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I'm not sure if it's just me but, did any one else think that the whole lighting rig was over done for gladiators and that it didnt even look good on the camera?

I know that they had to employ some of the vision operators from Eastenders to make it look good but it still didnt look impressive in my opinion.

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I was talking to one of the LD's from sky and he said that the LD for gladiators insisted on having the vision operators from Eastenders as they were some of the best and they were the only ones that could get the lighting to look good through a camera.
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I'm not sure if it's just me but, did any one else think that the whole lighting rig was over done for gladiators and that it didnt even look good on the camera?

I know that they had to employ some of the vision operators from Eastenders to make it look good but it still didnt look impressive in my opinion.

 

 

Hi Im Roger Williams one of the 2 moving light programers for Gladiators and the 1335 moving light / LED fixtures. Im not sure what your background is but I class myself as one of the top 2 moving light programmers for TV in this country, working as a TV LD in my own right and programming Mark Kenyon's top TV shows. Compared to the American version which was grey, bland, and out of control the Sky version was sharp, exciting, classy and colourful. You have to have a certain amount of chasing and movement in an area of that size and a show of that calibre, we pulled it in compared to the American version by a huge amount. As for the (eastenders) vision operation comment they were brought into the equation by the executive producer for Shine who had worked with them on Come Dancing, How Do You Solve a Problem like MAria, Joseph, Just The 2 Of Us. As BBC staff the vision control persons are the best in the country and rightfully to be requested, there were 3 of them every day (7 rotating) controlling 16 cameras between them, as a lighting team we could not have hoped for any better team. Id like to know if you have any futher querys.

Any ideas for improvement for series 2?

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it's a very good show by all means but it just seemed too busy and almost distracting with beams moving around as if there is still an event happening while there is an interview being carried out.

I feel that it just needs a bit more justification between the different parts as everything seems to look similar through a television but I cant say it is different watching it live.

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I think the lighting looked great but it did look overdone a bit (looks like there was an unlimited budget). my main critic with the show is ian wright, don't like him as a presenter and most of the gladiators looked like they came from an S&M Show!

 

rodger keep up the good work I'd love your job (so would everybody in the BR!!)

care to list the consoles used and the main fixture list?

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"Im not sure what your background is but I class myself as one of the top 2 moving light programmers for TV in this country."

 

Your not shy or in any way inhibited either...I didn't realise kermit the frog had got to first....fantastic the most self congratulatory thing I have read on the blue room yet.

Brillant

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I agree with the fact that it did look over done at times and not much difference in the lighting deisgn to break up the parts of the show. I personally felt the search light with the movers was used far to much, good in the parts where the presenters are talking, but maybe somthing a bit more creative and different could have been used within the acutal games or the count down to the start of the game.

 

I really liked the setup of the actual rig but thats just my opinion.

 

Joe.

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My own take the majority of these big budget tv shows is that they are using the same equipment

LED in any shape or form doesnt really matter as long as the total count hits the 1000's

Versatubes in a broken up look

Moving lights by the truck the bigger and brighter the better,great add 30 Big big lights for that massive look.

Projection

Any amount of followspots.

 

So you end up with generic shows where the only difference is the designer or perhaps not even,the equipment is always the same per say and the design is minimal as its really just lamp placement in effect not design you can apply this to large scale touring acts as well.It's fill the available space with lights and call it design.

Could be gladiators,x factor or any other bland mindless tv show doesnt matter really as they are all the same big bright and badly over-lit.

 

Large LED screen in the middle,200 versatubes somewhere in stage ,100 moving lights add pyro and hey presto you have a big touring act or show.

 

It's only interesting if your an it engineer and want to know how many universes they have and how the console drove 344 line's of DMX.

 

As I said my take only

 

A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on.

