
Putting Beauty into The Beast posted: 19/01/2019
It's panto time again in the UK with the slapstick, craziness and innuendos flying as fast as a foam pie in the face
At Blackpool Grand this year, putting both beauty and some beast attitude into the show, lighting designer Andy Webb specified 81 x Robe fixtures - 98 per cent of them LED sources - for a brand-new version of the classic tale produced by UK Productions for the 2018-19 season.
It's the fourth consecutive year that Andy has lit the famous UK seaside resort's panto, which was directed by Damian Sandys with whom he also worked on the 2017-18 production. This was a huge advantage to the fluidity and creative flow of this year's show, together with knowing the venue, a beautiful original Matcham house that is notoriously tight for space when installing the complex modern productions of the 21st century.
Andy chose Robe as his main lighting fixtures for several reasons. I've spec'd and worked with Robe on numerous shows and I know the products really well he explained, adding, there is a great choice of fixtures, their LED light sources are of an excellent quality and overall the kit is super reliable .
He relishes the chance to light panto as a genre which is seriously fast-paced and offers huge scope for colour, melodrama and fun - simultaneously playful, exciting and scary - all great ambiences to embellish with light. Lighting a brand-new production for the first time was also really exciting, and it offered the opportunity to set the ground rules and create some spectacular signature elements.
To give the Beast's character more gravitas and depth, Andy introduced some proper darkness and foreboding to his castle domain. That darkness was also an imaginative starting point for the lighting to evolve, as they needed to be able to flip between this state and a host of bright mischievous lighting for the comedy scenes - of which there were plenty!
Lighting was also used for other metaphors - throughout the show, as the Beast slowly but surely falls in love with main female protagonist Belle, more lights and festoons, etc, are introduced to his castle environment transforming it from a dingy, grubby den to a brighter more vivid and alive space.
Andy started with ten Robe DL4S Profiles, eight distributed between LX bars 1 and 3 with the other two rigged at FOH.
Eight Spiider LED wash beams are also on LX 1 and 2 as Andy wanted a BIG lush wash lighting effect covering the whole stage.
Three DL4F fresnels on back light bar - LX3 - create a look that has become one of Andy's classic' panto scenes; the fresnel lens as a back light really brings a different take and quality of light to the picture he said.
On the same rear LX bar are six ParFect 150s and two Robe LED Strobes used for lightening effects critical to the big fight scene, helping the audience to feel every push, shove and punch.
On the final upstage LX bar are another four LEDBeam 150s utilised for special pickups at the back of the set and for set dressing - in conjunction with two VIVA Spots and one VIVA CMY on the same bar - plus another two VIVAs on the pros perch (FOH).
Four LEDBeam 150s on the house bars either side of the pros point into the audience for blinder effects and movement cues. As with all pantos, audience interaction is fundamental to the genre. Andy also reveals he was inspired to capitalise on these side pros lighting positions after working on the Cirque Robe' live performance show at the 2018 Prolight+Sound expo in Frankfurt with LD Nathan Wan.
There is also an LEDWash 300 on both pros' bars for the low-cut shadow work in the castle scenes and for those featuring The Beast.
A total of 20 x ParFect 100s and four ParFect S1s are deployed in various positions including eight at FOH acting as a contrasting set wash, with the rest on side stage boom ladders for cross stage lighting and a pair upstage swooshing across the Cyc.
Traversing the stage floor at the front - in the footlights position - are four CycFX 8 LED battens which provide excellent moody shadow lighting onstage and swing around into the audience for dramatic specials that build excitement at strategic moments in the narrative.
Just offstage of these each side is a Spikie. Andy has used the Spikie flower effects to help enhance the magical moments in the storytelling, like when the good fairy is working her spells for peace and harmony to prevail. They also give a nice low cross light for The Beast's reveal and for his transformation back into a Prince!
Just two of these small fixtures were all that were needed to play an integral role in the production, as Andy needed a neat and compact source zoomed in to 4 degrees so the (performer) flying wires weren't caught in the beams!
Next to the pros arch each side was a Robe Pointe - the only intelligent discharge fixtures in the show! These were unleashed for wizardry effects and in particular - in conjunction with three half mirror dishes - what Andy calls his magic zap' effect where super-fast beams of light zap between them, ping-pong style! This was devised to create the effect without using pyro.
The Pointes were also used for their more standard beaming effects into the crowd.
A single Robe MiniMe effects projector rigged in the upper balcony came into play during the Beast transformation scene, running sparkling video content. Andy was impressed considering the unit was over 40 metres away from the stage and focussed tightly into the Beast's chest. Again, the call was for a small and very controllable fixture to avoid revealing the flying wires.
The intelligent lights were supplied by CEG Hire & Productions from Cambridge, and Andy also used the house generics - Source Four profiles at FOH and PARs on some of the side booms.
As with all his desi
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
12/09/2026
September 11, 2026
BUDAPEST & SEATTLE, 10 September 2026 - Qumulo and Colorfron...
12/09/2026
Calrec expands its IP ecosystem with new Type RT console and Apex M6 Modular I/O Platform at IBC 2026 Type RT is the centrepiece of Calrec's news at IBC 202...
12/09/2026
At IBC 2026, Calrec has unveiled Type RT, a new 6, 12 and 18-motorised fader console range that condenses everything a broadcast audio desk needs into a compact...
