The set for De Vooravond at the NEP Westergas Studio Amsterdam (photo: Nathan Reinds)
The Netherlands - De Vooravond is a new talk-show broadcast on the Netherlands first national TV channel NPO 1, presented by Renze Klamer & Fidan Ekiz covering a mix of politics, sport, music, and culture - often with some live performance spots. The current and second series is being lit by LD Jeroen van Geffen using Robe moving lights including T1 Profiles, Esprites and Spikies.
LD Jeroen works for production company Chain which is part of the Rentall group’s operations specialising in broadcast lighting and audio.
He initially lit the first pilot for this series – which takes inspiration from the De Wereld Draait Door (The World Moves On) ‘magazine’ programme that ran for 15 years – at the end of 2020. It was such a success that the second series started in the new year.
The creative brief was to present a fresh and contemporary look for the new series which is recorded at the NEP Westergas Studio Amsterdam.
While the look for De Wereld Draait Door had been cosy resembling an atmospheric bar, for this one, set designer Ronald van den Bersselaar of BEEO went for a completely antithetical aesthetic. Ronald maximised the compact studio area by building a U-shape set with screens along the sides measuring 7m wide and 4m high – the full height of the space.
There are three letters along the back. An “O” on the left, the “V” which is split into two parts along the back and the “R” on the right. The O and R are projected with Esprites fitted with custom Rosco gobos, and the two parts of the V are shaped utilizing Esprite framing shutters.
The U-shape around the distinctive circular (O-shaped) central set elements give it a crisp, clean, slick edge which presented plenty of challenges for lighting.
Thirteen Robe Esprites on the show essentially replace the MMX Spots that were used for several years on De Wereld Draait Door.
Four of the Esprites are used for the set dressing and the rest are rigged above the performance area.
De Vooravond also features 20 x Robe Spikies. Picked for their small size, these are used for the small band / artists space in one corner of the studio. “I wanted some extras to give more depth, interest and the option of different styles,” he explained, adding that he thinks the Spikes, Esprites and T1 Profiles all work consistently and harmoniously together. “The outputs and the colours all match beautifully,” he concludes.
The Robe luminaires plus other lights on the show are all being run via a grandMA3 console.

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