There has been much progress on the Fatima project where we are filming the three apparitions of the angel to the three children Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco that took place at Fatima in the year 1916, one year prior to the more famous apparitions of Our Lady to them in 1917.

Most importantly the filming is completed during the previous week or so with six very grueling days, and we are now assessing if any more shots are needed. This is great because we were under intense pressure to get this done before the leaves change too much.

We have done much to gear up for this project and it is a big jump up in our technical abilities where we are trying to do full cinema quality production. This takes much effort and funds. We had enough for the production side but we need more for the editing and the computer graphics, some of which we must hire out, including that of the angel. Keep us in your prayers.

Tables for setting up equipment with the production van in the background lent to us by a generous local businessman.

Friar Gabriel getting Jacinta ready for her role with Lucia

Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco on set

Katie filming the filming between being a great stage hand and adviser. She is working on a short news clip covering the project on her video blog Thing in a Pot Productions you can see some of her still shots here.

Arrival of the sheep in their custom built pen.

On set in the quarry

Keeping the sun off the camera’s view screen.

Arrival at the second set at “the well”

Getting the camera crane ready.

The AirMaria drone (named “Angel of Fatima”) is flying high with camera to capture an angel-eye view as the visiting angel approaches. It is near an airport so we had to keep in close communication with the control tower. It was a joy working them.

Lights, Camera, Action

Using the camera slider on the ground which slides the camera slowly sideways with the camera crane in the background along with the green screen needed for scenes with the angel who will be added latter using CGI

The quarry – One of the challenges was finding a place that resembles the more arid climate of Portugal in the verdant hills of southern Indiana. The solution was one of the local sandstone quarries of which Bloomington is famous. The owners were very helpful, not only giving us access, but even doing some landscaping and moving the multi-ton rocks in place for the well scene.

After hours refreshment and comradery with actors, friars, parents and helpers. Sue Mackewich took this selfie (along with the rest of these pictures) and she is a great friend as well as a big benefactor and main production expert from New York, without whom none of this could have happened. She has also been instrumental in getting AirMaria up and running to technical snuff over the last ten years.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the crew caught me goofing off recording an eight-day Ignatian retreat with 25 conferences by Fr. Ben Leudtke.

I filmed it with our new, permanently mounted, remote-control cameras in the conference center in Bloomington which we also set-up in the last two weeks.

This is a close-up of the portable control panel for our mobile studio unit which we are using until we can replace it with a permanent video switcher for the conference center once we have the funds.

Very busy times. All for the Immaculate!!

Ave Maria!

The post Progress on Fatima Video, Need Help first appeared on AirMaria.com.

I already mentioned this in the article I posted yesterday, way down in the photo stream, but I thought I would give it its own post. Katie Breidenbach at Thing in a Pot Productions who helped so much with the movie production posted this nice article with so many beautiful pictures. Great job Katie. She will be posting a news video soon.

An exclusive look behind-the-scenes of a new movie being created by two Franciscan Friars. Nearly 100 years ago, the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. In the year preceding the Marian apparition, an angel visited the children three times to teach them how to pray. Friars Didacus and Gabriel Cortes, brothers by blood as well as vocation, are recreating these angelic visits for a new short film. Clad in the humble gray robes of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, the brothers harness the best of technology to capture their vision; including a drone, a camera crane, 4K video cameras, and real live sheep.

Source: Movie-Making Friars Recreate Fatima | Thing in a Pot Productions

The post Movie-Making Friars Recreate Fatima | Thing in a Pot Productions first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Ave Maria!

Katie Breidenbach of Thing in a Pot Productions gives a behind the scenes look at the production of the Fatima short films that AirMaria is doing using drones, cinematic cameras, children actors and live sheep. She also provided much hands on help and advice on the actual set. Thank you Katie! Here is her blurb from her site:

Two Franciscan friars are making a movie, and we’re giving you an exclusive look behind-the-scenes. For this newsletter update, Thing in a Pot Producer Katie Breidenbach abandons the patio and heads to the film set, where she finds that the friars are using impressive technology to recreate an ancient story. Katie also shares a few of the new photos posted to our gallery “It Is Good”, and how Thing in a Pot can help you with your next production.

