Lighting designer Steve Nolan and associate Tim Routledge had previously debuted the PixelSmart on the Royal Variety Performance. Nolan comments, "We loved them on Royal Variety and they're really good point sources because you can generate different shapes with them. It just gives you a little more versatility and movement in the background."
Routledge notes, "We're using them a lot more on this show than on RVP. They're in most of the show and they're great eye candy for us to give us some sparkle. As this is Comic Relief we've made them into rotating red noses, using red with the cold white as the 'shine'.
Twenty-four PixelSmart fixtures populate the back and sides of the studio stage. Nolan adds, "They're only being run at 20% as they're way too bright - they're an incredible light. On this show, they've become a little shape generator for a few of the signatures in the show: when people walk down from the back, they're always on - and they do something different for each part of the show: there's a blue 'spooky' motif for when acts are being voted on and off."
(Jim Evans)
