So you wanna know how to do human videos, eh? Cool. This is the steadily growing page of tips, frequently asked questions, and other lovely tidbits that will help you along.

FINDING A SCRIPT

First you have to find a script or a concept for a human video. Its best to do at least one human video someone else has written to give you a good perspective on the different things you can do. There are really several different types of human videos...

1) Interpretive dance: I should actually say "hand movements". These seem to be the most common human videos because they're fairly easy to put together and those skeptical of drama don't really have to do any acting. They look lovely and allow the song to do the work of getting the point across. One pet peeve of mine is that many people consider these to be the only 'real' human videos along with mimes, and incorrectly definition human videos as putting movement to a Christian song. These are common and every human video group has probably done at least one, but you won't find very many here.

2) Mimes: These are also very common. I like mimes alot better then interpretive dance because you can have more fun with them, you have the ability to actually get a message across that expands beyond just listening to the song, and they can be very fun to watch if the person doing them is a talented mime. The grand master of these is Randy Phillips, a great guy who actually founded the concept of human videos (who I've had the pleasure of meeting. Go to his site and book him for your youth group!). What Mr. Phillips does, rather then simply making flowing hand movements, is he actually moves his feet and moves about the stage area playing several different characters in one song (the transition is done using "arm wipes" across the face area and turns). Other then chairs, all props are usually mimed. These can normally be done by one or two people.

3) Dance: These don't always qualify as human videos, but the big difference between this one and the first one on the list is that in dance, you're moving your whole body, including your feet. This is beyond just changing positions or walking around. I don't really have any human videos of my own that are all dance, but I've seen some awesome ones done to songs like "Revolution" by Kirk Franklin (Super was in that one), "Dive" by Steven Curtis Chapman (I choreographed one version), and "Lift me Up" by Rachel Lampa. This brings me to our next category...

4) Dance fusion: I don't think that's an official term, I think it just sounds cool, but this is a category where I have alot of fun. This type of human video actually falls somewhat into a modern segment of the musical theater realm. This is where we start dealing with straight up drama and acting, though it can be intermixed with dance. These are basically dramatic/sketch human videos with dance thrown in at certain points. I use this is several of my human videos (The "Out of the Darkness" version of "It's Killing Me", "Rose Colored Stained Glass Windows", "Since I Met You", "Supernatural", "Suckerpunch", etc.) and it can really work well for fast paced song with fast paced dancing that will hold the audience's attention. I think the only song I use any real slow type dancing in is "Audience of One" which is more of a "mime with props" than anything. Dance fusion can also work the other way, where dance is the main thing but there is some dramatics thrown in to accentuate the story or point the song is telling (ex. "Puppet" and "The Devil is Bad").

5) Dramatic/sketch: I really don't like it when people call these sketches rather than human videos, but I do see the confusion. These most often tell a story or have some sort of struggle or conflict (internal or external) being acted out. This is really what you're going to find the most of on this site. Most of the songs don't actually tell a blatant story (other than "Small Town" and "Under Bridges"), but they do lend themselves to story. A great example of this is a human video Super wrote to "It's Killing Me" that's about the relationship between Jesus and Judas. "American Kryptonite" is a modern take on the parable of the man couldn't forgive a debt own to him. The list really goes on and on. I personally think these are the most effective, because you've got multiple elements playing to your audience: drama, music, action, etc.

6) Fun: This is more of a subcategory of the previous one. I do like writing some human videos that are mostly goofy. The cool thing is most of them do still have a point: "Where Zero Meets Fifteen" for example is about a Christian having a really bad day. There's a song on Five Iron Frenzy's new album called "The Wizard Needs Food" that I'm playing around with that is mostly just for fun. These are great to have every once in a while.

The best way to really find a script is find out what your message is going to be for that day, ask your youth pastor or study leader what he/she will be teaching on. You can also find themes within your group that need to be addressed (drugs, discord, loneliness, etc.). From there, be sure when you're looking for scripts to find out what those themes are. That will help you immensely. You also need to take into account what type of people you have in your group. If you have a very conservative group of young people who listen to K-Love, you probably are not going to find much to cater to them on this site (though I guarantee you will be able to find plenty of resources by just doing a search online). If you have a group of hardcore street kids who like rap and hip-hop, you shouldn't be performing "Suckerpunch" or "Since I Met You" for them. That's not my specialty, though I do have human videos for that group, however Super is a regular genius when it comes to ideas for that. If you have a bunch of rockers and punks, don't make them sit through anything that's normally played on K-Love (unless its a spectacular human video). The list goes on...

COMING UP WITH YOUR OWN

It's really not that difficult to come up with human videos- however, it is a challenge to come up with "good" human videos. The number one thing that you absolutely must do is PRAY. If God wants you to use an idea, he'll make it abundantly clear. If you're not getting anything and you're having to squeeze out a situation for every line, you should probably nix it. Not to say that they won't take a long time to put together, but you should at least have a concept fairly quickly just from listening to the song enough. Another key is listen to your music repeatedly. Listening to something over and over again will make it easier for you to picture a situation, conflict, or choreography to go with it. One of the things I really don't like dealing with as an actor is a director who doesn't have a script. Surprisingly few people actually write down and map out their human video ideas. If they do, its just a list of actions, which is helpful, but still you have the issue of where do those actions go in cue with the music? Match up your actions or choreography (you can think of goofy terms to describe unusual dance moves, just to keep you on track) to your lyrics.

DIRECTING YOUR HUMAN VIDEOS

So you're directing your human video now. Perhaps you have a brilliant group of actors and disciples to choose from, perhaps you've got a bunch of teenagers who don't know how to lip synch. You need to be willing to criticize them... don't be mean, but be nit picky. If they don't like it and storm out, they're not being good actors. Christians often don't like to tap into actual theater terms and attitudes, but most human videos are small pieces of theater and the people in them are actors just like the guys doing Macbeth down at your local theatre (though the skill level is different). If you don't have people with actual theatre training, explain this to them, that they must be willing to accept and act on criticism. When I'm directing actors, they must realize that I'm not God- I'm not perfect or at that high of a level of authority, so lets just make it clear this isn't blasphemy... However, during rehearsal I am the Great and Powerful Oz of their universe. Every director is. Sure you can be their friend too, but you need to be willing to direct them, tell them what to do. Of course give them certain creative license in some areas, but criticize them. If they can't take it, they shouldn't be acting. If a director tells an actor to do something, they do not argue even if they have a better idea. They do what the director says THEN they can state their better idea (which it very well may be).

TO BE CONTINUED...