Check out Episode 8 of XXXchurch.tv to see a sneak peek of our time in Australia with the Red Frogs and Schoolies.

So, we’re almost at the end of our time here in Australia. We’ve been following schoolies around for a week as they’ve partied, partied and partied and the Red Frogs as they’ve played their role serving these kids in so many ways. It’s been real and I’m exhausted to say the least. We stay up all hours of the nite into the morning with these schoolies (over 30,000 on the Gold Coast), we’re in and out of different hotels throughout the city, we then sleep for a bit, then roll out in the mornings to shoot interviews and b-roll. It’s been a good experience, but a tiring one, not just physically but emotionally and spiritually, but there’s a good team here and we’ve made some Aussie friends for life.

HD still 1: A schoolie shows off the remains of he and his mates first night of drinking.

HD still 2 - One of my new Aussie mates Ben (left) and some Red Frog crew on the streets.

Oh, I had Kangaroo and Crocodile for lunch today. Superb!

Happy Thanksgiving.

Technorati Tags: Australia, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Schoolies, Red Frogs

This time last year I was on a jet plane to London, this year I’m headed to Australia with Sam and Rachel and Craig and his family. How did I not get to bring my lady? Guess I should speak up next time huh?

We’re headed to the Gold Coast in Australia to film a documentary about the Red Frogs during Schoolies week. Schoolies Week is a 3 week celebration held for Year 12 School Students at the completion of their School Year. For the majority of Students it will be the first time they experience a holiday without their family. The event itself has been operating for over 19 years and is now in 17 locations around Australia and 3 locations in South Africa.

The Red Frog Crew, made up of over 600 volunteers, aim to support Schoolies through their week long celebrations and provide a positive presence amongst their partying culture. They also assist Schoolies by walking young people home, cooking pancakes, room cleans, handing out Allen’s Red Frogs (think gummy candy) and offering emotional support through what can often be a challenging week.

We’ll be following the Red Frog’s crew and a group of Schoolies as we’re there throughout the week. It’s my first time down under, so if you’ve been there before or you live there I would love any advice. We’ve already purchased walkie talkie’s to limit our iPhone usage as we’ve learned that if your phone rings and you dont pick it up in Australia, you are charged for the time it was ringing and calls are 1.29-1.69 a minute on your iPhone, text messages are 50 cents. Plus internet uploads and usage is limited or capped, not sure on this one. Like I said any insight would be appreciated. Prayers are a plus too.

» Red Frogs official site.

Technorati Tags: Schoolies, Red Frogs, Australia, difted, documentary

My pal and difted code guru sammyk is nearing month two of his year long trip around the globe. He’s been working hard for us as we’ve been hit with a load of work in the past few months. He’s been a huge asset to our team and he never complains, always there to rock the code for our websites. He’s made a humorous post from his sidewalk office in Chile over at difted.com. Check it out.

Above, Sammyk, being difted on the sidewalks of Coyhaique, Chile.

Technorati Tags: twoguysaroundtheworld, travel, difted

A month from now, March 20th, I’ll be on a plane with my friends Sam Sanchez of difted and Jon Bell of heartsupport to travel to Burundi, Africa. We will spend four days on the ground shooting video for the Turame Project in an effort to show how microfinancing programs work, who benefits from them and how to get involved. It’s part of the [xyz] program at my church Mars Hill.

Here’s a short description:
Read the rest of this page »

With the exception of the difted eletter recepients, I’ve waited on making any kind of official public announcement for the launch of difted.com. Partly due to some hangups with the store, but mostly due to the perfectionist in me constantly tweaking the site. I’ve realized it’s not going to ever be perfect, that it won’t impress everyone who comes across it and that there’s always room for improvement. So Check it out: [URL] - [pic]. She still has that new website smell. The store is up stocked with the Heart Support tees I recently mentioned here and the difted film series DVD’s. All of my work will be present there as well as the work of other graphic designers, film makers and photographers we work with. So check it out, throw down some feedback here on the blog and let me know if you need anything difted. Read the rest of this page »