Over 100 Robe moving lights were used to light Cat Girls a new Slovakian TV project launched to find the sexiest girl in the country!
Lighting for the show, staged in the Expo Arena in Bratislava in front of an enthusiastic live audience and broadcast live on Slovakia's Markiza network, was designed by Martin Kubánka, who was brought onboard by production company MAYA. All lighting and sound equipment for the event was supplied by Q-99, and it was one of the biggest TV productions yet seen in the country in terms of lighting and video technology.
Kubánka's creative challenge included producing an integrated lighting and video design that looked equally as good on camera as it did for the live audience, and that also fulfilled the usual demands of ‘light entertainment' (LE) television. He worked closely with show director Karol Vosátko, camera director Vladimir Ďurčanskŷ and video operator Thomas Leckŷ to produce eye-catching results.
The Robe fixtures comprised 42 ColorSpot 1200E ATs, 18 ColorWash 1200E ATs, 34 ColorSpot 575E ATs and 14 Robe Scan 575 XTs. The rig also contained large counts of LED fixtures, conventionals including 4 and 8-lite blinders and PARs, plus strobes and several different types of LED screen surface around the set and under the floor.
Robe has excellent colour mixing Kubánka comments, This is vital for any TV show, and a big reason why Robe is always my preferred choice of moving light. He adds that they also made the most of the fast strobing facility for some show scenes an effect that Robe fixtures produce particularly well.
The fixtures were rigged onto 3 gently V-shaped over-stage trusses, another traversing the runway horizontally, and 4 more trusses circling around the audience perimeters. There were also units on the deck.
Kubánka had to ensure that the lighting was balanced against the numerous LED set elements including Schnick-Schnack, Optec and Kudux, and needing very bright lightsources was another reason for him choosing Robe.
Being a live broadcast, programming time was tight! He made the most of all the Robe units' speed and ‘programmability' during this process, for which he worked alongside console operator Michael Schmidt, who ran the grandMA desk for the show.
The Robe ColorSpots and Washes in the air and on the floor were all used for powerful back-lighting effects and accenting, while the floor units produced colourful aerial craziness for the high energy show.
Kubánka created many large, beamy wide shots ramping up the spectacle and excitement levels for the audience, offering the FOH cameras a good depth of field as they panned across the whole venue. He also produced some interesting complimentary texturing onto the non-LED set elements.
He's used Robe for several years and on countless high profile shows and TV projects, reflecting his enthusiasm for the brand and his knowledge of the product ranges, plus the imaginative options Robe can bring to any lighting canvass.
Cat Girls was a massive success, and the production has been hailed as one of the best looking of the year on Slovakian TV.
We had a great team who worked incredibly hard and we utilised all the best equipment states Kubánka, This made a very technically ambitious project come together incredibly quickly and smoothly.