The programme was realized in the cinema and television production centre - Cinecittà Studios in Papigno (Terni) in the post-modern scenario of an old disused factory. Director of photography Fausto Carboni reports: "It was necessary to combine the typical demands of a 'one-hand-show' with the need to interpret the Dante theme with a light show. It was also necessary to illuminate a theatrical show, bearing in mind the television requirements. We came to an agreement with the programme director Stefano Vicario, and decided to use a white light on the protagonist and full colour on the background and the audience."
Carboni wanted to respect some basic theatrical rules: lights which are mainly fixed but very precise, warm but never intrusive atmospheres - in short, a light design that enhances without 'killing' the scene.
A Cyclorama effect was achieved by placing some Clay Paky 100 CP Color 400 along the perimeter of the studio, that recreated the symbolic infernal environment on large PVC sheets, with extremely warm colours, ranging from red to orange. The Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 1200 and the Alpha Profile 1200 were installed on the ceiling on a large truss structure and were used to recreate the effects on the backdrops, the scenery and the audience.
Carboni continues: "The colour of backdrops is often in total contrast with that of the audience, separating reality from symbolism, the world from the after world. Benigni at that moment in time is the link between these two worlds, therefore the choice of the neutral light on him was not simply functional, but also a precise choice of language."
The programme required substantial human and technical resources, and Fausto Carboni worked in collaboration with the RAI lights team in Milan, exploiting the experience of Raffaele Vailati and Massimo Cipriani at the console and the head of the electrician team Nicola Bianchi.
All the motorized lights were supplied by DI and DI, a large service company in Rome which specializes in technical lighting setups for the cinema and television.
(Jim Evans)
