SERIATE, Italy – Along with the risk of elimination – and the loss of all the accrued quiz show money to the eliminator – contestants on L'eredità (The Inheritance) on Italian TV (RAI 1) get cast in different colors every time they make a mistake. Director of photography Vittorino Piccolo, meanwhile, is mostly concerned that there won't be any errors in the color specified – or, worse, a fixture failure that would bring the whole TV show to a halt. "The set is a sort of circular 'canister' consisting of strips of simple white plastic that house LED strips," Piccolo said. "They may also be illuminated by the studio lights. Since the show consists of six different games on a single set, the lights have to be used to try to differentiate as much as possible," he added. "My task is precisely to characterize the different sections of the game with various color effects."
Almost all the lighting equipment is Clay Paky, including Alpha Beam 700s, Alpha Profile 1200s, Alpha Wash 1200s, Alpha Spot 575s, CP Color MHs and Super Scan Zooms.
"I've insisted on Clay Paky for years, because they are extremely reliable lights, and the support service the company provides is priceless," said Piccolo, who detailed how the lighting effects are used.
"The design entails a batten around the whole studio perimeter, fitted with washlights and scanners, while above the stage, right in the middle of the studio, there are beam shapers, spotlights and other washlights. The CP Color MHs are instead used to backlight the studio."
Piccolo also explained that the competitors are normally mainly lit with white light, but "when the tension is at its highest, I choose deep blue or red on them too – they are dark colors that amplify the atmosphere and isolate the contestants from the others."
Among the best-known characteristics of the program are the use of a circular LED tile under the host's desk and a high resolution LED table (3 mm pitch). These are especially picked out in shots from above with an agile Jimmy-jib.
The program is directed by Maurizio Pagnussat, and the set is designed by Riccardo Bocchini. L'eredità is produced by Rai 1 in collaboration with Magnolia S.p.A., and is designed by Carlo Conti with Mario D'Amico, Emanuele Giovannini, Umberto Sebastiano and Leopoldo Siano. Claudio Salvapicchio is the lighting operator.
For more information, please visit www.claypaky.it.
