Illuminating the Kingdom
Published: WORSHIP
SINGAPORE: No one can doubt that high-end entertainment technology has proven its worth in the faith community, but some events particularly highlight its importance within modern worship. Such was the case at Kingdom Invasion Conference 2014, which recently drew thousands of people to the Singapore Expo over four days. Helmed by Illuminate Productions Pte Ltd, a Singaporean based creative and technical production company, the event employed technology to help make its biggest impact yet.
‘What sets Illuminate apart from others is how we leverage technology to deliver an all-round experience for the audience in our productions,’ explains Huang Muen, the creative and technical director behind Illuminate Productions. Mr Muen’s team worked tirelessly throughout Kingdom Invasion, with a crew call time of 6am and night sessions ending at 10.30pm.
Similarly, no comprises were made in the choice of systems. Sound reinforcement was delivered through d&b audiotechnik J-Series line arrays, while a Midas Heritage 4000 analogue console sat at the front of house position with a Yamaha M7CL-48 used for mixing monitors. Shure KSM-9 microphones were used for the main vocals with Beta 58s for the remaining performers. On-stage, d&b M3 and M2 wedges were used for fold-back, while musicians were given the choice of personal monitoring via an Aviom system.
To ensure high quality visuals, a Datavideo SE-3000 switcher was used to cut the live footage supplied via four Sony 1700 HD Cameras, which included a 7m Jimmy Jib. In addition were four GoPro Hero3 cameras which used Datavideo DAC-70 converters to convert the HDMI signals to HD/SDI. The GoPro cameras made for an interesting addition to the live video set-up, providing a range of alternate angles for the mix, including one unit which was mounted on an automated slider track.
‘Using the GoPros was a very interesting experience,’ reflects Mr Muen. ‘They are extremely small yet able to output resolutions of up to 4k while offering very wide angles. The build of the camera also allows it to be mounted discreetly in places where camera operators might be intrusive. It resulted in a very clean stage without camera operators running about.’ Completing the video line-up was a Barco Encore switching sources between three 10mm LED Screens and four 20k Barco projector screens.
Elsewhere, Clay Paky fixtures were used to illuminate the stage. They included HPE 1500 spots, Sharpy beams and A.LEDA K10 washes, all controlled by two networked GrandMA2 consoles. Additional fixtures included two, four and eight cell Blinders, ETC Source 4 parnels and Martin Pro Atomic strobes.
As well as providing and managing the technical systems, Illuminate Productions designed the opening countdown and lyric videos for the event, of which the countdown proved a particular highlight, having taken months of intricate planning to achieve. Mr Muen also invited some famous figures to participate in the conference, including Taiwanese sound engineer and producer Jim Lee, and acclaimed video director Jiang Guo Ding.
However, Mr Muen is keen to stress that the technical success of the event was only possible thanks the hard work of those setting up and using the equipment. ‘Illuminate has a core team that puts in months of pre-production work beforehand,’ he says. ‘We worked closely with our client, Cornerstone Community Church, to ensure that every detail was covered for this conference.’
Tan Ruiping, media director of Cornerstone Church, added her own seal of approval, emphasising that the church ‘enjoyed working with Illuminate and had faith that they could deliver the best possible environment for the conference.’