us through the development, personal crises, challenges, remarkable work output, and the compelling inner motivation of Bach and show why it was so important to the composer that his gifts be used for the glory of God alone.
Opening The Door to Luther with Rick Steves
Open the door to Martin Luther with public television travel host Rick Steves. He takes us to areas of Germany known as Lutherlands. From Eisleben, where Luther was born, to Wittenberg where he taught and preached, and to several other areas, we learn about the tumultuous events of the Reformation and the monk at the center of it all. We see how this Augustinian monk, who most wanted the quiet of a religious life, was thrust into the center of 16th-century world-shaking events.
The Morning Star of Wittenberg: The Life of Kaite Luther
This video documentary provides an intimate look at Katharina von Bora, former nun, 16th Century entrepreneur and wife of Martin Luther, father of the Protestant Reformation. It is an in-depth look at the life of the woman who helped Luther change the course of history. We learn how she coped with incredible demands and survived the continual onslaught of unpredictable developments.
Zamzam: A Missionary Odyssey
A gripping, true story of faith on the high seas from World War II. An old Egyptian liner carrying 144 missionaries, bound for mission work in Africa, was mistakenly shelled and sunk by a Nazi warship off the coast of South Africa. The passengers abandoned ship, and their precarious plight was filmed by two photographers who just happened to be on board. Here is their amazing — and some would insist, miraculous — story.
Lives Of The Apostles Paul And Peter
In these two programs, author and Public Television travel expert Rick Steves takes us on location to explore the lives of two great apostles.
Tags: Church, Documentary, Education, ELCA, History, Rick Steves, Tim Frakes Productions, Video
People of Faith: Christianity in America Reviews
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under History, News, Tim Frakes Productions
Having no shame, I asked a few friends to review People of Faith: Christianity in America for the Vision Video website. If you are planning an adult Sunday school curriculum, consider these recommendations.
Time flew by
People of Faith Christianity in America presents an outstanding overview of the history and practice of Christianity in America with all of its rich diversity and profound complexity. Respected religion historians excellent narration and skillfully edited video move the story forward compellingly covering a lot of territory in six short episodes. I watched the entire series in one sitting and the time flew by. I highly recommend this program.
– Robert Black, 30 Good Minutes
Excellent tool
For those who are fascinated by the relationship between religion and culture in the United States the video series People of Faith Christianity in America is a trustworthy guide. Each of the six sessions guides the viewer to follow an issue or trend in the history of Christianity in the United States and see its manifestation in religious social and political events throughout our history and today. The clear and focused narrative along with the superb visuals and commentary by universally respected scholars makes this an excellent tool for use in classes for adults and teenagers in the congregations of all denomination.
- Claire Buettner St. Luke’s Lutheran Church Park Ridge Illinois
Excellent history
People of Faith does for the history of Christianity in America what Ken Burns has done for the history of the Civil War baseball and jazz. Steve Rabey’s scripts are carefully researched and easy to follow. This isn’t just a dry chronology. Rather each episode follows a thematic view of the last two centuries in a way that would allow that episode to stand alone in a classroom setting or fit seamlessly into a viewing of the entire series.Coproducer editor and videographer Tim Frakes is a consummate storyteller who has kept the episodes visually captivating through impeccable variety and pacing. Interviews with scholars help the viewer not just to grasp what happened in the past but to understand how the church institutions and organizations we know today have come to be. This series belongs in every congregational collection and university library.
- Rev. Mark D. Johns Ph.D.Associate Professor of Media StudiesLuther College Decorah Iowa
Order on DVD or download electronically through Vision Video.
Tags: Church, History, Tim Frakes Productions, Video
People of Faith: Christianity in America
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Client Production, Education, History, News, Promo, Tim Frakes Productions
In October, 2010, Larry Eskridge from the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College asked me to help produce People of Faith: Christianity in America, a six episode video series that tells the story of American Christianity in all its diversity from the colonial period to the present. The series is a fast-paced account of the people, ideas, movements, and organizations that influenced the course of America’s Christians down through the years.
