1 of 5
IN 2011, THREE CHURCHES MERGED INTO ONE AND CREATED REDEMPTION CHURCH.
2 of 5
“THE SOUND SYSTEM IS REALLY CLEAR. NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE, YOU CAN HEAR IT JUST AS WELL AS ANY OTHER SPOT IN THE ROOM.” TIM SMITH, DIRECTOR OF TECHNICAL MINISTRIES, REDEMPTION CHURCH, GILBERT, AZ
3 of 5
[L-R] Tim Smith, director of technical ministries, Redemption Church, Gilbert, Ariz., and his team: Video Manager Aaron Kass, Production Manager Mason Gailfus,and IT Manager JJ Buckingham, completed the AV design and installation at Redemption Gilbert. Photos courtesy of Kayce Smith.
4 of 5
“OUR SIDE PROJECTORS CAN SHOOT ON THE FRONT WALL OR CAN BE ROTATED TO SHOOT ON THE SIDE WALLS.” TIM SMITH, DIRECTOR OF TECHNICAL MINISTRIES, REDEMPTION CHURCH, GILBERT, AZ
5 of 5
A self-powered Martin Audio MLA Compact loudspeaker system was selected because of its ability to adapt to the challenges of the room while providing quality coverage and audio.
One of these campuses, Redemption Gilbert located in the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert, Ariz., had 2,800 attendees, but was split between two buildings for its services. Tim Maughan, teaching pastor at Redemption Gilbert, and the church's elders made the decision to renovate their conference center into an 1,100-seat auditorium. Tim Smith, director of technical ministries, oversaw the technical aspects of the renovation.
Staff history
Smith was moving up in the secular production industry when God called him into ministry. In 2005, while attending the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences in
Arizona, Smith began attending a young adults service at East Valley Bible Church (one of the churches that merged to form Redemption).
He attended weekly with his friend, Kayce, who would become his wife. He moved to Los Angeles to complete his internship and was soon hired as an audio engineer at a post-production facility. Though Smith's career was advancing, he did not find it satisfying. He explains, “I was working at a place that did a lot of music videos and I was just praying about it saying, ‘God, I don't think I want my name on this kind of stuff. I feel like you have something better for me.” Two days later, Tim Maughan, the then-executive pastor at East Valley Bible, contacted Kayce to see if Smith would be interested in joining the technical staff at the church. “I took it as a sign from God,” Smith says, and in October 2006 he was hired as the audio production manager at East Valley. Five years later, he was promoted to director of technical ministries.
The renovation plan
It was decided that Smith and his team, which consisted of Production Manager Mason Gailfus, Video Manager Aaron Kass, and IT Manager JJ Buckingham, would complete the AV design and installation themselves. One of the main goals was improving the audio. Maughan felt their previous systems sounded good for either worship or for teaching, but they wanted a system that sounded great for both. With that goal in mind, they contacted Jim Jorgensen, an attendee at Redemption Gilbert since 1997 and product support engineer for Martin Audio. Jorgensen was an obvious choice because they had previously worked with him and already had several Martin Audio systems on campus.
“I WAS WORKING AT A PLACE THAT DID A LOT OF MUSIC VIDEOS AND I WAS JUST PRAYING ABOUT IT SAYING, ‘GOD, I DON’T THINK I WANT MY NAME ON THIS KIND OF STUFF. I FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE SOMETHING BETTER FOR ME.'”
Tim Smith
DIRECTOR OF TECHNICAL MINISTRIES, REDEMPTION CHURCH, GILBERT, AZ
There were several challenges to address in this installation. The renovation included tearing down one of the sidewalls—making the room shallow but wide. In addition to upgrading the audio, the video system also needed an upgrade. Smith explains, “The hardest part was getting the screen, speakers, and lighting all to work together. We were still running SD video at the time, so I wanted to upgrade to HD and do a video screen across the whole back of the stage. However, we also wanted to put videos up there and have a 16x9 aspect ratio.” The solution was a 28-foot-wide screen that spans the majority of the stage. “Height was an issue, so we had to raise our second electric lighting bar so it wouldn't obstruct sight lines to the screen and move our audio cluster up into the roof.”
