Comprising G-LEC LED PhantomFrames, which hung juxtaposed and layered at varying angles and heights around the stage, Bingemann's set featured an exaggerated perspective to ensure the stage looked much bigger than it really was. PhantomFrames were installed beneath a clear Perspex stage and, when combined with the set elements, created a low resolution video solution.
Wilcox says: "We supplied two members of crew with the G-LEC kit, in all we supplied 62 panels, 37 of which were installed under the Perspex stage and 25 hung as part of the set around the studio. These were supplied with content from four Catalyst media servers."
Gurdon says: "This was very much a collaborative project between me, Chris Saunders (screens director) Ian Reith (screens programmer) and my two programmers, Andrew Voller, and Rich Gorrod."
For nine consecutive evenings the soap stars performed to studio audiences in Manchester with the show broadcast live to the nation. Once into the daily routine, the kit had to work 24 hours a day to cope with the busy schedule.
Gurdon says: "A job like this relies on the comprehensive preparation and onsite management of the kit. We would rehearse all day from 9.30am, and then broadcast live every evening. Each night from 11pm we continued to programme for the following day's rehearsals and filming. Ultimately this meant the kit had to be in tip-top condition. There was little time to fix or swap anything out if it went wrong and I rely on the service and backup that both Mick Healey and Richard Gorrod provide."
The lighting rig predominantly comprised VL5 and VL2000 wash lamps with VL6C, VL1000, VL2500 and VL3000 spots which offered an assorted range of gobo animation and looks. Lighting units were positioned at every conceivable angle to give the overall sense that this was a live event being televised rather than a TV show.
One hundred PixelLine 1044 LED battens were used to provide colour changing effects within the set structure, whilst 39 Martin Atomic strobes added a hint of rock'n'roll, all of which were skilfully programmed by Voller and Gorrod on a Virtuoso console.
Just one month earlier Gurdon and Bingemann created the visual extravaganza that was the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, staged in Oslo, and again they enlisted the expertise of PRG's Mick Healey, Richard Gorrod and Loz Wilcox. The main contractor for the event - AVAB CAC AS - also sub-hired lighting kit from PRG Europe, including numerous VL3000 spot and wash fixtures and a quantity of Studio Due Dominator HMD 6600. These were shipped out to Norway along with 24 panels of G-LEC PhantomFrames.
Peter Bingemann's set comprised concentric metal clad circular and semi circular set pieces dramatically rigged at varying and opposing angles above three conjoined circular stages. Gurdon's lighting design made a major impact on this show. Hung from a series of circular and straight trusses above the stages, it emphasized the sheer size, dimension and perspective of the set.
A massive circular truss with a stretched BP screen towered behind the central stage orchestra pit. Around this, numerous MAC 700s dramatically cross lit the surface. Images were projected from the front with eight VL3000s with custom gobos. The band areas of the stage also incorporated hanging G-LEC PhantomFrames, which acted as semi transparent set pieces.
(Chris Henry)
