Christmastime is Here

It’s my favorite time of year. I’m a sucker for all the old Christmas movies, the lights, the gaudy tree decorations, the egg nog…the whole nine yards. So it’s a dangerous thing when I get my hands on a few projectors, as you can imagine. :)

When you think about it, the Christmas/Advent season is filled with more imagery than any other time of the year. Not only in the story of Emmanuel, but in our own culture’s visual way of celebrating. And if we’re lucky, we get snow on top of that! (ok, i know you Northerners think i’m crazy, but those of us in the South enjoy our 1-2 snowfalls each year!)

This year, i get the privilege of participating in two different Christmas tours.

One of them is the Skaggs Family Christmas tour (as in Ricky Skaggs). Yeah, i know. I was shocked when I got that call. I’m intimidated by the fact that the Skaggs family is made up of prodigy-musicians and the last thing i would ever want to do is distract any audience with a bunch of video loops. I mean, really, Ricky Skaggs on mandolin is enough! But they really wanted to create a unique visual environment, and one of their family members that i work with brought our name up at the right time! However, I had already committed to another tour, so luckily Chris Rouse (who grew up on bluegrass) was available and ready to put his VJ hat on! Check the tour schedule, and if the Skaggs are coming to your town, touch base with Chris and come out to the show! (depending on the venue, you might even see some Environmental Projection in action.) And if you’re coming to the Nashville show on the 22nd, then let me know ’cause i’ll be there cheering Chris on.

The other tour, the one I’m currently on, is the Gloria Christmas tour, featuring Travis Cottrell, Cindy Morgan & Shaun Groves. They are a stellar combination of artists…i would call them the songwriters of songwriters. Their lyrical masterpieces make my job easy, as i just plug & play the videos where they fit. It’s an incredible experience.

The first half of the Gloria tour is much more fun & nostalgic, then it brings attention to the injustice of poverty around the world. Shaun Groves does in an incredible job of telling stories of injustice and calling the audience to action…. to forsake the spirit of consumerism that plagues Christmas, and to live out Christmas beyond the giving of gifts to each other.

The second half is completely focused on the Story of Christ. Over and over, the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus is sung about. It honestly was really hard to visually compliment this so many times, but thankfully i had just enough videos to do it differently each time. I’m using mostly older stock content videos as well, as some clips from a few movies & cartoons, and I did find some new gems on WorshipHouse Media a few weeks ago that look really nice. I love to find new ways of blending & projecting them.

Here’s a montage video I created that shows you just a few of the visual moments of the night.

My favorite moment of the night isn’t in the montage b/c it’s not on Travis’ Christmas record. The song is “What Child Is This?” with a new song he’s written called “This Is Our God”. I love it b/c it answers the question. During this song, I project Names of God all over the screens and walls. It’s a visual way of answering the question, as well. (a revelation that invites a response) It’s too much to take in sometimes. It’s so simple, yet the most powerful I’ve experienced in a long time. Here’s a moment I caught on my phone and posted to Twitter:

Please be sure to check the schedules and see if one of the tours are coming to a city near you…Chris & I would both love the chance to get away, grab a cup of coffee, and hear your story.

Merry Christmas!