Lighting Designer Michael Veerkamp recently specified Chroma-Q™Color Force Compact™ fixtures and Color Force 48™ LED battens to light the first series of “Are You NormalAmerica?” (AYNA), a lively new TV games show currently being aired in the US on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
Michael of LA based design practice, Team Imagination, specified the units following a demo from supplier Entertainment Lighting Services.
Recorded at Culver City Studios inCalifornia, the Color Force fixtures were used for lighting most aspects of the vibrant AYNA set, which was designed by Anton Goss of Consortium Studios, LA.
This was the first time that Michael had used the Chroma-Q brand. Seeking fresh and innovative ways to create the right lighting ambience for shows, he was immediately impressed with what he saw from the Color Force range.
It was “instant love!” he confirms.
The additional amber LED chip in the Color Force makes “all the difference” to the dynamic range of the colour palette, which goes from the subtlest of pastels to the deepest, richest saturates, all fully homogenised. “It’s much brighter than anything I have used before, the units are really robust, quality engineered and perfect for rental and staging applications” he states.
Michael adds that the “amazing throw” that the Color Force units provide is a major advantage.
On AYNA, some of the Color Force 48 battens were placed at the base of 20ft high flats, producing smooth and even coverage all the way up. The Color Force Compact fixtures were positioned around a series of gloss white coated columns, illuminating them “very neatly”.
Another benefit of using the Color Force fixtures in a games show context was that the lighting team were able to offer instant responses to requests from the producers – in terms of colour and intensity changes. With a whole palette and multiple options at their fingertips, they could immediately ‘go with the flow’ without referring to a gel book.
Michael thinks that the Color Force range is ideal for interactive viewing shows like AYNA, when lighting needs to react to ‘moments’ in the game-playing and help build drama and tension – for both the live audience and TV viewers.
He adds that some of the effects achievable with the Color Force range could potentially replace moving lights, further maximising budgets.
“They are fantastic fixtures” he concludes, “Reliable, powerful and very flexible.”
After the success of using the Chroma-Q Color Force products on the AYNA show, Michael immediately specified them for another popular TV series.
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