AVL maneuvers
Due to the wide coverage pattern necessary for the room and the hang requirements to allow for the video screen, Jorgensen suggested the self-powered Martin MLA Compact system because of its ability to adjust to the challenges of the room while providing quality coverage and audio. Rounding out the sound system is a Yamaha M7CL digital mixing console, and onstage monitoring is accomplished primarily through Martin and JBL wedges, but the church also has Sennheiser wireless in-ears available for some of the band members. Their wireless microphones are Shure ULX systems.
Once the MLA Compact system was chosen, it was time for Smith to focus on the video upgrade. Redemption Gilbert uses video primarily for lyrics and video display, though they also send a camera feed to a mother's room and the lobby, as well as recording the messages to post them online. They wanted to upgrade to 1080i and add a video switcher that had the ability to use an alpha-key (a key that removes the “alpha” transparency information while letting the rest of the signal through) for lyrics. Smith explains, “I started diagramming what we wanted for inputs and outputs. We looked at different models and realized we had to go with a two M/E switcher (mix-effect—a two M/E switcher has two complete and separate video mixing systems with effects in one switcher) to get the inputs and outputs we needed,” Smith continues. “We went to NAB and talked with Blackmagic Design and discovered we could use the Atem 1 M/E panel with the Atem 2 M/E switcher.” The panel can control either M/E individually, or the second M/E can be controlled via computer software. Because of this capability, the church was able to get all the features and flexibility they needed in the one panel system and save $10,000.
The lighting system also received several upgrades, including adding 88 Philips Vaya Linear Color LED light bars around the room to add color on the walls. They also installed additional power and redesigned the existing lighting plot. At the heart of Gilbert's lighting is a GrandMa1 full-size console.
Their conventional fixtures are ETC Source Fours run by ETC dimmers. Eight Chauvet Q-Series LEDs and eight Colorado fixtures are used for stage color, and 11 Elation Platinum Spots are used primarily for texture.
End results
REDEMPTION IS NOW ONE CHURCH WITH SEVEN CAMPUSES, AND 6,000 ATTENDEES ACROSS ARIZONA.
The renovation included installing 12 MLA Compact boxes (three clusters of four boxes), two Panasonic PT-DW830 projectors, a Barco RLM-W12 projector, and a Blackmagic Atem 2 M/E switcher. Smith and his team pulled and terminated all the cabling and designed a control system for the projectors and the 12 flat-panel displays for digital signage in the lobby. Clearwing Productions of Phoenix designed and installed the projection system. Redemption uses the side projectors in a unique way that Smith was initially hesitant about. As he explains, “Our side projectors can shoot on the front wall or can be rotated to shoot on the side walls.” Smith reports that they primarily use them on the sides “so if you're sitting off to the side you can look across and see it.” They also have a confidence projector on the back wall. This results in the lyrics being displayed on all four walls, so they are easily visible to everyone.
Everyone is pleased with the results of the renovation. “The sound system is really clear,” Smith notes. “No matter where you are, you can hear it just as well as any other spot in the room.” According to Maughan, “It is the best of both worlds when it comes to music presentation and preaching. The congregation is brought closer together and is more engaged in every aspect of what we are doing.”
One of Smith's favorite additions utilizes a Blackmagic video hub, which all inputs and outputs run through. “Our booth is twenty-five-feet wide,” Smith states. “I added computer monitors and made a keyboard patch bay so we can take ProPresenter (presentation software) and put it right by the audio or video stations without having to run across the booth to operate it.” This system makes managing events with only a few people much easier because one technician can control video content from any computer monitor in the booth while operating lighting or audio equipment.
Moving forward
Looking back, the self-installation was a success and Smith says he would definitely consider self-installation for future projects, provided he has the help of his team. The most challenging part of the process was not having a solid time reference. As he explains, “We had never done something like this before, so we weren't sure how long things would take.”
Smith offers this advice to other churches considering a self-install: document everything. “Label every cable that is run and have it on a sheet somewhere so when you go back you know where everything is going.” He adds, “Communicate with designers and electricians who are designing the building and with the contractors and electricians to make sure everything is how you want it.”
Now that the installation is done, Smith is looking toward the future of the tech ministry at Redemption Gilbert. “I took over as the director almost two years ago and almost right away got this project thrown into my lap. Toward the end of this project I started thinking about where would we go from here and how would we grow?” Smith has been looking for ways to lead and unite his team. He leads them in evaluating themselves as a team so they can encourage each other to improve and grow. And he hopes to soon have a monthly Bible study with the team, lead by one of the campus pastors, so the team can grow together spiritually as they serve and minister side by side.
