5 Pointers when using Movie Clips in your Messages

Movie clips can be very strong illustrations for messages we give to students.  Why?  Because they provide a visual illustration to a point rather than just talking to them.  It appeals to their other learning senses, especially to those who don’t learn primarily from being spoken to.

But just like everything else in your message, it has to be thoroughly thought out and set up correctly.  So here are some simple suggestions on making your movie clips work properly in your message:

• Make sure it is cued up properly and ends at the right time.  I’ve used clips before that either right before the clip I use or after it is something inappropriate.  That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use it, it just means that it has to end on time or start right on time or else the teens will see or hear something they shouldn’t be listening to or watching.
• If the clip is from a movie that is not appropriate for younger audiences, make sure you get approval from your superior before you use it.  The last thing you want students to be doing is going home and telling their parents that you saw a clip from a movie that they probably wouldn’t have approved of.  By running it by your supervisor, you get protection but also your supervisor maybe have a different clip you could use from a more appropriate movie.
• Provide good background to the clip.  You can’t just walk on stage and say, “Watch this clip” because there is no context to what they are watching.  Especially when it is an older movie, giving some background information on the scene to set up the context is really important.
• After you show the clip, make sure they know why you showed them that by driving in the point of the clip to them.
• Don’t make it the teaching point of your message.  Make sure the teaching point comes from scripture and not the movie.  Remember the movie clip is there to highlight the issue or teaching point, not become it.  Truth that we share with students needs to come from scripture, nothing else.

These are five simple pointers for using movie clips in your messages.  But I’m sure there are others out there.  So, post a comment below on what you think of my 5 and what might be some other pointers out there for using movie clips in messages.