Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Putting Beauty into The Beast

19/01/2019

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
LINK: https://www.live-production.tv/news/shows/putting-beauty-beast.html...
See more stories from liveproduction

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 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 Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

11/09/2026

IBC 2026: Calrec Launches Type RT Console and Apex M6 Modular I/O Platform

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

IBC 2026: Grass Valley Launches AVORA All-in-One Live Production Platform

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

IBC 2026: CAMB.AI Launches Streaming SDK and Dashboard for Multilingual Live Broadcasting

CAMB.AI is introducing its Streaming SDK and Streaming Dashboard at IBC2026, wit...

11/09/2026

IBC 2026: EVS Launches XT-S Software-Defined Multi-Application Server

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

IBC 2026: EKT Showcases Linux-Based ATSC 3.0 Converter Box

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

IBC 2026: Sennheiser Group to Showcase Wireless, Monitoring, and Broadcast Workflow

The Sennheiser Group will exhibit at IBC2026 (Hall 8, Booth D50, September 11-14...

11/09/2026

Ludacris Joins Chris Stapleton and Cindy Blackman Santana for Monday Night Footballs In the Air Tonight Open

ESPN's Monday Night Football will open its 2026-27 season with a new renditi...

11/09/2026

Dalet Integrates NVIDIA Synthetic Content Detection into Dalet Flex

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

IBC 2026: MC-IF Demonstrates VVC Capabilities

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

IBC 2026: Sony to Demonstrate Live, News, Cinema, and Immersive Production

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 Named Recipient of 2026 Technology and Engineering Emmy for FPV Drone Systems

Wave Central, a Domo Broadcast Company, has been named a recipient of a 2026 Tec...

11/09/2026

IBC 2026: SNS Validates EVO Compatibility With Avid Media Composer 2026.8, Adds Browser-Based Upload to Outpost

Studio Network Solutions (SNS) is bringing a pair of workflow updates to IBC2026...

11/09/2026

IBC 2026: iodyne to Demo Pro Mini Smart Drive Across Four Partner Booths

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

SVG GameDay, Ep. 30: Freelance Graphics Operator Corinne Yamada - Philly-Based Graphics Creation

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

11/09/2026

CBS Sports Goes HDR Across Its Entire NFL Package, Heads to Rio in Week 3

The network will phase in HDR crew by crew while expanding Next Gen Stats integration, SkyDry availability, and onsite studio shows...

11/09/2026

IBC 2026: CAMB.AI Unveils the World's First Multilingual Broadcasting Agent Powered by NVIDIA

CAMB.AI is introducing its new Streaming SDK and Streaming Dashboard at IBC2026,...

11/09/2026

Netflix Goes Down Under With NBC Sports, NEP for NFL From Melbourne

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

FOX Sports Homogenizes Coverage With Upscaled Game Tech, Seamless Integration With Studio Shows in L.A.

Production Anywhere Remote Kit (PARK) & AR-fueled Stage B are two key pieces to ...

11/09/2026

Get to Know This Fall and Winter's Filmmakers Through These 36 Sundance Institute-Supported Films

By Ramona Flume and Lucy Spicer There's a particular kind of magic that hap...

11/09/2026

Film Festival Watch: 8 Sundance Institute-Supported Films to See at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival

By Jessica Herndon The fall film season is kicking off, and Sundance Institute-...

11/09/2026

Positive Grid announce the Spark Pedal

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

Rapid Flow release omniGRID

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&STM1 medium-power UHF transmitter at IBC 2026

Rohde & Schwarz unveils the air-cooled R&S TM1 medium-power UHF transmitter at I...

11/09/2026

TV Usage Kicks Usual Summer Slowdown, Fueled by World Cup and Streaming in Nielsen's July Gauge Reports

FIFA World Cup 2026 and Peacock's Love Island USA' Power NBCU-Versant ...

11/09/2026

Atomos Debuts New HDR Monitors at IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Calrec to Unveil Type RT Compact Console at IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Lightware Launches LARA 2 with New Architecture for More...

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

MusiMap launches latest technology unlocking new commerci...

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 Integrates Matrox ORIGIN with NVIDIA Holosca...

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 brings cloud-native live media orchestration...

Net Insight today announced that its cloud-native live media orchestration is now available through Oracle Cloud Marketplace, providing broadcasters, production...

11/09/2026

Calrec to Unveil Type RT Compact Console at IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Biggest functionality boost yet makes Buttons the perfect...

Version 1.8 will bring advanced routing control, new workflow tools, boosted control panel flexibility and ease of integration into IP networks...

11/09/2026

Ikegami Announces Four New UNICAM XE Series Cameras

Ikegami announces four additions its UNICAM XE range of 4K-UHD cameras with the introduction of the UHK-X700VN, UHK-X750VN, UHK-X600VN and UHK-X650VN. Developed...

11/09/2026

DHD Launches New MX3 Consoles - Modular to the Core

DHD.audio has chosen IBC2026 as the launch venue for a major new addition to its broadcast sound production platform: the MX3 console range. MX3 retains the mod...

11/09/2026

Sony To Showcase Latest Production Technology At IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

EKT To Feature New Linux-Based ATSC 3.0 STB At IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Jimmy Kimmel Shifts Political Interview to YouTube Over FCC Worries

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Remembering 9/11: 25 Years of TV Tech Coverage

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Tiger Group To Auction Equipment from a National Broadcasting Studio

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Grass Valley Launches AVORA at IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Survey: Low Latency for Live Streaming Is Industrys Top Challenge

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Atomos Debuts New HDR Monitors at 2026 IBC Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

11/09/2026

Grass Valley Launches AVORA at IBC2026 Bringing All in On...

New standalone solution gives production teams everything they need to create, produce and deliver live content from one flexible system. Grass Valley today an...

11/09/2026

Wave Central a Domo Broadcast Company Named Recipient of...

Recognition honors the development of FPV drone camera systems for live sports broadcast coverage Wave Central, a Domo Broadcast Company that develops advanced...

11/09/2026

Teradek Launches Bolt 7 A Unified Wireless System for Zer...

Teradek, the industry leader in zero-delay wireless video solutions, announced the launch of Bolt 7, which now includes a unified wireless video and data system...

11/09/2026

ACT Pixel Academy Announces Autumn Courses

The ACT Entertainment tvONE and Green Hippo Pixel Academy has released its autumn course schedule, with hands-on training dates in September, October and Novemb...

11/09/2026

Scientists discover a new way that a disease-linked protein comes apart

LA JOLLA, CA-Transthyretin amyloid disease (ATTR) is a progressive, life-threatening condition caused when the protein transthyretin (TTR) breaks apart and aggr...