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Innovation at San Remo with Lighthouse Technologies Screens
A whole new format was introduced, which was broadcast across Italy on national TV station RAI. Hosts were Paolo Bonolis, director of the show, and popular TV personality, Antonella Clerici. Guest Stars included Mike Tyson, Vasco Rossi, Gwen Stefani, Michael Buble, Wil Smith and Argentinian singer Lola Ponce. The main group of 20 competitors was divided up into four different categories: men, women, groups and classic stars. The competition resembled Pop Idol, with two members of each group voted out and the remaining artists merged into one group, this continued until the winner was decided.
The new format required lavish staging, which also took on a fresh aspect when AV rental company Eurovideo developed a new concept in set design by placing Lighthouse LED modules in the risers of stairs at the rear of the stage.
Eurovideo’s Mario Prataviera explains: “The stairs were an integral part of the stage and we were looking at unique ways of making them both visually attractive and a useful part of the video concept. We came up with the idea of putting video into them, so we custom built aluminium boxes to contain modules of Lighthouse 10mm LED screen, along with all the necessary cabling and support mechanisms.”
Each of these modules measured 192x16cm and was movable, so the stairs could be retracted to form one large screen as well as being separate elements. Additionally, Eurovideo flew four sets of 14x2 modules of Lighthouse 10mm screen at the side of the stage, as well as a central screen which comprised two sets of 16x2 modules (right and left sides) and two sets of 13x2 modules at the bottom.
Input to the screens was controlled by several computers using Eurovideo’s own software and was controlled by three Electrosonic Vectors, two Lighthouse Supervisor LX, three Lighthouse Supervisor HD, two LIP QX, 12 Lip SX and six correctors from Snell & Willcox.
This complex combination of devices allowed Eurovideo to supply the central screen (2x15 modules on the steps on top of them a 13x13) with either one signal or with three different signals, which gave them a lot of flexibility for the content, which was supplied from RAI’s own OB van equipped with 24 fully digital cameras with assistance from Eurovideo’s chief engineer, Francesco de re, and Prataviera.
“We spent eight days in Sanremo rigging the LED modules,” continues Prataviera. “We had two teams of five people working 20 hour a day and then two engineers managed the two week rehersal period and four engineers for the live performance.
“I was personally involved for just the first two days. After that Francesco De Re, Luca Feltrin, Livio Favot, Fabrizio Lopes and Simone Borri our senior engineer along with other engineers managed the installation and final adjustments.”
“Companies like Eurovideo are constantly pushing the boundaries of set design,” adds Lighthouse’s Southern Europe sales director, Roberto Segato. “And it’s great to see our screens being used in such an innovative way.”
14th April 2005
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