Elation Tri-LEDs Give Video Cameras A Clear View

At ClearView Baptist Church

FRANKLIN, TN – When the ClearView Baptist Church wanted to ramp up its stage lighting for video production, designer Peter Vaque knew the project would be a challenge.  His production company, Springtree Media Group LLC (Franklin, TN), had worked with ClearView just a few years before, and Vaque was aware of the Tennessee church’s limited electrical load capacity.

“Several years ago, before video became a factor, ClearView wanted to improve its stage lighting, and they were told there was no way they could do this without spending a fortune on a new transformer,” recalled Vaque.  “We went in and showed them how they could do it on their existing circuitry, using intelligent lights.  We installed several CMY color-mixing intelligent lights, and the look was phenomenal.”

But now with its membership passing 2,000, ClearView was growing into a need for quality video to cross-broadcast sermons to a planned second facility. The CMY lights produced too many hotspots under the camera, so the church called on Springtree to revamp its stage lighting once again.

One of Springtree’s suppliers, Elation Professional, had just come out with a new type of RGB color-mixing LED par can, the ELED Tri 64B, which Vaque felt would be perfect for the job.  LEDs were an obvious choice for ClearView, because of their low power draw.  But the ELED Tri 64B went beyond the typical RGB LED par can with a new innovation from Elation called Tri-Color LED Technology. Each of the Tri 64B’s 18 LEDs is actually a 3-in-1 “tri” lamp, comprised of three 1W LEDs, a red, green and blue.  This breakthrough lamp design allows RGB color-mixing to be done within each lens.  Thus, all of the Tri 64B’s lamps remain on continuously, regardless of which color is being produced, unlike RGB LED fixtures with single-color LEDs, where certain lamps are turned off during the color-mixing process.

The result, said Vaque, is that the Tri-64B produces better, more even-toned mixed colors.  It also eliminates the three-color shadows that commonly appear around objects illuminated with traditional single-color RGB LED fixtures. What’s more, it generates a warm, natural-looking white, and it’s completely flicker-free, so it’s ideal for video, noted Vaque.

Fourteen Tri 64B’s were installed to wash the entire front of the ClearView Baptist Church’s stage, and an additional six units were positioned across the back.  Although equivalent in output to a 500W halogen-powered Par 64 can, each Tri 64B draws only 70W; thus, power load was not an issue, even with the church’s meager electrical capacity.” You can put 28 of these fixtures on one 20-amp circuit,” said Vaque.

But even more impressive than their energy efficiency was the performance of the Tri 64Bs. “When they’re on at full light, it’s the equivalent of putting a bastard amber gel on a traditional ellipsoidal. It’s a very warm, even white,” said Vaque.  “The church’s video guys just went nuts over it, because you can walk across the stage with a meter and there’s zero difference all the way across.”

ClearView video production specialist Tim Vincent echoed this view: “The camera loves it,” Vincent commented.  “It’s a nice warm, consistent look across the stage.”

Plus, unlike with traditional ellipsoidals, Vaque pointed out, “there’s no heat, no hassling with gels, and you don’t have to worry about induction noise on the filaments when you’re dimming coming across your sound system.”

Vaque, whose company is handling the complete lighting, audio, video overhaul at the ClearView Baptist Church, including the installation of a new JBL  VRX Line-Array System, said that he plans on using the Elation Tri 64B par cans in the church’s new, under-construction second chapel.  He added that his company envisions a wide range of other applications for the innovative LED par can, which is ETL approved. “We have already installed 15 Tri 64B’s in the event spaces at three Barnes & Noble bookstores.  With all the advantages they have to offer, we anticipate implementing them in commercial buildings, government facilities and other types of architectural settings in the future.”