USA - A variety of ADJ fixtures – including LED-powered bars, PARs and ellipsoidals - were selected by specialist house of worship integrator Wilson Professional AVL for a project that has completely transformed the main sanctuary of Fellowship Church in Rome, GA. Bringing a new dimension to the church’s worship services, the rig is designed to engage every attendee in an immersive environment of ‘vibrant colours, crisp accents and warm stage lighting’.
Wilson Pro AVL specialises in supplying and installing audio, video and lighting equipment in houses of worship. The company’s CEO, Mike Wilson, is a seasoned professional with over 37 years of experience and more than 400 projects completed across the United States and internationally.
Mike met the music pastor of Fellowship Church when the worship leader attended one of his classes at a Georgia ministry conference. He explained that the church had a very old and limited lighting system and wanted to invest in a new, modern setup that would unlock more creative potential for their worship services. This led to Wilson Pro AVL taking on the project and Mike working with the church’s team to create a design that fitted within their budget and delivered what they were looking for.
He put together a design in the Capture previsualization software, which allowed them to see exactly what their sanctuary would look like with the new lighting installed. This met with the church’s approval and once finances were in place they engaged Wilson Pro AVL to supply and install the new equipment.
A key component of the new system was the illumination of the large and relatively plain walls at the rear of the sanctuary’s stage and choir stalls. The goal was to saturate this area with vibrant colours to provide a flexible backdrop for the worship band. This was achieved using three different ADJ fixtures, the Encore Z7LP and Encore LP12IP LED PARs and the Ultra LB18 linear LED fixture.
The Encore Z7LP units were rigged to a lighting batten above the stage, angled back to hit the upper portions of the wall and dialled in remotely using their motorised zoom. The Encore LP12IP fixtures were positioned on the floor at the rear of the choir stall to create accents on the wall, interspersed by the Ultra LB18s, which provided an even wash coverage for the lower sections.
“I’ve used the Ultra LB18s in the production world and for some corporate events, so I knew what to expect from them,” explains Mike. “What they offer in terms of functionality, as well as their output and spread, was just what we needed for lighting that back wall. The inclusion of the lime LED chip - for that added clarity and colour mixing potential - was another important consideration. What they produce colour-wise and in terms of coverage is perfect for this application.”
A baptistry is located in the centre of the rear wall and Mike specified two of ADJ’s Encore Profile 1000 Color LED-powered ellipsoidal fixtures to illuminate it. These are rigged to either side of a truss flown in the centre of the auditorium.
In addition to the ADJ fixtures, Mike also specified a pair of Stryker Wash fixtures from ADJ’s sister company, Eliminator Lighting. These were also rigged to the auditorium truss, allowing their moving yokes to direct their output almost anywhere in the sanctuary. Featuring 19 x 12-watt quad colour (RGBW) LEDs and a motorized zoom range of 6 ~ 50-degrees, the Stryker Wash is a versatile automated wash-zoom fixture which offers an attractive ratio of price to functionality.
“The church didn’t really want much in the way of movement, but they did want a bit of flexibility for if they put on a Christmas production or want to highlight a soloist,” explains Mike. “To be honest, I had never used - or even seen - the Stryker Wash before this project. But Chris Healy [of the Healy Group, ADJ Group’s manufacturer’s representative for Wilson Pro AVL’s home stage of North Carolina] recommended it for the budget we had to work with. I looked at the specs, threw it into Capture to create some renders, and decided to take a gamble since the church only wanted two movers. The gamble paid off, as it ended up being a good fixture for them and worked out really well in their space.”
The system is completed by 34 KL PAR FC static wash fixtures and a length of Pixel Tape 40IP from another ADJ sister company, Elation Professional. The pars, which are rigged to both the overstage bar and auditorium truss, provide an even stage wash ensuring the worship team and teaching pastors are always clearly visible. Meanwhile, the pixel tape is used to highlight the cross which takes centre stage behind the choir stalls.
The system is operated via an NX1 console from yet another of ADJ’s sister companies, Obsidian Control Systems. Signal distribution is also facilitated by an Obsidian DMX 10-5 rack mount DMX splitter.
