One outstanding aspect of First Baptist Church's Christmas Production is the flying of the angels at the birth of Christ. And what makes it so special in the production is that the church, in conjunction with Hall Associates Flying Effects out of Chicago, came up with a new way of flying actors providing a full three dimensions of movement.
“All the flying systems that we have seen around the country have been on what I call a curtain system,” describes Jeff Crevier, minister of creative arts at First Baptist, “where the actor flies in a straight line with up and down movement on a track. It's a great effect, but we wanted the angels to do more than just in and out, up and down. So we searched for a company that would brainstorm with us. Many companies are willing to listen to you but reluctant to figure out a cost-efficient way to make it happen. Finally, we met Hall Associates.”
“Jeff [Crevier] visited us in DeKalb, Ill.,” adds Tracy Nunnally, president of Hall Associates Flying Effects. “During his visit, he outlined his idea for a new way to fly the angels for his show. Together, we laid out a plan for how to make this happen. Over the next month, I engineered the system and set up a prototype in our rehearsal facility. Once the concept was proven, I agreed to provide the flying effects for the 2009 Christmas Pageant.”
The request Crevier made was to be able to fly angels to any point in the room, without needing to run heavy trussing. After researching the concept, Nunnally based his design on an idea that was patented in 1917, was modified for newer technology and could meet the needs of the venue.
“The system is motivated by high-speed flying winches which are controlled by a computerized positioning system,” describes Nunnally. “Cues are entered into the computer based on location, time and ramp time, and the computer converts that into speed, direction and acceleration. [In addition,] there is a completely separate analog control system that allows the operator to control each winch directly should the need arise.”
When putting anything in the air, whether equipment or people, safety has to be of paramount importance. And safety starts with the design.
Nunnally elaborates, “All rigging equipment in the system has a rated breaking strength of at least five times the maximum possible force applied by the winches, and many of the components have a rated breaking strength of 10 times the maximum possible force applied by the winches. Our second point of safety is redundancy.
“In the operating system, the computer is the preferred system for moving the flying artists through the venue, as it provides predictable movements at predictable times,” Nunnally continues. Computers, however, can fail, and so an isolated direct-control system is in place to allow the operator to bring the actor safely to the floor. In addition, all winches are equipped with the same braking mechanism found in elevators.
There is also redundancy in the eyes on the ground watching the performers.
According to Nunnally, “Each flying artist has a trained human spotter who is either in direct communication with the system operator, or, for systems that fly multiple artists from the same computer, each spotter actually has a pendant that allows direct control of the artist's flying system to be taken away from the computer if the artist appears to be in danger.”
In order to use any system safely, training is also important.
“It is critical that all people directly associated with the flying effects be aware of their role in the safety protocols associated with the flights,” Nunnally says. “The more experience the artists, operators, technicians, and attendants can get with their hands on the systems under the trained eye of the professional Flying Director, the better equipped they will be to handle unexpected situations as they occur during a performance. Once a well-designed flying system is properly installed in a facility, competent, observant, trained technicians and operators are the most critical part of ensuring the highest level of safety for the flying artists.”
Of course, it's not just the operators who need training. The actors being lifted in to the air also need to be trained and gain experience in the harness.
“The first step in the training of an artist is how to interact with their harness,” states Nunnally. “The human body is used to being supported primarily by the feet, and secondarily by the hands. A flying system typically lifts an artist either by the hips or between the shoulder blades. Motivating the movements of the body from these new points can be a challenge for some. Some artists take to it right away, and others needs hours of harness time to figure out the best way to interact with the suspension point(s). The Flying Director has the skills to coach the artist through this process. For First Baptist, the artists had flown from the hips before, so they took to the harnesses right away. The systems used previously in this production were not designed with the ability to rotate, so these artists had not been trained to rotate horizontally (known as yaw). The flying system for this production positioned the artists in the room, but it was up to them to face the correct direction. This took a few hours of rehearsal, but by the time [of the] first performance, they were flying perfectly.”
The new flying system added a whole new level of excitement to this year's production. As Crevier describes, “We had the angels fly along the front of the balcony, grabbing the attention of the audience that sat up there and then suddenly we had the angels drop out of their sight below the balcony. We could hear their gasps as they didn't expect that. And then we heard another gasp of surprise as those underneath the balcony were startled to see an angel drop down right in front of them. The angels then did an ‘S' pattern as they swooped over the heads of the audience, climbing to the top of the ceiling and hovering over the front of the stage to gaze upon the baby Jesus that had just been born. It was breathtaking and awe-inspiring. I cannot imagine ever going back to a track system.”
Flying actors at this level certainly has its costs, but Nunnally assures that flying isn't only available for the well-funded megachurch. “If you are planning to fly an artist, [you] should definitely check out a flying company. You should also remember to discuss the point of the flying effect with the flying company. It is rarely effect X = cost Y. In most cases, if a price is too high, the flying company can find some way to adjust it to fit the budget. It may not be the exact effect they were looking for, but it should still serve the production by helping to tell the story. We serve churches in sanctuaries seating 250 to ones that seat over 3,000; ceiling heights from 15 feet to 150 feet; budgets from $1,000 to $1 million. Flying does not have to be expensive.”
