Thanks to all the friends of Vision Forum who are remembering us with prayers and encouragement at this time. We are excited to be in the throes of our catalog preparation season where we review fresh products, publish new books and CDs, and design our catalog which will be seen by more than two million sets of eyes. We are hoping that the messages and themes of this year’s catalog will be the most family-encouraging and Christ-exalting in our history.
The story of the Vision Forum catalog began more than a decade ago, in the year 1998 with this cover:
Each year we emphasize a theme which God has placed on our hearts and which we believe is a God-honoring message of encouragement for the Christian family. The 1999 edition emphasized Heroes and Histories:
2003 was a year in which even American Christians could not determine if they would fight for the duty and right to acknowledge God. We remembered the importance of our landmarks to liberty with this cover featuring Justice and Liberty Phillips, and the Alabama Ten Commandments monument:
One of my favorite covers was a tribute to the faith of heroic fathers of past generations. It followed the release of Vision Forum Ministry’s film The League of Grateful Sons:
We had a great time working on that catalog, and everybody got a turn to drive around in the World War II jeeps.
The big boy on this catalog cover, was the littlest boy in our first. Boy, does time fly! This was a special year—the year of the Jamestown Quadricentennial. We honored the blessing of God’s providential hand in American history with this cover:
This week we are shooting and designing a new cover and things are moving fast and furious here at the Vision Forum headquarters. In the past we have rented studios and shot key images on medium format cameras. This year our capable staff is handling all things in-house, including building our own studio for the purpose of the shoot. We shot against a white screen which allows us to produce the clear and dramatic effect we are looking for on our covers. Here is an image shot on the fly of Virginia and me against the white screen just moments before she got into her costume for the cover shot.
This year’s cover was designed and directed by my son Joshua. After appearing on more than eight covers, Joshua is (at least for this year) trading in his role as “talent” and expressing his creative skills off-camera. Our principal photographer, Peter Serven, grabbed this shot of Joshua coaching Virginia for her debut on the catalog cover.
In the past, film was sent to photo-labs for developing. We could never be completely sure if the shoot was successful until we got the preliminary results from the lab. We would scrutinize the best images and examine every detail using magnifying glasses called “loops.” Now we are able to view the image in real time on computer screens. This really boosts productivity and precision, allowing the director to see exactly what was shot within moments of taking the picture.
Although we have a strong idea of how the cover should look, experience has taught us to test different options. We will sometimes shoot the same concept with different models, different angles, and different props. Digital computer technology allows us to mix and match until we get the most pleasing results. Here, Faith waits her turn to be suited up for the shot.
God bless you and your loved ones this week. Keep praying for one another, and stay tuned to Doug’s Blog for more updates.