Remember Feist? She was one of those artists back in the noughties whose career received a nuclear boost when one of her songs soundtracked an iPod ad. Anyway, in 2008 she went on tour. It looked pretty good…
[embed width=600 height=337 class=left thumbnail=http://b.vimeocdn.com/ts/172/030/172030036_640.jpg?r=47232]http://vimeo.com/26070646 [/embed]
At the heart of the show was the work of Clea Minaker. The back wall showed live what Minaker was doing up on stage, stood behind her shadow projection somewhere between the drums and the keys. As the band played and Feist sang, the shadows helped tell the stories. At times it was, honestly, breathtaking.
[embed width=480 height=270 class=left thumbnail=http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/xEKxOqcDfAI/hqdefault.jpg?r=59086]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEKxOqcDfAI&feature=player_embedded CM short [/embed]
There’s not a whole lot of footage online - or, at least, not enough that does it justice. But here’s another example of Shadow Projection in action (and, yes, it really does seem that everyone involved in the thing is Canadian)...
[embed width=459 height=344 class=left thumbnail=http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/lOxQZSqMVmI/hqdefault.jpg?r=68093]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOxQZSqMVmI [/embed]
Having artists create while worshippers sing and play is nothing new - and anyone who has seen the footage of Bethel, Redding will know that it’s still thriving today. But there are limits when you’re creating on a single canvas the size of a suitcase. Shadow Projection has speed and size on its side.
For a sort-of how to, have a look at this article.
Maybe it’s a good thing that there are no 10-step guides for doing this. Maybe it will encourage just a couple of you to try and build something new from the ground up. Maybe there are no rules when you’re experimenting like this.
Lastly - at some point there’s a good chance that you’re going to have an ‘I Can’t Do This On My Own!’ moment. Here’s a good little article that might help you recruit new volunteers to your team.
By the way, we should have added this site to our roll-call yesterday: Creative Worship Ideas has lots of good stuff from someone who has a really good broad but balanced view of the role of creativity in worship.