Image courtesy of ETCP.
By Will Pile – IATSE Local 67 Rigger, Wells Fargo Arena; Audio Engineer, Lutheran Church of Hope, West Des Moines, Iowa
As church productions become larger and more sophisticated, church techs often find themselves involved in projects that require hanging equipment and scenery in their worship environments. The changes in lighting, sound and video, along with the effectiveness of using scenery for the stage have greatly improved our ability to share the gifts that God has given each one of us.
With that, however, comes a challenge. How do we go about hanging the scenery and supporting the ministry events, whether it be for a one-off Christian music concert, special decorations for Christmas and Easter, or a full-on stage set for a vacation bible school? Ministry can be greatly enhanced through the flexibility of being able to hang things above the stage/chancel area.
Yet there’s a great deal of mis-information out there. And for many church techs, there is an education emphasis on operating sound, lighting and video, but not much about installing scenery or hanging and installing equipment. This is where the certified rigger comes in.
Entertainment Technician Certification Program (ETCP) certification gives us the peace of mind that the person hanging scenery, motors, and equipment has both the background, years of experience and the necessary knowledge of the proper use of the needed hardware and materials to be hanging the equipment or scenery in the air.
The ETCP certified rigger is not the only piece of the puzzle that needs to be addressed to safely suspend or hang loads in a sanctuary. Often, I’ve been asked to hang loads in the air, and without adequate and accurate engineering information about the structure that I am hanging from, my ability to say yes to specific hanging loads is extremely limited. When a technician becomes ETCP Certified, they agree to adhere to a Code of Ethics that includes communicating when there are things that are beyond the Certified Technician’s scope of knowledge or abilities. Structural engineering would be one of those items that we are not qualified to perform, so we will often first ask the owner to obtain engineering data from a structural engineer to approve the desired loads prior to installing the equipment or scenery.
Structural engineering would be one of those items that we are not qualified to perform, so we will often first ask the owner to obtain engineering data from a structural engineer to approve the desired loads prior to installing the equipment or scenery.
Real-world scenario
This past year, our church decided to hold its Christmas Eve services at the arena in town for several reasons, one of them being that we knew we weren’t going to have enough space at our current building to allow for people to invite all their friends to the services.
Because there was a basketball game the night before our first scheduled service at 11am on the 24th, we had to create a rigging plot that would allow for a quick load-in to maximize set-up and rehearsal time for the musicians. Being certified, I was able to work with our local vendors to put together a rigging plot for the arena which was almost entirely deadhangs (only two bridles) to cover lighting, sound, and video for this one-off event.
We were able to get the loading dock area of the facility available during the day of the 23rd until 1 p.m., so we unloaded all the equipment from the trucks, assembled all of the lighting trusses on their wheels, built band risers, set up video control, and performed full line checks on all equipment prior to the overnight changeover. When we came back at 10:30 p.m. after the basketball game, we started getting equipment lined up to fly. We were delayed a little bit by the removal of the basketball floor, but by around 1:30 a.m. we had all the points in the air, and by 2:30 a.m. nearly all of the equipment was up at trim height, ready for the stage to be built out. At around 4 a.m., we put all the band risers in place and at 5 a.m. we started line checks for all the musicians. A key part of keeping all of this on schedule was the rigging, and if the rigging had not been done quickly and efficiently, the entire schedule of the morning would have been thrown off, so it was essential that we had a fast, properly planned, and well thought out rigging plan (see attached) ahead of time. We had PA, a confetti machine, lighting trusses, drapes, and rear-projection video screens.
Lighting plot courtesy of ETCP.
If you are tasked with being the church technician in charge of installing scenery, I would highly encourage that you take as many rigging classes as you can, learn from a certified rigger, and eventually apply for the certification and take the exam. If, instead, you are tasked with installing scenery and it is above your head and not in your scope of work, I highly recommend that you seek out a certified technician in your area to assist as a consultant with the installation of your scenery, lights, sound, and video. You and your organization will have the peace of mind of knowing you are doing the right thing, and you will be able to ensure the other people within the organization that you aren’t doing anything that could jeopardize the safety of the congregation.
If you are tasked with being the church technician in charge of installing scenery, I would highly encourage that you take as many rigging classes as you can, learn from a certified rigger, and eventually apply for the certification and take the exam.
Meredith Moseley-Bennett, ETCP certification manager, asked me a couple of important questions that are addressed below.
“What do people think of your certification?”
When I first posed the possibility of obtaining the certification, the operations director for the church was excited and reacted positively and he encouraged me to pursue the certification. With my side work at the arena, the management team has the peace of mind in knowing, not only do I have the work experience of working in the field for over 25 years, they also have the comfort of knowing that I am familiar with the mathematical principles behind what we do and why we do it. When working with the structural engineers from Thornton Tomasetti for rigging plans for some of the heavier shows that play at the arena, they know that the person in the field understands how to follow the engineering guidelines for a safe implementation of a specific rigging plan and the overall rigging guidelines for the building’s rigging grid.
“Do people in your church know about the program?”
The chief operations officer of the church was not familiar with the program when I first told him about it, but since then, he has become well-aware of the program and regularly sees the benefits of having a certified rigger on staff as my skills are put to use in the growing organization, often consulting on projects and implementing scenic installations. Others I work with are familiar with the program and they have the comfort in knowing that I take my craft very seriously and I’m committed to a set of standard practices that exist beyond just my own opinions.
