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Grown-up look for new T4 fashion game show
New Look Style The Nation is a brand new Channel 4 show hosted by T4's Nick Grimshaw, where each week two would-be stylists compete in a head-to-head catwalk competition.
This live Saturday morning show is aimed at the teenage market and so jam-packed full of cool celebrity guests, music acts and plenty of fashion tips. But unlike the usual Saturday morning fare served up to the youth market, the stage set, lighting design and production values display the adult sophistication of an evening-time light entertainment show.
So how did production company Two Four Productions achieve this prime-time visual effect without prime-time budgets?
Seemingly the ‘look’ boils down to three key factors: 1) Clever choice of venue (former HDS studios building); 2) Innovative lighting and set design (Gurdip Mahal and Patrick Watson) 3) Experienced back up of lighting, rigging, and power suppler ELP.
Blank Canvas Venue
The former HDS Studios building in Hayes was chosen as an inexpensive London location. After undergoing a structural survey and risk assessment, the empty shell was transformed by ELP’s 6 man crew . Headed up by ELP Gaffer James Tinsley the team installed a 12m truss circle, rigging points, three camera platforms and a spot tower. The whole space was enclosed with blackout drapes.
“Patrick Watson the set designer then built the stage around the lighting because we came up with such a strong look” comments LD Gurdip Mahal. It included a catwalk, a live performance space for bands, a central audience space plus an interview area for panelists and guests.
Power for all broadcast elements within the studio was supplied by an ELP 400KW Twinset generator supervised by technician Colin Goodacre. ELPs Avolite ART 2000 48 way dimmers were hooked up and the stage was set for the live shows to begin.
Broad lighting inventory
Virtually every type of TV lighting was represented in the choice of equipment hired from ELP. The show combined moving lights and LEDs for the fast paced fashion show parts, with traditional tungsten fixtures for live music performances, with generics, LEDs and par cans lighting the panel interviews and back filling.
Moving lights included 26 Clay Paky Alpha Beam 300s and 6 x VL 3500 Wash. They provided the ‘beamy’ look which the LD was after. The movers and media servers were controlled by Ross Williams on two of ELPs Road Hog desks.
Source 4 profiles, 650w and 2k Arri Junior Fresnels, Par Cans and Floor Cans made up most of the generic array. These were controlled by Jez Smith via his own ETC ‘Congo’ desk.
Space lights and Encapsulight tubes and were used to light the dressing area to give an all white clinical feel which contrasted with the bold colours in front of house.
Floor cans and 2-lite moles provided a pure, distinctive and contracting tungsten look for band performances although as LD Gurdip Mahal points out “the exact look each week would depend on the type of band performing and the clothing style that week. Our final flourishes would be determined by the content and we would refine our design accordingly”
Innovative lighting solution
Perhaps the most innovative component of the overall lighting design was the unique way in which 200 chromastrip 900s were customised and encapsulated by ELP into clear Acrillic tubes.
“I shared my design ideas with ELP production manager Barry Denision as I wanted to create a similar effect that you can get with Barco’s MiStrip product. Says LD Gurdip Mahal.
He continues “…MiStrips were already embedded into the catwalk and stage floor so I wanted this to be reflected in the air. Barry did some research and came back with an inexpensive solution and a superb effect. He had Acrylic tubes custom fabricated which allowed two Chromastrips to be loaded lengthways end to end. They were pre-loaded at ELP Elstree and arrived on site ready to be deployed.
“…This was an excellent added value service from ELP which gave me exactly what I needed and breathed new life into their trusty Chromastrips. Also, the producers were delighted because they got a high-end look without the associated price tag” concludes Gurdip.
In addition to an infinite colour palate Gurdip was able to run video through these Chromastrips using Catalyst PixelMAD software. But rather than going over the top with the colour effects Gurdip presented a restrained, sophisticated, high contract design which incorporated a lot of black and white. And sometimes single colour looks with high contract such as red on black.
Never afraid to mix modern materials with traditional concepts Gurdip’s confident parting comment about this show was “…You could say that we have reinvented the Chromastrip!”