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documentary

LDSPMA Member Spotlight: Thomas Laughlin

October 16, 2021 By Spencer Skeen Leave a Comment

Thomas Laughlin lives in Clinton, Utah.

What are some names of the books or other media you have created?

In my over twenty-year career, I’ve been privileged to have worked with and mentored by several LDS filmmakers such as TC Christensen ASC (producer/cinematographer for Love Kennedy and 17 Miracles), Peter Czerny (film editor of the original Johnny Lingo and LDS film classics of the 1960s-1990s), Dennis Lisonbee (film director and composer), and so many who have worked for the BYU and LDS Motion Picture Studio. I’ve done several award-winning documentaries, including A Reel Legacy: The History of Judge Whitaker and the LDS Motion Picture Studio, Stripling, and more recently I was director and producer of Remembering Heaven.

What inspired you to become a creator of media?

I have always loved cinema. I was always enamored with the process from writing to editing. My parents encouraged me to follow my dream, so after a mission to Sao Paulo Brazil, I left my hometown of Wichita, Kansas, and headed to Provo, Utah, went to UVU, got married, and have been married for the past twenty years.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

Before I came to live in Utah after my mission, I came out here to visit some mission friends and attended the first LDS Film Festival. It was a tiny festival back then, but I was amazed by all the filmmakers—I had found my people! This festival is what brought me to Utah. Twenty years later, we entered our documentary Remembering Heaven and won the Twentieth Annual LDS Film Festival, with my wife and kids looking on, as we took the stage and got the “Best Documentary” award. It felt amazing!

What was the best advice you’ve ever been given in your creative journey?

The best advice I ever got was to study storytelling. Every filmmaking process is tied to story. It’s the same whether it is a novel, book, short film, or whatever the medium. You have to have a strong beginning, middle, and ending. At the recommendation of a college film friend, I read Screenplay by Syd Field, and it changed everything for me. I wrote around fifteen feature film scripts in college—so do a lot of writing, shooting, and editing.

What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

Whatever background or experience you have, learn as much as you can about the “film business.” If you have a great idea, manuscript, or a book (that you want to make into a film or a documentary), take the time to research and learn about filmmaking, scriptwriting, marketing, and distribution. Have a specific goal and run to that goal and don’t stop until that goal is achieved. Intern on a film set or work on a short film. This will add to your experiences and skills. Be tenacious and passionate!

What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?

What inspires me is my inner drive to always tell a story with the most emotional or uplifting impact. Oftentimes, we don’t always get to work on big projects. Maybe they are small car commercials or corporate videos. But even still, you can always try and make the content inspiring or uplift your viewers. There are so many film pioneers before us, who had to work with more primitive filmmaking tools. We have digital tools like the iPhone, that can film anything. We have laptops that can edit. Tell those stories!

What would you like others to know about you or your creative process?

The creative process is like a muscle. The more you do it, the stronger and better you get. Like bodybuilding, you can target certain muscle groups or areas of focus. The creative process is a journey. Just keep going.

In what ways do you feel you have been able to be a voice for good in your creative pursuits?

Especially with my last two documentaries, Stripling and Remembering Heaven, I have tried to inform and truly inspire the members of our LDS youth and members to remember the gospel of Jesus Christ. In everything I try and do, I look at it as if the Lord is looking at the film and ask, would he accept this offering? As many artists know, we do our best and hope that what we do turns people’s hearts to (or back to) the Savior. (And, I hope to work on future projects with others in the LDSPMA!)

If you want your spotlight to link to your website or any of your social media platforms, include the URLs here.

https://www.facebook.com/tomyboy342000

Filed Under: Member Spotlight Tagged With: A Reel Legacy: The History of Judge Whitaker and the LDS Motion Picture Studio, Best Documentary, documentary, filmmaker, Latter-day Saint Publishing and Media Association, LDS Film Festival, LDS Motion Picture Studio, LDSPMA, LDSPMA Member Spotlight, Remembering Heaven, Storytelling, Stripling, Thomas Laughlin

Member Spotlight: Sarah Hinze!

