Posted by Captain Pedantic on 04-02-2004 at15:44:
The Manequins are taking over!! - confront your doubles!!
http://www.larknews.com/april_2004/secondary.php?page=2
Animatronic band takes guesswork out of worship
PLANO — On Sunday morning at High Valley Community Church, the curtains part to reveal a 10-piece band of mannequins which springs to life at the touch of a button.
"Good morning everybody!" says lead animatron "Steve," a male mannequin with blond hair and a beaming smile. "Let's worship God!"
They launch into a flawless version of "Open the Eyes of My Heart," and the animatrons "play" their instruments while people in the audience clap and sing along.
It has taken a few months to get used to them, but the people at High Valley have embraced the burgeoning trend in electronic worship leaders.
"I thought I'd miss the human element, but these machines are so real," says Douglas Wilson, 62. "And I appreciate the consistency."
The shift happened last fall when the church's worship leader resigned. Pastor Ted Lindey had trouble finding a replacement. Then he heard about Animatronics Group, a company out of New Zealand which creates animatronic shows for theme parks. For the price of three years' salary for a flesh-and-blood worship leader, Lindey realized he could get a system that lasted ten years or more and offered almost limitless worship possibilities.
"Real worship leaders have a warmth, but they can be also moody and flaky," says Lindey. "It's tough to find one that matches your church."
He had the system installed in November. The people were astonished, even annoyed at first. Then they began to bond with the animatrons. Many now say they've reached new heights of worship with the pre-programmed band.
The Deluxe Animatronic Church system comes with generic animatrons in the skin tones of a church's choice. Churches may upgrade their "head kits" to feature Michael W. Smith, George Beverly Shea or Darlene Zschech, who have licensed their voices and likenesses to the company. At High Valley, Lindey upgraded to the George Beverly Shea kit for his early morning service, and on Saturday nights the youth rock out with the newly introduced Delirious head kit.
"It's so real," says Stella, 16, sweaty from an hour of mosh-pit worship. "It's Martin Smith's voice and everything."
The system comes with 100 song sets, including everything from staid Lutheran fare to heavy metal praise. Churches can choose the song list in advance, or a sound man can seamlessly stitch together songs of different emotional intensities, responding to the mood of the crowd.
"Animatronics has come a long way since Disneyland's Abe Lincoln," says one attendee after morning worship. "The band works so well, we're thinking of getting an animatronic pastor." •
