In the post-pandemic lockdown era, many churches have grown their virtual gatherings as large or if not larger than their in-person gatherings, which means that their video has to be on-point. On-point video isn’t just about good cameras and audio—lighting will make or break live and post-production shoots. Time Square Church in New York City lives that particular reality, and ARRI stepped in to help with their Orbiter and SkyPanel LED lighting solutions. Church Production took a few minutes in today’s video to sit down with Austin Allen, a filmmaker at Times Square Church to talk about the experience.
The ARRI Orbiter and Classic Skypanel have received the Church Production Road Test Certification.
"...I really do feel like it's saved us time in post... These lights are great as soon as you turn them on." - Austin Allen, Filmmaker, Times Square Church, New York, New York
“The thing I've really enjoyed about using these ARRI Orbiter lights” Austin notes, “is that I really do feel like it's saved us time in post in terms of just correcting for someone's skin tone or trying to dial it in just right. These lights are great as soon as you turn them on. We don't have to wait for them to warm up, [to wonder] are they going to be too warm or is it going to be just a little bit too cold or too purple or too magenta. So even on set, I would argue we were able to work faster and move with a bit of more efficiency because we weren't having to worry about the lights.”
"... being able to have both of those lights (ARRI Orbiter and Classic Skypanel) on set with us really enabled us to craft the exact amount of light we needed." - Austin Allen
But ARRI really delivers beyond the wildly versatile Orbiter. The Classic SkyPanel made the difference in crucial filming moments for Austin. “We were able to use the SkyPanel in conjunction with the Orbiters to really fill out the entire space that we were working in. So maybe there's a couple parts of your scene where you really do need that more focused, harder light of an Orbiter, but there are many, many scenes where we also needed that larger fill light from the SkyPanels as well. So being able to have both of those lights on set with us really enabled us to craft the exact amount of light that we needed from the direction that we needed it as well,” Austin says.
ARRI is a legend in Hollywood, as we all know, but these lights bring Hollywood to the rest of us in a highly tunable and color-accurate package. Yes, these are going to cost more than starter Amazon light boxes or even something more “pro” at other AVL retailers, but the cost makes sense and isn’t out of the ballpark for churches that are serious about video content, which Marcel Patillo and Austin Allen really drive home in today’s video. Watch the full clip to learn just exactly how these can take your video to the next level.
In the meantime, check these links for the full specs on the Arri Orbiter and SkyPanel.
