The Los Metates Mission
So, you’ve found yourself on the Los Metates Studios website. Maybe you’re a fan of the Los Metates adventure competitions, or maybe you’ve been an actual competitor. You might have seen one of our films, or acted in one. Maybe you know me personally, and maybe you don’t. Whatever the case may be, you’re here. So let me tell you about the Los Metates mission.
If you’ve been around Los Metates Studios for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard the phrase “truth and awesomeness.” (There’s also “every second counts”, but we’re not going there today, so you can rest easy.) Yes, “truth and awesomeness” is cheesy as all get out, and if you’re not a fan of it, you’ll be pleased to hear that I’m changing it in this post. But even if that phrase is kind of goofy (is awesomeness even a word?), have you ever thought about the meaning behind it? Believe it or not, it’s actually a pretty solid statement of the Los Metates mission.
Truth
I realized recently that it’s incredibly encouraging to know that there’s truth – real, absolute, unchanging truth – that you can hang onto. The truth I’m referring to comes from the Bible, the very words of God given as a guide for our lives (Psalm 119:105). But I also realized that though many people claim to believe in the truth found in the Bible, do they really live it out? If the King of the universe, the all-powerful Creator, personally gave you a command, would you follow it? FYI, that’s literally what the Bible is. How seriously are we going to take that?
Truth should be central to our lives. And that’s why I want truth to be central for Los Metates Studios. Now, is it always? No, just in the same way truth is not always central in my life. I mess up, all the time. And this could be the part where I say, “but I’m going to keep striving, keep trying!” But that’s actually not the case. All of my striving, using my own strength, is not only going to get me nowhere, but I’m probably going to move backwards (I’m a bit of a klutz that way). Instead, I need to rely on supernatural strength – the kind of strength that is referenced in 2 Corinthians 12:9. It is through God’s power alone that I can live a life that matters for eternity. So, coming back to truth and Los Metates Studios – I want my films to be infused with the truth of the Bible and to show viewers the reality of that truth. I’ve failed at this frequently with past films, there’s no doubt about that. But that’s what the future is for. Even in a film full of force fields and explosions and time warping and whatever other sorts of LMS craziness, I want the heart of the story to be something true. Something like the fact that the truth itself can set you free, or that God works in the most mysterious ways to bring about His purposes, or that you never, ever give up on family, or, yes, even that every second counts (Psalm 90:12, Ephesians 5:15-16).
Excellence
So, truth is important, and I want to make it central in every Los Metates production. What about awesomeness? First off, I’m hereby changing awesomeness to excellence. The point behind each word is mostly the same, but allow me to explain. Basically, a film must be entertaining. That’s non-negotiable. Now, the idea of what makes something “entertaining” is a broad spectrum that varies from individual to individual, and that’s where knowing your target audience is critical – but this isn’t a marketing post. My point here is that if I’m going to sit down and watch a film, whether in the theaters or on YouTube or anything in between, I want to be entertained in some way – whether I’m thrilled, moved, or tickled, those all count as forms of being entertained.
You’re probably thinking, yeah, duh! A movie being entertaining might seem like an obvious point to make. Surprisingly though, way too many short films, feature films, and even live shows that I’ve seen appear to have forgotten this basic tenet. This is where the excellence comes in. The mission of Los Metates projects is to pull the viewer in with something engaging, and to do that in the best way possible. With every project, I try to put myself in the shoes of a skeptical audience member. I then ask myself, “Why would I want to watch this film?” Of course, the answer to this question should always be “because it has a really compelling story.” But can we get more specific? If the viewer knows the film is a comedy, they might say, “I want to laugh a lot!” So the excellence comes in making the film as funny as possible. If the film is an action film, the viewer probably wants to be wowed by epic action scenes and great fight choreography. Therefore, my film had better have those elements. Ultimately, I want to ensure that every film I make is of the highest excellence for that particular story and genre, and is as entertaining as possible to even a skeptical audience member.
So there you have it – truth and excellence, the mission of Los Metates Studios. Put another way, I want my films to be compelling, cinematic, and entertaining at the highest level of quality that I can achieve, as well as have a core of unchanging, eternally impactful truth at the center. This mission is straightforward and powerful, but – let’s be real – it can be challenging to actually achieve. That’s alright though, because nothing in film is particularly easy.
It’s not easy…but it is awesome.
