When the United Methodist Church, in Coos Bay, OR was looking for an audio/video provider, they put out a request for proposals.

Not knowing exactly what they wanted and even more unsure about what they received back from three different vendors, they settled on AGI because we took the time to explain, put together some drawings to help the church understand how equipment in the proposal would work in the room.  Went the extra mile to answer questions and sculpt the package.

The system consists of a new set of speakers, a retractable video screen and playback package.  Through the entire process, church technician, Marshall Beville, had the support he was looking for from AGI.  From questions about how the system would function from the church leadership to last minute additions that the church decided on the week of the install.

AGI recently completed the installation of a video and audio system for the Oregon Department of Veteran Affairs.  The Stan And Jean Adams Veteran’s Community Center is getting ready to open in The Dalles, OR and with the project well underway when AGI was contacted to assist with integration.  We definitely had some catching up to do!

A simple design with a set of options for control and features was turned around for them in just a few weeks allowing the administration to make critical decisions about what the system would end up consisting of, with some time to spare.

The system includes a large format projection screen, several flat screen displays and audio to support the space for anything from movie presentations to small live music events.  Despite a number of construction challenges along the way, the project was described as huge success for AGI with the  administration telling us to “punt on it and make it work the best you can…AGI turned it around and put the ball on the one yard line!”

After the job was completed we received a “thank you” email from one of the managers on the job.  He said, “Many thanks to you and all those who contributed to our project. I only wished that other sub’s on this project could have performed to your company’s level of excellency.”

AGI partnered with Salem Alliance Church of Salem, OR recently to give some new life to their 30 year old EDI lighting system.  The upgrade consisted of a new dimmer rack control module and an update of their room lighting control system.

When the church called with a concern that a bank of dimmers had failed they thought that they might be required to replace the whole dimmer rack.  The reassurance that a new retrofit control module would solve the problem was exactly what they wanted to hear.

For a fraction of the cost of a new rack, the retrofit was able to replace the critical control module electronics which were probably about 5 to 10 years past their functional life span.  The new module should provide another decade or two of worry free service of this dimming rack.

Director of Technical Ministries, Greg Gallagher mentioned, “From video, to lighting, to audio and acoustics, we love everything you guys do for us!”

As a lighting designer, one of my favorite websites to visit from time to time is www.churchstagedesignideas.com.  It’s kind of an idea pool of stage design ideas that can be used as a spring board to get your creative juices flowing.  I was recently able to post some of our own work on the site from my home church and in response to this a colleague mentioned that he wished more churches would be inspired to do stuff like this.  It got me to thinking, what’s stopping them?  Is it time? is it money? Is it inspiration? Is it community?  Community…why would that make a difference.

The reality is that God has made us in his image and He himself is a creative being!  Our American culture is intensely visual so why wouldn’t the church naturally create and reach out in this way to the world around us.  I find that it’s difficult even for me, even as a professional, to put something out there that’s creative in nature.  Is it distracting? Is it too bright or too dim?  Does it support the message?  Will people get it?

A group of us got together as a “creative team” for this project and it turned out to be one of the most rewarding processes I’ve been through.  Our pastor had laid out a vision for a church wide focus on moving deeper into relationship with the body of Christ. We came up with the idea to contrast the focus of the series with the recent popularity of social networking. We put together giant i-Phone looking set pieces as a backdrop and used some of the catch phrases such as Profile, Groups, Status, etc to present the theme for each week.  As a small group we were more empowered to brainstorm ideas and hammer things out to a result that really had some impact.

It doesn’t need to take a lot of money or time.  You don’t have to be super creative (you can steal the ideas right off the website if you want) but in a “creative team” you can draw on the strengths of one another and use the small portion of the body of Christ you have assembled as a think tank to bounce ideas off of one another and come to something awesome that one individual could never have done on his or her own.

