Founded in 1869, First Presbyterian Church of Leesburg, Florida has a sanctuary that was constructed in 1970. Over 50 years later, the building’s lighting system still included many fixtures that were original to the building. Not only were they outdated, but they were also expensive to run, and failing fast. The leadership team decided it was time for a complete overhaul and, following some online research, determined they should move to LED technology for better efficiency and longevity. The church reached out to a number of local integrators who put together proposals, and Firelight Media and Integration was awarded the project.
Established in 2017 and based in Thomasville, South Georgia, Firelight Media and Integration serves churches throughout the Southeast. The company is owned and managed by Joshua Branch, who is well connected in the church community, having spent 15 years as a full-time worship minister before transitioning into audio, lighting and video integration. Receiving a request to quote on a job from out of the blue – “they found us through Google," explains Branch – is unusual for Firelight who usually pick up work from word of mouth, however having met with the church’s leadership Branch says he was quickly able to understand what they were looking for and put together a proposal that won the contract.
“The church had two main requirements that were pretty simple,” recalls Branch. “They wanted good, consistent house lighting as well as a nice even wash across their entire stage, which is very long and narrow. Live-streaming is a big part of their ministry at the moment, so they wanted to make sure that everyone up front could be picked up very clearly on camera. In essence this was a straightforward job, although the shape of the church – which has a high peaked ceiling – did cause a few issues. We had to think outside of the box a little bit and choose fixtures that could be hung in unique placements and at unconventional angles but could still fill the space evenly. On top of that, during our conversations it became apparent that they not only had a need for basic lighting, they also wanted a very versatile system. While their Sunday services are quite traditional, if they have a production or special event they wanted a system that could envelope the whole space with color. This led us to conceive a setup that took advantage of the design of the room, provides for the day-to-day needs of Sunday services but that also gives complete flexibility for special events.”
Branch and his team completely removed the existing lighting system and replaced it with 70 ADJ fixtures of various types. The majority of these were hung from existing 15’ bars that are attached to the side of six of the wooden arches that form the structure of the building’s sweeping roof line. To achieve the required even stage wash, which extends from the edge of the front row of pews to the very back of the stage to ensure coverage of everyone involved in leading a service, eight Encore FR Pro Color fixtures were installed. This Fresnel features an LED light engine that offers enhanced color mixing potential and a CRI in excess of 94. It also features a motorized zoom function, with a variable beam angle of between 9 and 37-degrees, allowing the same fixture to be utilized to create a broad wash or tight pool of light at different moments in the same service. Positioned behind a 7” Fresnel lens, the unit’s 400W LED light source delivers a maximum total lumen output of 9237 (full on, zoomed fully out). It combines red, green, blue, amber, cyan and lime LED chips to allow the creation of a gamut of colors as well as white light with a variable color temperature of between 2400K and 8500K.
“This was my first time using the Encore FR Pro Color, and I have to say that it is a phenomenal light,” enthuses Branch. “We have used the warm white only FR150Zs in the past – and love them – but the Pro Color is a gamechanger. There isn’t a huge jump in price point, but it just has so many more features to offer. The color mixing was obviously important, but the motorized zoom is also a tremendous advantage. Especially for situations like this, where the fixtures are 20 feet in the air and almost impossible to get to, being able to alter the beam angle remotely is incredibly useful. There are no hot spots, and the fixtures blend very well together when you want a nice even coverage of a large area, which was the case at First Presbyterian. It’s just a great, versatile, overall wash light.”
To complement this base wash, the Firelight team also supplied and installed sixteen Encore Profile Pro Color LED-powered ellipsoidal fixtures. Powered by a 250W RGBWAL LED engine with a CRI > 90, this fixture can be used to generate a wide range of colors from vibrant primaries to subtle hues. It can also output color-corrected white light, with a macro function designed for easy selection of a range of different Kelvin color temperatures. It offers a 4-blade manual framing shutter system, manual focus, and a B-size GOBO slot. It can be used with ADJ’s range of interchangeable lens tubes, however it has an industry-standard design and can therefore also be used with any existing ellipsoidal lenses.
