MA lights up Rivers Church
Published: WORSHIP
SOUTH AFRICA: During the recent refurbishment of its Durban campus, Rivers Church upgraded its lighting system with an MA Lighting dot2 core console. The selection was made by Rivers Church’s head of lighting, Ed Helliwell, and was reportedly due to the great experience he has had with the manufacturer's grandMA2 system at the church’s Sandton, Johannesburg campus.
A decision was made to upgrade the lighting control of the Durban venue as the previous console was old and no longer working properly, coupled with the fact that the Durban venue was being refurbished. With the addition of a new balcony, increasing its capacity to 950 worshippers, together with a redesign of the stage, an opportunity was presented to increase the production values on the lighting side.
Based at the Rivers campus in Sandton, Mr Helliwell was, reportedly, already an advocate of the MA Control platform because of the flexibility offered by the venue’s grandMA2. Overseeing the lighting and visuals departments of the Durban campus, he attended a course, introducing the dot2, which was run by DWR Distribution, MA’s South African distributor.
At Rivers Church, lighting is often operated by volunteers of mixed technical ability, making simplicity and ease of use an essential factor in selecting a console. ‘The dot2 tells you what to do next, has a range of easy-to-use inbuilt effects and macros that mean, essentially, anyone with an aptitude can start to run it,’ explained Mr Helliwell. ‘It is highly interactive.’ He went on to add that that this functionality works well for the setup at Rivers Church as it encourages the confidence of volunteers.
The Durban sanctuary features 24 channels of dimmed lighting, comprised of ETC Source Four Pars, and 10 moving lights including a mix of profiles, washes and LED washes. The dot2 is also running a hazer.
Creative specialist, Earle Large and technical director, Kevin Naidu take care of the day-to-day lighting activities in Durban. Together, they work on multiple worship services on Sundays, as well as other events held in the venue, such as shows like the Hot Winter Nights sessions, which feature various Christian artists and performers and have proven to be very successful.
‘We all like the dot2, and it’s extremely user-friendly,’ enthused Mr Large. ‘We can programme a cue stack so that volunteers can press “go” and run a good looking show. It’s ideal for the job here in Durban as it is a really expedient size and at just 7kg in weight, it’s very easy to handle!’
Earle Large also added that they were happy to opt with the dot2 based on Ed Helliwell’s reports of the grandMA2 in Johannesburg and that it made sense to instil a sense of brand continuity between the two campuses. ‘MA is known for being a super-solid industry standard platform,’ he concluded.