Robe iSpiiders for Big Brother South Africa
- Details
Blond’s Ryan Lombard (head of the show lighting department) designed and operated the lighting, working closely with a new set design created by Michael Gill, and several of his go-to Robe moving lights including Esprites, LEDWash 300s and six of Blond Productions’ new iSpiiders.
Blond made this initial purchase of 12 x iSpiiders for I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here (Germany) which was shot in the South African bush for which they needed some hardy, weatherproof, LED wash fixtures which were delivered by Robe’s SA distributor, DWR.
However, Ryan grabbed six for the Big Brother Studio after he could not get more than 12 LEDWash 300s for the show as they were all out on other jobs.
The series was recorded at the Red Pepper Studios in Linden, Johannesburg, in a space that was formerly a parking garage, with the actual Big Brother house nearby. Due to the compact nature of this, all of the lights had to work in a truly multi-purpose context to maximise the studio space.
Punchy back lights were required at the rear of the set, something for which Ryan would normally have used LEDWash 300s, but the 12 on the plot were needed for other duties, so the six new IP65 rated iSpiiders were positioned upstage to provide these solid general back washes, plus additional eye candy using the flower effects which looked cool for the low angle camera shots.
“I didn’t need to worry about dust or any other environmental elements,” stated Ryan referring to the iSpiiders’ sealed optical chamber. Blond also purchased the wireless DMX modules with their iSpiiders which have proved useful for daisy chaining fixtures together and saving on data cabling.
The Big Brother Studio was actually a compact space, but this was ever apparent from the innovative set design and lighting which allowed it to be maximised on camera.
Some of the 12 x LEDWash 300s were positioned in the roof with the rest along the sides of the space at floor level for eye and camera candy.
This general all-encompassing wash lighting approach covered all positions around the studio including the presenter and contestants for these segments, while the Esprites were applied for detailing and closer key lighting.
Six Esprites was a perfect number for this front overhead work and when needed they could also be layered on top of the iSpiiders and LEDWashes for additional drama and reinforcing the streamlined style and contemporary set aesthetic. During artist performances, Ryan used the Esprites for beam-work and creating patterns, swapping functionality depending on the action of the moment.
Ryan has worked with Red Pepper Productions on several previous projects including the last two seasons of Big Brother Nigeria, and his challenge on this one was to blend and match the lighting to the set. “It’s always a pleasure working with Michael,” he commented, “we engage in a lot of discussion beforehand, and his environments are designed with lighting in mind, which makes the end results fun to produce and more visually coherent.”
