Collide Magazine

I Am Second

Daniel Darnell - Originally posted Monday, April 20, 2009 -

Photography by Trey Hill 

A man in a white chair in front of a black background leans forward as a warm light washes over him, creating deep, dark shadows across his face. His body is covered in an ocean of green, blue, and red tattoos that lend credibility to the story he is telling. His is a story of darkness, depression, and addiction. But this former Korn guitarist and meth addict also tells a story of love, redemption, and satisfaction. He is Brian “Head” Welch, and he is second. His story is one of many posted at iamsecond.com that are part of an exciting new movement powered by emotionally gripping films and an interactive website. What follows is the story of how the best multimedia-based evangelism effort in recent memory was born.

The Beginnings of the Movement
Like any great movement, I Am Second (www.iamsecond.com) has humble beginnings. For more than 21 years, e3 Partners, a biblically based missions organization, has existed to equip believers, evangelize the lost, and establish new churches. e3 is also the creator of the EvangeCube, a puzzle-like tool used to present the gospel. While the EvangeCube is a low-tech tool, and I Am Second is the definition of tech-savvy, evangelism is at the heart of both.

In early March 2008, Norm Miller approached e3 with a vision. God gave Miller a desire to lift up the name of Jesus in the city of Dallas in a new and relevant way, and Miller, as the CEO of Interstate Batteries, figured the best way to do so was to develop a marketing campaign. After meeting with Miller, e3 got to work bringing his vision to fruition. Nathan Sheets, the Vice President at e3, and Adam Leydig, the Creative Director, began brainstorming ideas. Before long, Sheets volunteered the initial “I Am Second” concept. Leydig simply responded, “That’s huge,” and, at that, I Am Second was born.

With the name in place, Sheets and Leydig began discussing ideas of how exactly they were going to execute the campaign. They decided to film celebrities telling their stories and post those videos on a website. From there, more ideas began to flow. As Leydig explains, “We knew [Miller] wanted an all out [Dallas-Ft. Worth] media blitz. That was the genesis of it. My mind was going crazy with all the ways you could express that thought.”

By no means was I Am Second going to be just another “Billboards from God” campaign. Engaging our culture involves utilizing new methods of communication. It requires relevant influencers, an authentic message, and effective technology to start a conversation. e3’s plan was to use mass marketing to direct people to the project’s website where they could experience personal stories and eventually connect with a local church. But e3 knew I Am Second could go beyond mass marketing to mainstream audiences. “We also realized the campaign could be a local outreach tool for churches for empowering Christians to engage people outside the church,” Leydig says.

After a few weeks of brainstorming and development, Sheets and Leydig pitched the campaign vision to Miller and other ministry partners. The assembled partners liked what they heard and jumped onboard with the vision, committing to support it for three years. With Miller and the others committed, Leydig asked him, “What’s the big win for you on this project?” Miller replied, “Just to lift up Christ.” He then went on to quote John 12:32, in which Jesus says, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” This verse became the cornerstone of the I Am Second campaign. As John Humphrey, the project manager explains, “He’s the one who’s going to draw people to himself. All we can do is provide the stories and the tools, and the Holy Spirit does the rest.”

With the vision established, I Am Second now needed a strong, recognizable logo. Divine inspiration steered Leydig toward a Sharpie and the authenticity of a handwritten wordmark. Following the creation of the logo, Leydig began thinking through the overall look of the campaign. Knowing that the marketing plan included outdoor advertising, he chose black and white because of their maximum contrast. The black and white also created the campaign’s edgy, raw aesthetic.

As they searched for a creative team to bring the I Am Second vision to life, e3 assembled a board to provide accountability and guidance for the project. Using iPhoto, Leydig created a basic booklet to use as a vision-casting tool to recruit supporters, celebrities, and the production team surrounding the movement. Because the Web was going to play an integral part in the campaign, e3 approached Simply Interactive, a website development firm from Austin whose clients include Dell and Kanakuk Kamps, to design the site. Simply Interactive was the kind of company that could incorporate a library of Flash video into an intuitive user experience—both of which were vital to the online success of I Am Second.

