Christiaan Ballot and his team from Pretoria - Blond Productions - won the contract from Endemol South Africa to provide lighting, sound and AV for all the events outside the Big Brother House during the series, including the weekly evictions and the Grand Final. They also assisted with shooting inserts before the beginning of the production.
To cater for all the technical requirements, Ballot purchased six new Robe ColorSpot 700E ATs, and 12 Robe ColorSpot 250E ATs.
"They are awesome units," he comments on the new fixtures. "They definitely work for this production, particularly as it's TV. What sold me the most was the zoom, the optics and very definitely the brightness, particularly of the 700s."
The new ColorSpot 700E ATs were rigged in the roof of the stage outside the house and used as bright back lighting effects and to play back into the camera. The 12 ColorSpot 250E ATs were lined up down the red carpet to welcome the contestants at the start of the series.
PARs and Fresnels were also used for the main stage lighting and for the interview stage which was based in the centre of the red carpet. They also illuminated the surrounding trees and buildings for additional ambience.
Ballot comments: "The shows have received really positive feedback and have gone like clockwork technically. It's been really exciting being part of a worldwide phenomenon like Big Brother."
(Jim Evans)
