2012 was the first year that I made available the skit “The Ultimate Gift.” 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 accommodate 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.”
Watch it full-size on Youtube here: https://youtu.be/i4WovX5IOMI
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 effective.
To get the script and soundtrack, go here!
