Robe Brings the Idol Vibe to New CRC Auditorium

	christian Revival Church in Silver Lakes, pretoria with robe lighting. Photo: Duncan Riley

The new and recently opened 6,000-seat auditorium at the Christian Revival Church (CRC) in Silver Lakes, Pretoria, South Africa is benefitting from an all-Robe moving light rig, which was specified and installed by DWR Distribution.

DWR's Robert Izzett was contacted by CRC's head of media Clinton Powell who oversaw all the technical aspects of the project which has been three years in the making and replaces CRC's previous temporary tented venue on the same site.

"The initial brief from CRC was for a lighting rig that would allow them to stage Idols without needing to hire in any additional equipment," explains Izzett, adding that they were also keen on having the latest and best technology available in-house.

Thinking laterally, he decided to call on Idols SA's real lighting designer Joshua Cutts of Visual Frontier to consult on the basic design, and from this a specification emerged complete with Robe moving lights.

DWR delivered 24 Robe Robin LEDWash 1200s, 12 Robin Pointes, and 18 LEDForce 18 PARs, together with some other generic lighting fixtures, LED truss warmers; a large amount of Prolyte trussing, motors, and control; cabling infrastructure, power, and data distribution; and a grandMA2 lighting console.

The stage is 26m wide and there are two straight 20m long trusses above, with two large curved trusses in the auditorium above the seating, flown on the impressive structural steels of the building. Lights are rigged on all of these trusses.

The need for the lighting to be adaptable and multi-purpose was paramount to the overall design as CRC features three very different styles of Sunday service to suit the different demographic of their congregation.

The first one is quite traditional, the second is more ethnic, and the third is orientated towards youth members.

All services involve music -- often specially composed by CRC's musical director Seth Winkler -- and preaching, "The lighting set up for each of these is totally different," explains Powell. There is also minimal changeover time between the services."

In addition to these Sunday services, the lighting also had to be appropriate for camera -- both IMAG relay onscreen and for broadcasting, as the services are recorded for future use and broadcast live to other CRC campuses or streamed over the internet.

Towards the end of the building construction period, lighting designer Francois van der Merwe also became involved in finalizing the lighting design as Joshua Cutts was busy with other commitments.

It was the first time that Powell had come into contact with Robe moving lights in his work. "They are very impressive," he comments.

He goes on to say that the LEDWash 1200s offer huge latitude and they are used for anything from effects right through to practicals for the broadcasts. The Pointes he appreciates for their massive repertoire of looks which he finds "fantastic for creating a great atmosphere."

The feedback from the congregation has also been incredibly positive, all adding to their enjoyment of the services and events.

"It's incredibly important to have dynamic lighting in churches today. Together with good visuals and audio it creates an inviting and harmonious environment and to continue producing wow factors now, you absolutely have to embrace technology."

He comments that the service, support, and expertise from DWR has been "awesome" and that they have also been one of the easiest suppliers CRC has ever worked with. "They are extremely quick to advise of the appropriate kit and very willing to assist with challenges like fitting it to a budget."

In addition to the stage lighting and trussing, DWR also supplied LED house lighting to the project.