Paul Christensen and his wife Donna Christensen have always been interested in any excuse to do a “down home” gig with “down to earth” folks, so when Dennis Tobias with DET Enterprises called, they jumped at the chance to work on the new live CD recording
and Long Form Video for Mississippi based gospel group True Believers. Because of the rich musical heritage and colorful food traditions of Louisiana and Mississippi, the Christensen’s have long been fans of the region. As someone once said, “It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it.” Hailing from the southwestern part of the state near McComb and Summit, the True Believers have enjoyed a large following, not only in regional circles, but in many parts of the US, as well.
Performing before a sold-out audience on the picturesque campus of Southwest Mississippi Community College and fronted by lead singer and Music Director Castro Coleman, Road
Manager Dale Hall and vocalists Teddy and Patrick Varnado, the True Believers applied their magic with locked rhythms, tight vocals and a woven tapestry of melodies. In a spontaneous 14 song performance, recorded and shot by Omega’s award winning team, the stage was transformed into a spectacular wash of computerized lighting, painted with laser assisted palettes of vibrant colors. This spectacular look became the creative foundation for the group’s
electrifying performance, which was enthusiastically received by the attentive audience. Assisting with the evening’s billing were local group, Annette McGee and Company and Hammond, Louisiana based Tyscot Records artist, Lamont Jackson and a New Beginning. Jackson and his talented group are currently working on their new album, titled Warriors, We Win, which is scheduled for a late summer/early fall 2003 release.
Each group”s appearance added to the excitement of the project with an opening segment thoroughly enjoyed by those in attendance. It was a memorable night as praise was offered up among vibrant splashes of color designed by CPX Concert Productions, Inc. of Little Rock, AR.
Dennis Tobias, manager of the Group, served as Executive Producer. A big thank you also goes out to Darlene Tobias, who handled a myriad of details including support for all who participated. Castro Coleman and Melvin and Doug Williams, Blackberry Records, produced the live recording and CD. The fabulous look of the stage and r
esulting video was created by CPX’s Lighting Programmer, Steve Anderson, assisted by CPX’s Gary Champlin and Lighting Director, Tony Bures.
Omega’s Ruthel Flunder assisted the Christensens with talent and logistics. Don Moore, who has directed many of Omega’s award winning videos, served as Director. Sel Warren, Omega’s Project Video Engineer, provided the final look of the show, as he applied his magic to the shots. Rounding out Omega’s talented crew were Mike Filippi on Hand Held Camera, David Owens on Steadicam, Don Warren on Jimmy Jib and Scooter Whatley and Charlie Faciane on Fi
xed Cameras. Jeff Brown, Technical Director of the Fine Arts Building was invaluable by assisting with scores of details from coordinating the venue schedule and crew labor to arranging for numerous “short term fixes” of technical issues. Jeff’s involvement insured the success of the project. In addition, a number of SMCC students assisted with the production by serving as stage crew and assistant camera operators. A big thank you goes out to Pat Brock, Garrett Smith, Sean Oliver, Stephen Lott and Justin Addison for their invaluable assistance. In addition, Bruce Whealer, who is a local home remodeling and construction professional, was responsible for the construction of jib and camera platforms, which were critical to the success of the outing.
Harvest Media, Anniston, AL, provided Unit B, their 40 foot remote video facility to originate the video, with the assistance of 
Video Engineer Don Diggs . Remote Recording Facilities were provided by Tulsa based Forrest Production Services. Forrest’s Tim Kennard engineered the live CD and soundtrack, assisted by Quinton Davis. CPX Concert Production Services, Inc., Little Rock, served as Sound Reinforcement vendor, with Jim Chambers handling Monitor Engineer duties and CPX’s Ricky Reagan providing the concert mix at the Front of House position. Other local companies and individuals
who assisted were Delores McGee, who along with Annette McGee and Darlene Tobias, provided the great “down home” food for the crew, Patricia Reynolds, New Wave Beauty Salon, provided make up for the Talent, Klossen Equipment, Inc., Jackson, MS, providing generators and Magnolia Florists providing greenery for the stage. Nuvidia, LLC, Dallas and Overland Park, KS provided audio and video tape, while Charter Broadcast Systems, Atlanta, GA provided wide angle lenses.
Having the opportunity to produce this project at Southwest Mississippi Community College was a great blessing. Our thanks and appreciation go out to all the SMCC staff including Dr. Horace C. Holmes, President, Grady Smith, Business Manager and Clay Whittington, Director of Bands and Jeff Brown, Technical Director of the Fine Arts Building.
The Long Form Video will be edited by Nashville based, Perry Trest, POST DIGITAL, Inc., in Trest’s AVID post suite . The Long Form Video, DVD and Live CD are slated for a Summer/Fall 2003 release and will be distributed by Blackberry Records, McComb, MS.