People of Faith: Christianity in America is available through Vision Video. Call 1-800-523-0226 or log on to
www.visionvideo.com/peopleoffaith.html to order the 2 DVD set for home or congregational resource library.
The scope of this project is massive. Larry, writer Steve Rabey and producer Paul Butler began the project in 2006, but the sheer weight of the material brought production to a crawl. Larry and Paul asked me to drive the length of the field and move the ball over the goal line (to use a sports metaphor)! My role has been as producer, videographer and editor. Paul did quite a few scholar interviews early on. He also began the editing process on episode 3. Steve Rabey wrote the scripts for all six episodes. After taking over the project I contributed with additional scholar interviews, hours of new worship footage, historical landscape exteriors, hours and hours of editing including narration recording with Tim Lundeen and narrator Maurice England.
Synopsis
Episode 1. Faith in America: From Monarchs to the Marketplace
The people who arrived on the shores of the New World came from many places. They came for many reasons. And most of them brought with them traditions of Christian faith that had been practiced in Europe for centuries. But an interesting thing happened once these new arrivals settled down in this vast and fertile land. The regulation of religious practices that had long been controlled by kings and governments in Europe was now up for grabs.
Over time these people of faith created something in America that had never been seen in the history of the world. They created a nation where this religious freedom gave birth to unprecedented levels of religious diversity, experimentation and competition among churches and religious groups.
These spiritual pioneers laid the foundation for a spiritually diverse New World where faith and practice were no longer controlled by monarchs, but by common, everyday men and women.
Episode 2. Many Mansions
Jesus once told his disciples, “In my Father’s house are many mansions.” And many Americans have embodied this diversified vision of heaven in the way they look for churches. But how did American religion become so diverse? The answer has a lot to do with the people who came here, and the policies they established.
Episode 3. Rebels with a Cause
Christians have played an important role in American public and political life from the beginning, but that doesn’t mean people of faith always speak with one voice on social issues. In fact, members of various churches and faith traditions have frequently found themselves on opposing sides of these issues—often pursuing different priorities and outcomes. The one thing they do have in common is that people of faith share a common desire to battle principalities and powers to usher in their vision of a better world and often see themselves as “rebels with a cause”.
Episode 4. Challenges and Change
For generation after generation, Americans worked to create a place for faith at the center of public life. But you know what they say: “The only thing that’s constant is change itself.” As times changed, culture changed. So churches and religious groups responded to cultural change by focusing on new issues and challenges.
While Christians applied their faith in new ways to new problems, other people suggested that faith was irrelevant for modern times. But Christians in America were not about to give up. Instead, they reached down deep, re-examined their faith, and explored ways to apply their values to the changing social landscape.
Once Christians in America felt they had created the ideal church or the good society, new developments and challenges arose which upset the status quo and forced them to rethink their beliefs and find new ways to apply them to current conditions.
Episode 5. Home Grown Saints
More than any other nation, America has given its citizens the freedom to shape their religious lives as they see fit. Centuries ago in Europe, religion was largely controlled by popes and potentates. But America has taken a more open approach that has leveled the playing field, allowing anyone and everyone to play a role in the country’s thriving religious life.
America has been home to so many people of faith that it’s challenging to pick out ten of the most influential Christian leaders of the past two and one-half centuries. Home Grown Saints is a short list of ten men and women of faith who had a great impact on the shape of Christian faith in America.
Episode 6. The Future of Christianity
Christianity spread throughout the world over the past 2,000 years. And it has thrived in America over the past two centuries. But what does the future hold for faith? We asked Catholic, Protestant and evangelical experts eight questions about the future of Christian faith in America.
People of Faith: Christianity in America is designed for use in congregational settings, adult forums and Sunday school classes. Featuring leading authors and scholars of American Church History including:
Martin Marty: University of Chicago
Curtis Evans: University of Chicago
Mark Noll: University of Notre Dame
Scott Appleby: University of Notre Dame
Jean Bethke Elshtain: University of Chicago
Joel Carpenter: Calvin College
Philip Gleason: University of Notre Dame
Thomas Kidd: Baylor University
Darren Dochuk: Purdue University
Kathryn Long: Wheaton College.