12/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/09/2026
WUPPERTAL, Germany Sept. 11, 2026 From July 6 to Aug. 23, 2026, Paris hosted the Esports World Cup (EWC), a seven-week live production spanning eight stages...
12/09/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Mediacom has purchased and deployed Easy5G , Riedel's Private 5G solution, for live broadcast coverage of La Vuel...
12/09/2026
AMP VISUAL TV is continuing the evolution of its production infrastructure with further investments in Riedel technology across its OB fleet and fixed productio...
12/09/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Touring Video, a premier entertainment mobile production service company, continues to expand its production workflow...
12/09/2026
Atomos (7.B19) today announced new third-party accessories for Sumo PRO-19 and Shinobi 7 II, developed by SHAPE and SmallRig to give production teams more ways ...
12/09/2026
Deity Microphones Brings PR 2ii, TC-2, and D4RX to IBC2026
Brie Clayton September 11, 2026
0 Comments
The Deity PR-2ii arrives with production firmwar...
12/09/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Special Pricing for Ultra HD Products
Brie Clayton September 11, 2026
0 Comments
Now customers can afford to upgrade to Ul...
12/09/2026
Grass Valley EDIUS Future Assurance Program launched at IBC2026
Brie Clayton September 11, 2026
0 Comments
New program gives EDIUS customers access to...
12/09/2026
Berklee Students Develop New Ideas for Live Entertainment and Travel in London This summer, a group of music business students collaborated with Heathrow, Bri...
11/09/2026
Calrec will introduce two new products at IBC2026 (Stand 8.C47, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14): the Type RT broadcast production console and the Apex M6 Modula...
11/09/2026
Grass Valley has announced AVORA, a standalone all-in-one live production solution launching at IBC2026 (Booth 9.A01 and IBC Future Tech Zone, Stand 14.C49, Sep...
11/09/2026
CAMB.AI is introducing its Streaming SDK and Streaming Dashboard at IBC2026, wit...
11/09/2026
EVS has announced XT-S, a software-defined server platform that runs multiple live production applications on a common hardware foundation. The platform debuts ...
11/09/2026
EKT is demonstrating a new Linux-based ATSC 3.0 set-top box at IBC2026. The second-generation product moves away from Android to reduce memory costs, with Linux...
11/09/2026
The Sennheiser Group will exhibit at IBC2026 (Hall 8, Booth D50, September 11-14...
11/09/2026
ESPN's Monday Night Football will open its 2026-27 season with a new renditi...
11/09/2026
Dalet has announced an integration of NVIDIA's Synthetic Video Detector AI model into Dalet Flex, enabling media organizations to identify potentially AI-ge...
11/09/2026
The Media Coding Industry Forum (MC-IF) will demonstrate Versatile Video Coding (VVC) capabilities at IBC2026 (Hall 2, Stand 2.B13), as the codec moves toward c...
11/09/2026
Sony will exhibit at IBC2026 (Hall 13, September 11-14), demonstrating products across live production, news, cinema, and immersive and spatial content workflow...
11/09/2026
Wave Central, a Domo Broadcast Company, has been named a recipient of a 2026 Tec...
11/09/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) is bringing a pair of workflow updates to IBC2026...
11/09/2026
iodyne will co-exhibit with Hedge at IBC2026 (Booth 7.A36, September 11-14) and appear across three additional partner booths, marking the first public demonstr...
11/09/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
11/09/2026
The network will phase in HDR crew by crew while expanding Next Gen Stats integration, SkyDry availability, and onsite studio shows...
11/09/2026
CAMB.AI is introducing its new Streaming SDK and Streaming Dashboard at IBC2026,...
11/09/2026
Massive host operation at Melbourne Cricket Ground featured 54 cameras, 25,000 ST 2110 flows, REMI studio production in Stamford, and global distribution to mor...
11/09/2026
Production Anywhere Remote Kit (PARK) & AR-fueled Stage B are two key pieces to ...
11/09/2026
By Ramona Flume and Lucy Spicer
There's a particular kind of magic that hap...
11/09/2026
By Jessica Herndon
The fall film season is kicking off, and Sundance Institute-...
11/09/2026
Spark series gains compact modelling stompbox
Positive Grid's Spark amps have become a popular part of the company's line-up, offering a convenient ...
11/09/2026
New flagship sequencing plug-in revealed
Rapid Flow have just launched a new 16-track sequencer plug-in which they say has been designed for total rhythmic...
11/09/2026
Rohde & Schwarz unveils the air-cooled R&S TM1 medium-power UHF transmitter at I...
11/09/2026
FIFA World Cup 2026 and Peacock's Love Island USA' Power NBCU-Versant ...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Lightware has announced the launch of LARA (Lightware Advanced Room Automation) 2.0, a major upgrade to its built-in room automation platform, introducing impro...
11/09/2026
10 September 2026 - MusiMap, the B2B music intelligence company that is transforming how companies can harness the emotional power of music to reach consumers a...
11/09/2026
Matrox Video today announced an integration between Matrox ORIGIN and NVIDIA Holoscan for Media, enabling Matrox ORIGIN media services to be provisioned, config...
11/09/2026
Net Insight today announced that its cloud-native live media orchestration is now available through Oracle Cloud Marketplace, providing broadcasters, production...