Chauvet helps transform Salem Baptist Church
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Salem recently opened the first satellite campus in its 152-year history. Located 12 miles from the main campus, the new Salem at Keys Ferry building, which was acquired from another church, seats approximately 300. Like the main campus, the new building was designed to support a welcoming worship environment. However, it did not have comparably modern lighting. To address this issue the church contracted StageCulture to design and install a new lighting system for the Keys Ferry.
“The church’s vision was to create a space in this building that would be more contemporary,” said Andrew Ayers, owner of StageCulture. “We welcomed the opportunity to upgrade the lighting system since this space offered excellent possibilities to create a modern lighting rig.”
Among the features creating exciting possibilities at the new building is its 50ft wide stage. With an eye toward this stage being used for future livestreams and video projects, Ayers ensured that it would have a smooth, even, and consistent field of light across its entire width.
“We were able to achieve 50ft candles across the front of the stage, to dial it in for future video expansion, so it looks great both in house and on camera,” said Ayers. “Appropriate fixture selection, placement and focus were essential in achieving this goal.”
A collection of eight Chauvet Professional Ovation E-160WW 3031 K warm white LED ellipsoidal fixtures flown in a row over the front of the stage, are providing key lighting at the new building. Drawing on the Ovation fixture’s built-in 16-bit dimming, the church’s lighting team can create smooth transitions, while its Pulse Width Modulation ensures the flicker-free output that will be critical once videos are done at the facility.
Adding punch and variety to the lighting rig are its four Rogue R1X Spot fixtures. Arranged across the upstage deck, these 170W moving lights fill a variety of roles at the church. Drawing on the fixtures’ motorized iris and frost, the design team uses them to create aerial effects. They are also relied on to project a variety of colourful gobos across the stage, as well as on the walls and ceiling.
On the subject of gobos, Ayers notes that they “fall in line with wanting to keep the church’s rig modern and contemporary.” He adds that “gobos are a great way to add texture to a space giving it a very contemporary feel.”
Drawing up plans for the new rig in Previz, Ayers and his team took five days to install the entire system. This included rigging, cable pulling, fixture installation and commissioning.
