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Stage Audio Works integrates audio, video, lighting and live streaming technology at new URCSA campus

Uniting Reform Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) recently expanded its Atteridgeville campus with a significant extension of its existing building. The goal was to boost community engagement and provide a purpose-built auditorium space for events, services and gatherings. The team at URCSA partnered with Stage Audio Works (SAW) for the project.

“For the AV side of the project, our primary goal was to modernise our audio, visual and lighting systems to enhance the worship experience”, says Sekgwari Matsena, Technical Team Coordinator at URCSA Atteridgeville. “We needed technology that would be easy for volunteers to use whilst ensuring professional-level sound, visual quality and lighting control for services, events and live streaming. We wanted to create an immersive, distraction-free environment.”

SAW was engaged early on in the project’s design phase. Alongside the design and integration of audio, video, lighting and live streaming technology for the new auditorium, SAW also provided training for the church’s volunteer technical team, equipping them to manage and maintain the new technology efficiently.

When it came to designing the audio system, SAW opted for a distributed system throughout the space rather than a classic L/C/R solution. “It wasn’t clear whether acoustic treatment of the new building would form part of Phase 1 building works - so in case it was planned for Phase 2, we chose a distributed system to ensure focused coverage of the two-tier auditorium”, explains Kieran Hempel, Project Lead at SAW. “This approach minimizes reflections on untreated walls and improves gain before feedback on stage. The pastors wanted to use lapel mics, so gain before feedback was an important consideration.”

The main PA system is mounted on a catwalk trussing system, built directly above the stage. Here, five Plus Audio CPH212 3-way passive dual 12-inch loudspeakers are secured at specific angles to ensure consistent audio across both the front of the auditorium seating and part of the upper-level balcony. Four on-stage monitors and two subwoofers, placed under the stage, complete the main PA.

Thirteen smaller form-factor Plus Audio CPU105 5-inch coaxial loudspeakers serve as under-balcony fill to cover the back of the room. Front fill, mounted directly around the front of the stage, consists of a further six CPU105 loudspeakers. Upstairs in the balcony seating, a ring of seven CPU9 9-inch coaxial loudspeakers provide coverage to areas not reached by the main PA system.

Plus Audio’s own A204D and A044D Dante amplifiers power the system, featuring built-in DSP and FIR filters. A Yamaha TF3 digital mixer and Tio stage boxes provide system control. “We designed this distributed PA system to minimise excessive echo”, remarks Hempel. “It includes the flexibility to deactivate the balcony loudspeakers when the area is unoccupied, reducing unwanted reflections and helping the venue to be as efficient as possible.”

Whilst the audio system represented an important focus of the installation, a full stage lighting and video streaming system was also required. For on-stage visuals, two Appotronics HD laser projectors allow for services to be accompanied by video content, displayed on two screens on either side of the stage. The lighting is PC-controlled, consisting of Cameo Auro Spot 200 moving lighting, which decorates the stage with customisable coloured lights, and Stage Plus LED Fresnel lights, mounted on the overhead truss.

Aida PTZ cameras, a Blackmagic Design video switching system and a Kiloview streaming encoder facilitate live streaming of services with control via a Stream Deck unit. “The PTZ cameras offer a significant advantage as there is no need for someone to manually operate them”, says Hempel. “They can be controlled remotely from the production booth.”

Sennheiser EW-D wireless microphones provide communication and greater freedom for on-stage speakers and performers. SAW also supplied the IT infrastructure required for the new system, including business-grade WiFi and wireless access points around the venue.

(Photos: Stage Audio Works/URCSA)

www.stageaudioworks.com

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