I am always looking for new ideas, philosophies, and techniques to get the best “bang for my buck” when it comes to stage lighting and lighting effects for our church. Lighting is definitely one area where you can spend a lot of money very quickly and not have a whole lot to show for it.
When planning a lighting design, keep in mind that it is important to have both a sufficient number of fixtures and a sufficient variety of fixtures to work with. This allows you to be more creative and gives you a better result.
Here are some tips to help with the design process. Intelligent moving head fixtures are widely used in the production world today because of their versatility and the ability for in-air effects with the use of a hazer. However, getting professional effects from your moving lights may not be a function of the lights at all. It is very important to note that having a professional-quality hazer is vital to the success of the in-air effects. When trying to achieve good in-air lighting effects on a small budget, combine the use of conventional fixtures and intelligent fixtures. Intelligent fixtures are where the majority of your cost is going to come from, so a way to keep the cost down and still have a great look is to use a smaller LED moving head wash light with a tight beam angle rather than profile fixtures. The advantages with having profile fixtures is the ability to use gobos, prisms, and other effects. But instead of using intelligent moving head profile fixtures for those looks, use conventional fixtures. A lot of churches already have ellipsoidal conventional fixtures in their inventory; probably being used for key lighting. Consider repurposing some of them for this application. If you have enough ellipsoidals in your inventory to repurpose the fixtures, move some of them upstage behind the worship team. Ellipsoidal conventional fixtures with the right gobo and gel paper will give you the same in-air effects (prism, gobos etc) at a fraction of the cost. Yes, you will not be able to control the movement of these fixtures, but who cares? You can get the movement through the air you need from the LED moving head wash lights. This way you can purchase more lights on a tight budget and still achieve the “wow” factor you are looking for.
It is also very economical to use LED intelligent fixtures versus those that are lamp-based. Lamp-based fixtures can be more expensive to purchase; but also consider the additional power usage and time and expertise involved maintenance. LED fixtures require no regular lamp replacement, very little maintenance, and require very little power. However, be careful when buying cheap LED fixtures (moving head or static) if you are doing anything with live video production during your worship services (IMAG, recording, etc.). Some cheaper LED fixtures can conflict with the frame rate of your video gear, which will result in the lights flickering on the video. Look for LED fixtures that are “flicker-free”. This is something a lot of churches overlook. Even if you may not be using video production on a regular basis during your current worship services now, you might begin doing so in the future. Think ahead when designing.
Having a sufficient number of lights allows you to be very creative with your design. When creating your lighting design, be sure to spread out and layer your lighting locations. Having your lights in one spot will give you poor results and will not be very functional. Placing lights at different levels downstage and upstage allows the layering of different colors and will allow for more possibilities for different lighting “looks.”
If the budget allows, buy new fixtures. If not, buying used gear from a reliable source is always a great way to cut cost. There are numerous online resources that make it easy to search, browse, and purchase used gear. If this is the route you decide to take, make sure the piece of gear you are purchasing was not used on a tour. Touring gear can get abused very easily and not last long. Look for something that came from a permanent installation. This is a good way to know the gear you are purchasing was well-maintained.
Get creative and think outside the box. Just because you may not have hundreds of thousands of dollars for a lighting budget, doesn't mean you can't make it look professional. In the end, light is light. Learn from other churches, concert tours and theatrical productions to create your own ideas. There is no shame in getting ideas from other sources because that may spark a new idea in your mind. Design it, build it, and make it work for your application. There are no limits to what you create.
“Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.” -1 Kings 3:12
