Our friends at Highland had us out early in 2021 to perform a lighting system upgrade. Their old rig was in good shape but consisted of incandescent ellipsoidal fixtures, no moving heads, and some inexpensive LEDs that were showing their age. This rig got the job done, but after twelve years, it was time for an upgrade. The lack of flexibility, frequent lamp changes, and pulling out the lift every time a focus change was needed was wearing on the team.
Working with Zach Elkins, the creative director, we knew we wanted to move everything to LED to minimize energy use and maintenance costs. Fortunately, they already had a great Vista lighting console, truss in all the right places, and plenty of power available in the ceiling.
The 100% LED package from Chauvet included a combination of moving head and ellipsoidal fixtures. For the teaching wash, we needed top-quality light that did not need to move around, so we selected the Ovation E-930VW. They have a high color rendering index (CRI) and full-color capability.
For the worship team, more flexibility was required; so we selected the Rogue R2 Wash VW moving head. The variable white capability made it easy to white balance the whole lighting rig for a consistent on-camera look; while the moving head and zoom made it super easy to reconfigure the stage, instruments, and musicians and still light them properly.
In addition to great front-light for broadcast, Zach wanted to add some color, texture, and motion to their weekend looks. However, we did not want to go overboard with ballyhoos and strobes as that is just not Highland’s style. We selected a combination of the Maverick MK PYXIS and MK2 Spot profile fixtures. The dual-LED rings on the Pyxis look great on camera and provide beam and wash in the same fixture. The CMY color mixing in the MK2 Spot allows for smooth transitions, while the dual gobo wheels and motorized zoom brought a lot of great texture to the room.
All in all, we are thankful to have been a part of this great project. We love seeing how Zach and his team continue to make the most of these incredible tools.
