Our Work

Cypress Wesleyan Church

Location: Columbus, Ohio

TMS Scope: Room Acoustics, Sound, Video & Theatrical Lighting

Architect: The McKnight Group - Columbus, Ohio

Project: This new construction project included a 1200-seat auditorium to be built on the church's property as an extension to their existing buildings. The design also included a small cafe and gathering area with comfortable seating and its own sound system suitable for holding small meetings.

I was invited to bid on this project by Technical Director Nathan Wurschmidt. Then as I was driving down to Central Texas for a consulting visit with another church, my cell phone rang. It was Nathan calling to give me some bad news - the church building committee had chosen another company. Worse yet, they had chosen a design/build AV contractor. I couldn't believe my ears. I hadn't even been allowed the opportunity to present my offer to the church. But as we talked, Nathan shared with me that he was not comfortable with the decision that had been made. Thankfully, he went back to the committee, shared his concerns with them, and I was ultimately allowed the opportunity to present my proposal and qualifications to the committee.

Things don't always go smoothly. I'm based out of north Texas. That often means a plane ticket to attend a meeting now and then. I'm a consultant, which means the only thing I have to "sell" is my knowledge and experience and design skills. My process is very similar to that of an architect, but for reasons beyond my grasp some building committees are more comfortable working with a design/build AV company.

To this day I am truly thankful that Nathan persuaded the project team to seriously consider hiring TMS, and that through the process cooler heads prevailed, because the church hired me to design the room acoustics and AVL systems for their new construction project.

The sound system has five Danley SH-50's flown in an exploded arc across the front of the platform, with another four SH-50's flown in a delay ring. Four Danley TH-115's are flown above the audience in a cardioid-dipole arrangement. Three 10,000 lumen projectors are hitting the three 16 ft x 9 ft screens. Connections for video cameras are strategically located throughout the auditorium, with custom camera platforms built into the back wall. And of course RF video distribution carries video signals to displays located throughout the church.

Niney-six channels of ETC Sensor dimming handle the primary house and theatrical lighting needs. Strategically placed DMX feeds stand alongside utility circuits powered from a relay rack, all in place to power future moving head lights. In addition to the first electric (lighting pipe) out over the audience, there is an 8 ft square lighting pipe grid extending over the entire platform, which tells you that Nathan's background is in theatre.

The production booth at the back wall of the auditorium has cabling at the ready to connect lighting and video gear, but its primary function is as the FOH mix position. Lighting control equipment and video graphics plus a fully equipped video control room are located on the second floor with a great view of the platform.

Their first service took place on December 12, 2010.

It was a blessing to work alongside Nathan and Barry as well as the team from the McKnight Group. Great pepople.

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