technical focus: installation · part of the pageantry of the church’s holiday celebration is the...

“While the Church’s gospel messagewill never change,” says Chris Hinkle,production services director of engi-neering of the First Baptist Church inOrlando, Florida, “the means of com-municating that message is constantly

evolving, as media technology hasadvanced in allowing the church inbuilding an expanding audience drawnto its worship center. As important aswas the church’s emphasis on itsforthcoming high-tech renovations, it

was equally interested in creating amore intimate connection between itsparishioners and their ongoing com-munication with their church commu-nity. This was accomplished in tandemby physically altering its auditoriumspace, and updating its audio, videoIMAG, and lighting capabilities.

“How the church communicateswith its audience has become moreexpansive, not only for itself with bet-

Part of the pageantry of the church’s holiday celebration is the spectacle of two 45'-tall Christmas trees decorated with 300 singing“ornaments.” The trees, with over 250,000 lights, are in sync with music from the 300-voice choir and 50-piece orchestra.

86 • February 2018 • Lighting&Sound America

TECHNICAL FOCUS: INSTALLATION

New Ways ofCommunicationBy: Louis M. Brill

Orlando’s First Baptist Church movesinto the 21st century

Copyright Lighting&Sound America February 2018 http://www.lightingandsoundamerica.com/LSA.html

ter, more professional, AVL equipment,but as well for its audience, which hasbecome more media-sophisticatedthan ever before,” Hinkle continues.“For the church to keep in touch withits congregation, Sunday services arenot only captured for IMAG, but alsoarchived for delayed broadcast, forparishioners to tune in later or forthose living too far away to attend inperson. In a further effort to communi-cate with off-site congregation, thechurch utilizes a variety of Internetconnections including social media,YouTube, and live streaming.”

VideoThe First Baptist Church’s media rootsreach back to broadcast television asa major tool for sharing its messagewith its surrounding community. In theearly 1960s, it partnered withOrlando’s ABC station to produce livebroadcasts of weekly Sunday services.

Then, Hinkle says, “The churchdecided in 1991 to incorporate its affil-iate video coverage into an in-housemedia infrastructure. It acquired its

video gear and built its own videofacility. We had good video gear,including Sony video cameras, SonyBeta SP recorders (back in the day),and Grass Valley switchers. It wasn’ttop-of-the-line, but it served our pur-poses. That video gear had a ten-yearlifespan, but, for us, it lasted 25 years.Eventually, in 2012, it became appar-ent that we had to upgrade; our origi-nal video cameras were starting tocome apart and we couldn’t getreplacement parts. Our video standardwasn’t even SDI, as we were still deal-ing with Plumbicon tubes—talk aboutmemory lane.

“Equally, our worship facility, whichwas over 30 years old, was as well-worn. The pews were falling apart andthe auditorium was oversized for itscongregation; all in all, it was time toupdate our physical presence. Wedecided that not only our video sys-tem, but the entire facility was due fora major upgrade. But it wasn’t justabout the technical systems: Thechurch wanted to create a more wel-coming, inclusive environment within

During renovations, the auditorium was stripped to its concrete foundation. Above: TheVanguard LED screen has been assembled and is undergoing testing prior to beinghung in its final position.

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WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE GENEROUS INDUSTRY MEMBERS WHO MAKE OUR EXPERIENCE POSSIBLE

the sanctuary. The auditorium was waytoo large, and it was easy for parish-ioners entering the sanctuary to feelvery disconnected from the rest of thechurch.”

What followed was a complete ren-ovation of the auditorium and itsaudio, video, and lighting infrastruc-ture, accomplished in partnership withits consultant of record, Addison,Texas-based Idibri, a multi-disciplineconsultancy that deals with audio,video, acoustics, theatre design, andlighting operations for public gatheringspaces. The Orlando, Florida office ofStage Equipment and Lighting pro-vides the new lighting rig; the newaudio system was installed by theOrlando office AVI-SPL. The new videoinfrastructure was installed byDiversified. Overall, Hinkle says, “Thechurch underwent a second-genera-tion improvement of its video systemand a third-generation improvement ofits audio and lighting systems.”

