JOHANNESBURG – South African lighting sales and distribution company DWR has supplied over 400 LED fixtures for an eco-friendly installation at the new HD hub of satellite channel Supersport. Located in M-NETs Studio 6, Randburg, Johannesburg, the installation included eight Philips Vari-Lite VLX Wash luminaries and over 400 Anolis LED units that are integrated into various set elements in a stunning design by Michael Gill. The lighting rig can be run off two 15-amp plugs.
Gill, who collaborated closely with lighting designer Joshua Cutts of AV Unlimited to produce the aesthetics, wanted "something contemporary and totally different that utilized the best technology in the world."
The new studio was launched in time to broadcast comprehensive coverage of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, and was one of several Soccer World Cup-related projects for which DWR delivered equipment prior to kick off.
Gill said he likes to create 'live' environments where the dynamics can be switched quickly and dramatically with the application of light. In this case, the geometry and layout of the lighting installation also brings a distinctly different "showbiz" feel to a sports channel.
The lighting design also allows for special effects like flag colors – used during the World Cup – to highlight the different countries playing in each match.
They also built various Supersport logos and branding elements into set, which could also be matched to graphics appearing on the various plasma screens dotted around. Color wipes could be applied across the whole room to segue between the different looks.
Broadcasting 18 hours per day, with four or five shows, the studio installation allowed the creation of different looking environments.
Now being used to cover all 64 World Cup games, the lighting is able to allow the space to function as a single area or up to eight segments.
The Anolis LEDs – the majority of the 400 pieces are ArcLinks – are installed underneath selected floor panels and behind the back wall set pieces – which are finished with either glass or opal Perspex fronts. Together, these constitute 105 different sections or "light boxes" all over the set, and all individually controllable.
The Anolis' homogenized lightsources create a smooth wash when combined with the diffused panel fronts.
The Anolis fixtures are all run from ArcPower transformers – five ArcPower 16 by 12s – a custom driver developed specially for this project by Anolis in the Czech Republic – and four ArcPower 144s.
Robe CitySkape 48s are used for highlighting set pieces and toning the trusses and metalwork that also shapes the set structure.
The eight VLXs are rigged on to the top of vertical trussing sections running around the gently curving back wall of the set. For the World Cup broadcasts, they are being used specifically to mimic stadium lights for stings, bumpers and for moments that need a bit of additional tension and excitement building.
Gill had used Anolis fixtures before on a Lotto show at the start of the year and was impressed by their brightness, which led to them being spec'd again. It was the first time that Cutts had used either Philips Vari-Lite or Anolis products, but he was impressed with VLX after seeing it put through its paces at DWR's showroom in Johannesburg. "Duncan (Riley) insisted that I come in and see the units," he said, and was impressed.
"To get a fixture that bright and with color mixing that smooth is truly incredible," he said. The VLX contains seven 120W RGBW LED chipsets that provide output with three times the efficiency of comparable tungsten sources and also features a homogenized light engine to eliminate pixelation and LED shadowing.
DWR completed their lighting supply to Studio 6 by commissioning locally based Giant Light to build custom DMX – controlled LED strips which are fitted to the noses of the staircases.
For more information, please visit www.dwrdistribution.co.za.
