OSLO – An array of Clay Paky Sharpys, rigged in a two-tier array around the Oslo Spektrum Stadium and pointing directly at the audience, has added sparkle to the final of Norwegian Idol. LD Anders Busch specified a host of Sharpys for the closing show of the international TV show.
More details from Clay Paky (www.claypaky.it):
“The concept for the Norwegian Idol finale 2013 was that it should not look like every other TV talent show,” explains Petter Nilssen from lighting equipment supplier, Elektrik Solutions AS. “The production designers didn’t want the ubiquitous supersized LED or projector screens, they wanted something different. In addition, the producers wanted to have as many people in the audience as possible. In order to do this they needed a 360-degree stage.”
This presented a considerable challenge in creating enough variety in the background image for the TV cameras.
LD Anders Busch discusses: “We believed that by combining the audience with vibrant lighting we could use them as a dynamic background element in the picture. This approach significantly reduced the number of seats we had to lose. However, we could still achieve the dramatic effect we were looking for. In the end we positioned the fixtures in between members of the audience. I wanted a punchy compact fixture that could deliver the high impact I was looking for without taking up too much space. The choice was simple; for me the only fixture that could work for this effect was the Clay Paky Sharpy. Punchy and compact, it was perfect for a production like this.”
In the end the show lost even fewer seats than Busch had expected. Because of this the production looked a lot bigger than it really was as he explains: “I felt I was going to need at least 200 Sharpys to get the look I wanted, however as soon as I started to draw the production in wysiwyg to test the camera angles, I realized that I could do the whole job with just 80 units!”
The show was also quick and easy to rig and set up as Nilssen describes: “Because the Sharpy features an onboard battery it’s easy to program the address and mode without having to power them up and before we start rigging them. This means we save a lot of time and energy on site. Plus, because they are so lightweight, we only need one rigger to handle the fixtures – whether we’re rigging on the floor or in a truss.”
Nilssen adds: “The Sharpy is now the best selling luminaire I have at Eletrik Solutions AS. We’ve had consistent success with it primarily because as Anders says: it’s lightweight, great value, easy to work with and has a tremendous light output that beats everything else out there!”
