Lighting director Mark Kenyon working alongside a six-man crew from ELP created a visually stunning show. The opulent architecture and lavish décor of the ballroom were accentuated by a combination of moving lights, conventional six-lamp bars and modern LED systems. The lighting equipment, provided by ELP, included 44 assorted ETC Source Four profiles, 30 High End Studio Colors, 28 Thomas Par 64 chrome floorcans, 18 Par 64 six-lamp bars, 72 Pulsar ChromaStrips, 23 Martin MAC 2000s, 12 MAC 500s and 11 Arri Junior Fresnels. Control was from Compulite - a Spark desk for the generic systems and a Sabre for the moving lights - while all dimming was from Avolites.
Power in the building is also limited to 300A three-phase. The installed lighting rig could pull a lot more than this so the board operators needed to be mindful of overloading the system. For this particular production LD Mark Kenyon singled out a few essential lights which made a significant contribution: followspots were of course critical to following dancers around the floor and Kenyon had four Super Troupers and four Robert Juliat 2.5k tungsten spots trained on the dancefloor and the stage area. The Troupers targeted the stage entrance and walkway while the Juliats continuously roamed the dancefloor.
The dancefloor area was lit from a truss rig directly overhead, so that floor patterns didn't reflect onto the dancers' faces. They were instead illuminated by four (side-on) followspots. The spots were also used as 'key lights' for presenter Bruce Forsyth, who was continually on the move. The stationary judging panel were lit using Kenyon's favourite key light - the Source Four. "Their neat shuttering feature means that they are the most flexible and reliable to use," he said.
Clay Paky Stage Color 300s were used to define the edge of the dance floor and provide a separation buffer between the dancing area and the audience. Set on the ground, 16 of these aluminium-cased digital moving lights provided a solid base on which to lay additional lighting effects. They provided further uplight for the dancers' faces and, as they were almost always in camera, acted as mood changers.
The Stage Color 300s' sleek appearance was an added bonus, contrasting with the decorative white cubes in the overall set. These decorative cube features were made from white frosted Perspex. Each contained a Pulsar ChromaHeart, and was able to colour sync' in with the other Chroma Batons around the building.
72 Pulsar LED ChromaStrips were used on every level around the four walls of the venue. "If I had to name one thing that provided the 'wow factor' within the building, it was the LED batons," says Kenyon. He says: "I wanted to create a compelling rich texture in the venue. We used row upon row of lighting to create a sense of depth and gripping visual interest. We were rigorous in our attention to detail."
Examples of this included how Kenyon gave the walls and pillars in the furthest background a red colour wash so that they would also become part of the layered colour texture. Dozens of table lamps for the cabaret tables provided another textural layer as did the use of the in house chandeliers, mirror balls and on-stage lighting effects. Kenyon was able to instantly assess the impact of this complex approach as he insisted on having a preview monitor on each of the 13 camera positions. This was made possible using a Zandar viewing system linked to a plasma screen providing immediate access to every camera shot.
"I guess there is an artistic debate here," said Kenyon. "The ballroom dancing purists would prefer if the dance floor was just lit in a bright white wash with no visual distractions so that all the
