Superstar is broadcast live each Friday night from the National Tennis Centre arena in Slovakian capital, Bratislava, staged in front of 1,500 highly vocal fans. STV has put 2.6 million Euros into producing the series, making it the country's largest TV project to date, and very much a matter of National pride. The live show tickets are allocated as give-aways for various competitions and about half via the show's main sponsors, including Nestlé.
Naturally, production values are right at the top of the agenda, with STV seeking the best technical and creative support for its flagship series. The show's lighting is designed by Martin Kubanka, with all equipment supplied by Bratislava-based Q-99 Sound & Light, the largest and most prolific rental company in Slovakia.
When the company won the contract for Superstar, it decided to make a substantial investment in new moving light technology, and bought 80 new fixtures from its near neighbours in the Czech Republic, Robe Show Lighting, via Robe's Czech Republic distributor KVS.
Q-99, founded by Kubanka and his business partner Marek Adamik after the fall of the Communist regime, does most of the major Slovakian television and touring work, and frequently works in other parts of Europe. The company always strives to be at the cutting edge of production technology, and has been the first in the country to use many leading lighting and audio brands.
When it came to deciding which moving lights to buy for Superstar, they drew on their own experiences and the observation of others. They'd initially invested in Robe in 2002 with the XT Series, and now wanted a good stock of powerful moving lights for indoor and outdoor use. "We were also lucky enough to be in a position to do shoot-outs and compare brands," states Adamik. "Robe, quite simply, came out on top." The company's Robe XT fixtures had also proved reliable; this was confirmed by research among other European lighting companies taking the Robe route. Adamik adds: "Apart from all those advantages, the price was right."
The Superstar set was designed and supplied by Pop Idol series originators 19TV & Fremantle Media as part of the licensing agreement.
It comprises three spherical performance areas, a series of stairways, six integral LED screens and some inbuilt practical lighting, highlighting elements like the curvature and stairs.
Kubanka's lighting rig is attached to various over-stage trusses, four of which are circular. The largest is in the centre with an 8m diameter and a smaller 4m diameter one within, and this is flanked by two more 4m diameter ones either side. Then there are two 30m straight trusses over the stage area, another one at FOH primarily for audience lighting, and further unseen trusses backstage giving lighting positions for the backstage lounge area. The four circular trusses all move and are rigged with vari-speed ChainMaster hoists; the rest of the flown rig is on fixed hoists.
The Robe luminaires appear all over the trussing network and upstage on the set floor; in total there are 20 ColorSpot 1200E ATs, 10 ColorWash 1200 ATs, 20 ColorSpot 575 ATs, 10 1200 XT Scanners and 10 575 XT Scanners. This still left Q-99 with 20 other Robe scanners and some ColorSpot and ColorWash 575 XTs back at the warehouse for use on other projects.
Conventional light sources include 80 ETC Source Four PARs, 16 Molefeys and six strings of ACLs. Q-99 has also supplied an MDG Ice Fog generator and a hazer, MA dimmers and the GrandMA console that Kubanka uses to run the 3,800 DMX channels that the show requires.
Kubanka faces the familiar challenges of makin
