Life.Church has 34 campuses stretching from New Mexico to New York (photo: Tyson Wiens)
USA - In January 1996, what is now Life.Church was founded as Life Covenant Church in a two-car garage equipped with an overhead projector and two construction lights purchased at Lowes for under $40. The church and its technological prowess have both come a long way since then.
Ranked among the largest houses of worship in the US, Life.Church has 34 different campuses stretched out 2,078 miles, from Rio Ranch, New Mexico to Albany, New York. Live stream video has been key to helping the church reach worshippers throughout this far flung network of satellites.
Since July of this year, these videos have emanated from a sprawling new broadcast campus, engineered by Summit Integrated Systems, that features equipment, including a lighting rig anchored by a collection of over 100 Chauvet Professional Maverick, Ovation, and Rogue fixtures.
The product of a two-year process, overseen by project manager Jared Wells, technical director Greg Baucus, and lighting designer Daniel Connnel, the new broadcast campus is capable of capturing and distributing 4k video content. Featuring a fully robotic camera and dolly system as well as AR- equipped technology, the campus is a model of precise engineering.
Given the sophistication of its video equipment, the campus needed a lighting system that could deliver optimal colour temperatures and smooth, even fields of light with no distractive shadows or flickers. The lighting rig also had to operate silently. These considerations led to the specification of the Chauvet gear, such as the 48 Rogue R2 Wash fixtures that are flown over the stage and used for down washing audience lighting and specials, as well as the 10 Maverick MK3 Washes that are positioned upstage on the floor for low back lighting and visual effects.
The CTO colour mixing of the Maverick MK3 Wash is resulting in realistic hues on camera, while their pixel mapping effects and gobo features give the church’s designers a wide range of creative options.
Providing spot lighting and camera-friendly effects in the room are the rig’s 12 Maverick MK3 Profile fixtures. The 820W LED moving fixtures have the output to create dramatic effects that translate well to video.
The design team front lit the stage with 39 Ovation E-930VW ellipsoidal units, relying on the fixture’s 2800K to 8000K colour temperature with high CRI and CQS to ensure proper key lighting
For back lighting, the area behind speakers is lit with the nine Ovation F-915VW Fresnel units.
(Jim Evans)

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