18 April 2013
When Northfield Methodist Church in Benoni, Johannesburg went looking for an AV Solution, they ended up with a successful turnkey solution, lighting included, thanks to the assistance and advice of Inta-Media.
“The Northfield Methodist Church appointed us to do an AV Solution with two screens and projectors, a process which started in October last year,” said Tom Crosswell, Director and owner of Inta-Media. Inta-Media is a company geared to provide comprehensive solutions in Audio, AV and Lighting to houses of worship, corporate entities, stadiums and wherever else required at affordable rates. 
“One thing led to another, we got chatting and I asked them what they were doing about the lighting system,” he added.
It soon became evident that the church was considering looking at a more budget orientated solution using standard LED parcans. “We cautioned them that budget LED parcans may cause flicker on their video capture due to the lower scan rates typical with budget fixtures. Northfield then asked if I could also come up with a lighting solution for them that would meet their video requirements,” said Crosswell.
The church had a few parcans and a six channel dimmer but no controller. They used the dimmer power to turn the lights on and off. The existing trussing, on which was hung a loudspeaker system, was taken down and the three box trusses rehung, to cater for the extra weight of the new gear.
From DWR Distribution, Inta-media provided LEDForce 18 RGBW Pars, LEDForce 7s RGBWs and a lighting bar. “Robert Izzett from DWR was amazing,” said Crosswell.
Six LEDForce 18 RGBW Pars were used for FOH. At the back of the stage, Keith Pugin from DWR manufactured an aluminium lighting bar on which 6 x LEDForce 7 RGBWs were hung. There are alcoves on either side of the church’s stage, and each has an LEDForce 7 to create atmosphere.
The lighting system now has a full DMX structure, new cabling, 10-way rack mount splitter and is driven by an Avolites Titan Mobile. Northfield Methodist’s Church’s resident technician, Kobus Venter, is happy with the install and knows back up is just a phone call away. 
Kobus Venter, resident technician at the Northfield Methodist Church Inta-Media believe lighting in a church should meet two goals. It should create an atmosphere where the congregation feel comfortable and don’t feel the attention is on them. The second is to create focus. As an extra, lighting also adds visual appeal.
“A church is trying to convey a message, not trying to create a rock and roll show,” Mariann Crosswell, Manager and Project Coordinator at Inta-Media substantiates. “The pastor only has about two hours a week to hold the congregation’s attention and he has to make the most of this time. This is where the sound, AV and lighting come in. When these aspects work well, it assists the preacher to achieve this goal.”