Tags: America, Christianity, Church, History, Tim Frakes Productions, Video, Wheaton College
Anna Hauge, Gifts of Grace
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Disaster, Education, Faith Based Production, History, Interesting People, Tim Frakes Productions, women
Here is a story I produced for Lutheran Life Communities Foundation. Anna Hauge was a Navy nurse on board the USS Tranquility, the hospital ship that rescued the survivors of the USS Indianapolis disaster in August, 1945. Anna is one of those unsung heroes who lived through an epic chapter in American history.
Tags: Education, History, Tim Frakes Productions, women
West Chicago Printing Company, 100 Years
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Education, History, Tim Frakes Productions
My career in mass-media began back in 1979 at a weekly local newspaper and print shop called “The West Chicago Press.” The Treudt family not only gave me my first real job, they became life-long friends. The newspaper has since gone the way of most weekly publications. However, the printing operation survives. Recently the West Chicago Printing Company celebrated it’s 100 year anniversary. This interview with Bill Treudt and Modesto “Mo” Zarate, recounts daily life and laughs that went with the newspaper and printing business in the 20th century.
Tags: History, Miehle, Newspaper, Printing, Tim Frakes Productions, Video, West Chicago
Exploring a Century of Change
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Client Production, Evangelism and Outreach, History
Exploring a Century of Change: Protestant Missions, 1910-2010 is a documentary I produced for the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois. In 1910 Protestant Missionary societies gathered in Edinburgh, Scotland to plan for missionary activity in the next century. This is the story of how things turned out and where Protestant missions are headed in the 21st century.
The program features leading scholars such as Brian Stanley, Edith L. Blumhofer, Peter Vethanayagamony, Robert J. Priest, Nelson Jennings and Kathryn T. Long.
Tags: Church, Education, Faith, History, Missions, Tim Frakes Productions, women
Plymouth Rock
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Education, History, Interesting Places, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel
In1620 a ship dubbed the Mayflower arrived along the shores of what is now known as Plymouth, Massachusetts. They came seeking religious freedom and a new life in what was to them, a new world.
Tags: Education, History, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel
Plymouth Rock
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Education, History, Interesting Places, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel
These are a few shots I took while shooting b-roll for People of Faith: Christianity in America.
Tags: Christianity, Church, History, Massachusetts, People of Faith, Pilgrims, Plymouth Rock, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel, Video
Colonial Parkway: People of Faith
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under History, Nature, Tim Frakes Productions
The Colonial Parkway is a twenty-three mile scenic roadway stretching from the York River at Yorktown to the James River at Jamestown. It connects Virginia’s historic triangle: Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. Several million travelers a year use this route to enjoy the natural and cultural beauty of Virginia.
I recorded these images for a documentary I am helping to produce for Wheaton College and the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals titled: People of Faith. The six, half hour series looks a Christianity in North America from the Colonial period up through today.
Tags: Education, History, Tim Frakes Productions
Story of the ELCA
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Education, Faith Based Production, History, Interesting People
With the recent, drastic budget shortfalls and staff reductions at my former employer, the ELCA Churchwide office in Chicago, I found myself reviewing a program we did in 2003 titled: The Story of the ELCA. It is difficult to reconcile the enthusiasim illustrated in this documentary with the recent struggles endured by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
The video features rare footage and interviews with key leaders from the ELCA’s three predecessor church bodies, the Lutheran Church in America, the American Lutheran Church and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches.
Included in the program are portions of interviews with the Rev. James R. Crumley Jr., bishop of the former LCA; Dr. Dorothy Marple, coordinator of the Transition Team for a New Lutheran Church; the Rev. Rev. Robert J. Marshall, LCA president; the Rev. David W. Preus, president of the former ALC; the late Rev. Jacob A. O. Preus, president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS); and the Rev. John H. Tietjen, president of the LCMS Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.
Tags: ELCA, History, Tim Frakes Productions, Video