CAIRO — For a special episode Italian RAI TV2’s Voyager, Franco Rondana, photography director, used 60 Clay Paky projectors to shed light on some ancient mysteries along the Nile. “For the ‘Night of the Pharaohs,’ we took modern technology to ancient Egypt to create a unique meeting of cultures that are millenia apart,” Rondana said. The program, which alternated between studio segments and taping done directly on the Giza Plateau with the Sphinx and pyramids as a backdrop, also relied on the 90 Clay Paky fixtures used for the program’s studio, including an assortment of Alpha Profile 1200, Alpha Spot HPE 575, Alpha Wash Halo 1000 and Mini Scan HP3, all supplied by DI and DI. These are used for special lighting effects that complement the visual interest created by video walls and a variety of camera angles.
Rondana noted that building a light set in the desert was fascinating because of the complete darkness—even the tiniest light signal could be seen hundreds of meters away, and the Clay Paky gear was able to introduce a 1200-watt projection into that setting.
The light effects consisted mainly in projecting a dynamic array of light beams skyward. There was no fog in the desert, but the images were enhanced by windblown sand. Still projectors were also installed to back-light the Sphinx, which had its own lighting, and the Voyager program logo was projected onto it — not the front, which would have been “irreverent,” according to Rondana, but rather onto the monument’s rear base.
Rondana credited the Clay Paky projectors for their reliability. “There was so much wind in the desert, and we were concerned that it might damage the lighting system. In the hope of limiting damage, we assembled and disassembled the lighting layout before and after each recording, taking care to return products to their flight cases. Undoubtedly, the quality and reliability of Alpha projectors were an enormous help. After three days of shooting in severe conditions for a projector, there was not even the slightest problem.”
For more information, please visit www.claypaky.it
