The show was videoed for later release and broadcast on the TBN Network
USA - Trading off the needs of one audience for another is sometimes unavoidable – but not always. Chad Landers demonstrated that on 12 July when he lit Worship Forever, a 20th anniversary celebration of Michael W. Smith’s landmark Worship album, with a rig supplied by CTS and 4Wall Entertainment.
Held before a live audience at the Allen Arena on the campus of Lipscomb University, the show, which featured Smith and special guests like Amy Grant backed by a full orchestra, was videoed for later release and broadcast on the TBN Network.
Landers was seeking a way to engage the audience with a direct wash from his downstage position without being distractive on camera. He found it with help from a collection of 25 Chauvet Professional COLORado Solo Batten fixtures.
“My challenge was to turn what is basically a basketball arena into an elegant modern orchestral concert setting,” said Landers. “The COLORados were instrumental in helping me do this by allowing me to create a single homogenised wash without the pixelated look that doesn’t come off well on camera. I also used them for colourful scenic uplighting.”
Landers arranged most of the RGBAW batten units vertically across the front of the stage. From this position, the fixtures created a panorama of bright single bars of light that not only reached the audience with smooth washes, but also presented engaging visuals for human eyes, whether they were watching live or via a video screen.
“They were fantastic,” Landers said of the COLORado units. “I was able to have direct light on the audience without taking anything away from the video production, all while creating stunning visuals.”
The balanced looks Landers created were ideally suited for the moment at Lipscomb University. Mark W. Smith’s original Worship album represented a significant milestone for praise music, and its release on 11 September, 2001 coincided with a seminal moment in the history of the USA.
“Michael’s album Worship became the backbone of the worship music community,” said Landers. “It truly helped pave the way for the genre as we now know it. Of course, being released on the day of the 9-11 attacks, it quickly became a source of comfort and solace for millions of people.”

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