Will Charles, who was assisted by moving light operator David Bishop, explained his choice of lighting - which also included Vari*Lite VL1000TS, Pulsar ChromaBank and Clay Paky Stage Color 300 fixtures - and gave his opinion on the performance of the Stage Profile Plus SV: "The Stage Profile Plus SVs were chosen primarily for their cutting blades and CMY mixing. The shutter blades were used to shape around the curve of the upper pieces in the set, making it look like only one lamp was lighting the piece, when there were actually three or four! The shutter blades were also useful for keeping the gobo projection off the cyc. The colour range, quietness of the unit and the performance of the shutter blades - which were fast from start to finish - were all very impressive features."
Charles worked closely with set designer Patrick Doherty to overcome the original problems posed by the large set. He requested brushed aluminium to be used to form the bottom pieces around the set, as Charles explains: "The ChromaBanks were then positioned around the floor of the set, enabling the colour to reflect up the aluminium pieces and disguise the fact that there were keylights all over it."
The VL1000TS were utilized to light a 'spotlight' quiz round on downstage podiums and to provide a colour wash on the carpet at other times. "Due to budget restrictions we were 'cheating' by repositioning fixtures all over the place during the rounds!"
The Stage Color 300s (the chrome version) were positioned in camera shot around the set and were used to light the ceiling piece and to punch some colour into the downstage backings. Filmed recently at LWT studios for the BBC, this Tiger Aspect Production, presented by Nick Knowles, will appear on UK screens in the autumn.
(Lee Baldock)
