When Watermark Church in Ashford, Alabama, constructed a new larger sanctuary they brought in local audio-visual company Premier Entertainment Group to install a brand-new lighting system. Long-time ADJ customers, the Premier team specified an all-ADJ rig to provide color, movement and GOBO projections to create the right atmosphere for the church's dynamic worship services.
Premier Entertainment Group had previously worked with Watermark Church on their special ‘Night of Worship' events, when they provided extra lighting to supplement the church's in-house rig. Through these events Guiler and the Premier team built a strong relationship with Lead Pastor Todd Thorpe, Worship Pastor Tim Flowers and the technical volunteers at Watermark Church.
The church already owned twelve ADJ Mega Bar 50 RGB LED wash bars, which Guiler decided to retain for the new system. Most of these were positioned along the back of the stage to provide colored up-lighting for the textured backdrop behind the area used by the church worship band. A further three were then mounted above the stage to provide colored downlighting for the three musician risers spread across the stage.
These were then augmented by seven new ADJ Flat Par QA5Xs positioned above the stage, but further forward, to wash the front of the stage from above. Powered by five 5W RGBA LEDs these par fixtures are used to add bold colors to the stage during worship sets, while their Amber element means that they can also be used to provide a warm stage wash during sermons.
To complete the overhead rig, Guiler's team also installed four ADJ Inno Spot Elites to provide moving mid-air effects for upbeat songs as well as to project GOBO patterns onto the stage to add interest during slower, more intimate, times of worship. Powered by a potent 180W white LED engine, the Inno Spot Elite offers a host of professional features – such as rotating replaceable GOBOs, a 6-facet prism, and motorized focus and iris – while still coming in at a very affordable price point.
“Although it's a very contemporary church,” explains Guiler, “they didn't want the lighting to be too distracting. That's why we went for the Inno Spot Elites, as they came into the budget but still featured a 6-facet prism that is great for throwing a ton of subtle texture out there on the stage to get a really nice solid look. We also didn't want to go with a discharge fixture, as we didn't want them to have to worry about striking lamps or replacing them over time. The Inno Spot Elite was ideal as it offered the right level of brightness for the size of room, as well as the features we needed, at a price the church could afford, so it really was a home run!”
The system was completed by four ADJ Inno Color Beam Z7s which are positioned on top of Global Truss totems, at two different heights, spread across the stage. Each powered by seven 10W RGBW LEDs, these versatile fixtures feature motorized zoom which allows their beam angle to be altered between 10- and 60-degrees. This means that the same four fixtures can sometime be used to wash the stage and congregation with swathes of diffuse color, while at other times focused to generate tight beams of light for engaging mid-air effects.
In total 27 ADJ fixtures were used to create the rig. “We gave the guys at the church a few different options, but they said, ‘We're happy with the ADJ equipment we already have, so we think we should stick with them'. I said I think you've made a great decision, it's really solid product. And it definitely was the right decision, as the rig has been in there for more than two years now and they haven't had a single issue. It's rock solid!”