Idibri project manager DavidStephens says the auditorium was

stripped to its concrete foundation, itsseating reduced from 6,000 to 4,500.“We began by eliminating the under-balcony area. It did away with theaudience separation between the over-and under-balcony seating areas. Atthe same time, it increased the spaceavailable for the lobby, allowing it tobecome a more welcoming gatheringspace. The seating was changed frompews to theatre-style, and sightlineswere improved by creating a terracedseating area on the main floor behindthe original cross aisle.” The fan-shaped auditorium is approximatelythe size of two football fields. Its stagearea measures out at 125' across and100' deep. Directly behind the platformis a 250-person choir loft; above thatis a beautiful stained-glass windowbacklit with LED lighting.

“The original ceiling was paintedwhite, emphasizing the vastness ofthat previous auditorium space,”Stephens says. “To increase theroom’s intimacy, the ceiling was paint-ed black, taking it out of play. A further

change was the addition of two cat-walks, hung below the ceiling toaccommodate the lighting anglesneeded for broadcast coverage. It wasdecided to hide everything in plainsight, with the darkened ceiling, which,perceptually, helping to shrink theauditorium space.”

Diversified revised all aspects of thechurch’s video infrastructure, fromupgrading to a HD format to installinga fiber optic network that providesease of routing video signals from acentral location to any part of thebuilding. The new gear includes fiveSony HDC-2400L cameras, and fiveFujinon HD zoom lenses: twoDigiPower lenses (XA55X9.5), twoPremier series lenses (HA23x7.6), andone Premier series lens (HA14x5).Vinten camera support includes twoVector 75 heads and tripods and twoVision 100 heads and tripods, sixClear-Com FreeSpeak II digital wire-less intercom systems with ten anten-nas located throughout the facility andten belt packs (FSII-BP19-X4), and a

McKelvey notes that the IMAG screen provides an important focal point for the congregation, providing a sense of intimacy with thepastor and other speakers.



www.lightingandsoundamerica.com • February 2018 • 89

Vanguard 18' x 31' LED 4.1mm displayscreen. The digital monitor packageincluded eight Sony 55 FWD55W950BHD displays, twenty-one Sony 48"FWD48W600B LED displays, and oneCamMate crane.

The reconfiguration of the videocontrol center included Forecast tech-nical furniture (desks), complete withan Evertz terminal gear solution,including VIP multiviewers; Xenon 96-by-96 video router with Magnum con-trol system and control panels,sync/test generator, audio and videoDAs and audio embedders; an assort-ment of AJA production gear, includingsix Ki Pro Rack HDD recorders, FiDOfiber transmit, and receiver pairs, FS1-X frame sync, and Hi5 SDI-to-HDMI/DVI converters; twenty-sevenApantac SDI-to-HDMI converters (DA-SDI-HDTV-II); one Renewed VisionProPresenter; two Blackmagic audiomonitors (BMD-HDL-AUDMON1RU);from Boldon: two 55" HXL55 monitorsand five 24" PVB24 monitors; and an

Avocent Digital Matrix KVM MXT5120transmitter with three MXR5110receivers.

In describing the changes within theFBC auditorium, Idibri senior consult-ant Jason McKelvey notes how vari-ous aspects of the church’s videooperation were taken into account. “Inthe previous incarnation of its auditori-um, the older video camera platformswere very tall and tucked into eitherside of the center aisle, extensivelyblocking the stage view of parishionerssitting behind the cameras. To mini-mize that obstruction, the camera tri-pod positions were lowered andmoved further back, in front of thecontrol booth, opening up that seatingarea to a better view of the stagespace.

