NEWS
Transformation Church upgrades services with Ayrton USA Transformation Church (TC), a multiethnic, multi-generational, missionshaped community outside Charlotte in Indian Land, South Carolina, has added Ayrton Levante fixtures to its inventory of equipment. The HOW acquired the fixtures from SES Integration, a division of Special Event Services located in North Carolina. Zach McCrorey, lighting designer and production director at TC, admits that he arrived “slightly sceptical” at the Levante demo set up by SES Integration since he’d never used an Ayrton product before. “But after being introduced to the product line, my scepticism was a thing of the past. I was blown away by the features housed within the Levante and left the demo deciding that the Levante was a top contender among the fixtures we had researched.”
TC removed all incandescent fixtures to make room for seven Levante units. “What a world of difference these fixtures have made,” he declared. “The Levantes have been an absolute game changer, and the quality of our online experience has been raised
tenfold. In conjunction with our most recent broadcast camera upgrades, our key lighting infrastructure had to be enhanced as well. Now, our team onstage is lit so incredibly well in person, and that translates beautifully through the camera lens to those
watching from home. Also, there are multiple broadcast locations within our auditorium – from the main stage to the broadcast host location to our baptistry area – and utilising the very smooth framing shutters has made highlighting any area a breeze. “As our community is multi-ethnic, being able to light diverse skin tones quickly and correctly is important,” he added. “Levante’s colour palette mixes very well, and the colours displayed are crisp. The fixture is quiet and quick in response. But what is truly mind-blowing is how compact it is. We utilise a single-man lift for all strike and installation of lighting fixtures, so weight was an important factor in deciding which fixture to purchase. We were thrilled to learn that this fixture came in under 23kg.” McCrorey reports that TC is “incredibly pleased with the purchase we made and the powerful performance delivered by the Levante fixtures. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a few more Ayrton products very soon.” www.ayrton.eu
d&b helps unite tradition at St Mary’s
UK With traditional and informal bandled worship at its heart, St Mary’s, Hampton is a growing church with a thriving online congregation. Reverend Ben Lovell, who arrived at St Mary’s in West London four years ago, inherited a sound system that he described as unsightly – “big black speakers nailed to a historic war memorial. The system was muddy, the volume would change, the band was very loud,” he explained. A self-confessed audio enthusiast, Reverend Lovell used to run the sound engineering for The Boy’s Brigade main worship band. “So, I like good sound,” he said. When long-awaited improvements became
possible, dependable audio became part of the project. “It was about us not having an amateur system that had been pieced together, but rather
having one that was top notch – a professional system. I also wanted good bass response because it gives music a warmer tone and people enjoy it. We interviewed three companies and really felt that [AV production and installation company] SFL understood what we were trying to do.” “We were able to guarantee the main features of the church would not be dwarfed by a speaker system,” confirmed Andy Felix, project manager at SFL. “For their power and price efficiency, we selected products from d&b’s installation-specific range – the xS-Series point sources and
the xC-Series columns. Because these systems match tonally – and conveniently came painted white as standard – we designed a solution that not only gives every member of the congregation the same sonic clarity, but also blends sensitively into its surroundings.” Although streaming wasn’t a consideration when the church embarked on its renovation, Reverend Lovell has embraced what it can do. “What SFL have done is they’ve given us enough tools that we’re able to do it well. We’ve been able to keep the live sound live. And we’re seeing new people engage in our online services, again and again. People are getting to taste a little bit of what church is like before they cross the threshold.” St Mary’s is now looking to the future and new ways to connect with the local community. “We’re talking about trying to offer ourselves as a concert venue, to make us a cultural hub but also, of course, to raise some money,” continued Reverend Lovell. “One of my visions for the church is to be more modern, but more traditional at the same time, and, thanks to some great teamwork, we’ve definitely achieved that.” www.dbaudio.com
6 WORSHIP AVL November–December 2021
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