NASHVILLE – The Nashville Municipal Auditorium was aglow March 10 and 11th with more than 8,000 high school and middle school students offering worship and fellowshipping at the Youth Evangelism Conference. Bandit Lites provided the lighting package for the event for Orchestrate Experience with Lighting Designer Trey Meares and Orchestrate Production Director Alex Fleming. Featured guests included Dave Edwards, The Skit Guys, Luke MacDonald and the YEC Worship Band.
More details from Bandit (www.BanditLites.com):
Due to the audience size and the nature of the conference, Meares created an ‘in the round’ setup to an end stage in the arena, giving attendees the maximum amount of impact, while still being mindful of the calling of the conference.
“Lighting always has the ability to drive the “mood” of the room, and I make an effort to not let the technology overpower the message that is being delivered by the organization,” Meares shared. “On the other hand, lighting can make the room exciting for the attendees and can also be used to draw attendees into a more serious moment. It is essential to let the message speak for itself, but the lighting can complement what is being said.”
To drive that impact, Meares used a carefully crafted design that could emphasize both the collective worship moments for the audience and the noted speakers. VL 3000 Spots provided front light, delivering both widespread coverage and flipping over for beam looks in the crowd. Philips Nitro 510 C fixtures washed the crowd in light, and due to the power of the fixtures, also facilitated epic effect lighting for the entire arena.
“On stage, we had VL 3000 Spots and GLP X4S Impressions; the combination of these fixtures provided an ability to color wash the stage and have beam effects come from the floor up,” Meares said. “This gave us the ability to have brilliant backlights and beam effects through the performers.”
Fixated above the stage was a 30’x30’ diamond outfitted with four ladders and outlining fixtures. The ladders each featured Bandit’s exclusive GRNLite Moving Washes and Clay Paky Sharpys. The combination of the two provided both a vivid color wash and brilliant beams that made the stage look massive. Additional fixtures along the diamond included VL 3000 Spots and Chauvet 7×7 AW fixtures.
Due to the contrasting moments of the conference, Meares shared the VL 3000 Spots allowed for easy transitions, noting, “These fixtures were able to give an even wash and gave the flexibility to provide bright spots for each band member. Other than the front light, all the fixtures worked in a synchronized combination to make the room either exciting for energetic songs or intimate for the deeper and slower songs.”
Bandit’s crew for the event included Sarah Euker, Ty Veneziano and Chas Albea with project manager Don Lockridge providing additional support.
Bandit Lites is proud to be one part of such a significant weekend, with Bandit Client Representative Shawn Lear noting, “Trey brings a very professional approach in the advance details to the shop and is very thorough in the use of fixtures throughout his design.”
Meares credits Bandit’s level of service, coupled with providing a comprehensive list of gear and options for the design, with giving both him and management the confidence that they will have a great show.
“Bandit’s level of service is one of the best in the industry,” finished Meares. “They are turnkey in the delivery of the service that they provide and make an effort to make any request happen.”
