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L’Isola del Famosi with Robe
Leading Italian television lighting designer Alessandro Porcaru is using over 250 Robe Show Lighting moving lights to light the current series of Italy’s top rated ‘L’Isola del Famosi’ (Island of the Famous) reality TV show.
The studio elements of the show are recorded at Studio 2000 in Milan, directed by Egino Romio. The show is broadcast live on RAI 2 every Wednesday, pulling an incredible average of 42% of the viewing figures. At times, the rating has hit 55%, and it’s arguably the most popular entertainment show in Italy.
The lights are being supplied by Romanengo-based Mixer Sound & Light, one of North Italy’s top rental companies, who are also supplying additional studio sound to the show.
Porcaru first used Robe fixtures on the original series of L’Isola, and has increased his fixture count steadily for each one since. He has also specified Robe for several other TV shows on which he’s worked and now it’s his moving light brand of choice.
When it came to lighting this third set of shows, the production moved to a larger studio, so he upped the Robe count considerably, having found them so reliable and versatile on the second series. Additional lighting was also needed as it was such an integral element of the set.
The fixtures – a mix of ColorWash 575 ATs, ColorSpot 575 ATs and 250 Spot XTs are rigged all over the studio roof, attached to a complex circular trussing rig that’s an aesthetic feature in its own right. There are also some 250 Spot XT under the translucent stage.
Porcaru lights the show in a slightly unconventional way. He collaborated closely with scenographer designer Susanna Aldinio to develop the visual aesthetics of the studio space. Light and illuminations are fundamental elements of the large, eye-catching set, which is full of neutral tones and is finished in a variety of different reflective materials. It’s designed specifically to absorb and refract assorted qualities of light, and to derive its colouration and texturing from lighting, rather then this being pre-determined. “This is a very exciting and spontaneous way to work on live TV,” says Porcaru.
The visuals are carefully planned to look good both in the studio for the live audience and performers, and also on camera, for the millions tuning in on their TV’s at home.
At the back of the main studio presentation stage area are hundreds of hanging banners made from Olf, an multi-textured reflective material made by 3M. These are lit with their own inbuilt industrial type LED strips. By adding the moving light beams ‘on top’, some bizarre lighting aberrations are created through the lens for the TV picture.
So, rather than the more ordinary TV looks and ‘beam technology’ effects created with the studio lighting, Porcaru is using the lighting in a subtler but equally dramatic way to change the colour and atmosphere of the space.
Some interesting break-up water-like effects are produced by shining 575 beams from above directly down through the Perspex stage onto some large scrunched up pieces of see-through plastic material scattered on the floor. This bounces back upwards onto the studio roof.
“The Robe’s have worked hard and continuously since they were rigged for the first episode two months ago,” says Porcaru, commenting on their ruggedness. “They have needed no attention or servicing at all, and that’s always important on a show like this where time is at a premium.”
He explains that he uses the ColorWash 575’s zoom feature extensively to create low angled audience shots, with the fixtures that are rigged closest to the floor. Although he likes all the Robe fixtures he’s using, the ColorWash 575 AT is definitely a current favourite.
He lights people’s faces with a series of generic 3200º fixtures for a softer look, and uses the moving lights for all the effects and “magic” work around them.
The lighting is run from two Compulite Sabre consoles operated by Marco Scopelliti and Ernesto Mattavelli. One console is used to control all the Wash lights and the other for all the Spot lights and effects lighting.
As soon as this series of L’Isola finishes, Porcaru is lined up to light a music programme for which he will be using Robe’s flagship ColorWash and ColorSpot 1200 ATs. He is also looking forward to working with Robe’s new range of LED products – both moving and static - “with great anticipation”.
20th January 2006
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