Last year I was asked by my father-in-law to help him put together video tributes for the graduating seniors in his ward. He was the young men's president at the time and they wanted to change things up for their annual Senior dinner. The "I'm a Mormon" campaign was very popular at the time so we styled the videos after that. They were OK. At least that's what I thought of them.
Flash forward to the present and my father-in-law is no longer the young men's president and Beth and I are living in his basement and now members of that ward. The young women's president is the same as last year and apparently she thought of last year's video more highly than I did because I was once again asked to put together a senior tribute video.
I reluctantly accepted but this time I wanted to do something different. I wanted it to be better. We had just bought our new camera and this was the perfect opportunity to test it out. So with the help of a few friends (Ben Peterson) that lent me the rest of the equipment I was ready to go. Unfortunately, I only had two weeks to get everything done and my father-in-law would not be in town to help me with the interviews. I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it. But as with all service efforts I wasn't alone and the end result, if I do say so myself, turned out very good.
The seniors I got to know are all very different but very special in their own way. Each one has a testimony of Jesus Christ that has grown during the last four years of high school. I think putting all of their interviews together, instead of separating them like last year, helps show them as individuals but also how together they provided strength to each other as members of the same ward.
You probably don't know the people in the video. I didn't either when I first started. But I think that you'll still be able to enjoy it as you listen to them share who they are and what they stand for. I know that I learned a lot.
Let me know what you think! I hope you enjoy watching as much as I enjoyed making it.
