I’m a product of the seventies. Halfbaked in the eighties. And fully seared in the ninties.

My life has been shaped by a lot of things, but one of those things is technology. The little ones and zeros. The megabits and megabytes. My eyes have been stimulated by the glow and flicker of a cathoded tube from an early age. And my mind has been massaged by information that has been displayed.

Computers have changed the way I’ve learned. Computers have changed the way the world communicates. Computers have changed the way I create. From my first computer, the Apple II, in the seventies to my MacBook Air. Apple has been the supporting character in my story.

Let me stop and say, this is not an attempt at an eulogy for Steve Jobs, but rather how an ideal to be foolish and hungry has influenced my life more than RAM and ROM. More than pixels and pixar.

You see amidst the noise. The cacophony of shock from yesterdays news. Something lerks behind the simplicity. The design. The art. The glitz and glamour. The technology of the red wires and the black is something unique. Something more than the printed circuit boards. It’s tucked away in the back, beyond reason and the expected; it’s an anthem that crusades against the norm. It’s cry shouts above the din our times to think different. To be different. To be ourselves. To create! To war against becoming a trend and to embrace “counter-culture.”

This storied perspective is more than just a company, a brand, and a man. It’s a awake up call. A look deeper, that reveals the broader view. It’s a look through the long lens. It sits there… infront of you… uncovering the human experience. Unearthing the humane. Discovering our true selves. Bringing to light character and ultimately finding our soul.

The Think Different campaign by Apple, Inc has pushed me in my daily life to look at things. To look at things differently, to look around things and through them. That’s what makes a great storyteller. They see things differently. They ask more questions. They want to know… more. This ideal. This commercial is one thing that has shaped my craft by speaking to the individualist inside of me. The silence between the words and music expressed the anxiety of the conforming nature of our world.

It’s funny how an Ad and it’s message. How a company. How a man’s brillance for seeing things different, would change a world. How it would speak to millions. How it would spark how I create. And how it would help me find myself.

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Image created by: Jonathan Mak

Here are some links where you read about the process of pre-production and production.  I hope you enjoy the piece.

I was amazed by the turn out. I feel God is really using this Conference to really reach into churches to add focus and a unique approach to communicating to a new generation. The church is a communication/storytelling machine. Narratives of changed lives, transformation, renewal, and, most importantly, the gospel include every component of a great story. But we communicate it like a textbook rather than a story. In many ways, story has taken a back seat to the cultural wave drowning out the unique voice of many churches. My prayer, is we revive the power of testimony to inspire people with our living God. Storytelling is the language of our culture.

You requested them, so here they are the slides from my session along with a brief quick story guide to help you in the story process; love to carry on the conversation. Thanks to ECHO for having me. It was a great honor.

QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE: DOWNLOAD

There are a limited number of spots left for my Storytelling Coaching Community where you will learn the art of telling a memorable story with a camera. You can get more info by visiting: mattknisely.com/blog/coaching