The show is produced by TalkbackThames in association with Gallowgate Productions for ITV. Set design is by Dominic Tolfts. Lighting and video design is by Mark Kenyon, assisted by console programmer and operator Roger Williams.
The big-budget production features the very latest LED lighting and video effects technology to bring a dramatic, visually exciting look and feel to the gameshow format. Central to this look is a series of slow moving video clips running on highly visible LED display surfaces throughout the show.
In addition to outputting these clips in standard video resolution to a large centre-stage LED screen behind presenters Ant and Dec, Mark Kenyon wanted to dress a 63m wide by 3m high void above the arena style audience seating with complementary low resolution visual effects. Having used Chroma-Q Color Web before to great effect as an LED backdrop on other TV shows, Kenyon knew it would be perfect for his technical requirements and a good opportunity to test out the webbing in a much larger configuration.
Richard Martin Lighting supplied the webbing as part of an extensive list of equipment from their rental stock, pre-configuring the panels as 23 separate 9m square pieces for ease of hanging across the 63m wide wraparound above the audience seating.
The pieces were hung in front of black drapes on scaffold panels 6m off the ground and clipped together side by side in stages. Two additional pieces were connected below the middle section to cover a 6m drop where contestants entered the set.
The webbing's modular, pliable design also proved ideal for configuring it around a plasma screen and TV camera above the contestant walkway, as panels could be easily unclipped and folded round equipment.
The Color Web was driven by PixelMAD software connected to a lighting console. The system consisted of an ethernet line connected to six Artnet hubs mounted on the gantry, linked to PSUs fitted on the scaffold poles below for each 9m square piece.
Clips include a big swirl opening sequence based on gold graphics to tie in with the title credits, followed by a kaleidoscope effect, DNA and other bold patterns chosen to represent different rounds of the gameshow. The clips get darker in tone as the rounds progress to emphasise the increasing tension and scariness for contestants as they risk losing everything to scoop the top prize.
Kenyon says: "Color Web is fantastic for the resolution. It comes out really well on camera and is very easy to hang and light. It can be easily tailored to give an item or song a different look at the touch of a button, plus its low cost compared to scenery means it can be used on almost any show, so it's definitely found its place in the market. It's the first time I've used Color Web on an expanse of this size and it seems just perfect for it."
In addition to supplying the Color Web from their rental stock, Richard Martin Lighting also provided: 14 Martin Mac 500s, 28 Mac 600s, 24 Mac 700s, 16 Vari-Lite VL1000s, two Clay Paky Stage Zooms, 96 Pulsar Chroma MR16s, 84 Chroma Hearts, 60 Color Kinetics iCoves, and 25 Thomas PixelLines.
The Chroma-Q Color Web is designed and manufactured by Artistic Licence and distributed worldwide by A.C. Lighting. Chroma-Q Color Web is licensed by Artistic Licence, Color Kinetics and Super Vision.
(Chris Henry)