The next step was to find a video production company that could faithfully execute the project’s narrative-based vision. Early on in the development of I Am Second, Leydig briefly bounced some ideas off Sam Ditore and Scott Mayo of Ditore Mayo Entertainment. They were intrigued by the idea and wondered if they could be a part of it. Both Leydig and Sheets had worked with Ditore and Mayo on a previous e3 project and knew the creative abilities they could bring to the table, so Leydig proposed to the board that they hire Ditore Mayo Entertainment to do the production. “I think that was probably one of the best moves we made,” Leydig says. “They brought a really unique perspective to the table.”

For Ditore and Mayo, the I Am Second campaign combined their passion for excellence, ability to tell stories, and desire to glorify Christ. I Am Second allowed Ditore and Mayo, who both have backgrounds in mainstream media, to apply their experiences speaking to broad audiences toward sharing the gospel message. “We are always asking, ‘How can we communicate to the mainstream?’” shares Mayo. “Which, I think, is a big part of why I Am Second is successful. A lot of credit goes to the guys, who led us, for wanting to do something unlike the typical church stuff.”

Trey Hill is another talented individual who became vital to the I Am Second team. Hill, who Ditore and Mayo already knew well, was hired to shoot photography and help edit video for the campaign. Similar to Ditore and Mayo, the I Am Second project was for Hill a combination of his passions: photography, story, and Christ.

While the production team was being assembled, Sheets began gathering celebrities, athletes, businessmen, and everyday people with stories to tell. The “six degrees of separation” concept was in full effect as Sheets networked to find potential participants. From Stephen Baldwin to Brian Welch, Sheets got people committed to telling their stories in front of the camera.

In order for the campaign to be holistic, iamsecond.com would have to eventually connect people with local churches. The e3 team began approaching churches it felt would represent I Am Second well. “We really felt it important, particularly at the launch, to get churches that were aligned with [the campaign] and would continue to be aligned with it,” shares Humphrey. “We sat down with churches that we felt would be good prospects—that were willing to make the effort and not just give us lip service, but to follow up with people and to do other outreach activities.” Sheets also contacted Drew Dickens of Need Him Ministries, which volunteered to help with 24/7 phone and online chat support via the I Am Second website.

Ultimately, Ditore feels the Holy Spirit really helped pull all of the players together and guide the project. The rest of the e3 team couldn’t agree with him more. With all of the pieces of the creative puzzle assembled, it was time to begin capturing the stories.

Capturing the Stories
In filming the stories, the team returned to Leydig’s original black and white, high contrast look. “One of the initial reasons for the black and white was to strip out all the stuff, so you weren’t focused on what they’re wearing or where they are,” Leydig shares. “We tried that in a number of different ways, and I’m really happy with the one we ended up with.”

Getting to that place, however, was a long process. “From a philosophical point of view, early on it became about rawness,” Mayo says. “What resonates with people is the tone—that rawness.” After trying various backgrounds, lighting techniques, and even chairs, the team finally found the right fit: white chair, black backdrop, and single overhead light. “The funny thing about the chair is it was one that I had agonized over for my office,” shares Leydig. “I didn’t know if I wanted the black one or the white one. I decided on the black one first, so we used it in the first shoot. But we decided we wanted more contrast, so we went with the white one. The white chair was like the hand of God kind of holding the person.” The team also decided that simple clothing was the best, so they decided each storyteller should wear a plain black t-shirt.

Of course, there’s more to the set than aesthetics. “When Sam and Scott think through the set, it’s so purposeful to not impede story,” shares Hill. To accomplish this, Ditore and Mayo kept the set small, with only a few people tucked away in the corners of the dark room. Conversations were held to a whisper. The single, soft light overhead radiated a warm glow. The white chair created a sense of safety as it wrapped around the participant.

