Pam Tillis on the Bayou...
"Any excuse to visit the music and food of Louisiana" ..... and the Omega crew did not have to be asked twice by the
Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), to produce a television special  for Jerry Lewis' "Stars over America" Telethon. The project, featuring Pam Tillis and the Warren Brothers was captured live by Omega's award
winning team at the Cypress Bayou Casino located in Charenton, LA, south of Lafayette.
Once the crew was pulled away from the fabulous food around Lafayette and in the Casino, production began under the direction
of Los Angeles veteran Producer Ron Weed and Director Lee Miller. Lee Rose served as Lighting Director. The result was a rip roaring show shot over two days and
slotted to be shown as anchor footage during this year's MDA Telethon.
Paul and Donna Christensen served as Line Producers for the series, providing their well traveled crew of Don Moore, Sel
Warren, Don Warren, Mike Filippi, Dave Landry and Jim Moriarty. Dallas and Houston based John Crowe Productions provided mobile television facilities with Joe Cronin acting as EIC. Mobile
Audio Recording Services (MARS), Dallas, provided remote recording services. Pam Tillis' recording engineer, Dave Harvie tracked the show. Other Tillis personnel contributing to the
show were Dave Shepherd, Production Manager, Rob Rankin, Front of House Sound Mixer and John Branham, Monitor Sound Engineer.
This is the second "Stars over America" special that Omega has delivered for MDA. In 1996, the company produced a live
uplink concert by Al Hirt and Pete Fountain which originated from the Mississippi Queen riverboat on location in New Orleans.
Little bit O' R & B and gospel
Dallas based Omega Productions recently completed several long form video projects for Malaco and Blackberry  Records. R
& B and Blues artists Denise LaSalle and Dorothy Moore were captured for Malaco while Blackberry contracted for a shoot with the highly popular Gospel group, the Bolton Brothers.
Paul and Donna Christensen produced both dates, with the assistance of their award winning crew, Director Don Moore, AD Jerry
Jacob, Steadicam Operator Dave Wolf, Video Engineer Sel Warren, Jib Operator Don Warren and Hand Held Cameraman Mike Filippi.  Alabama based Harvest Media provided remote facilities for both shoots. Omega tapped
Memphis based Lighting Director, Randy Ridley for the Denise LaSalle date, while New Orleans' Independent Studios and Joe Catalanato provided lighting and grip services for the Bolton Brothers.
In other recent activity, Omega Productions has enjoyed success with Fred Hammond, Live, currently holding at Number 18 on Billboard's® Top 40 Video
Charts after 17 weeks, the Grammy® nominated, Hezekiah Walker, Live in London at Wembley, and the Canton Spirituals' Living the Dream, Live in Wash, DC.
Omega completes Fred Hammond special.....
Paul and Donna Christensen were recently in Detroit, Michigan producing a live concert shoot for Verity Recording Artist Fred
Hammond and Radical for Christ. The project recorded at Detroit's historic Straight Gate church, featured a state of the art computerized moving light and stage system designed by
Mid America Sound and Lighting's Bob Williams. In addition, the sound track of the video, as part of the Verity Record release, Pages of Life I & 2, has been nominated for a Grammy® Award by the
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences® (NARAS)®.
Over five thousand packed the church, which was transformed into a concert hall for the evening of excitement. The project was
produced by Verity Record's Director of Gospel, Paul Wright III and Fred Hammond. Ray Hammond served as Produ![LISTEN UP Y'ALL..... CHECK OUT... [THE FRED] .....](./_fredlive.jpg "LISTEN UP Y'ALL..... CHECK OUT... [THE FRED] .....") ction Manager. The shoot was directed by Don
Moore and video engineered and shaded by Sel Warren. Omega's "A Team" shooters, Jerry Jacob on Steadicam, Don Warren on Jib and Mike Filippi on Hand Held, were present to spin their magic.
Paul and Donna Christensen enlisted the assistance of Don Warren of Jackson, MS, to
incorporate the new Stanton "Triangle" Jib boom with a special "Dutch Head" mount for the camera. The "Triangle" was used in the Extreme and Plus positions for a total reach of
35 feet. Video Impressions of Chicago provided Remote Television Facilities. Mark Hislop, Video Impressions owner served as Remote Video Engineer.
Tim Powell owner of Chicago based Metro Mobile, served as Recording Engineer for the video's sound track. Mid America
also provided the Sound Reinforcement house and monitor support. The project will be posted at Jackson, MS based Post Digital on their Avid Media 1000 AVR 77 system by editor and
owner Perry Trest. The project is slated for a February 1998 release.
In keeping with the company's post production policy, Omega utilized the sound mix from the Record Mastering Approval CD
-R. This process incorporates all of the CD Mastering "tweeks", with their associated superior sound. As a result, all of Omega's video sound tracks are identical to their
corresponding CD record releases.
Christensen speaks at 18th Nordic Sound Symposium
Paul and Donna Christensen recently had the exciting opportunity to travel to Norway as guests of the 18th Nordic
Sound Symposium Committee. Christensen was asked to speak on "The Future of Recording and Sound Production.... Audio Markets of the Future."
Part of Christensen's presentation was on audio and video streaming  on the internet. With the assistance of Kristian Ludvik-Boehmer, Chief Engineer. NRK
Technical Dept., a live internet connection was made between Norway and New York, where participants were able to sample jazz cuts live from US based N2K's Music Boulevard home site.
The week long sessions, held at the world renowned Bolkesjo Resort in Bolkesjo, Norway, included a sampling of prominent
Scandinavian and European speakers from Dolby, Studer, Seem Audio, University of Surrey, England, Robert Bosch, Grundig, Telos, Danish Radio and Norwegian Radio. In addition, some thirty companies also
exhibited equipment and services in an adjoining 20,000 square foot hall.
