When their client, Endemol South Africa, wanted a new set for Big Brother Africa Amplified, aired on DSTV, Blond approached Sean Hoey of Dream Sets. Together they came up with fresh ideas that have "pleasantly surprised the client".
Lighting designer Peter Rieck (Blond) and Sean Hoey (Dream Sets) put their heads together from the inset with the assistance of Vector Works. Their aim was to create a set that would bring out as many technical and visual aspects as possible. "Robe fixtures added mood, beams of light and eye candy, while the real 'show stealer' were the graphics on screens and plasmas, all running via a grandMA Media Server," say Blond.
Christian Ballot, MD from Blond comments: "Five to ten years ago, effects were all about lighting, gobos and beam work. Now AV and lighting have become one - with one person controlling it all. It took us a while to get our head around grandMA, but Peter and Ryan Lombaard have cracked it and this brings us to a new standard where we are on par with the rest of the world."
Lighting equipment in use includes: 12 x Robe 700 AT Color Spots; 6 x Robin 600 Beams; 24 x Robe 575 XT Scanners; 12 x Robe 250 AT Color Spots; 48 x Bright Q LED Stage Bars; 36 x ADB 2KW Fresnel; 16 x ADB 2.5KW Softlights; 1 x GrandMA full size and GrandMA media server.
"It's an honour to work on Big Brother," added Ballot. "It's one of the largest television game shows in the world and it's a privilege to be connected to it. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate my team. It's wonderful to have the right people in the right place who want to work. For us it's really not about the equipment but how we all work together and the service we are able to provide the end user." Ballot added he believes the grandMA was "one of the best buys Blond ever made."
(Claire Beeson)
