Lighting for the show is provided by lighting designer Chris Kempton, with equipment supplied by Richard Martin Lighting. The most striking feature of the set is the back wall: made up of 24 screen-printed gauze panels, each panel is individually backlit by a floor-mounted VL 1000 TS. Kempton's decision to use VL1000s came from his need to use a framing unit that would be as silent as possible. "You never know who is going to answer a question, so all seven mics need to be left open - we needed a unit that wouldn't be picked up by them."
The predominantly white background also played a role in Kempton's decision to use VL 1000s. The tungsten source created a more usable range of colours for the style of the show. "You can achieve the most fantastic colour of brown - something I don't think you can do with a discharge lamp."
Providing colour washes across the floor and onto the contestants are five Pulsar ChromaBanks built under a set piece in the centre of the floor. The motivation for using LED battens was simple: "They're cool - anything else would have been too hot," says Kempton.
Kempton has also made innovative use of LEDs in the scoring system, having built six 300mm ChromaStrips into each desk. This means that when a contestant presses their buzzer, the desks can light up in different colours depending on which round is being played. Using ChromaStrips also enables Kempton to create chase sequences during the show.
(Lee Baldock)
