Producer Endemol asked Visual Productions to programme a special facility in the VisualDMX software that would enable it to control a new game based on the Labyrinth principle. Two 18 square metre platforms of MultiLEDs floor were supplied by Blue Magic rental and project house, located close to the Studio Aalsmeer used for filming the show.
Utilising the ever popular Matrix Mania software feature of VisualDMX, the software was programmed to enable a complex route of touching squares travelling from one side to the other of the LED floor, to be hidden from sight until the contestants step on the correct path. VisualDMX was linked via MIDI to a show control system; in the event of a contestant standing on an incorrect square, lights flashed and buzzers sounded signalling for them to start from the beginning again.
The director requested a path "as difficult as possible" that resulted in a 15 minute marathon session of audience members standing in their seats shouting directions to the contests running back and forth to find the correct route, both out of breath and desperate to be greeted by the flashing lights and applause signalling a win for them.
(Chris Henry)
