An avid adventurer, passionate thrill-seeker, and one who is never, ever afraid to speak his mind, Jonathan Drake, like his character Kardia, lives life straight from the heart.



Twenty-two years of age, Jonathan, the eternal optimist, was the continual driving force 'on-set.' His uncanny humor only too often brightened up the dullest of moments, while his constant reminders to never dawdle always kept the film moving right along. Realism always being his goal, Jonathan never shied away from 'true' sword-fighting, and continually focused himself on believable acting.

Jonathan currently resides in Boone, North Carolina. He enjoys skiing, hiking, carpentry, riding his motorcycle, and is currently conducting relief efforts with Samaritan's Purse in Darfur, Sudan. - Jonathan's Blog -

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FUN FACTS
Full Name: Jonathan Andrew Drake
Nickname: Shrek (acquired in Darfur)
Verse: Ps. 37:4, Ecc. 6:11 (NIV)
Bible Book: currently Ecclesiastes
Memorable Film Moment: While filming the Aphel vs. Asthenes fight sequence (which turned out marvelously) we shot many takes, mainly in order to guarantee that we would have a good take, but also because we were experiencing bloopers of unprecedented hilarity. An example: The Aphel menacingly reaches forward and grasps the throat of a terrified Asthenes (rendered harmless against a tree) and lifts him off of his feet. The tenseness and fright of the moment was completely shattered in filming when Asthenes' wig caught a piece of bark on the tree and neatly slipped off the back of his head. Hysterical laughter, of course, ensued.
Exciting Life Moment: Location: San Antonio, TX, Hwy 46, near Old Boerne Rd; Occasion: cross-country motorcycle trip; Moment: Sliding sideways (literally) at 50mph, seeing the horrified faces of the oncoming traffic in the lane next to me as they passed by, and having the thought coursing through my head, "Well, this is the end." Lesson to be learned? Do not hit your brakes too hard on wet pavement while traveling on a motorcycle and going 50mph.
Color: Being tolerant and forward in my thinking I choose not to discriminate against other colors. Rather I accept all colors in the rainbow as equal and valid.
Animal: N/A
Hymn: Be Thou My Vision
Song: Anything Scott Joplin, plus a wide variety of Simon and Garfunkel, Beatles, Boston, Heart, etc.
Life Dream: N/A
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If there's one person who isn't anything like Asthenes, ironically, it's Nathan Daher. Amiable, easy-going, and always open to new ideas, Nathan's love for film was crucial in the making of The Book of Being.



Also twenty-two years of age, Nathan's electronic savvy was a godsend in the producing of the film. His eye for detail further helped avoid numerous errors and inconsistencies, and fresh ideas were only to be expected from him on a continual basis. His diehard post-production efforts finally made The Book of Being a reality in August of 2006.

Nathan currently resides in San Diego, California. He enjoys computers, roller-coasters, guns, music, and filmmaking. - Nathan's Blog -

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FUN FACTS
Full Name: Nathanael James Daher
Nickname: Nate, Nathan
Verse: "How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!" (Proverbs 16:16)
Bible Book: Romans
Memorable Film Moment: Crawling around in a cave in the ground for 8 hours straight in full costume, without ever being able to fully stand up because the ceiling is no more than 5 feet tall.
Exciting Life Moment: Getting hit by accident squarely in the forehead with an aluminum baseball bat when I was 6 years old. Also, spending a day in Tijuana passing out food at a literal "dump" where people lived.
Color: Blue and black
Animal: Cats
Hymn: Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Song: "You are God" by Twila Paris
Life Dream: To work with a professional crew and put out a Hollywood-quality film with a powerful message for the Lord.
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Soft-spoken, reflective, and a lover of nature and creation, Jordan is in many ways similar to his character Moria. Due to his life-long fascination with fantasy and the medieval era, The Book of Being quickly became an obsession for him.
Twenty-four years of age, Jordan's love for literature brought the storyline for the film into 'Being.' His emphasis on making the film artistic also helped mold it into becoming a visual delight, while his critical eye for good acting further aided its believability. Jordan's post-production efforts also enabled the film to be released on schedule.

