Broadcast on SABC 3 and produced by Rapid Blue, this international format, is produced in nearly 50 countries around the world and sets the ballroom floor alight every week with a sparkling display of dancing and lighting.
The series was lit by Gearhouse's Robert Grobler primarily using a selection of Robe moving and static LED lightsources - nearly 150 in total - all supplied, together with other lighting and rigging elements by Gearhouse South Africa. Strictly SA was recorded at SABC's Renaissance Centre in Auckland Park, Johannesburg.
Robert was keen to continue using mostly LED fixtures, a path he took when lighting the show the previous year. He was given a free rein to create appropriate lighting by the producers based on certain givens, like the fact that the dancers needed to stand out at all stages of the competition and their impressive array of eye-catching costumes should also be prominent in the visual picture.
Taking that and Michael Gill's set design into account, he crafted the look and feel for each episode and within that, each of the individual dance sequences thoughtfully, utilising 24 x Robe DLX spots, 24 x DLF washes and 27 x Pointes for moving lights, together with 48 x Robe LEDForce 18 PARs and 16 x CitySkape 48 LED floods for base illumination.
The studio is an empty warehouse space into which all the production infrastructure had to be installed. Gearhouse South Africa constructed and flew a mother-grid and sub-hung a network of production trussing on 60 points, which facilitated all the drapes and masking needed to make the space workable for Strictly, the flying of some set pieces as well as providing the lighting positions.
Robert used a grandMA2 console for control, and his main challenge was in comprehensively and effectively lighting the big production numbers, intricately choreographed by various choreographers for each of the 10 episodes which features the full cast and used every millimetre of the dancefloor.
Using a careful balance of short throw lensed follow spots and the DLX Spots, they were able to reduce light levels for the cameras during these, reintroducing more colour and enhancing the richness and vibrancy of the look.
(Jim Evans)
