Music Gate is staged weekly at the Antoniano Theatre in Bologna, and broadcast in the prime time Saturday night slot of 6pm on RAI Gulp, a popular digital channel for young people.
Giulio Palaferri and the show's lighting operator Fabio Persia have not used Robe products before, but chose them for the show after a demonstration at the Rome warehouse of N.I.T. Service, the rental company who is supplying the fixtures for the show.
The stage has an L-shaped open plan appearance with the 20 Robin 300E spots rigged on trusses at the back of the two sides of the L.
Each show sees two contestants challenging each other to produce the best performance, in the process having to demonstrate their ability to sing, dance and communicate with both audience and public. They each get a week to prepare to present themselves for the contest, complete with coaching from professional singers and dancers. The weekly winner is chosen by public vote, and the Music Gate final takes place in January 2010.
Palaferri and Persia make good use of the gobo and prism effects in the Robins, and the array of colours achievable. The gobos are used for projections on the studio floor and for aerial effects which make fabulous wide-angle pictures on camera and a generally dynamic mix.
(Jim Evans)
