Skypanel and L-Series fixtures; image courtesy of Arri Inc.
Even when you have more than 100 years of experience in manufacturing lighting and cameras, it’s not possible to get complacent in today’s world. The truth is, ever changing advances in the tools of modern media, with filmmaking, broadcast and streaming, mean that you’ll never sit still. This applies to every market—and certainly to the church market.
"The Skypanel is truly a light made in heaven (pun intended). One can do anything one wants with this light."
—Randy Read, Lighting Specifications Sales Manager, Arri Inc., Global
Church Designer magazine caught up with Lighting Specifications Sales Manager Randy Read of Arri to find out how churches in particular are using the tools of lighting to resonate with attendees and achieve lasting impressions. Read supplied answers to our questions, but even better, educated predictions for what the future holds for those who specify lighting for church performance, video, film, broadcast and streaming needs.
Courtesy of Arri Inc.
Randy Read, Lighting Specifications Sales Manager, Arri Inc.
Arri’s L-Series fixtures and Skypanel soft light are targeted to the church market. What features make these fixtures ideal for specification and usage in worship spaces?
Read: One of the biggest advantages in using the L-Series of Fresnels is the flexibility of these fixtures. The L10-C in particular is one light that can be used for broadcast in any color temperature from 2,800 to 10,000 Kelvin, has stage washes in any color with hue and saturation, and can create specials on stage. All this at a throw of 30-feet-plus.
The L7-C does all of the above at a throw of 15-20 feet, and is a great fixture for lighting scenery on stage for drama, or just beautiful backgrounds for everyday worshipping.
The L5-C is the smallest of these fixtures. It works well for backlighting and highlighting objects on stage that need to stand out.
The Skypanel is truly a light made in heaven (pun intended). One can do anything one wants with this light. It has all the characteristics of the L-Series plus it contains both Roscoe and Lee gel libraries. The Skypanel is part of the plan to have a family of LEDs that are made with such a critical design approach that they can light anything from multimillion-dollar feature films to a 60-foot cyc to green screens, and, believe it or not, is one of the most awesome house lights ever seen. Versatility is what makes these fixtures ideal for specification in worship spaces.
What about service after the sale? What does Arri offer to the church specifier and end-user of the products since they may have special needs and concerns around back-to-back worship services and other special productions?
Read: Customer service is ‘Priority One’ with Arri. Our Specifications staff will work closely with the [specifier] to achieve the level of service necessary to address budget constraints, operator education, and to find solutions for [the] special needs of the church—to be with them throughout the entire process.
[In addition,] Arri has on-staff lighting designers who have more than 40 years of experience in church lighting—as well as lighting for television broadcast, video, and film.
What are some of the key points that set your fixtures apart from other manufacturers' offerings? Also, what kinds of warranties do you offer on your products?
Read: Our fixtures are manufactured in Germany, [as they] have been for 100 years. They are built to last—to do what they were designed to do … light. Each fixture comes with a two-year warranty on the power supply and hardware, and a 50,000-hour warranty on the LED. We also guarantee that, no matter where it comes from, every one of the Arri fixtures will match the next one, color to color.
When it comes to the future of church lighting-applicable fixtures for theatrical use, what do you see happening with lighting technology over the next five years? What will the church market and performance spaces in general gravitate toward in terms of lighting fixtures?
Read: I honestly believe the future in lighting for churches is the same as for any performance/event/broadcast spaces in general. No matter what, the lighting creates the image for the eye and/or camera to capture.
LED lighting is the future, and the future is already here. With that said, within the next five years, I see the church and entertainment markets gravitating toward using nothing but LED fixtures, which will be growing more powerful and costing less as time passes.
How will Arri respond to—or possibly lead the way—in new product advancements?
Read: Arri’s R&D department is continually working on improving and innovating products. They listen to major players in the industry to find out what they’d like to see in their ‘tool kit,’ so one never knows what’s next. But I am confident that it will be cutting-edge and well received.
