Robe for Melodifestivalen 2021 posted: 19/04/2021
No country takes the ESC more seriously than Sweden. It is one of the most successful competing nations with a total of six victories and the most top five results of the 21st century, with 11!
Enthusiasm for the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest is bursting every disco bubble this year, especially in the wake of last year's first ever cancellation due to - we all know what - as competing countries ramp up the glorious glitz, glamour, drama and pop moments with gusto! Melodifestivalen - Mello' for short - the annual competition to select the Swedish entry is organised by Sveriges Television and is a phenomenon in itself! In recent years, it has been a touring show visiting six key cities, but due to Covid restrictions, this year the six rounds - four heats, the second chance' and the final - were staged in one place, the Annexet arena in Stockholm, part of the Globe complex, and broadcast live on STV1.
It was lit - for the 20th time - by Fredrik Jonsson who utilised 200 Robe moving lights and four RoboSpot systems among other fixtures on the rig.
Taking this fund of experience into account, Fredrik always relishes the challenge of making Mello look fresh, exciting and fun each year and 2021 was no exception offering the rare opportunity to work in what was effectively a very large studio space without an audience, which opened new doors for technical experimentation.
Fredrik once again worked closely with set designer Viktor Brattstrom, another long-term member of the Mello creative team. The two enjoy a great imaginative synergy, and usually start throwing ideas into the mix the previous summer and autumn.
Video content was supplied by Green Wall Designs, another regular collaborator, who had their content wranglers onsite together with a disguise operator.
With a trim height of around 10 metres - and without the limitations of having to tour the rig - the circumstances gave rise to an idea floating around for some time which involved integrating a roof into the set design.
This resulted in shiny black rectangular scenic roof sections being rigged in the upstage / downstage orientation, with lighting trusses filling the gaps in between.
With the 24-metre-wide by 28-metre-deep stage to achieve the desired catwalk / runway perspective, the whole roof system needed a lower trim, so this was set at 4.9 metres from the stage floor, resulting in the fantastic epic cinematic look that they had been dreaming of for some years!
The low trim also meant that any big bulky lights were out, so Fredrik wanted as many compact powerful fixtures as possible on the rig and turned to Robe, choosing MegaPointes and LEDBeam 150s to be at the core of the main lighting system.
The 88 x MegaPointes and 82 x LEDBeam 150s were rigged in triangular-shaped trusses to maintain the linear perspective at the heart of the set concept.
The next challenge was the rear follow spot positions!
For Fredrik, the choice of follow spot fixture was easy - BMFL WashBeams! However, with this design, it was impossible to rig them on the back bars and keep the clean lines due to the larger size of the fixture compared to the LEDBeam 150! After some experimentation, Fredrik opted to use six MegaPointes as his rear follow spots which retained the aesthetic integrity of the rig. These six fixtures were hooked in to the RoboSpot system.
Some applied rigging magic from rental company - and lighting equipment suppliers - Creative Technology Northern Europe's crew combined with short pipes and swivel couplers enabled the LED Beams to sit slightly lower from the trusses so their lenses aligned trim wise with the MegaPointes.
Also on the rig were 27 x Robe BMFL WashBeams utilised for key lights, four of which were the front follow spots, also running on the RoboSpot system.
MegaPointes were the main workhorses for creating all the effects in the stage area. Most of them were in the roof rig, with a few on the flowerbox' set pieces two sets of lights on shelves running US / DS on both sides of the stage
MegaPointes were chosen for their size and weight in conjunction with the many features and huge scope for producing stunning effects. Given the low trim, I needed a good zoom and LOTS of options to give each of the 28 competition songs plus around 20 interval acts a unique and distinctive look, explains Fredrik.
The LEDBeams were rigged in almost identical positions as the two types of fixtures were essentially working in tandem so that alignment was also important.
The LEDBeam has been a favourite of Fredrik's since he started using them a couple of years ago.
It's outstanding bang-for-buck' considering the tiny size, he commented. They create impressive ACL style beam effects, big voluminous washes and can even be used for key lighting at specific times. It's a great little fixture with plenty of tricks up its sleeve . For Mello this year, they were even pixel mapped via the disguise video system!
Fredrik's key light of choice is still the BMFL WashBeam.
For this show, BMFL WashBeams were used as the front follow spots and key lights for the main stage, the B stage and other critical positions like the hosts, etc.
The BMFL WashBeam optical system is amazing! he stated. He loves the big chunky lens and the wonderful texture in the beam that really looks and acts like a real' follow spot when used as key light .
The high CRI of the bulb means it looks great on camera, and to date he's never run out of punch using a BMFL WashBeam as a follow spot and can also drop in cool colour effects during the song - like going red for an emphasis moment - all without any loss in intensity!
I absolutely love them!
Two lighting operators worked alongside Fredrik on the show - Danne Persson and Timo Kauristo - usin
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
14/03/2026
Combines mic, USB interface & wireless IEMs
Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, HISONG have announced that their innovative AirStudio S1 device is ...
13/03/2026
Spotify has always been built around your taste. More than 80% of listeners say personalization is what they love most about us. Now we're taking that even ...
13/03/2026
The new Spotify Legends Club has opened its doors. Its members: select German-sp...
13/03/2026
Pushing drum sampler technology into new territories
The latest version of Klevgrand's software drum sampler has just arrived, boasting a newly designe...