“Encore Profile Pros are great for targeting lighting precisely to where it needs to go, so we used those to hit different specific areas where we knew subjects were going to be and needed to be lit precisely and with clarity,” Branch explains. “The church also particularly wanted the cross at the front of the sanctuary to be illuminated, so we used two of the Profile Pros with 19-degree lenses to light that. Using the framing shutters, we were able to get a really tight pool of light that did the job perfectly. Again, we chose the color version to give the church the ability to add in color if they want to as well as being able to dial in the exact right color temperature for their live streams. Having the lime element in the color mixing really takes these lights to another level, not just enhancing the colors it can produce but also increasing the clarity. After seeing the results on the subjects on stage, and especially on camera, I was blown away by the quality of the light. And to have it at the price point they are coming in at, to be able to offer it to clients who are looking for great lighting but without unlimited budget, I’ll say it again, it’s a gamechanger!”
To cover the church’s house lighting requirement, Branch and his team installed eighteen COB Cannon LP200ST wide angled wash fixtures. Featuring an efficient 200-Watt COB (Chip On Board) RGBAL (red, green, blue, amber and lime) LED light source, this compact fixture is designed for potent and even output with no color shadows. Offering a wide native beam angle of 80-degrees, allowing a large area to be washed with vibrant colored light, the fixture is also supplied with a useful lens kit. This comprises both 40-degree and 50-degree lens options, which clip to the front of the fixture to provide a narrower beam angle when required.
“This project was also our first time using the COB Cannon LP200ST,” says Branch. “We had used the original COB Cannon fixtures on numerous previous projects, and really like them as house lights, but this new model really takes things to a new level. It’s got plenty of brightness, incredible color mixing, and a nice wide coverage – which was essential because we were limited as to where we could hang the lights. Those fixtures gave us the coverage we needed and also provided the coloration we wanted. They output the cool white the church wanted for regular house lighting but also cover the entire color spectrum; so, at a moment’s notice they can change the color and immerse the whole building for a special program or service.”
Further extending this sense of immersive lighting, the new system also includes uplighting of the church’s sweeping roof lines. The ceiling comprises a series of arches, interspersed with wooden panels, into some of which windows are set. Branch and his team used Ultra Hex Bar 12 linear LED fixtures to illuminate the unbroken sections of wooden roof paneling, while a pair of 12PX HEX LED pars were positioned at each side of the windows to cover those sections. In addition, four further Ultra Hex Bar 12s are used to up-light textured wall panels at the back of the stage.
The system is completed by a pair of Focus Spot 5Z automated luminaires. Moving heads were explicitly requested by the church to allow spotlighting anywhere in the sanctuary, even away from the main stage area. Designed specifically with churches in mind, the Focus Spot 5Z is designed as a compact and powerful fixture which offers a variety of features particularly suited to houses of worship. Powered by a 200W cool white LED engine, the fixture is feature packed with motorized focus and zoom, two rotating prism effects (6-facet circular and 5-facet linear), two independent color wheels (each with 8 colors), a GOBO wheel with slots for six replaceable rotating GOBOs + open, and two frost filters to create soft edge wash looks.
“I love the five Focus Spot 5Z, it is a great moving head for the size of church that we often find ourselves working in. It has plenty of brightness and a versatile feature set. The zoom range is excellent, providing everything from a tight beam, through a defined spot, to a soft-edged wash [using the heavy frost filter]. The twin color wheels are also very useful, providing a whole other dimension to the possibilities it has to offer. We’ve used the Focus Spot 4Z on other projects and they are also great lights but, for the church market, the 5Z just adds a lot more options for the end user in terms of versatility,” Branch enthuses.
Branch and his team exceeded the expectations of First Presbyterian’s leadership by also incorporating full color mixing throughout the entire room, drawing together the uplighting with the stage and house lights in a way that gives them complete flexibility. Branch says both members and leaders at the church have been extremely positive with their feedback now that the project is complete. He says they love having a facility that is so versatile, which can give them everything they might need for Sunday services as well as any special events that may come up throughout the year.
For more information about First Presbyterian Church, visit www.firstpresleesburg.org.
To learn more about Firelight Media and Integration, visit www.firelightinc.com.