May 8, 2021 By Trina Boice Leave a Comment

What are some names of the books or other media you have created?

My husband Brent and I are the executive producers of the feature documentary, Remembering Heaven. I am also the author of five books in print: The Announcing Dream, The Castaways, Memories of Heaven, The Memory Catcher, and my first historical novel, A Pawn for a King (based on the life of my 24th great grandmother). For almost thirty years, I have prepared books and related media on a phenomenon called the announcing dream. By definition, an announcing dream is “an announcement in dreams or visions of a child waiting to be born.” A new book, Waiting in the Wings, is coming soon!

What inspired you to become a creator of media?

To be a creator of media came to me as a calling from the still small voice. I told the Lord, “You’ve got the wrong girl.” He said, “I’ve got the right girl.” I could not argue myself out of doing what I felt were His directives to me. So, I prayed. listened, and worked, crossing off in a notebook the directives I put into action. That led to my first book. After that, I knew what it took to write and publish a book. The Lord sent help all along the way. I am a team player.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

My books on souls waiting to be born tend to heal, and even soften hearts toward unborn children. That has been a highlight. It is rewarding to hear from people who write me or come up to me with a child in their arms with the message, “This child is here because of your book.” That has kept me going for so many years. Now, with our film Remembering Heaven, with the stories or pure testimonies of many people who have had these experiences, more will be touched and informed that we are children of God.

What was the best advice you’ve ever been given in your creative journey?

My husband told me years ago, “You won’t reach everyone with your books, but you will help and heal some.” That helped me to know I am doing my best and to enjoy the journey along the way. I do enjoy the journey and the people I meet. It is joyful work and a message to share. We are the children of God and come from His presence before we are born.

What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

Enjoy your talents. Do not hide them under a bushel but develop them. Let your light shine to the world. The Lord will help us. He knows our missions as artists, writers, and filmmakers. His timing is key. I am in my later years, but it has been worth persevering with what I feel our Father in Heaven wants me to do as a writer and filmmaker. “I’ll go where you want me to go, I’ll say what you want me to say, I’ll be what you want me to be” is my mission statement.

What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?

I need the Lord’s strength and inspiration each day or I am stuck. Scripture study and prayer give me the fuel I need to work each day. I know God wants to give me guidance, so I ask in faith. I have a notebook by my side after prayer and with faith, I ask, “What do I need to do today?” Ideas come to serve others, to visit or call a family member. Almost every day, I spend some time, or lots of time, on my mission as a writer.

What would you like others to know about you or your creative process?

I love the work it takes me to create. I write and rewrite. I’ve rewritten some books many times before I publish them (The Castaways). One book sat in my files for ten years before I felt impressed to publish it (Memories of Heaven). I take my orders from above because it is a sacred work to teach others that they are a child of God. I try to be patient with myself and I try not to beat myself up when a project takes a lot of time and thought. And I love to develop my talents. We were born to create.

In what ways do you feel you have been able to be a voice for good in your creative pursuits?

The Lord says in Matthew 7:16-20, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” I have seen children given the gift of life, children invited to be born into a family, and others emotionally healed and comforted from so many of the trials of life. That has been the reward, to feel I am bringing hope and healing to others. It has not always been easy, but looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. I have learned to never give up and to always trust in the Lord’s timing. I have learned to listen to the still small voice.

If you want your spotlight to link to your website or any of your social media platforms, include the URLs here.

Website: www.sarahhinze.com 
Facebook: Sarah Hinze
Email: [email protected]

Filed Under: Member Spotlight Tagged With: A Pawn for a King, Author, documentary, filmmaker, God, inspiration to write, Memories of Heaven, personal revelation, prayer, Sarah Hinze, The Announcing Dream, The Castaways, The Memory Catcher

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