Chauvet Professional Helps Elite Multimedia Create New Look for Maranatha Fellowship

	Maranatha Fellowship

Reminders of St. Albans' rich history are everywhere in this picturesque small town at the confluence of the Kanawha and Coal Rivers in West Virginia. There's a monument honoring one of the area's first property owners, George Washington, who worked as a surveyor here prior to the American Revolution and a plaque commemorating some of the oldest Native America artifacts found in the US. When visitors step inside the town's Maranatha Fellowship Church, however, they're instantly transported into a thoroughly modern 21st century worship environment.

Elite Multimedia of Nashville, Tennessee worked closely with Kelly Casebolt, Maranatha's media manager, to give the church's worship center a bold, more engaging new look using some of the latest technological tools available. At the center of their design is a 40' wide HD SDI video screen with triple wide projection and flanked by additional LCD screens. Complementing the massive video display and lending vibrant colors to the stage are a collection of LED fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

Maranatha Fellowship's new lighting design features four COLORado Batten 72 Tour RGBW linear fixtures and eight Q-Wash 560Z-LED moving washes. "We used the battens as an upstage wash on the wall to help the image and depth with the camera angles for broadcast applications," said Wade Russell, the lead systems integrator for Elite Multimedia, noting that Maranatha streams video services on Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening. The eight Q-Wash 560Z-LED moving fixtures are mounted on the downstage front bar to provide "essential color wash across the stage."

With the video display making such a powerful statement in Maranatha's worship center, it was essential to achieve balance on the church's stage with an equally impressive visual element, which is why Elite Multimedia specified the Q-Wash 560Z-LED for this design. A powerful fixture with a robust output (13,100 lux at 5m) from 91 RGBWA Cree LEDs, the Chauvet wash is capable of creating everything from soft pastels to bold primary colors, presenting all of them in an array of captivating displays, thanks in part to its 6- to 32-degree variable beam angle.

"This is an excellent fixture," said Russell of the Q-Wash unit. "The variable beam angle provided a great advantage for us in this application. We also love the COLORado Batten 72 Tour fixture for the functionality, size, and the price point."

As befits such a forward-looking house of worship, Maranatha serves its congregation and community in a variety of ways that go beyond traditional Sunday services. The church uses its worship center for youth activities, Passion Plays, and a variety of other activities. According to Russell, the versatile color rendering capabilities of the Q-Wash moving washes and COLORado Battens helps the church change the atmosphere in its worship center to meet different needs.

"The Chauvet fixtures have been great at producing a wide range of colors that change the feel of the room completely," he said. "Kelly Casebolt, who oversees the media department, and the all-volunteer-based team of operators have been phenomenal at running the lighting system. Overall, the church has welcomed the changes with open arms. They're all excited about the functionality of this system and thrilled with how it allows them to create many different looks for worship services and productions."

For more information on Elite Multimedia visit: www.elitemultimedia.com.

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