The board members convened last week and decided the addition of automated lighting to your church’s existing system is now a viable option. They also agreed that next year’s budget allows for this valuable investment. Over the years, many of your church’s productions and services have grown to a size that automated lighting will be a useful enhancement to your existing system. In short, it’s time to upgrade.

Before jumping into a quick purchase, however, you might want to look at a few preventive measures that could, in the end, save your church thousands of dollars and countless hours of frustration.

“One of the challenges that many churches face is that they don’t have a production staff skilled in automated lighting technologies,” said Julie Donaldson, sales director at Dallas-based Vari-Lite, a leading manufacturer of automated lighting equipment. “I believe that understanding your needs, as well as developing knowledge about the products and the technology, are some of the most important first steps in any new endeavor. You have to fully understand your needs and know where to go to find the equipment that will provide the flexibility required for church productions.”

Donaldson said finding exceptional design, sales and technical support is critical in making a successful purchase.

“You can’t just sell automated lighting equipment and walk away expecting everyone to be instant experts,” she said. “Proper training, technical and sales support should be part of the package.”

With this in mind, research is your best friend. Many manufacturers of automated lighting equipment will bend over backwards to provide a hands-on experience with the equipment, and most will offer on-site demonstrations. Also, lighting industry trade shows offer the opportunity to toy with a variety of equipment from a number of manufacturers. Another option is to visit other churches, discuss your needs with their production people and ask questions about the success of their systems. Most people are excited to talk about their lighting system and how they use it for different applications.

When you look at your church facility and the events held there, pay close attention to the types of productions. How many are there each year? Are there a wide variety of productions or do most of them fall under the same category?

Ask tons of questions of those involved with your services and special events, as well as those who may be involved in the future. Understanding what you will do with the system is key to choosing the right equipment.

Armed with this information, you can proceed to the next step. One of the most effective ways to choose automated lighting equipment for permanent installation is to hire an experienced lighting consultant to help determine your lighting requirements. These lighting gurus can study the size and structure of your sanctuary and stage, evaluate the different types of productions held at your church, and give you several options based on their research.

“Specialists like this already know how to evaluate your requirements and determine the number and type of luminaires, control systems and power distribution you will need,” Donaldson said. “It’s no different than hiring an acoustic consultant to ensure you have the right acoustics and sound system design. Look at your lighting system in the same way. It’s an investment, and you need to step carefully during the decision process.”

As you work with the consultant, make sure you understand how the system will be installed and supported, as well as how you will be educated on its use, before writing a check for the gear.

Too much or not enough? This question almost always rears its head when considering the addition of automated luminaires. Often, when it comes to bright and flashy lighting, less is more and church production designers have to utilize a certain amount of restraint to keep the lighting from becoming a distraction. At the same time, investing in low-power luminaires could be a mistake. When choosing automated luminaires, balance within the entire lighting system should be one of your top considerations.

Many manufacturers of automated lighting offer inexpensive, low-power luminaires. You could go that route and save a few dollars. However, for most church applications, you really need something more than just the bright and flashy look typically seen in clubs and similar entertainment venues. To make your lighting efforts successful, you’ll need good color and pattern control for events like Easter performances. You’ll also need smooth motion and beam control for all of your services.

A variety of gobos, including custom and standard designs, and the use of automated zoom functions in the luminaires also play a valuable part in church productions. In the end, it’s pointless to add automated luminaires to your system if they won’t give your church what it needs. Make an informed investment to be sure you get the features, quantity, growth capability and support you need. You won’t regret it.

As for the lighting control console, if your current equipment doesn’t support automation, you might need to consider an upgrade in this area as well. If you choose a less expensive control console, it’s possible that you could be stuck with a control system that will not support your future plans. Typically, people who buy an automated lighting console and control system for permanent installation realize the investment needs to take them at least through the next five to 10 years, and that the equipment will have to meet the growing needs of their productions throughout that time.

Remember that some consoles were designed for specific types of control applications, while others were made to be flexible and support situations with varying types of luminaires and levels of user expertise. These consoles bring a new level of control to timing and effects features. However, just as with luminaires, purchasing a console should be seen as a long-term investment. The Vari-Lite Virtuoso DX console, for example, is considered by many in the lighting industry to be a desk with plenty of headroom and growth capability that maintains the same ease of use with a high level of control for the user. This type of capability means an initial investment will carry your events and productions for years to come.

Recent advances in lighting technology have provided churches with more options than ever before. Without information, however, these choices could become stumbling blocks for churches looking to improve their productions and weekly services.

“It’s all about knowledge,” Donaldson said. “Find professionals who understand the industry and technology, and ask to see several options before making a decision.” Don’t hesitate to put in the necessary infrastructure — such as control and power wiring or conduit — even if you can’t purchase all the gear in the beginning.”

While an automated lighting system purchased for permanent installation is not exactly permanent, you will probably have to live with your choices for a long time. People don’t buy automated lighting on the spur of the moment, and they don’t buy lighting control consoles with automated capabilities just for today’s performances.

The key to successfully adding automated lighting to your church’s system is to make informed choices with the help of experts in the industry.

Follow these simple rules to determine what you want to accomplish first, bring in the right experts to help find the overall solution and to ensure that you understand what you are getting and how to use it.

Keith Seawright is Vice President of Technical Marketing with Vari-Lite, Inc. He can be reached at kseawright@vari-lite.com.