Visit her website: thinginapot.com. More from Katie soon.

Audio (MP3)

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The post Video – Behind-the-Scenes on the Fatima Movie – FINEWS 158 first appeared on AirMaria.com.

By Katie Breidenbach (Special to The Criterion)

MONROE COUNTY—A small helicopter-like drone follows three children dressed in the garb of the early 1900s as they run through a field on the outskirts of Bloomington. Adding to the incongruity of the spectacle, a gray-habited friar holds the drone’s remote control.

The friar behind the drone is Brother Didacus Maria Cortes of the Franciscans of the Immaculate. He and his fellow friar, Brother Gabriel Cortes, are using the latest video technology to re-create a story that is a century old.

“We’re heading into the 100-year anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima,” Brother Didacus explained, “and right now there are so many wars going on. And the answer to these wars is to go back to the message of Our Lady of Fatima.”

The friars who made the film live and minister from a friary adjacent to the Our Lady of the Redeemer Retreat Center in Monroe County.

In 1917, as World War I raged across Europe, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. She instructed them, and the world, to pray and make sacrifices for the conversion of sinners and the end of the war. During the preceding year, to prepare Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins, Jacinta and Francisco Marto for this message, an angel calling himself “the Angel of Peace” appeared to the children three times and taught them how to pray.

The friars are re-creating these three angelic visits, with the accompanying call to prayer and penance, for a 15-minute film.

Source: Movie-making friars re-create message of Our Lady of Fatima (November 18, 2016)

The post Article in the Indy Archdiocesan Paper on our upcoming Film on the Angel of Our Lady of Fatima first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Ave Maria!

Katie Breidenbach from Thing in a Pot Productions does an excellent video report of our film production efforts here in Bloomington in preparation for the 100th anniversary of the apparition in Fatima, Portugal. Her production and editing skills are clearly evident in this video and she offered many hours of her expert help and advise during our filming efforts. Great job Katie and thanks!

Here is her text from her post at Thing in a Pot Productions:

An exclusive look behind-the-scenes of a new short film being created by two Franciscan friars. Nearly 100 years ago, the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. In the year preceding the Marian apparition, an angel visited the children three times to teach them how to pray. Friars Didacus Maria and Gabriel Cortes, brothers by blood as well as vocation, are recreating these angelic visits for a new short film. Clad in the humble gray robes of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, the brothers harness the best of technology to capture their vision; including a drone, a camera crane, 4K video cameras, and real live sheep.

Thing in a Pot Productions followed the brothers during their film shoot in Bloomington, Indiana. All the footage was captured successfully, and has been sent out to professional media studios for editing, CGI and sound design. The friars intend to finish the film by Christmas and post it to their website, www.AirMaria.com. The film will be used as a promotion for two major conferences to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions.

This story was also featured in the Nov. 18th issue of Indianapolis’ Criterion. Read it here.

https://www.thinginapot.com/friars-fatima/

Audio (MP3)

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The post Video – Movie-Making Friars Recreate Fatima – FINEWS 159 first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Ave Maria!

In this episode of FiNews friar Roderic reports on the ten year milestone of AirMaria with thousands of videos and millions of views for which we are very thankful. Then he discusses current projects including the 100th anniversary of Fatima for which we made a website, are making three short films and putting on two conferences. He also mentions our new video system in our conference hall which is operational and our many funding needs and future videos. Here are the links to the sites mentioned in the video:

Behind the Scenes of the Fatima Video:

https://thinginapot.com/friars-fatima/

http://dev.airmaria.com/2016/12/12/video-movie-making-friars-recreate-fatima-finews-159/

Funding the Fatima Video: https://gofundme.com/angel-of-fatima-short-film

Our website for Fatima Centenary: http://livingfatima.com/

St. Maximilian site: http://saintmaximiliankolbe.com/

http://dev.airmaria.com

http://dev.airmaria.com/contribute

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The post Video – Ten Years of AirMaria – 100 Years of Fatima – FINEWS 160 first appeared on AirMaria.com.