Decatur man witnesses through film

Decatur’s Eric Herron has a dream of becoming a filmmaker whose faith shows in his work. 
   
A Christian-film competition has given him one of his first shots at making his dream come true. Herron’s three-minute film, “The Stars,” was named the overall winner in the inaugural eMediaLINK Short Film Awards.
   
The 20-year-old will receive the competition’s top prize of a Canon XL2 Professional DV Camcorder and editing software.
   
Sponsored by the e-business department of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, the competition encouraged short film submissions in four categories — faith, hope, love and the plan of salvation. “The Stars” was one of nearly 50 submissions of films no longer than three minutes in the worldwide competition.
   
“We were thrilled to receive the breadth of short film entries we did,” said Michael Epps Utley, e-business marketing coordinator. “There are so many church media ministries and film students out there doing good work. It was tremendously rewarding to be a part of shining a spotlight on some of that work.” 
   
A panel of judges chose 16 finalists based on production quality, clarity of the spiritual message, creativity and overall quality. E-business personnel presented the finalist’s films for viewing on the contest Web site using LifeWay’s streaming video tool, eMediaLINK. Viewers voted for the winners. 
   
Other films won in specific categories, such as love and faith, but Herron’s was the overall pick. 
   
Herron said he felt “really good” when he heard about his win. “I’m especially excited about the new camera,” he said, “and I really appreciate the opportunity to participate in this.” Herron made his winning work with a homemade dolly, special effects and local volunteers.
   
The film, an entry in the love category, examines the memories of a man who once had realized the promise of God’s love while looking at the stars with his mother. 
   
When his mother tragically died, the boy lost sight of God in his grief. After finding his mother’s Bible as a teenager, he rediscovered God’s promise and eventually examined the stars and God’s love with his own son. 
   
Herron shows the main character as a child with his mother, as a teen finding her Bible and as a father showing his own son the stars.
   
Herron works at Charter Media where he helps make commercials. He formerly worked at a local TV station, WYAM, where he learned to shoot, edit and produce shows.
Herron’s love for filmmaking began in high school, when he made videos for some of his classes. He made a film that won a Pentecostal Holiness Church state competition and placed third at the national level. Herron said he plans to enter future Christian film contests. 
   
Herron, who attends Calvary Assembly of God Church in Decatur, said he does not want to only make films that are considered Christian but to let God use his talents to share truth. Now taking classes at Calhoun Community College, he wants to attend a film school. 
   
Herron said he is glad his film can serve as a ministry tool. “Television and media play a big role in this generation, and churches need to change with the times.
   
“The basic message doesn’t change, but there are always new ways to get the point across,” he said.
   
The eMediaLINK service is trying to close the gap between traditional evangelism methods and today’s technology, by allowing churches to place streaming audio and video content on their Web sites, LifeWay’s Utley said. “[This] is the perfect platform for this increasingly popular form of storytelling and tool for ministry,” Utley said. “Online audio and video content are becoming more popular every day. The church needs to be there, whether through creative works or webcasts of sermons, telling the greatest story of all.” 
   
All of the finalist’s films, including Herron’s, will be available for download by churches and others, said Gary McClure, LifeWay technology marketing manager. Currently, they are available for viewing at www.lifeway.com/emedialink.
   
McClure said the contest was so successful that LifeWay will do it again next year. (The Decatur Daily, BP, TAB)