Commissioned by format creators and producers 12 Yard, The Colour Of Money, presented by Chris Tarrant, is one of the most ambitious sets yet created by production designer Patrick Doherty.
A total of nine mission-specific media surfaces are used on the set, including Barco's iLite 6 6mm display, which forms the main high-resolution central screen. This is reinforced by G-LEC's 30mm Phantom 30 and Barco MiTRIX transparent screens, Barco OLite 612 modular banner (curving round the rear of the set), and the German Schnick-Schnack LED FX, which borders the cash machines and also provides a uniform colour light detail elsewhere on the stage floor, with wide angle diffusion. The transparent screens have been backlit to give extra depth to the set.
In a set notable for the radical decision to exclude all moving lights in favour of digital light sources, CT also supplied Barco Folsom picture management system for image sizing.
With Catalyst G5 server operator, Svend Pedersen, and lighting designer Tom Kinane forming core members of the team, Doherty knew that the technical support of CT's Adrian Offord, which he has come to rely on over the years, would enable him to be experimental. "Once you have a relationship like that you know where you stand in terms of costs and creativity," he said. "I will discuss with CT a concept idea and how best to make it work - they will then come back to me with the solution. It's good to have that level of back-up."
(Jim Evans)
