Maranatha Community Church Johannesburg, South Africa, has invested in two sets of Astera Titan LED Tubes for its busy 3000-seat auditorium in Kempton Park.
Nereen Bradshaw is head of media at Maranatha, and she is responsible for creating content and overseeing lighting, media and video weekly at the Kempton Park campus, where she’s been involved for 10 years. The auditorium is used for three Sunday services each week (reaching approximately 5,000 - 6,000 people across all 3 services), and a live event is staged every Friday for around 400 young people. Four times per year there is a large mid-week family praise and worship service to coincide with the end of the school terms. All of the presentations and services include live musical performances.
Bradshaw and the team at Maranatha – headed by Senior Pastor Leonard Stone – are always looking out for new technology and elements to enhance their productions, but it was an album launch by resident church band, Direction, which prompted the Titan Tube purchase.
“We wanted something really extra special for this event,” explains Bradshaw.
The Church had bought other upgrades including Robe moving lights from Astera’s South African distributor DWR Distribution in recent years, so when DWR’s Robert Izzett came onsite and demonstrated the Titan Tubes, both Bradshaw and Leonard were impressed and ordered two sets, 16 Tubes in total.
Titan Tube LED’s emit tunable whites with ultra-high color rendering as well as colored light which can be applied to individual pixels or the whole tube. The tube can be used indoor or outdoor, AC-powered or on battery, and on the go with the AsteraApp, with wired or wireless DMX.
The battery powered operation and ability to regulate and optimise consumption and run time was a big selling point for Maranatha according to Bradshaw, who adds that they also still have the option of running them wired if required.
The Titans are hung above the stage area attached via carabiners to different length catenary wires to add depth and dimension to the performance area. This setup allows the Tubes to be moved around if needed. Currently they are programmed to run in pairs in a 4-pixel configuration, from the house lighting console.
Bradshaw is impressed with the brightness of the Titans and most of the time they are run at only around 40% intensity. They provide complimentary kinetic effects above the vocals, which he says look great on camera.
In the future, the Maranatha team intends to use the Tubes in other creative ways, including as hand-held illuminated props for dance items at special services such as Easter and Christmas celebrations. Within the next month they have in mind to use the Tubes in a hall with a wet concrete floor, for light effects while recording another music video for the band.
In addition to the brightness, Bradshaw appreciates the Astera colour mixing. The award-winning Titan LED engine allows any shade or hue to be selected and replicated - plus provides the possibilities of creative programming with pixel / zone, intensities, or colour sequences.
“They bring a completely new dimension to the stage and give it a real modern edge which is great for engaging younger members of the congregation and for presenting more energised and invigorated musical segments! Conversely using very slow colour or intensity effects has brought a gentle ‘raining’ kinetic experience - so they can be used for upbeat praise as well as quieter worship,” explains Bradshaw.
She also mentions the importance of the relationship with the distributor when investing in a brand, describing DWR as “brilliant – very friendly, helpful and super-knowledgeable.”
Bradshaw works with one other full-time staff member, Kaylin Dickson, plus a large crew of regular volunteers covering all the different technical departments. Bradshaw and Dickson run regular training sessions to ensure that the tech team stays informed, sharp and updated with the kit.
For more information about the Titan Tubes, visit https://astera-led.com/.