“The AVL control booth is nowlocated in the lower center of the audi-torium at the rear of the terraced seat-ing. Directly in front of the booth, thereare two video cameras known as ‘thebroadcast twins.’ This includes one

camera focused on a ‘tight follow,’ andthe other camera set for a ‘head-to-toe’ or medium shots. The other twocameras are located at house left andhouse right corner aisles, facing thestage. There is also a 24" jib formotion shots that can be placed any-where in the space. For versatility andspecial events, we included additionalcamera boxes around the auditoriumallowing the church video team tomove or add other video cameras asneeded. Overall, within the new audi-torium there are nine camera locations,allowing for a greater flexibility in offer-ing church service coverage. MarshallPOV cameras are also set up aroundthe drums or keyboard for close-uppickup shots. Four manned studiocameras are used to cover each serv-ice, with a director calling the shots foreach line cut, broadcast, and IMAGpresentation.”

The church offers five weekendservices (one on Saturday and four onSunday). Hinkle says he has a video

Theatre Business Managers

Paul F. Dean, Jr.Kevin McGar ty

TreasurerRober t McDonough

Financial Secretary Anthony Manno

PresidentJames J. Claffey, Jr.

Vice PresidentAdam Braunstein

Board of TrusteesMichael A. Caffrey

Frank Lazar toEileen Macdonald

Television Business Managers

Edward J. McMahon IIIRober t Nimmo

SecretaryRober t C. Score

Administrative SecretaryEdmond F. Supple, Sr.

Replacement Room ChairpersonDaniel Thorn

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staff of 15 people, of which four arepaid. Video is edited slightly differentlyfor each service: “Sunday morning8:30am is a traditional service, withchoir, pipe organ accompaniment, andthe pastor delivering the sermon. Theother four presentations are more con-temporary, with a band and more visu-ally upbeat music graphics. For theon-screen lyrics found at the screenbottom, Renewed Vision’s ProPresenter is the primary graphicsengine used. Most of the music graph-ics are done in-house and are used asbackdrops for the various bands thatperform.”

A further critical visual componentof the auditorium was its LED videoscreen. The screen positioned at cen-ter stage rear is a Vanguard PlutoniumSeries P4.81 LED product (18' x 31'),ceiling-mounted over the choir bal-cony and suspended from chain hoists

attached to the screen’s frame. It hasbecome a major part of the church’spresentation, as, during the service,most of the audience is watching theIMAG. “If there is a person’s face upon the screen,” McKelvey says, “peo-ple are drawn to that as they’re alwaysdrawn to any type of television screen.More important, there’s no other wayto get that kind of intimacy with thepastor or a speaker, other than seeinga close-up of their face and facialexpressions. In turn, you’re going tohave most of the congregation lookingat that screen for most of the time.With the audience watching the IMAG,you want all your coverage, especiallyall your close-up shots, to look good,which means having broadcast-anglelighting to accommodate that quality.

“The First Baptist Church hasalways been a broadcast televisionministry and has always been accus-

tomed to providing two simultaneousline cuts,” McKelvey notes. “They pro-duce their live, in-house Sunday serv-ice IMAG coverage, which is mainlymade up of tight shots, as wide shotsdon’t do you any good in an IMAGenvironment. The second show is pro-duced for television and includes a lotmore variety of camera shots from dif-ferent angles and different focallengths.” Hinkle adds, “Because oflimited broadcast availability, that pro-gram only presents the spoken-wordsegment from each service, while livestreaming offers the entire service withthe sermon, choir, and music as acomplete presentation.”

Sound“The church’s previous high-fidelityaudio system was a very sophisticateddesign with a certain amount of com-plexity that, over time and with a lack


The addition of Chroma-Q Inspire and Inspire Mini color-changing houselights turns the entire auditorium into a stage for video broad-casts of church services.



of maintenance, fell into disarray andeasily warranted refurbishing,” Hinklesays. “With the church being physical-ly rebuilt, it was decided that ratherthan fix the old audio system, to sim-ply start over with something new thatwould take the church further downthe road.”

