Sunnyvale First Baptist Church
Sunnyvale, TX
Project Type
- Houses of Worship
Location
- Rockwall, TX
Project Overview
After 20 years of very little change, First Baptist Rockwall was in need of an audio, video and lighting renovation for their 1,000 seat sanctuary. Trent Blackley, Minister of Music at First Baptist Rockwall, spoke with Donnie Brawner, Paragon 360™ CEO, about a phased approach that allowed for upfront design work and AVL upgrades that could be spread out over multiple projects.
“We started with Donnie and his team with the front end and design process, and then we got to make great relationships with guys that carried us all the way through to the end,” said Blackley. “At every point, I felt like they had their best guy on it.”
"We chose Paragon 360 for this project because we really felt like they had a good concept of what was happening in churches today and what we needed in our situation."
Audio Systems
The centerpiece of the new audio system at First Baptist Rockwall is a Yamaha QL-5 Audio Console, with RIO over a fully redundant Dante network. Going from their old analog system to a fully-digital audio system enabled the church to have greater control over their mix, giving them many more options than in the past. As the new digital board is smaller in size than the old analog console, Rockwall had more space in the control booth, allowing the church to move all of their video control components into the control booth as well. With the addition of the fully-digital audio system, the church was able to eliminate a 40-channel analog snake, replacing it with two Cat6 network lines. Paragon also replaced Rockwall’s audio DSP with a BSSBLU-100 and redeployed and re-tuned the church’s existing PA for better coverage and response.
Video Systems
Paragon 360 replaced Rockwall’s aging and limited analog matrix video system with a High-Definition Digital Video Routing System. This included two new 16:9 Da-Lite projection screens, paired with two Panasonic 10,000 Lumen DLP Laser Projectors. In addition to the projectors and screens, Paragon also supplied Rockwall with a Panasonic AW-HE40 PTZ Video Camera and Controller. With new-found available space in the control booth, Paragon added two BrightSign Digital Media Players, along with two dual-channel ZeeVee QAM RF Modulators for digital signage and live service video distribution.
Lighting Systems
The original building plans of the Sanctuary at Rockwall did not feature adequate catwalks in the ceiling for proper back-lighting placement and maintenance. For this reason Paragon designed and created primary lighting positions built from motorized trusses placed above the Sanctuary Platform. The trusses can be lowered to the floor for easy maintenance and adjustment, saving the church substantial time and manpower.
Rockwall converted their entire lighting system over to LED, which required the dimming system to be upgraded, so Paragon utilized an ETC Unison DRd dimming rack to work in tandem with the retrofitted LED house-light lamps. In addition (26) Chauvet Ovation E-910FC ellipsoidal fixtures were used for front-light, and (28) Elation SIXPAR 300 par wash fixtures were used for back-lighting, with power control for all LED fixtures being managed via an ETC Echo Relay Panel. The lighting console is an ETC Ion with a 1×20 expansion fader wing. Paragon also installed nearly (60) Chauvet COLORDash Batten-Quad 6 linear wash fixtures, which use RGBA LEDs to wash many of the sanctuary walls with color.
"We feel like we’ve got a new team member in Paragon. It’s not just someone who’s coming in and trying to get us to buy their stuff. They are about the ministry, and this is all a tool for us to use in ministry."
Another Project On-Time & On-Budget
Paragon 360 spent three months in the design process. The rigging design in this particular space was challenging. When selecting a firm for your AVL work, it is critical to ensure that they are not brand specific because it will limit the options in functionally, performance and cost. Many times that is the difference between an adequate solution and a home run. When the project was complete it was met enthusiastically by members of the church as well as leadership and staff.
