Italia 1's most recent edition of Top of the Pops drew from the immense BBC archive to mark the initial successes of megastars such as Michael Jackson, David Bowie and U2. The Italian set design and studio environment have to be similar to the original program: a white stage and modular walls, wide black edges and the 'Top of the Pops' logo all over the studio. However, local production has complete freedom within this format, including in lighting design. Riccardo Barbaglio, the program's photography director, along with Massimiliano Cavenaghi, whose 25 years of experience has been spent mostly in TV studios, says: "I was completely free to choose whatever lighting design and system I liked. I decided to use a lot of washlights to enhance this type of setting, because the walls are ideal backdrops for colouring. I also didn't see the point of using powerful projectors, as the studio is relatively small and they would have taken up precious space between the stage and backdrop."
Barbaglio planned his lighting design following two criteria: ample colour and minimal space. He explained why he chose Clay Paky's Point projectors: "I saw a demo of Point MH - the moving body model - before the summer: this real jewel is compact, light and smart, and features a halogen lamp and the purest of colours. My only doubt was how effective this type of projector could be in a TV studio. But it left me speechless - the TV cameras read all the colours perfectly and I was able to achieve the same impact as that of much more powerful projectors with discharge lamps. Point MH's unbeatable advantage is its compact size - it can be used anywhere, even in a small TV studio!"
"I showed Point MH to the program's English producer, who was most enthusiastic. So we decided to install 20 Point MHs on stage just at the artists' feet, with the dual purpose of colouring the stage and being a part of the set. With its extraordinary ergonomics, it can animate the set just by its presence and also through its sound-to-light system, which makes light 'dance' in rhythm with the music."
The studio also now uses another new lighting product, CP Color MH. This is a CMY colour mixing and moving body colour changer featuring a selection of optional diffuser filters, which cater for various filming requirements and allow you to colour different-sized surfaces. The ovalising filter was used on set to colour backdrops by shedding colours only horizontally, especially for stage design. "CP Color MH certainly passed the TV camera test," continues Barbaglio. "The colours were sharp and clear, and the lamp has a great range. CP Color MHs move their beams from the stage set to the audience and work perfectly in combination with other fixed CP Color 400s, spreading a beautiful base colour."
The lighting system also includes 25 Stage Color 300 and Stage Light 300 from Clay Paky, some of which are chromed for better TV visibility. Along with 12 Mini Scan HPEs, these products create special effects on stage. Due to the unusual setting, 1200W projectors were used, namely Stage Zoom 1200, Stage Profile Plus and Astroscan. Andrea Mantovani was responsible for console programming and also provided invaluable support in staging and planning the lighting system.
(Lee Baldock)
