"The Ultimate Gift" video

2012 was the first year that I made available as a stand-alone skit "The Ultimate Gift." Prior to that, it was part of the longer play "Assignment: Comfort And Joy" which was released in 2011. But the past year I began to think that some people might want to do this embedded skit by itself, so I isolated just those tracks and sold the soundtrack separately. Right after Christmas I found this short film online that adapted it for video. They did a good job, making their own soundtrack, since they altered the script a little, to accomodate their available cast. The video notes say "Adapted and Filmed by the members of In-Christ Church and Ministries located in Louisville KY on Bards-town road in the Highlands."

Update: I was able to contact the film-maker, and this is what he wrote about the experience...

"My name is Collin Sage and I belong to a fairly small congregation who, nonetheless, loves the arts. This past Christmas, while trying to figure out what kind of skit to put on for the church, one of the members suggested we try Christianskitscripts.com. The first script I saw was "The Ultimate Gift". As I started to skim over it I could already tell that this was exactly what we wanted.

I had gone to similar sites before and read several other Christmas-themed church plays but was always let down by clunky writing and pieces much too grand to ever film or stage. However, Fred Passmore's script was smooth, fun and versatile. Although our small cast couldn't re-create everything in the script, the story was strong enough to be able to make small alterations without drastically changing his story. This is always wonderful because often times, due to circumstance, re-creating the script word for word can be impossible, especially without compromising the integrity of the story. Even though the script was originally meant to be staged, it was easily converted into a short film by our crew.

As we began filming, everything was laid out before us contextually. The script came with plenty of direction and staging notes and it practically filmed itself. We got the whole thing shot in under 4 hours, which is amazing considering the finished film ended up being about 20 minutes long (film people will understand). We spent very little time prepping and no memorization was needed, just as advertised.

The humor was classic and quirky without going overboard and becoming cheesy or too simple.The message about the birth of Jesus and His salvation was on point and was compiled in such a way to be both powerful and easy for all to understand. Our overall experience with the script, the final product, and with Fred Passmore himself were way beyond what any of us had expected and we will definitely look to his work again in the future."

Here is the film so that you may enjoy their efforts!


View it on Youtube full-size here: http://youtu.be/i4WovX5IOMI

Go here to get all the details on the script and get the soundtrack. Remember, their version was an adaptation, edited, and did not use the soundtrack that I make available. The actual script is different in places and the soundtrack supplies every bit of music and sound effects needed to make your performance hilarious and more effective.

"The Telltale Talent" Film

Well, the fine folks at Rentz Baptist Church in Rentz, GA have been at it again! You may recall the first film they made, "The Soul Hunt," based on my skit script "Assignment: Witness!" The blog entry about it can be read here, and you can view the film as well. This year, for their big wild game dinner event, they have filmed and produced another of my scripts, this time "The Telltale Talent." (Read the script for it here, it is great to perform in your own church, and raise awareness of the need for volunteers.)

Director Steve Knight and the members of the men's hunting fellowship, as well as others at the church, have gone all out and created a 20 minute movie of the script, going so far as to film at night in the town's local cemetery for the climactic scene! You may view the film below; but if you would like to show it or "The Soul Hunt" as your church, contact me for a copy on DVD. http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=KY6P7WNX

Watch The Telltale Talent on GodTube.

"A Day To Remember" short film

Stephen Ridley made this short film based on my dramatic skit script of the same title. Read the original here. Great work, Stephen!



View it larger here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbIkLv3wlg8

Here is what Stephen posted on his website about the film... it does contain spoilers, so please watch the film first then read the details.

“A Day to Remember” is a story about a man named Mike who falls into a position where many people would feel anger toward God, but he doesn’t. Mike assures Jeff that he has complete faith in God, and that he trusts Him to use Mike to do His will. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Does that mean that if we follow God, only good things will happen to us on earth? Absolutely not. But our time on earth is NOTHING compared to our time in Heaven. We are here to glorify the Lord and do His will, and our reward is eternal life with Him in Heaven. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Fulfilling God’s plan for us is the greatest thing we can do, and whatever sufferings we may endure should have no effect on our faith in Him. 1 Peter 4:16 says, “However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.” God has chosen us to serve Him, what higher honor can there be? Doing God’s will is our ultimate goal. Paul wrote to the church of Philippi about remaining in his faith through sufferings. Philippians 1:18-21 says, “(18) But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, (19) for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. (20) I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. (21) For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

God chose to save Mike from the tragedy of the twin towers, because he had a different purpose for him. Many lives were lost in the collapse of the buildings, but just like Mike had faith in God’s sovereignty in the face of trial, we too can trust that God has a reason for even tragedies like this. This video shows the importance of having faith in God. Everything He does has a purpose, whether it may seem like it or not. My mother once used the analogy that we are driving in a car and God is in a helicopter. We only see what is right in front of us, but God sees the entire road. So whenever you encounter hard times, maintain your faith in the Lord and know that all things have a purpose.

