Millwood Baptist looks to Chauvet to boost worship engagement
Published: WORSHIP
WORLD: With its 29-year-old building in the midst of a renovation project, church leaders at Millwood Baptist in Austin, Texas, were also seeking ways to emphasise engagement with its congregation. Following the decision to install a new lighting system, the management enlisted the services of Digerati Audio Video Systems to design a system that would be both ‘practical and easy to control’ as well as create a colourful and contemporary look.
‘Millwood Baptist has been a client of ours for many years, so when the time came to renovate their worship centre, they called us,’ recalled Mark Tarbet, president of the Digerati Audio Video Systems. ‘The church wanted to update its look, and new theatrical lighting was certainly a big part the plan. At the same time, they also wanted lights that were easier to control, because their old fixtures kept hitting the projection screens with light at services. Of course, budget was an issue too. The Chauvet fixtures and our local rep Brandon Bishop helped make this happen.’
The Digerati team used eight Chauvet ColorRado 2-Quad Zoom VW Tour RGBW LED pars and 12 ColorRado 1-Tri Tour RGB LED fixtures. ‘We used the 2-Quad ZOOM VWs for stage wash lighting in 3,000-degree colour temperatures, while the Tri Tours were used for effects and colour washes on the stage, walls and ceilings,’ explained Mr Tarbet. ‘Now the church is painting the room with these lights to create a mood that reflects different parts of a service.’
‘Our goal was to provide Millwood Baptist with effective and controlled stage washes in zone coverage, with the ability to use colour as additional highlight washes,’ he added. ‘By using colour on the ceilings, walls and stage, we increased the church’s creative options and have helped it engage worshippers on another level. We also tied the architectural lighting system into the theatrical so that house lights can be controlled from the lighting console, and vice versa. This allows us to install button panels on the walls so that a user can push a button and bring up various combinations of house and theatrical lighting cues.’
The installation was followed by training sessions with the church’s volunteers. ‘The church is thrilled with the system,’ furthered Mr Tarbet. ‘They are using it in new ways as they learn more. At this point it is only scratching the surface of what it will become.’