Integration

The California Center for the Arts, Escondido (CCAE) prides themselves on their state-of-the-art facilities. Working in such a pristine, impressive venue is a true privilege, and in 2023 PCE was honored to sell and install a brand new Yamaha Rivage PM5 audio console in the Center's main auditorium.

The Yamaha Rivage PM5 will serve CCAE for countless years to come. Audio engineers (whether in-house or touring) will have no trouble picking up on the console's intuitive controls, and there's nothing this robust workhorse can't handle. The PM5 provides 323 input channels. Three touch screens can be split up between multiple engineers, or used by one operator. Each bay has 12 faders and can manipulate any part of the system. This console will make the audio experience at CCAE delightful for engineers, performers, and guests alike.

In 2023, PCE helped San Clemente Presbyterian Church completely overhaul their entire audio system. The project included many components, chief among them replacing the church's point source speakers with brand new L-Acoustics line array speakers. Point source speakers deliver audio in a single direction, while line array speakers help distribute audio evenly throughout a large area. This gives everyone at San Clemente Presbyterian Church a uniform, satisfying, crystal-clear audio experience.

In addition to the speakers, PCE also conducted a general rewiring, complete with a new audio rack. To tie everything together, PCE ran the new system through a digital Allen & Heath audio console.

For many years, Fullerton College used incandescent house lighting at its Campus Theatre (the mainstage performance space of the entire college). While this system worked for many years, it came with its share of headaches. Namely, the incandescent bulbs needed constant attention. Lights would burn out, and replacing them was an expensive, high-touch process.

To update this system, Fullerton College enlisted PCE. We replaced the incandescent bulbs with Canto USA Retro-Passive fixtures. These LED lights fit into the existing dimmer system, but gave Fullerton College a much more reliable, lower-maintenance lighting system that will last for decades.

One of the first "dark rides" in the world, the Calico Mine Ride made its debut way back in 1960. Several decades later, PCE helped revamp the ride (and the adjacent Camp Snoopy area) with modern RGB lights from Acclaim Lighting. Our efforts gave Knott's Berry Farm something they never had before: the ability to dynamically change the ride's lighting. This allows them to speedily and effortlessly give the ride a festive look for holidays and other special occasions.

Acclaim Rebel Drums now serve as uplights for the waterfalls throughout the ride. Acclaim Dyna Flood QA fixtures offer pristine color mixing and 20-60 degree beam angles. Both of these lights have IP ratings to help them withstand the elements.

(Project photos courtesy of Acclaim Lighting and Westcoaster.)

Drive through the heart of Orange County on I-5 at night, and you'll get to appreciate a great PCE integration project: the Santa Ana Water Tower. Years ago, PCE helped the city of Santa Ana choose and install a lighting package that lets them illuminate their landmark water tower for special occasions (holidays, major sports games, etc.).

PCE selected SGM P-10 RGBW wash lights for this project, positioning them on the ground, pointed up at the tower. This hides these weather-resistant IP65 lights from view of passersby while giving them a great angle from which they can light up the underside of the tower.

Shepherd's Grove tapped PCE for a massive, comprehensive overhaul of the their church's lighting systems. This included everything from the house lighting (Elation RGBs) to the front lighting to the little details—we even added Rosco LED tape to the backside of the church's cross!

The stained glass windows in Shepherd's Grove posed an interesting challenge for the PCE team. These windows are ostensibly facades, they're simply built into the structure of the building and do not separate connect to the outside of the building. That means our team had to "hide" lighting (we used Elation strip lights) behind the stained glass to simulate the effects of natural light.

PCE chose ETC LED Lekos for front and back lighting for the sanctuary area. Additional strip lighting behind the choir/orchestra area helps accentuate musical performances, and all of the church's lighting runs through a ChamSys console. Because Shepherd's Grove broadcasts/records many of its services, we had to select fixtures with high CRI values and accurate temperatures.