The new audio system wasdesigned by Idibri senior audio con-sultant Casey Sherred, who notes that,in college in the late 1990s, he didaudio mixes at FBC. He says that oneof the major auditorium renovationsinvolved the redesign of the stage,which was moved forward, renderingcurrent speaker locations no longervalid.

“Every outside group that came inhad to fly their own PA, because thechurch’s house PA just really couldn’tkeep up,” he adds. The new audiosystem has the dual purpose of sup-porting the church’s service needs andsatisfying the audio needs of incomingspecial event programs.

Recalling the audio gear selectionprocess, Hinkle says, “We had severaldemos of different systems and werelooking for line arrays that would giveus really good horizontal and verticalpattern control. Of the various presen-tations, d&b audiotechnik was chosenby the music team as the preferredaudio system.”

Sherred adds that the d&b V-Seriesline arrays, consisting of twenty-twoVi8 and twenty-six Vi12 cabinets, dis-tribute good audio coverage through-out the worship center. The V-seriesloudspeakers function as three-waypassive line array systems, respective-ly providing 80° and 120° horizontaldispersion, maintained down to250Hz. “Once the V-series wereselected,” Sherred says, “we acquiredfour line arrays, with two main arraysfacing the auditorium and the othertwo used as outfill arrays, primarilycovering the house-left and house-right ramp seating areas. We thendeployed six d&b J-SUBs and six d&b

Ti10L front fills. A ring of d&b Y-Seriesdelay point source loudspeakers—tenYi7Ps and two Yi10Ps—minimize theimpact of the sound energy on theauditorium’s rear wall, by hitting theback wall at a higher angle. The backof house has four DiGiCo stage racks,each with 24 analog channels per box,and two outside boxes with 12 chan-nels of AES capability.”

In the front-of-house audio booth, afull suite of sound boards includes theYamaha PM1D, a BSS London BLU-800 signal processor, a DiGiCo SD5and two SD9 mixing consoles, includ-ing one for mixing the choir and onefor mixing the orchestra. Sherredadds, “We also had a Lab.gruppenC16:4 four-channel amplifier for pow-ering the 70V speaker system, andd&b D80 four-channel amplifiers forthe d&b line arrays. Additionally, wealso incorporate a DiGiCo X-WAVES-E2 effects package and a DigicoSGPB-BP effects package. We alsohad a RME MADI router; the entire

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audio system was connected via anOptocore network based on providing1,008 channels of audio flexibility.”

Lighting“Church lighting is used to create avisual harmony, so our congregationcan engage in worship,” Hinkle says.“Essentially, all our lighting composi-tions are content-driven from thechurch service activity at the moment.So a song might constitute one type oflighting scheme, and with the pastor’ssermon, another type to change thelook or the ambiance of that part ofthe service.” The lighting inventory, henotes, “is about 75% incandescent,5% HID, and the remaining 20% LED-based. Houselights are 100% LED.The majority of our lighting is ETCSource Four ellipsoidals and PARs. Welike ETC very much. They have a longbulb life, their optics are great, andwith their 750W lamps you can getabout 8,000 lumens per fixture.

“Color is a very important part ofhow we illuminate each service,”Hinkle continues. “As a sermon reach-es an inspirational peak, you’re notgoing to use dull or depressing colors.When the pastor begins speaking, weuse a bright palette. In introspectivemoments, we’ll use more of a pastellook. Overall, because of our TV cam-eras, we try to stay within the 4,400Kelvin range.”

“Originally,” McKelvey says, “theoverhead lighting in the auditoriumwas incandescent and all you coulddo was to set it at bright or dim. Withthe new overhead LED lighting, includ-ing [208] Chroma-Q Inspire 32° and42° fixtures as well as [83] Chroma-QInspire Mini fixtures, the lighting direc-tor can balance the houselightsagainst the ongoing stage activity,which you couldn’t do before.”

