Church at the Mill has expanded into a new building in Spartanburg, S.C., and a quick look at equipment installed in the 2,100-seat sanctuary might give the impression that the church is all about making a big statement with technology. It’s really the opposite. “The purpose of it all is not to impress,” says Lee Farmer, the church’s technical arts director, “but to help people to focus on one thing: what the pastor is saying or what the song is saying.”
Goals for a New Facility
Church at the Mill’s original sanctuary was in need of a technology refresh and had been at capacity for some time. New worshippers were arriving weekly as a result of Spartanburg County’s growing industrial landscape that includes one of auto giant BMW’s largest plants. “Our 700 seat sanctuary was ‘maxed out,’” Farmer recalls. The church was running three services on Sunday and worshippers were filling the simulcast services in overflow spaces, including the church’s original 350-seat facility.
"Without adding volume, it adds clarity and intentionality that helps us communicate." Lee Farmer, Technical Arts Director, describing the new d&b audioteknik Soundscape audio technology system
When Executive Pastor Ken Fisher arrived in 2016, plans were coming together for a new sanctuary that would be part of a new worship center with classrooms and a large concourse for fellowship. Unlike the old space, the new sanctuary would facilitate the church’s creative worship style. With that in mind, the new facility was planned to be more like a performing arts venue than a typical church environment, with a large stage, large backstage area, and the latest in technology.
For production technology, the church looked to Jerry Temple, president of XL Mediaworks Inc. in Columbia, S.C. who they had worked with in the past. Pastor Fisher communicated the church’s goal to create a center of worship focused on worship in an environment without distractions. “We believe that removing distractions elevates a person’s ability to focus,” says Fisher. Of particular concern for Fisher, himself a musician, and the AV teams, was to have sound in the sanctuary that represented the best that the industry could offer.
Audio Without Distraction
Knowing the church’s desire for sound that could immerse and not distract worshippers, Jerry Temple and David Seaford of XL Mediaworks invited Fisher to experience d&b audiotechnik’s unique Soundscape audio technology. Temple explains it as a system that uses the principles of time, width, depth and texture that you might find in the subtle nuances of an acoustic performance in an intimate venue.
“Soundscape delivers a more transparent experience for contemporary or traditional worship,” says Temple. “Most importantly, the spoken word is delivered full of feeling and passion.”
A massive 60-foot by 10-foot squareV LED wall was installed on a hoist system to provide a dynamic backdrop for the stage…
Fisher’s experience hearing the system in person confirmed Temple’s explanation of its potential for worship. With confirmation that the cost for the unique system would be just marginally greater than a more traditional, high-quality audio system, the design was approved.
Temple’s work began with the modeling of the new room for great audio by designing a system of acoustic treatments, including 500 4-foot by x8-foot ceiling baffles, a combination of 2-inch and 4-inch acoustics panels for walls, and AVL acoustical fiberglass ceiling clouds.
The XL Mediaworks team deployed a d&b Soundscape audio system featuring five line array hangs each with six Y-series cabinets. The Y-series are compact two-way passive line array and point source loudspeakers with flexible dispersion options and extended low frequency performance. Eight d&b 27S subwoofers were flown with four additional 21S subs located on the floor. In addition, eight d&b 16C column loudspeakers serve as front fills, with four 24S point source boxes deployed to the far left and far right outside.
Amplifiers for the installation are a combination of d&b 30D and 10D models with the signal distributed via d&b DS10 audio network bridges that each offer 16 AES3 digital output channels, four AES3 digital input channels and an integrated five-port network switch. A DS100 DSP runs d&b’s EnScene software that provides object-based signal management for the Soundscape system. Employing a 64x64 matrix for level and delay with I/O processing, EQ, gain, delay, and polarity, plus algorithm-based control of up to 64 loudspeakers, the Dante-enabled DSP allows for independent positioning of up to 64 sound objects relative to the audience. Additionally, an En-Space software module provides room emulation built from data captured in acoustically renowned performance spaces.
“Working with Soundscape,” says Farmer, “has been amazing. It allows us to create a great mix—not muddy, not loud—and provides a very natural way to accentuate an instrument or vocalist in the mix.” He explains that set up beside the FOH console is the touch screen used to control the Soundscape matrix. “There are 64 circles labeled [on the FOH console] to represent each of our inputs. We can ‘tell’ the application how wide or how direct we’d like the sound, then drag and drop it in relation to its position on stage.”
Farmer is quick to add that engineers could use it in ways that would be a distraction. “Potentially, we could move the position of the pastor’s mic with every step across the stage, but that would confuse the listener,” he says.
“Potentially, we could move the position of the pastor’s mic with every step across the stage, but that would confuse the listener.” Lee Farmer, Technical Arts Director, Church at the Mill
Instead, Farmer and the AV team use the control to create an intimate and natural experience for worship. He is convinced this unique tool makes services better. “Without adding volume, it adds the clarity and intentionality that helps us to communicate.”
To mix audio at FOH, XL Mediaworks team installed an Allen & Heath S7000 console with an Allen & Heath C3500 at a mix position at the stage and another installed to handle the broadcast/streaming mix. Farmer notes, “The addition of a mix position at the stage, was a great addition for us, allowing our FOH engineer to concentrate on FOH and make the monitor mix its own job. Doing both was difficult.” The d&b MAX2 boxes were located on stage as choir monitors and installed into custom-recessed monitor ports on stage.All mics at Church at the Mill are Shure QLXD models with RF Venue antenna distribution, and IEMs are Shure PSM 900 systems with similar RF Venue antenna distribution. In total, the church has 16 mics and 16 mono IEM mixes available.
Bigger, Better Video
A massive 60-foot by 10-foot squareV LED wall was installed on a hoist system to provide a dynamic backdrop for the stage that could be used for graphics, lyrics, animation, or creating subtle backgrounds for parts of the service. A squareV 4K processor and scaler handle images. In addition, two 12K Panasonic laser projectors were installed on either side of the stage, projecting onto Screen Innovations’ high gain screens.
A new broadcast video system was also installed, including a For-A HVS-390HS 2ME video switcher and Grass Valley T2 digital recorder/players.
The house lighting system designed by XL Mediaworks utilizes a combination of 72 Lightsource HL100 and MR80 energy efficient fixtures. Stage lighting design employs ETC S4WRD ellipsoidal and PAR fixtures, along with ETC ColorSource ellipsoidals, ETC ColorSource PARa and 20 Chauvet R2 Wash moving head fixtures. An Avolites Quartz was specified as the main lighting console.
Putting it all back into perspective, Farmer closes, saying, “While we have a lot of amazing technology to work with, we are very purposeful about how it is used. That makes the difference.”