Jordan currently resides in Nottinghill, Missouri. He enjoys sports, piano, music composition, web-design, nature, and works for his father's business. - Jordan's Blog -

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FUN FACTS
Full Name: Jordan Philip Niednagel
Nickname: Jordie, Jor
Verse: John 3:30 has been my life verse. "He must increase, but I must decrease."
Bible Book: Ecclesiastes
Memorable Film Moment: Pulling myself along in the freezing snow wearing my thin costume. Also, standing in a tree 15 feet up for a few hours while holding a camera.
Exciting Life Moment: Watching blue sharks from inside a cage in New Zealand. Meeting Michael Jordan.
Color: Forest Green
Animal: Orca, Bengal Tiger
Hymn: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
Song: "To Where You Are " by Josh Groban
Life Dream: To work in some type of media, whether it be in music, cinema, or literature, for God's glory.
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You ask yourself if it's possible. You spend sleepless nights thinking it through, weighing the possibilites, wondering if it's even worth a try ... worth all the effort, the pain, the time. One day of inspiration quickly dawns into another day of frustration, as you feel yourself growing numb, only to, the very next day, yet again be inspired. The rollercoaster of emotions is indescribable. It's something akin to a young boy receiving the new red bicycle he had been praying for over the last many months, only to have it taken away, then given back to him, then taken away again, and then given back. A somewhat cruel analogy, perhaps, but an exaggeration? No. I tell you honestly, it's not.

So what is to be done when, having the desire to create a movie, you and your friends lack virtually any and every kind of filmmaking experience? What can you honestly expect to create? At best, seemingly, something people won't laugh at, outwardly. Something that, after viewing, they can at least tell you that they've "seen worse." Yet, in the back of your mind, you keep telling yourself, "We can do this. We can create something that will astound people." Now, with a completed film to claim, we don't see The Book of Being as laughable, or as astounding. It's an accomplishment. Something that we gave our all to bring into 'Being.' If nothing else, a film with an important message, and an incredibly important warning.

I have never viewed sickness as a blessing, especially while on vacation. Yet, had such not been the case in October of 2005, the storyline may never have been brought forth. Granted, what emerged during that time was not the identical product of what would emerge nearly a year later, but it was close. Emails written frantically to Nathan Daher attest to this fact.

"Hey just to let you know ... I've been laying in bed at night thinking about our film we're gonna do ... it will definitely be medieval, and as far as storyline, I have a few ideas that will revolve around spiritual analogies and morality ..."

"A journey for someone or something ... me, you, and possibly Jonathan ... three men sent from a kingdom or town or what have you to find help of some sort or another. Perhaps a desperate kingdom that is being taken over by the cloaked figures (figure out a name later, and they represent sin or something) ... and we are sent to find a leader who some say no longer lives while others say never existed ... known as the Prince of Peace or something ... and in the end we find out that no journey or fighting can lead us to him, but we needed to have only asked and believed and changed our ways ... or something like that."

The "cloaked" figures, of course, would later become the Aphel, while the "Prince of Peace" would be named Prince Arnion.

"If there is 3 of us ... we could be three warriors sent from 3 separate kingdoms who, although separate, are at peace ... but are suffering the same fate (cloaked figures). Perhaps the kingdoms could be something like Mansheart, Manstrength, and Mansmind. Basically many many years ago the Prince of Peace saved the kingdoms from some certain doom, but over time the kingdoms forgot Him, and thus the cloaked figures began to come. So, not knowing if the prince still lives, etc, the kingdoms each send their bravest warrior (i.e. us), like I've already explained."

Later there would be very little deviation from this description.

"Yeah, about the beginning, I'm still thinking. One thought that I'm really beginning to consider is perhaps a pictoral opening. My mom is a pretty good artist ... and in the beginning of the film, we could show a really old looking book with someone opening it, and then obviously paste the pages we want in it, with old looking drawings and maps ... drawings of the cloaked figures, the king who sends us ... etc, and then that molds into the actual film. Anyway, and while the images are being shown, the voice of the girl would be talking and narrating ... and when it shows us, it molds into our real selves and into the film. Again, just thoughts."

And this is exactly what we did.

"I really think with you being here 2 weeks, and having a few extra hands, that we will be able to make a great film."

The film would end up taking over 5 weeks to shoot.


TO BE CONTINUED ...


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