Clay Paky was also founded in 1976 and has provided the vast majority of the lighting effects this year too. The rig includes about 120 intelligent lights consisting of Alpha Spot HPE 1200s, Alpha Spot HPE 700s, Alpha Spot HPE 300s and CP Color MHs, as well as numerous Clay Paky CP Spots as general accent lighting. All the lighting equipment is supplied by PR Electronics.
Director of photography Fausto Carboni comments, "The set lighting was designed to adapt to three different programmes: Domenica In, L'Arena' (the arena), and A casa di Paola (at Paola's house).
"The circular wall consists of hinged aluminium panels with hundreds of steel bells inside. Each bell houses a halogen lamp. Light can therefore shine from the wall or the wall may reflect the illumination from the motorized lights."
The lights are arranged as follows: Clay Paky Spot HPEs (1200W, 700W and 300W versions) are placed on battens hanging over the stage for the whole width of the studio, so that they may provide all types of lighting: front, side, stage, and end wall. Others are placed in the spaces between the panels that form the circular end wall to provide backlighting.
Forty CP Color MH colour changers are on the other hand placed around the whole external perimeter of the studio so they can light the walls evenly. A high-resolution motorized modular ledwall (also semicircular to fit the wall) ensures perfect integration between the lighting and video components. The lighting desk operator is Carlo Vanni and gaffer, Riccardo Cardini.
(Jim Evans)