The lighting systems from both rooms were combined to create one system that is much better.  The only equipment purchase the church made to make this transition a reality was a few light bulbs and some fuses to get some older fixtures back up and functioning.  The result has really made a more dynamic space for both groups.  David Conlee, the Youth Pastor who was overseeing the project commented, “I was really impressed with how quickly you guys worked and how awesome it looks.  I would have probably worked 2 or 3 weeks on it, been all frustrated at the end, and it wouldn’t have looked half as good.  I’m really glad we brought you in to help us with this project.”

The new Touchlink systems utilizes a modular system of serial and relay control boxes which features an integrated control system via a pair of touchscreen interfaces located in the front of house position and in the video control room downstairs.  Because the Touchlink functions on an IP backbone, the center’s existing wiring pathways were able to be reused minimizing installation time and also allowing programming changes even from an offsite location.  The system is capable of controlling the sequencing of the audio equipment, projector power, input selection from either the projector or a video switcher, a drop down screen, a set of drapes and scrims, along with the lighting system for the room.

The lighting control incorporates two selectable lighting control systems that involve a preset control for standard room set-ups that can stand alone without the Touchlink system if desired.  The Jands system provides for more elaborate custom control of the lighting system via the computer software and the hardware dongle giving more flexibility over the lighting which can be accessed by the board or the Extron Toutchlink system.

The ease of operation really comes into play on a system like this when multiple operations are programed with a single touch of a button.  For example the “movie in” button brings the shades in, the screen in, the projector is powered up, an input on the projector along with an output on the switcher is selected, and the lights are dimmed to watch a movie.  This kind of control is invaluable when a single operator is scheduled to run an event that requires some elaborate functions to work at the same time in a seamless manor.

The church had worked with AGI back in 2009 to install audio in the gym where a contemporary service was growing within the body.  The church had been very pleased with the gym system but the sanctuary system was long overdue for some replacement components.  With the idea in mind to standardize the equipment between the two spaces, a decision was made to control update the complete system wiring and components.  Using the Fulcrum Acoustic CX1595 speakers for mains and a complement of Sub115 the church was blown away by the compact, elegant package that did not interfere with the ascetics of the space.

Clare Buhler, senior pastor of the church, commented that, “we were amazed at the small size and large sound that the system is now capable of producing.”

AGI recently completed an audio upgrade for two small rooms at the 1^st Baptist Church in Brownsville, Oregon.

The first project consisted of a new set of speakers, amplifier/mixer, and a compressor to help even out the sound for a foyer/nursing mothers/overflow area.  The previous system had volume shifts that ranged from so low that it was inaudible to so loud it distorted.  With the compressor and the new equipment in line, the quiet sections of the sermon can be heard clearly while the more intense sections are not overdriven.

The second project involved the addition of a new portable rack which houses a mixer and some wireless gear for a set of speakers that the church installed themselves when they built the fellowship space a few years ago.  This system allows the permanently installed speakers to be fed a signal either from the sanctuary for overflow or from a local set of inputs at the back of the portable audio rack.  The rack can plug into the system from one of four different points in the room to allow flexibility in the location of the mixer.

The church’s sound technician, Richard White followed up the install with the comment, “Everyone who has used the new system has good reports to make.  The foyer sound is marvelous as well.”

WideLine8 in the AGI warehouse

We’ve had the pleasure of having one of the new QSC WideLine 8 compact line array system’s dropped off to us to play with for a few weeks.

Although this was our first “overnight” demo several AGI staff members have mixed on WideLine systems with great success.

We came together as a company with QSC rep Brendon Brown (from The Farm AV) formerly the tour manager & FOH mixer for Hoobastank. It wasn’t raining on this day (surprisingly) so we took it outside into the warehouse parking lot and took a listen. We even shot it down an adjoining street to see what the coverage was as you moved away from the stacks. In the end we were very impressed with the range and coverage with the WideLine.

Lead Installer Ray and I took this system to a local church’s youth worship night. This church has a pretty rocking band and we were “taking it to 11″. The system performed very well and it really showed off it’s “rock and roll” punch.

At the end of the night, it was all about the load out – and this system broke down and loaded out with ease. From there it was to Dairy Queen to reward us for a job well done. And no, we didn’t share our ice cream with the WideLine.