“We always began with prayer,” says Mayo. “A lot of us didn’t really know what was about to happen. Even the subjects didn’t know what was about to happen.” Some stories took 15 minutes to tell, others took two hours. In both cases, the experience was moving. Off to the side of the subject sat Ditore, who spoke softly to them. “Sam’s greatest strength in the process was the ability to interview,” Hill says. “It never felt like an interview, it always felt like a conversation. Sam would paint this little picture for them [the subject] every time.” Ditore told his subjects to imagine someone watching an I Am Second video alone in the middle of the night, in a very dark place. Ditore told the storytellers to talk to that person.

With Mayo behind the camera and the tape rolling, Ditore asked the questions. The conversations flowed and flowed, stopping only so Mayo could change out tapes and camera batteries. In the process, many tears were shed and several previously untold stories were brought into the light. If the team was looking for authenticity, they had found it. “People came in and did amazing things,” says Ditore. “Hopefully, we held their hand through it a little bit, but they get all the credit.”

Hill, armed with a Nikon D100 given to him by his father, went to work capturing moments during the video shoots. Photography wasn’t part of the initial scope of the project but Leydig quickly realized that photography was going to play a huge role in the campaign. In addition to the behind the scenes photography, Hill also shot the press photography. At the suggestion of Leydig, Hill shot I Am Second participants against a white cyc to provide contrast with the black background of the films. With each photograph he took, Hill was always about capturing the story. “Story transcends image. Image never transcends story,” he says. “I have to keep telling myself that.”

The filming process continued for months on an erratic schedule until all the stories were captured. But that was only the first part of the process. “There’s capturing the story, and there’s telling the story,” Mayo explains. “Telling the story is a whole different animal. It brings about the same fear you have in harnessing the story when you ask, ‘How do I give this back to people in a effective way and not botch this precious moment?’ When you talk to someone for two hours and boil it down to six minutes, there are endless opportunities.”

In editing these stories, Ditore points out that the filmmakers had to keep the audience in mind. “We always believed we were making these films for people who were lost. Like any good story, you have to find a way for people to empathize with the story. For people who are uninitiated into what we believe, it has to be about connecting to their humanity and pain.” Connecting the audience with humanity and pain was about presenting the darkness of the lives of the I Am Second participants. “Without knowing that darkness, the hope doesn’t resonate as well,” says Mayo. Thankfully, storytellers such as Brian Welch had plenty of darkness to draw upon.

Though every I Am Second story follows a similar trajectory, each story has its own identity thanks in part to Ditore and Mayo dividing up the editing duties. “The way Scott puts the story together might not be exactly that way I would, but there’s a trust to the artistic side of it,” shares Ditore. “Editing your film is like your own painting of that story.” Regardless of the division of labor, Ditore and Mayo managed to capture and retell story after story in a beautiful way. “In my book,” Hill says, “Sam and Scott are the two most talented filmmakers around.”

While subtle, the sound design also played an important part of the story. “Music is tone and emotion and control for the filmmaker,” Ditore insists. At the direction of Leydig, the team experimented with music from instrumental rock band Explosions In the Sky and knew it was a fit. Ditore and Mayo hired Dallas Audio Post to write most of the music for the campaign under the inspiration of Explosions In the Sky and a few other artists, but a few of the inspiration tracks were too perfect not to use. e3’s Humphrey licensed an Explosions In the Sky song for Pete Briscoe’s story and an Eddie Vedder song from the Into the Wild soundtrack for Stephen’s Baldwin’s piece. The music was the final piece in assembling the I Am Second stories. Now, the stories were ready to share.

Sharing the Stories
On December 2, 2008, after nearly 10 months of praying, planning, talking, filming, and editing, iamsecond.com launched. So far, the response has been overwhelming. As of mid-February 2009, the website has already been viewed by more than 500,000 visitors from 179 countries. Of course, the overall impact of I Am Second is immeasurable.

