When Sarah Fishbein turned to see who had whispered to her, “Go to Hope Community Church and lead the film team,” she was naturally surprised to discover that she was the only one in the room. At first, the words simply didn’t register, but the thought, however ethereal, would not leave her.
Though Sarah knew the church community in Raleigh, North Carolina well, her years in business and pragmatic nature didn’t quickly lend themselves to supporting any suggestion of radical change, least of all from a voice in her head. To acknowledge such a suggestion would be to consider leaving an established career in the fast-paced world of film production and the successful New York-based film production company in which she and her partner, renowned photographer and filmmaker Chuck Fishbein, had invested so much. Before an answer would come, Sarah would repeatedly ask herself, “Am I crazy?”
Hearing her heart
“It took me some time to get my head around it all,” Sarah recalls. “It all seemed so unreal at first and poorly timed for where I was in my life.” After meeting her future husband on a shoot for her cosmetics company in North Carolina, Sarah had moved to New York to make a life with him. Her business acumen and organizational skills fit well with Chuck’s film company assignments, and together they built Crazy Duck Productions into an in-demand creative resource, addressing the unique film needs of an impressive roster of clients that included New York Public Library, Community Food Bank of New Jersey, iHeartRadio, Six Flags, Pennsylvania’s Hershey park, Dick Clark Productions, Sony Broadcast, Allergan Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Novartis, and Johnson & Johnson.
What began as a whisper in Sarah’s ear in 2018 became a reality as Chuck and Sarah began working with the teams at Hope Community Church, exploring creative ideas and turning out projects of faith, tempered with business and marketing sense—the result of having worked with top companies, artists, and nonprofits.
Most notably, Chuck’s creative work with trendsetters marks 30 years of successes across industries, from fashion photography with the legendary Richard Avedon to shooting music videos for popular music icons like U2, Foo Fighters, and Garth Brooks. Ready to share his wealth of experience and recognizing Sarah’s ability to work with people and solve complex issues that develop shooting film, Chuck moved her into a producer role, where she excelled.
“She took to the business very quickly,” Chuck says of Sarah as his producer. Taking to the business for Sarah included managing the clients, of course, but also the types of things one might be called upon to do in a small film company: One minute she could be handling logistics or liaising with the talent and the next mounting expensive camera gear on rollercoasters—hoping it would return in working condition. Eventually, Sarah would add on-camera personality to her expanding resume with Crazy Duck Productions, narrating videos and interviewing entertainment personalities. “There is certainly some pressure to learn on the job when stakes are so high,” she says. “But I loved it all and couldn’t understand how I could just pick up and leave our business, our home, everything.” Sarah appealed to her senses, “Why me? And why now when things are going so right?”
Not knowing exactly how to explain the call she had experienced, she laid it out for Chuck beginning with, “I know this sounds crazy, but …” Chuck listened, thought, and said simply, “You have to follow your heart.” More than words of encouragement, the support of her husband gave Sarah another sign to move forward. When she got the courage to call, yes, there was actually a position for a video director open at Hope Community Church—another positive sign. But, could they make it work? Was there even a spot for Chuck? There were so many questions and few answers. It wasn’t until Chuck called her from the car one day that she knew all would fall into place. Chuck had called to say that he had seen the most amazing thing and that he read it as a sign—literally. In his travels a billboard caught his eye that boldly said, “Work for Hope.” “It was likely advertising from a non-profit and was not connected to Hope Community Church,” Sarah shares, “but it was enough for us to recognize that there was something larger out there than any of the questions that we had wrestled with.” Agreeing to take the leap of faith together, though still not firmly convinced it was the right decision, Sarah and Chuck moved their home and family from New Jersey to North Carolina, leaving corporate clients so Sarah could begin work with the film team.
Finding their place
What began as a whisper in Sarah’s ear in 2018 became a reality as Chuck and Sarah began working with the teams at Hope Community Church, exploring creative ideas and turning out projects of faith, tempered with business and marketing sense—the result of having worked with top companies, artists, and nonprofits. Sarah brought a fresh approach to the film team, honing the team’s vision to better understand the differences between what is seen in a live service and what one needs to see on the screen. “Like all film, you’re telling a story,” she says. “But, sitting at home and not in church, people miss the sense of having the other people around them, so video content has to be more personal. It must tell the story and have production value to hold the viewer’s attention.” One of the team’s early projects after the Fishbein’s’ arrival was an appeal to locate a kidney donor. It worked. “With that, we knew we were in the right place,” she recalls. “Of course, it made us feel good and showed how the church really cares about people. But it also showed the power of video to save a life.”
“Team members who might have had trouble looking you in the eye when we first met them, are now leading projects.” - Sarah Fishbein, Video Director, Hope Community Church, Raleigh, NC.
Chuck, at first, took on a role advising the team how to most effectively improve video quality. “It was obvious right away that Chuck was more comfortable volunteering than sitting,” recalls Sarah. “As a result, parts of our content began to take on a more documentary quality.” Chuck’s artistic vision and experienced hand added the artistic flare one might expect, but his ability to educate and lead creatives showed through, as well. “A good manager,” he says, “will see your strengths and let you go. When that can happen, you all become bigger.” As the director of online production, he worked with the church team of volunteers as he would professional filmmakers, giving them a free hand to create, encouraging them to explore their individual talents. “Freedom to create gives people the confidence they need,” he says, “and helps them and the team to grow. Sarah has seen the evidence first hand.” And Sarah adds, “Team members who might have had trouble looking you in the eye when we first met them, are now leading projects.”
“Sitting at home and not in church, people miss the sense of having the other people around them, so video content has to be more personal. It must tell the story and have production value to hold the viewer’s attention.”- Sarah Fishbein, Video Director, Hope Community Church, Raleigh, NC.
When the global pandemic of 2020 closed the doors of many churches around the world, video messages and online worship became a lifeline for many church goers, the Fishbeins saw another sign that they were in the right place. “With the pandemic, our business in New York would have closed up,” says Sarah. “We couldn’t have known it at the time, but our decision to work for the church put us in the best possible place to help.” Where other churches were scrambling to figure out how to survive, the Fishbeins had the production gear and the skill to deliver online worship. “We could add production value instantly,” she recalls. “Where it took many churches months to learn even where to begin, we had high-value video content ready to go.”
Today, Sarah knows that she and Chuck are in the right place at Hope Community Church. “But, if someone had told me my story back then,” she says, “I wouldn’t have believed them.” In sharing their story, Sarah can’t help but to draw parallels with their journey and the story of Noah being asked to build an ark in the desert. “What God asks doesn’t always make sense, and when we can’t see the bigger picture it all just seems crazy. But it’s still right.”
