By: Chris “Topher” Aderhold

For the last couple of years, your friends at Camp Gray Films have produced a special “big staff video” highlighting each member of our Summer Camp Staff.

The 2013 video, affectionately nicknamed “The Brady Bunch Video” (you’ll understand why if you watch it), is the most viewed video on the Camp Gray Films YouTube Channel. In fact, at the time of this writing, the video is only a few dozens views from 4,000! The Brady Bunch Video was a very well made video (hat tip to Camp’s videographer, Molly), but videos with a similar style (albeit with much lower quality) had been created once or twice before.

The video from 2014, I would say, was a breakthrough for the Camp Gray Films Team. CGF videos are goofy, informative, random, awesome, and at times slightly weird. “Images of God” premiered one year ago today. It was different – it was reflective, it was touching, and it shed light on the beauty of the mission of Camp Gray from the perspective of our staff.

“Images of God” quickly became, for many, the favorite of our more than 100 Camp Gray Films videos.

That is, until yesterday at 3:00pm.

Work on PARADOX, the 2015 “big staff video,” began nearly 6-months ago. As the Camp Gray Films Team began discussing ideas for this video, the conversation turned reflective, like it did during planning for “Images of God.”

None of us, unfortunately, can stay at Camp Gray forever. This is a sad, but necessary truth. It wouldn’t do the world a whole lot of good if none of us ever came down from the mountain. We’re called to take this joy with us; to share it with the world.

Sometimes, when one talks about their time at Camp Gray, it can seem as though the things they’re saying are absurd, but in reality their statement expresses a possible truth. As the reflective conversation continued, the paradoxical nature of Camp Gray rose to the top.

PARADOX was launched yesterday, and in the videos first 24 hours, it is on pace to become the top-viewed Camp Gray Films video ever. We thank you for sharing it with your friends, and we thank you for your incredible response in appreciation for this video.

Regardless of the quality of the script, the greatness of the editing, or the majesty of the drone work, this video is so strong, in my opinion, because of the excellent work done by our narrator, Lucy.

Overwhelming amounts of feedback from viewers of PARADOX have commented on the excellent job done by Lucy – I believe she just may have a future in the world of film/television!

Lucy, along with her friend Addie (Addie aided the CGF Team in behind-the-scenes production work), spent the duration of a 5:15 free time with the CGF Team in order to capture the necessary footage for this film.

I was immensely impressed with Lucy’s dedication to the project, and it was apparent that she wanted to do her best work. To have a camper so wonderfully speak to the emotions of an experience at Camp Gray will, I believe, impact Camp Gray for a long, long time.

Thanks to Lucy for her fantastic dedication to PARADOX, and thanks to Addie for her work behind the camera. The camera which Addie worked behind was manned (womaned?) by Molly Sweeney, Camp’s videographer/photographer – thanks Molly for your work capturing and editing PARADOX, and thanks for believing in this project.

Additionally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t pass along an enormous thank you to our expert drone-flying friend, Jeremy Drexler. It’s not uncommon for Jeremy’s drone work to take ones breath away. At the :27-:40 mark of the video, as the drone flies towards, and then above the Camp Gray sign, and you see the tops of trees bathed in the light of a setting sun, with the moon resting in the sky just above the tree tops… Goosebumps. Thanks Jeremy.

Thanks also to our 2015 Summer Camp Staff – it’s their dedication and hard work that inspires the Camp Gray Films Team to strive to make impactful “big staff videos.” Thanks for all you do for Camp Gray!

Friends, lastly, thank YOU for supporting Camp Gray! Thanks for reading our blogs and thanks for watching our videos! More importantly, thanks for your prayerful and financial support of Camp Gray.

While none of us can stay on the mountain of Camp Gray forever, all of us, while we’re here, strive every single day to continue improving Camp Gray. Thanks for your support as we continue to grow!

Peace!