Frequently Asked Questions

What is FormaFILMS?
FormaFILMS is an initiative to encourage content creation for church ministry. The goal is to demystify video and filmmaking, breaking it down to its essential parts, and to show easy ways to use it for mission and ministry. The best way to learn is to do, and the best way to make video useful for you is to make a regular habit of creating content. By participating in FormaFILMS, we hope participants will find inspiration to create their own projects beyond what we do here.

Who is FormaFILMS for?
It's for you! Anyone who works in lay or ordained ministry, paid or volunteer, is invited to play along.

How does it work?
Each month of a FormaFILMS season, tutorials are provided to help you learn new skills and techniques. Those skills are incorporated into a Monthly Assignment, and a sample short film is provided to show how it all fits together. Once the Monthly Assignment is launched, you'll have a couple of weeks to create and submit your own short film.

How do I submit my short film?
You'll need to join Vimeo.com, which is free to do. Once you've signed up, go to vimeo.com/groups/formafilms and click "follow this group". When you upload your video to your Vimeo account, you'll add it to the FormaFILMS group. That's it! And by following the FormFILMS group, you'll automatically receive updates and announcements.

Do I need anything special to get started?
If you have a smart phone, you have a camera and a place to edit video. That's all you need to get started! Of course, if you have a different camera and a tablet or laptop or desktop computer, that works as well! Grab the nearest camera and get started!

What does it cost to participate?
Zip! Zero! Nada! FormaFILMS is free to participate.

But I missed the first assignments. Is it too late?
FormaFILMS is open to anyone at anytime! Play along when you can, and if you miss an assignment (or a few!), the tutorials will still be available so you can get caught up. If you haven't participated yet, but would like to, please jump in! There is no "all or nothing" expectation here.

Will other people be able to watch my short films?
Yes! The FormaFILMS group serves as a central screening room, and anyone who visits that page can watch any and all of the videos that have been added since FormFILMS began. As our library of submissions grows, it is available as a user-generated video resource, so it's a great place to check for videos to use as meditations, discussion starters, etc.