The new-look show features two stages, while the central floor area is also utilized as an impromptu stage area. Nicolas, who also designed the set, is using 35 Robe ColorSpot 1200 ATs, 20 ColorSpot 575 ATs, 31 ColorWash 1200 ATs and 10 ColorWash 575 ATs, plus a large generic rig and lots of LED-lit scenic pieces. The ColorSpot 1200s are fitted with a selection of custom gobos, and the Robe fixtures are used generally for all the main effects lighting. The Robes are all being supplied by Magic Light + Sound GmbH from Köln, one Germany's largest TV lighting rental houses.
Nicolas has to light between 8 and 16 bands and performers each week for TOTP. Apart from all the domestic stars, there's also a regular pool of international artists, which have included Robbie Williams, Britney Spears, Madonna and many others. The show is rehearsed the previous day and during the afternoon of the show day, and then recorded in the early evening. Nicolas has to work very fast to create the necessary looks, in close collaboration with programmer Bjorn Hermann. A WholeHog 3 is used for control, run with two wings, one operated by Nicolas and the other by Hermann. Working with Robe luminaires gives his work an enormous imaginative scope.
Nicolas says: "The 1200ATs are incredible. They are so bright, both the Spot and the Wash versions, and the CMY colour mixing is really excellent." He thinks the ColorWash 1200AT's zoom facility (between 10 and 87° depending on the lens used) is a real asset as is the variable CTO, available on both Spot and Wash 1200ATs. This is "essential for TV lighting" he adds.
Nicolas thinks the ColorSpot 575AT is an extremely well engineered unit. It features two colour wheels rather than a CMY colour mixing system, but he is adamant that you can get every colour you want from the fixture with the precise and correct combination of the wheels.
From the purely technical angle, the crew is impressed with Robe products because when they open them up - not that it's a common occurrence - everything is laid out in a logical and accessible manner. So far, the units have all been 100 per cent reliable, and Nicolas also comments that he's heard this from many other sources using Robe.
(Lee Baldock)
