The 45-year-old Lighthouse Evangelism in Singapore has undergone a major
refurbishment of its two halls which, set over two campuses at Woodlands and
Tampines, have a combined capacity of 3,500 people.
A complete revamp of the entire church stage, LED wall and lighting design was
called for, with the latter being undertaken by Lighting Designer, Michael Chan of Lighting Insomnia, for which he chose 14 laser-sourced Ayrton Cobra, 8 Ayrton Khamsin TC profiles, and 9 Ayrton Zonda 9 Wash fixtures.
These were supplied by Total Solution Marketing and installed by systems integrator
Soundsmith Solutions.
“I am always happy to work with a good lighting manufacturer,” said Chan
who explained why he chose to work with Ayrton to enhance the weekly
services of praise and worship.
“The design concept needed to fulfil a few objectives: firstly, we needed a brighter
and a more versatile face light system to replace the four existing moving lights
front-of-house; secondly, we wanted to update and improve the effects of the lighting
with more beam fixtures and a very bright backwash that could also do pixel
effects. This would give the weekly operators more options to play, design, and
program with.
“Lastly, we wanted to ensure the live broadcast and streaming
looked good, which meant we needed to make sure the new lighting fixtures had
both high CRI and TLCI.
“We wanted to avoid metal halide fixtures for ease of maintenance but needed
fixtures with a high lumen output that could stand their ground against the 20m by
5m LED wall in the centre of the back wall. So, whether they were effects, wash
or face lights, they needed to be able to compete with the brightness of the giant
LED wall.”
Of particular concern to Chan was the appearance of the side wings: “These
are very often just black drapes, which do not form an aesthetically pleasing
backdrop in the camera side shots so we needed something to break that
monotone.”
Chan was careful to keep an open mind when choosing the correct fixtures for
the church environment and a shoot-out between three manufacturers was
organised giving everyone a fair chance to showcase their products, not just to Chan, but to the church AVL team as well.
“To be frank, when we started the process, I only had Khamsin down as a
reference for the type of face light fixture I wanted,” Chan said. “But, the Khamsin TC
stood out among the competition due to its brightness and high RF, on top of all
its other great features. It can be used not just as a simple face light wash, but
also to spotlight a banner, person or set piece, and for ballyhoo effects and more,
from the audience to the stage.
“And Cobra is the same. The Cobra literally drew a ‘wow’ from the church team when we first turned it on. The texture and sharpness of the beam is something I think you have to see in person to fully appreciate. There’s something about the way the light beam cuts through the air that makes it so special. I think the secret is in the phosphor laser source.
“The Zonda 9 Wash was more straightforward in that it is one of the brightest
wash fixtures around and it could achieve both the pastel tones for preaching and
normal service, as well as the saturated colour tones that the praise and worship
songs need for extra drama. With a bit of creativity, these fixtures are able to fulfil
multiple roles and functions. They are very versatile.”
The Khamsin TC fixtures are installed on the FOH lighting truss and primarily
used for face lights and audience gobo breakups. The Zonda 9 Washes are
hung entirely on the lighting rig above the stage and used for back washes,
highlights and pixel effects.
Nine of the Cobra are hung in between the LED panels above the stage, and the
remaining five are on the floor. These are used for mid-air effects, gobo effects
and to add real depth and visual interest to camera shots.
“Cobra is one of our favourite Ayrton fixtures. Its prism façade is excellent and
the beam produced is sharp and well-focused,” commented Kevin Yap, Technical
Manager at Lighthouse Evangelism.
“Khamsin’s CRI is excellent, it produces great skin tones on video and is very camera-friendly, and the Zonda 9 Wash provides excellent coverage and colours.”
Yap also reports that the team is very happy with Chan’s choice of Ayrton
fixtures and the service it received from Total Solution and Soundsmith Solutions.
“The technical staff at Total Solution have always been very helpful and obliging.
They are always willing to show us any product we ask for, even if it means going
through the trouble of setting it up from scratch. Tevin and Glenn have also been
wonderful in supporting us. It is always a pleasure to see them at shootouts and
trade shows.
“The Soundsmith Solutions team has also been a great support throughout our
project. From the design stage, right up to selecting the best suitable products,
the team has been professional and brand neutral. This helped in keeping us well
informed about what we were choosing from and making the best possible
decisions for the organisation.”
Chan has lit and consulted for many other churches in the region including the
main auditorium lighting for the Heart of God Church and the lighting for the
Chinese Church Hall at BBTC.
Other installations include the PSA Innovation Centre at the PSA Horizon building, & Through the Lens of Time a permanent exhibition at the Singapore Discovery Centre and the Time Capsule attraction at the Singapore Flyer.
