The Awards were hosted by the ABTT Award Dinner 2008, the traditional gala of the ABTT show. Over 230 professionals attended the event at Church House, which was tastefully lit and coloured for the occasion by Clay Paky Alpha fixtures.
The awards were voted and assigned by a group of professionals, who also operate in the specific categories of the contest, selected and coordinated entirely by STLD and ALD, whose professional standards guaranteed the credibility and the reliability of the evaluations.
The evening was a success, as the head of ABTT, Simon Garrett confirms: " We were delighted to host the inaugural Knights of Illumination Awards and felt that it seamlessly complemented our own ABTT annual awards. It highlighted the diverse potential of lighting technology through application specific projects. It was great to see so many illustrious Lighting Designers together in one room."
Bernie Davis and Rick Fisher, respectively representing the category associations STLD and ALD, and Durham Marenghi (representing the 'Rock' section) confirmed the success of the event, that attracted the attention of the media and the many guests who attended.
The winners are:
Television - Light Entertainment: Dave Davey for Dancing on Ice. Judges comments: "The lighting gave this huge production quality and style that changed effortlessly to suit each performance. The use of projection on the ice is nothing short of sensational."
Television - Drama: Ben Smithard for Cranford. Judges comments: "A flawless period feel was never over dramatised. Excellent interpretation of candle-light and daylight interiors and night-time exteriors alike left this drama subtle and yet sculptured."
Television - Musical Programme: Nigel Catmur for Mercury Music Prize.Judges comments: "A beautifully crafted design that matched the mood to the range of music that made the viewer feel part of the event, and offered good camera shots wherever they looked."
Televesion - Event: Al Gurdon for Royal Variety Performance. Judges comments: "The lighting demonstrated a strong collaboration with the design that produced an ambitious range of looks within a limited rehearsal period."
Rock - Stage: Jonny Gaskell for Groove Armada. Judges comments: "Big, bouncy dance show, lots of VersaTUBEs, moving lights and high energy. Great use of colours and movement and a show totally appropriate to the artist... dynamic, classy, innovative design bounces off the energy of the music with a lot of joie de vivre and makes great use of a combination of video display modules with LED fixtures deployed as part-video, part-lighting backdrop - a non-stop multimedia projection show for the 21st century."
Rock - Arena: Richard Larkum for Kaiser Chiefs. The Judges said "Another big rock style stage, crowned with 5 portrait screens of video giving it a completely different look and edge. Lots of energy, colour and excitement...This seems to have been a complex and well thought out piece of programming, the lighting just felt as though it really was all about the band - you could honestly feel the relationship dynamic between designer and client.... very much a show to jump about to!"
Theatre - Dance: Lucy Carter for Chroma at the Royal Opera House and her work with Random Dance. Her work was remarkable for the quality of light that added so much to the staging.
Theatre - Opera: Paul Pyant for Minotaur at the Royal Opera House.
Theatre - Drama - Paule Constable for Saint Joan at the NT where her work "helped to liberate the play with its design. The lighting re-imagined to startling effect how the O
