Despite sounding very dry, this was in fact surprisingly upbeat and a thoroughly entertaining presentation for BBC2 using a virtual reality graphics system called Musion. This state-of-the-art equipment enables the presenter to appear to be surrounded by objects, graphs, numbers and other images - all in a visually stunning way.
The LD had to avoid light falling on certain areas, whilst allowing the presenter the freedom to move almost anywhere. "Light levels were lower than normal but the production asked that the studio should not look dark on camera."
Martin requested that some set elements were placed around the sides of the studio and he used these to project coloured gobos from Alpha Spot 575HPEs -he told me they gave a lot of flexibility in beam angle and choice of gobo - also they are very quiet which was important. Floor lighting, backlights and side-kicks all came from MAC Auras - Martin's first choice for this sort of work. He said that they are perfect for not only colouring floors and scenery; they can also be used as very flexible key lights.
The lighting spec also included two Sharpys but they weren't used for producing beams. They created steerable, intense coloured spots on the studio wall enabling the presenter to adjust his eye line, making sure that the graphics looked perfectly real on camera and in the studio for the live audience.
(Jim Evans)