“We’re still trying to figure out how many people have been impacted on a salvation standpoint,” says Humphrey. “But we know people have been showing up in churches because of it. It varies from church to church, but they are showing up.” And that’s what truly matters. Recently, Sheets learned that attendance at Celebrate Recovery at Chase Oaks Church in Plano, TX, has tripled since the launch of the campaign. Ultimately, Humphrey is okay with never knowing the true reach of the campaign. “There’s now conversation in places that would not normally be talking about [this kind of message]. Whether it’s a blog post or a lunch conversation, it’s a win.” For him, there is more long-term value in viewing I Am Second as a conversation starter rather than an instant salvation destination.

Though the campaign is supported by its fair share of billboard and commercials, the overall success of the campaign can be attributed to the power of word of mouth. “We wanted to really keep the grassroots feel to it,” Leydig says. As part of that effort, the team started a Facebook group, which had more than 25,000 members as of the writing of this article. That’s a lot of people who can easily share the I Am Second message with their online networks, and it’s working. As an example of mainstream recognition, iamsecond.com is a finalist in the best activism website category of the South by Southwest Web Awards—a tremendous honor. But despite all of this recognition and popularity, it’s nearly impossible for the casual observer to determine who is behind the movement.

From the beginning, e3 was determined not to make this campaign about them. Even with all the positive reaction to I Am Second, e3 has been staying out of the limelight. “In the spirit of keeping things pure, we found it only fitting to keep quiet for the first few weeks,” shares Leydig. “We wanted to remain anonymous because we don’t have an agenda other than to reach people for Christ.” The rest of the e3 team echoes this stance. But credit must be given where credit is due—e3 executed a powerful campaign that lifts up the name of Christ through the power of redemptive stories.

Continuing the Movement
The I Am Second movement is just getting started. While the campaign is currently focused in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, the team is actively pursuing the potential launch of campaigns in other large cities. Visitors to the website consistently want to know how they can support I Am Second where they are, leading e3 to plan an upcoming section of the site called We Are Second to provide resources for those who want to join in. “We want to start providing free downloadable materials for churches in the areas of prayer, evangelism, outreach training, and small groups,” Humphrey says. The heart of e3 is to enable churches to leverage the campaign as a tool to bring people to Christ. “Our desire is for believers to go onto the site, spend time watching videos, and pray about who they need to share it with,” says Sheets, “to use it as an opportunity to set up a conversation to share Christ.”

As I Am Second grows, the plan is to do so slowly and carefully—e3 doesn’t want the movement to become another Christian fad characterized by a flood of merchandise and sales pitches. “We don’t want to muddy up the website with anything other than sharing Christ with people,” Sheets explains. “We don’t want to sell products or do any fundraising there. Let’s just keep it pure.” e3’s true desire is to see the name of Jesus lifted up in Dallas and hopefully beyond, just as Norm Miller envisioned from the start. “We realized the long-term potential in the beginning,” says Leydig. “More than anything, it’s what God wants to do with it. We just do the best we can to steward it.”

As the I Am Second movement grows and more stories are told, it serves as a bigger and better testament to the power of God to create redemptive stories in people’s lives. For those of us who are well aware of that power, I Am Second also testifies to the power of creative people with a common vision to tell and spread redemptive stories through the media of film and the Web. As we learn what we can from the methods and media of the I Am Second team to better communicate to our culture, let us also learn from their commitment and passion for the message—that while we were still sinners, God demonstrated his great love for us in the death of Jesus Christ. That, we all agree, is a story worth telling.

For more information about I Am Second and those involved, visit these sites:
www.iamsecond.com
www.e3partners.org
www.ditoremayo.com
www.squarerootofnine.com
www.simplyinteractive.net
www.needhim.org