LONDON – HSL supplied Vari*Lite moving lights and over 700 Pulsar ChromaStrips of varying lengths for the new ITV series, Magic Numbers, produced by CPL and aired live weekly in the prime time Saturday night slot of 8 p.m. Tom Kinane designed the show's lighting, once again relying upon HSL to supply lighting gear. HSL's Project manager was Sean McGlone.
Magic Numbers was presented by Stephen Mulhern, directed by Chris Power broadcast from The London Studios (TLS) on London's South Bank. Kinane's starting point for the lighting design was the set designed by Andrew Gates, which included a variety of scenic light boxes. Kinane suggested that the ChromaStrip LED lightsource be used to internally light the 20 set pieces.
HSL delivered the ChromaStrips to set builders Set Square in Mitcham, Surrey, where they were wired in to the scenic pieces by the show's senior technician Richard Jarvis, together with Chris Hyde and Daniel Kinane as they were built.
Once the set was installed in Studio 1 at TLS, Kinane worked on lighting it with a selection of fixtures including the 52 Vari*Lite VL3000s – 16 on the deck and 36 in the studio roof. They were used for washing the stage, beam effects and lighting the performance stage area for the weekly guest artists.
The multicolor looks and scenes were designed for the camera as well as for the live audience. The set was wide and low with splurges of color that swept across the whole environment, changing the atmosphere.
Another visual element of the show involved playing with color temperature. It was shot in daylight (5600°K) which is unusual, so Kinane lifted all the stage and set lighting color by about 30 percent, giving the space and set an almost comic book-like appearance to fit in with Magic Numbers' game show genre.
Kinane is also using SunStrips around the studio, which come out with a shimmering golden tint due to the shooting in 5600. Other fixtures on the rig included i-Pix Satellites positioned on the floor pointing up to illuminate some of the scenic pieces hanging in the roof.
All the ChromaStrips and Vari*Lites were controlled by Max Conwell via his Chamsys MagicQ 100 Pro lighting desk. The conventionals and white lights were run by James Ashdown using TLS's ETC Congo console.
"It's been a real pleasure working with Sean and HSL again – the service and support is excellent and highly efficient and the kit is always in great condition," Kinane said.
Working alongside Kinane, Jarvis and Conwell were vision controllers Darryl Bidwell and Steve Williams, CPL production manager Annie King, TLS studio managers Paul Braithwaite and Clare Philips and gaffer Michael Sullivan. They used 6 house spotlights, co-ordinated by senior operator Steve Embury from TLS. Mike Agnew and Barbara Lee produced the show.
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