Music is important to the mission of Believers Church. So much so, that this 2,100-member non-denominational house of worship in northeastern Ohio has its own bands and combos, including the aptly named “BC Band.” It also welcomes an impressive array of guest performers to its services and events. Supporting the music at the church’s newly remodelled Youth Room with immersive live venue-style lighting is a collection of Chauvet Professional Rogue and Ovation fixtures supplied by Goliath Lighting.
“Our youth services have a lot of very expressive high-energy songs,” said Cory Clement, the church’s technical director, who oversaw the lighting upgrade. “Being able to reflect this music with colour changes, zooms and effects from 19 moving fixtures really provides an engaging and enriching experience. Previously, we had no movers in our Youth Room, so the difference is night and day.”
The lighting upgrade that Clement speaks of was part of a larger $800,000 renovation project that involved the section of the building that had been the church’s school. “Everything in the school area was completely gutted, which allowed us to start from scratch,” he said. “The new Youth Room was previously gym space. Lighting, sound and video were all purchased new for this project.”
Making up the lighting package, which was selected by Clement, are nine Rogue R1 Wash, six Rogue R2 Wash and four Rogue R2 Spot fixtures, which are used for effect lighting, as well as four Ovation E-910FC RGBA-Lime colour-mixing ellipsoidals and two Ovation F-165WW warm white Fresnel fixtures for front of house lighting.
Speaking of his choice of fixtures, Clement noted: “I knew I would only have so many circuits available, so LED fixtures were a must because of their low power draw. Beyond that, I wanted to stay in the same family of fixtures so that I could easily achieve similar colour palettes. The Rogue and Ovation lines were a great match for the budget – and they added great flexibility.”
Clement hung his Rogue R1 Wash fixtures on a grid of downstage, mid-stage and upstage truss. “I really wanted to have a grid look with the R1s to get coverage on the bands, so I placed three washes on each of the truss structures,” he said. “They work extremely well there. I constantly use them to zoom out to create very dramatic washes of the band and singers. For up-tempo songs, the grid of nine Rogues makes for cool effects.”
The four Chauvet Professional Rogue R2 Spot fixtures in Clement’s rig are flown with the wash units on the mid-stage and upstage truss to add definition to the wash light at the appropriate moments. For side lighting and silhouetting, Clements relies on the six Rogue R2 Washes. “We are able to give the stage extra depth with the side lighting,” he said. “When we want to add a dramatic flair, we can silhouette the performers on stage.”
Also adding depth and colour to the stage are the Ovation E-910FC ellipsoidal units, which Clement uses to light band members. The warm white Ovation F-165WW fixtures are used to light speakers.
“Taken together, the new rig has given us a complete package to add to our services and the musical performances,” said Clement. “The services and music are so impassioned, they deserve complete and immersive lighting – and now they have it.”
