Gemini LSV Supports Prestonwood Baptist's "The Gift of Christmas" with Claypaky, grandMA2, and ChainMaster

	Prestonwood Baptist's "The Gift of Christmas"

Gemini Lighting Sound & Video (Gemini LSV) in Dallas supported "The Gift of Christmas" at Prestonwood Baptist Church by providing Claypaky Mythos luminaires, MA Lighting grandMA2 consoles, and ChainMaster hoists to the holiday pageant.

2016 Live Design Excellence award winner, "The Gift of Christmas," played 13 performances in the Worship Center of the Plano, Texas campus. Opening with Santa and his workshop and concluding with the Nativity, the 90-minute multimedia production featured elaborate staging and lighting, a massive LED wall, a live 50-piece orchestra, nearly 1,000 cast and choir members, flying angels, and a Living Nativity. The pageant was shot and edited for broadcast on television.

"There's really nothing like this at other churches in the area," notes Nick Deel, account manager and production electrician/systems engineer for Gemini LSV, which owns the region's largest inventory of rental equipment. "It rivals some off-Broadway shows in scale."

Deel says a major overhaul in scenics was implemented last year when additional automation provided by ZFX Flying Effects was integrated into the production. "Now, instead of an open stage there's a proscenium created with large automated panels that open and close for scene changes upstage," he explains. The panels are also used as a projection backdrop for scenery and moving landscapes.

This year the biggest technology change was upgrading the lighting system and adding 44 active Claypaky Mythos 2.0 fixtures to the rig. Prestonwood Baptist bought 20 of its own Mythos fixtures; the balance was obtained from Gemini LSV.

"Matt Webb, production designer from Unlimited Visibility Lighting Design (UVLD), raves about Mythos," says Deel. "They're one of his favorite lights. As a hybrid fixture, Mythos gave him more options than just beam effects for the show. They were hung and floor mounted, above and around the stage, to provide not only aireals but also backlight."

In addition, eight Claypaky Sharpy Washes provided audience and house washes and effects.

Gemini also furnished a full size grandMA2 console for pre-visualization, a grandMA2 light for back up to the in-house grandMA2 full size, and two NPUs to control the lighting rig and media servers. "The grandMA2 is an industry-standard and was the preference of Matt Webb and programmer David Seitz (also of UVLD)," notes Deel. "The lighting rig and media servers are run on SMPTE timecode."

The mammoth production required 44 1-ton and 40 half-ton ChainMaster hoists, also provided by Gemini LSV. "For aesthetic reasons and because of the trim height of the dropped ceiling, every motor in the show is hung motor up," says Deel. "Those 84 points mean a lot of extra rigging. But the compact size of the ChainMasters contributed to the ability to hang the show quickly."

ChainMaster is a newer line in Gemini LSV's inventory -- and a popular one. "We have 2-, 1-, and half-ton motors," Deel reports. "They went out on a few tour runs last summer and were ideal for 'The Gift of Christmas.'"

Clay Carter was the production rigger for the production.

A.C.T Lighting, Inc. is the exclusive North American distributor of Claypaky, MA Lighting, and ChainMaster brand products.