Shown in the photo above are some of the key members of the Symposium Committee. Left to Right, 1st row: Donna and
Paul Christensen, Kristian Ludvik-Boehmer, Chief Engineer. NRK Technical Dept., Member of the Symposium Committee. 2nd row: Finn Tuft, Managing Director, Seem Audio A/S, member of
the Symposium Committee, Anne Merete Fjeld, Seem Audio A/S, Symposium Secretary. 3rd row: Kjell Rydningen, former Head of Operations, NRK Radio, member of the Symposium
Committee, Richard Andersen, former Head of Technical Staff, NRK, Member and Head Secretary of the Symposium Committee, Billy Henningsen, audio programme engineer NRK
TV, member of the Symposium Programme Group. 4th row: Halldor Krogh, Music Producer, NRK Radio, Member of the Symposium Programme Group, Trond Schjerven, director
Norwegian Audio School (former Head of Operations, NRK Radio), member of the Symposium Committee.
Mr., Christensen's father, Edgar Cato Christensen, Sr., was an Oslo native and immigrated to the US in 1924. Paul and Donna
Christensen were able to visit Oslo and Bergen and various sites related to the Christensen family history, the trip of a lifetime they will long remember.
Colorado Mass Choir... The best from the Rockies...
The Omega team recently had the opportunity to travel to Denver to shoot and record one of Gospel Music's most up and
coming groups, the Colorado Mass Choir. The sold out concert was held at Denver's historic and restored Vaudeville era movie house, the Paramount Theatre. Verity Records Gospel head, Paul Wright III, produced the project, titled "So Good", for
New York based Zomba Music.
Paul and Donna Christensen produced the long form video shoot and live CD recording, and served as overall line producers for the
project. Joe Pace, CMC's Director guided the Choir and guest performers, Algelo and Veronica, Kim Rutherford and others, through an evening of power packed
gospel numbers, all captured live by Omega's talented crew.
Directing the shoot was Omega's Don Moore who was assisted in the show's look by Denver Lighting Director, Bob Harris. Sel
Warren served as Project Video Engineer along with Dallas based Mobile Audio Recording Services chief, Steve Lowney, who provided the live audio recording. Denver's Dowlen Sound
provided the house and monitor Sound Reinforcement mixes. Omega brought Harvest Media's mobile television truck from Anniston Alabama to provide Television Facilities. Omega's
crew of Jerry Jacob and Will Tyler joined Denver's Gunnar Blanke, Gene Steiner and Justin Steiner to round out the crew.
The project has been posted by Perry Trest at Post Digital, Jackson, MS and will be released in April of 1998. In keeping
with the company's post production policy, Omega utilized the sound mix from the Record Mastering Approval CD-R. This process incorporates all of the CD Mastering "tweeks", with
their associated superior sound. As a result, all of Omega's video sound tracks are identical to their corresponding CD record releases.
Where the West begins... David Allan Coe...
Sony Music, Nashville, recently hired Omega to shoot and record a Live Album and Video on recently signed artist, David
Allan Coe. Coe, who is well known for such hits as "Take this Job and Shove It" and "The Original Country and Western
Song", was recently at Ft. Worth's Billy Bob's Texas. The Recording and Video was Produced by Sony Nashville A&R Chief, Blake Chancey, with consulting assistance coming
from former Ft. Worth Booking and Talent Agent, Bob Mitchell. Paul Christensen served as Television Producer and Line Producer for the Event.
Coe performed his older hits as well as six new selections for the record and video,
which will be released this spring. The project featured a hand picked backup band headed by ex Allman Brothers Guitarist, Warren Haines.
At the console during the recording was Nashville based Engineer, Bob Wright, along with Steve Lowney from Dallas
based Mobile Audio Recording Services. Directing the shoot was Don Moore, Jackson, MS. Providing Video and Engineering Services was Sel Warren, New Orleans. Local Television
Facilities were provided by Dallas based AMS Productions, along with Dallas' Grip Services, In the Light, Inc. Billy Bob's Production Manager Robert Gallager coordinated the event, as
did Billy Bob's Martin "Dirt" Stinnett and Carman Stinnett.
Shakin' the house... in London!!!
The second time around is always fun, especially when you share the excitement of a trip to London with Grammy® Award
Winner Hezekiah Walker. The second project Omega has worked on for Walker, took on a distinct  International flavor as Paul and Donna Christensen and other Omega crew traveled to England to record and shoot
the Benson/Verity Artist's recent project.
Walker and The Love Fellowship Crusade Choir, performed to a sold out audience in the 5,000 seat Great Hall of the Wembley
Conference Center, at the world famous Wembley complex, site of numerous international concert events, such as the annual "Primce's Trust" performances. Walker and Co-Producer Paul Wright III
invited Omega to capture the event for a CD Recording and Television Special. The logistics of shooting overseas, as well as locating adequate "NTSC" based facilities, proved quite a
challenge. Walker is known for his demanding standards of production and performance, and the Omega Productions team did not let him down.
Paul and Donna Christensen brought in US based Director, Don Moore and Video Project Engineer, Sel Warren as well as
Steadicam Operator, Jerry Jacob. Providing Mobile Television Facilities were Telegenic, LTD., London. BBC's Radio International provided the Remote Recording Facilities for the
Record and Soundtrack, while LA based, Guy Charbonneau, was brought in to record the project. Serving as Lighting Director was Robin Johnson, London. Hezekiah Walker
Produced the Recording Session along with Paul Wright III, Head of Benson Records' Gospel Division.
In addition, the sound track for the project was nominated for a Grammy® Award by the National Academy of Recording Arts
and Sciences® (NARAS)®.
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