 

Well, I think it's obvious where the production company went wrong with this show .... they engaged a top-flight LD, along with respected programmers and some top-flight racks guys, to make it look nice. Clearly what they should've done is taken in a couple of GCSE schoolkids and sat them in front of the console for a play! :D
I think the GCSE schoolkids would have come up with a more exiting design using a lot less and it would have looked better rather than a load of folk clapping themselves on the back about how great they think they are.

Midless light entertainment is not a topic that schoolkids should be taught in any event lets try and raise the bar just a little.

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sharp, exciting, classy and colourful

 

seemed too busy and almost distracting with beams moving around ... look over done at times and not much difference in the lighting deisgn to break up the parts of the show. ... search light with the movers was used far to much

 

As ever, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One mans "sharp, exciting, classy and colourful" is another man's "over done".

 

There isn't a right or wrong answer here; merely an opinion.

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Well, I think it's obvious where the production company went wrong with this show .... they engaged a top-flight LD, along with respected programmers and some top-flight racks guys, to make it look nice. Clearly what they should've done is taken in a couple of GCSE schoolkids and sat them in front of the console for a play! :D

 

 

PMSL !!!!!!!!

 

Gareths humour is as dry as a dry thing that cant get any dryer ! That comment made me laugh so much that I actually DID tip on my chair.

 

Its true though. But c'mon Gareth, remember the opinions might be coming from students who have done lighting in a school hall with a few lights and maybe some disco scanners - so of course have the voice of experience against a chap who has been in the "biz" for 20 odd years works alongside an established team with a big budget. hey , he might even get paid more than I do per day!!!

 

:P

 

Actually I agree though with something else mentioned. regardless of experience of designers / crew etc etc it DOES seem that these big budget shows all do look the same. Lights filling gaps - as mentioned. Ok so we have a big budget. Rather than spending it on set or "something else" lets just bring in truck loads of LED gear , movers and the like.

 

I do think that this kind of application is a bit of a cop out on the design front.

 

Maybe school kids could do it - they might come up with something fresh, new and effective.

 

Yes, certainly the skill of the programmer is evident at the production end, but for the viewer it still all looks the same - and they are not going to care what desk it was programmed on or how many DMX channels were used!.

 

Even my non-technical freinds , in their mid 20's - early 30's make comments to me saying that all tv ents shows aka maria , Joseph, Lottery etc etc all look the same design wise with " the same things happening in them all the time".

 

This Mr Roger is one of 2 top TV programmers. I commend him! Maybe he could just pass around his USB memory stick to program/operate the next big show coming in which will no dought have the same kit on it on the same scale.

 

I personally think that all this new technology coming in is great but its making designers lazy. It will never fail to look good when having a few hundred movers waving around in haze - but thats not effective design.

 

Try creating a large wooded leaf breakup out of P 23's - and make THAT look good!!!

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Just a thought from a non lighting person, but what would happen if we had the same sort of revolution in lighting like the one we had in music industry when punk arrived ... people running round after the Gladiators with a maglite?

 

Maybe one for the crewroom

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just to add my take on the majority of these shows that the larger hire companies are actually driving the production more than the LD's/Programmers/Set designers.

Instead of the creative minds asking for specific equipment they are being given what has been invested in over the last six months,it's not uncommon to see the same screens,same LED fixtures,same moving lights in a custom "silver" because the larger hire companies have masses of stock and need it to be hired otherwise they won't make a return.

What's coming first the design or what's available from the hire company,my guess is that it's about a 50/50 split with neither side having an advantage but neither side actually decideing which in turn leads to this unintentional look where everything on itv and BBC looks exactly the same.

How many times have you recently asked yourself what is that fixture or what is that LED screen?my guess is very seldom if you watch any television and have an interest in lighting because its' all the same coming from the same three or four designers designing a variation of a theme of the same show.

Even reading the Blue room posts you can see that nobody asks what the equipment is because they all know,granted sometimes a shogun is confused with a syncrolite but thats it.

it's the same with the designs it could be one designer or another instead you have a big colourful generic theme that is wearing thin.

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