“As an example,” he says, “we cor-rect the incandescent light to 6,500K,using Lee 201. This brings all the lightsources to a similar color temperature.As a result, the LED wall, LED house-lights, LED backlights, and movingheads all have high native color tem-peratures (5,500K – 6,500K). The resultis an environment that provides thecameras with accurate color renditionon all lights. So if the lighting ismagenta to the human eye, it showsup magenta on the LED screen aswell. This approach avoids the sce-nario where the audience sees magen-ta on stage, but glowing blue on theIMAG screen.”

Lighting the auditorium is as impor-tant as lighting the stage, McKelveysays: “One potential side effect ofusing one-color, dimming-only incan-descent overhead audience lighting isthat during the worship service, theaudience lighting is dimmed, creatinghigh-contrast issues for broadcast.

When you go for a wide shot forbroadcast, you see a brightly lit stagewith all kinds of color and movinglights and a sea of black nothingnesswhere the audience is sitting. Sincethe camera is irised for the stage, yousee no audience.

“The solution, however, with fullcolor-changing houselights is that youcan simulate darkness by using colorinstead of dimming. In an older video /lighting mindset, all the color and thelighting are on the stage. With fullcolor-changing house lights, the audi-torium is part of the set design and theentire sanctuary space becomes onebig stage. It’s not a separationbetween a brightly lit stage and adarkened audience area. Although theentire space is illuminated, you stillhave subdued lighting in the audiencearea, but, in your audience-wide shots,you can still see audience members.”

The theatrical lighting rig isdeployed throughout the sanctuary.Stephens says, “The front-of-houselighting for the platform and choir loftconsists of [232] ETC Source Fours,gelled with Lee 201. Top- and back-lighting of the platform and choir loftareas is done with [48] ETC SourceFour PARs with narrow lenses, hungfrom multiple trusses rigged over theseareas. We also included [12] PhilipsVari-Lite VL4000 Spots and [12]VL4000 BeamWashes. Architectural

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lighting fixtures include [24] PhilipsColor Kinetics ColorGraze MXPowercore 30° by 60° 1' and 4' lin-ears, which were placed along theback of the choir loft to uplight theorgan pipes. We also put LED linearunits as downlighting to wash thewalls in front of and behind the choirloft. With all the flexibility and variedbackground lighting washes, we cannow set the look behind the pastor forthe camera shots, which greatlyincreases his on-screen visual pres-ence.” Lighting is controlled by twoMA Lighting grandMA2 consoles, amain and a backup.

“Generally during a traditional serv-ice, we keep the auditorium fully lit,along with the choir loft lit up as well,”Hinkle notes. “The contemporary serv-ice is more intimate and you’re able tocreate a different atmosphere bychanging the room’s color, with morefocus on lighting the praise team andrhythm section on the stage. Whenthe pastor appears, we’ll tone downthe stage lighting, bring up the houselights to white, and fill in the back-stage alcoves with mild accent light-ing.”

Each Sunday sermon is archivedfor later viewing. As Hinkle notes, “Ouraudience has equal access to DVDsand CD coverage and through theInternet, with either live or on-demandvideo versions. The FBC offers a mul-tilingual service, as the Orlando areahas large Brazilian and Spanish popu-lations. We have live translators pro-viding the sermon in each of thoselanguages [Spanish and Portuguese],which we live-stream.

“Because our audience see us ontelevision and online, we get a lot offeedback,” Hinkle says. “Does ourvideo coverage impact our audience?We have found that, from our broad-cast and streaming coverage, severalof our viewers have been inspired tobecome members and join our attend-ing congregation. Recently, during oneof our baptism services, a lady waswatching online and she was soaffected she got in her car and drovedirectly to the church to getbaptized.”

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