UPDATE: Stephen has sent me some details on the making of the movie, below:

Behind the Scenes of “A Day to Remember”

I’ve had a love for filmmaking ever since I was seven years old. I have made several videos in the past, but this was my first dramatic video, and I learned a lot while filming it. I asked a couple of my friends to come film the video at my old school. When one of them was unable to show up, we were forced to reschedule. We decided to film at my friend’s church. Unfortunately, I had no idea what I was doing. I asked my other friend to film it all the way through several times, and I planned to just fit everything together with all the different angles. The problem was, we never did anything the same way. In one take, I was saying a line while taking my jacket off, and in the other, I was saying my line was adjusting my tie. Everything was all mixed up and it looked terrible. As much as it pained me to say it, we needed to do it again. We weren’t able to use the church again, because it was being used. So we went back to my old school, and used a room upstairs. Everything was working perfectly, the scenes were looking good and we had just two scenes left. All of the sudden, my camera cut off. It wouldn’t turn on, even with new batteries. So we had to reschedule yet again. Being in college and all of my friends having different schedules, this was no easy task. But I was determined that this would be the last day of filming. I drew out every scene and how I wanted it to be shot, I got a new camera, we had the room ready, everything seemed to be going as planned. However, when it comes to my videos, I am a bit of a perfectionist, especially with this one. I realized I would never be happy with how the video looked unless I could get behind the camera myself. So I decided to cast someone else to play my part, and we rescheduled once again.
It was hard not to be discouraged after so many failed attempts. I had never had so much trouble with a video before, but I trusted that God had a purpose for what was going on, just like the video says! I got in touch with Anthony Dimaria, who is just as passionate about acting as I am with filmmaking. He has been in many videos, including ones that have won contests! So finally, on December 13, we set out to film once more. It took a few hours, but we finally completed it! Anthony’s mom even made barbecue for our lunch break! I immediately made my way home and finished editing that night. Taylor Clyde, who played Mike, wrote the music for the credits and the video was finally finished. I was so eager to upload the video that I was a tad late for work (probably not the best decision). I have learned a lot while making the video, especially that I need to use microphones next time! But I’m pleased with how it turned out and I hope everyone enjoys it! Hopefully it is a good reminder of the sovereignty of God and His love for us all!

Thanks again to Mr. Passmore for providing outstanding scripts for young filmmakers like me!

-Stephen Ridley

Others have sent me video of their performance of this script. Here is one from a past entry.

"The Soul Hunt" film

Steven Knight made this film, adapted from my skit script "Assignment: Witness!" for his church hunting fellowship. Excellent work! I love seeing films people make of my material, and this is the most ambitious so far.

Click the link below to view it on Godtube!

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=KY6PWLNX

Steven had this to say about the making of the film:

Our church made a movie for our annual Wild Game Supper, so we took the
"Assignment: Witness" skit and adapted it to a turkey hunt, to fit our
outdoors theme. All of the "actors" are active members of our Brotherhood
ministry, and includes Sunday School teachers, as well as Sunday School
Director, Brotherhood Director, and Chairman of Deacons.

We know for sure of one teenage girl who was saved after the movie
premier, and we have heard several other reports of people who have been
touched by the message. Thanks, Fred, for an awesome skit, and allowing
us to use this to share the Gospel.

Steve Knight
Director, "The Soul Hunt"
Rentz Baptist Church
2011

Read the original skit script here.

The Sheep's Clothing Store video

I'm always searching around the net for video postings of people doing my material. Here's an interesting performance of my skit "The Sheep's Clothing Store," that I found on YouTube.

Here is the link to the video performance!

In the skit by the same title, "The Sheep's Clothing Store" is where items like clothing and accessories are sold to make people look like believers so they can infiltrate churches, date a believer or simply look respectable. Mr. Wolfe (the devil) is the store manager and salesman. A non-committed churchgoer is a customer that discovers that not all is as it seems in the store.

The script and soundtrack for your own performance of this skit (the part of the store's owner is for a male in the actual skit) can be found here:
http://www.christianskitscripts.com/sheepsclothing.htm