Stage Electrics' Virtual Lighting Studio in London supplied Will Charles, lighting director for the BBC's Weakest Link programme, with a WYSIWYG 2000 lighting design and visualization software package including two Cast WYG’IT DMX Interface units. Charles also produced A0 colour plots and used the studio’s printing facility with the HP750C colour printer. He then recommended Stage Electrics to the show's set designer, Patrick Doherty, for converting the hand-drawn set construction drawings into a CAD format, and approached David Stewart, the studio manager, about the project. "Patrick needed a global CAD solution and decided AutoCAD was the best software solution." comments David Stewart.Stage Electrics' Giles Philips from the Bristol CAD department modelled the set using AutoCAD’s solid modelling tools and also produced A1 size prints detailing plan, side elevation and 3D views. The AutoCAD model was then imported into 3D Studio VIZ, the latest software investment of the Stage Electrics' Virtual Lighting Studio, applied photo-realistic materials with lighting and produced a 30 second 'walk-through' animation. A CD was burned with the set construction and animations producing a complete package for the BBC’s global clientele.
