HSL supplied all lighting and rigging for Sting: A Winter's Night…, a holiday TV special and DVD shoot staged in Durham Cathedral. The show was directed and produced by Jim Gable and Ann Kim of Graying & Balding, Inc. HSL's five-person crew was led by Simon "Piggy" Lynch. The LD for the show was Manfred "Ollie" Olma.
The lighting rig included eight A&O 7K Falcon Beams and Flowers and over 100 Robe moving lights, including ColorWash 1200E ATs and ColorWash 2500E ATs. Olma and programmer Markus Janning ran the lighting with two grandMA full size consoles.
The cathedral, which dates back to 1039, added atmosphere for the show, which included 35 guest musicians performing with string and brass sections. The stage was below "The Crossing" – the core of the cathedral. The Robe fixtures were used for all the stage lighting, keylighting and architectural lighting.
As there are no lighting positions in the Cathedral – this was the first time a show of this scale has been staged there – HSL fabricated brackets which were attached to columns in the nave that were immediately in front of the stage area.
Each steel bracket supported two Robe ColorWash 1200E ATs, and the weight was distributed down to the floor, and the brackets were strapped to the columns and tensioned with BB winches.
More keylighting was achieved with ColorWash 1200E ATs rigged on the triforium level, a balcony area 12 meters off the ground surrounding most of the stage area. Some of the ColorWash 2500E ATs were also positioned here, used for additional power and back and side lighting, sweeping in to and across the stage.
The rest of the fixtures were distributed up and down the Nave (where the audience were seated). They were positioned out to the edges, sat on flight cases to give some height, and largely concealed behind the columns that run the length of the Nave.
Additional Robes were positioned in the Quire, the area directly behind the stage. Arranging them in this fashion meant that all the various interior features, textures and shapes – however high up – could be highlighted or washed as required.
The Robes were used for a whole range of coloration effects, used by Olma to look good both on camera and for the live audience attending the two nights of shows.
Mike Oates, HSL's project manager for the event, which was recorded by German-based SIVision, said, "Robes were ideal fixtures for the job – they are reliable and versatile. Ollie really created an enchanting environment for the show with the way he lit the Cathedral and the performance."