13/03/2026
Expanded headphone support & engine improvements
IK Multimedia's recently introduced ARC On-Ear system brings the power of their monitoring-correction s...
13/03/2026
Extra sound collections, more presets & new Keys category
UVI's rhythm and pattern instrument has just received a major update that introduces four new ...
13/03/2026
13 Mar 2026
VEON Delivers Record Digital Growth: 4Q25 Digital Revenues Grow 84%...
13/03/2026
Friday 13 March 2026
Sky Adds Blood on Snow to Original Film Slate in Acquisiti...
13/03/2026
RT has announced today that Rick O'Shea is the new presenter of Arena RT Radio 1's flagship weeknight arts and culture programme. Rick has been pres...
13/03/2026
Lights! Camera! Action! The 98th Oscars set to air live as RT backs the Irish n...
12/03/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 11th March, 2026 - Yospace, the trusted leader in Dyna...
12/03/2026
In Latin America, women are shaping music and defining its future. To kick off t...
12/03/2026
En Am rica Latina, las mujeres est n moldeando la m sica y definiendo su futuro....
12/03/2026
Let's turn back the clock 20 years: The music landscape was a world away fro...
12/03/2026
Bad Bunny is no stranger to Spotify's Billions Club. In fact, he has a whopp...
12/03/2026
Spotify was at the London Book Fair this week, joining conversations across the publishing industry about how people can make reading part of their daily lives....
12/03/2026
Mastering tool improves mono compatibility
Tokyo Dawn Labs' Ohlhorst Digital range is a series of mastering-focused plug-ins developed by Jan Ohlhorst, ...
12/03/2026
Wave FX processor integrated into four products
Lewitt have teamed up with Elgato to create a new processor for the company's Wave Next product range, i...
12/03/2026
Free tool for annotating audio files
Mix Notes is a new, free iOS App that provides users with a simple way to annotate their audio files. It's been cre...
12/03/2026
Side-chain ducking tool gets an upgrade
Devious Machines' popular side-chaining and envelope-shaping tool has just been kitted out with an improved enve...
12/03/2026
Ceremony to take place on 16 April 2026
The MPG (Music Producers Guild) have revealed the full shortlist for this year's MPG Awards, which will be takin...
12/03/2026
Emulates three classic dbx 160 variants
The latest arrival to Overloud's Gem Series plug-in range faithfully recreates not one, but three versions of th...
12/03/2026
New granular soft synth announced
Said to be their most advanced software synthesizer to date, Baby Audio's latest release has been built on a new granu...
12/03/2026
Latest version now live!
Edit 11 March 2026 - Bitwig Studio 6 is now live, and available for all to download!
The latest version of Bitwig's DAW softwa...
12/03/2026
Latest free eBook now available!
Designed for recording engineers, audio-technology students and technically minded musicians, our latest free eBook deliver...
12/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity expands SITLine network encryptor portfolio - more...
12/03/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to showcase future-proof EMC testing solutions at EMV 2026 Rohde & Schwarz will participate in EMV 2026, Europe's premier trade fair and c...
12/03/2026
Modern media operations demand a platform that unites automation, orchestration, and human oversight without compromise. In this post, we explore the six key te...
12/03/2026
A deep dive into the platform
Architecture The Blue Lucy platform follows a distributed microservices architecture, meaning the overall operational capability...
12/03/2026
Orchestration platform enables broadcasters to deploy multiple AI models safely with full auditability, rights protection, and regulatory oversight.
LONDON, En...
12/03/2026
Wuppertal March 12, 2026
Riedel Expands Managed Technology Division in the Ame...
12/03/2026
Advanced Media Server Delivers Double the Channel Density at Half the Cost per C...
12/03/2026
The Late Late Show Show St Patrick's Day special
Dancing with the Stars f...
11/03/2026
First Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) deployment of the emergency.lu platform for refugees and their host communities' use provides dependable broadband for humani...
11/03/2026
Following a successful first series, UKTV today announces the commission of two ...
11/03/2026
Wednesday 11 March 2026
Sky and CANAL launch new partnership to develop English-language drama
Sky and CANAL are today announcing a strategic co commissioni...
11/03/2026
NTCA, Cartesian Release New Report on the Business Case for USF
March 11, 2026
Network Economics
News
NTCA - March 11, 2026 - As the FCC and Congr...
11/03/2026
TELL US YOUR (SHORT) STORIES
The 2026 RT Short Story Competition is now open for entries
Recognising and rewarding the best new Irish fiction writing for...
11/03/2026
RT 's The Traitors Ireland is among the nominees for the 2026 Celtic Media Festival Torc Awards for Excellence, announced today....
10/03/2026
10 Mar 2026
VEON's Largest Market Pakistan Almost Triples Mobile Spectrum i...
09/03/2026
Contains all six dual-ensemble libraries
VSL's Duality Strings series offers an intriguing alternative to your average string library, capturing two str...
09/03/2026
Outstanding Contribution To UK Music
Photo: Samuel Bradley
Ahead of their upcoming MPG Awards, the Music Producers Guild (MPG) have revealed the latest win...
09/03/2026
Two new high-quality DI boxes announced
Boasting some impressive technical specifications and versatile routing options, Strymon's latest active DI boxe...
09/03/2026
Latest MPE-capable Soundbox library released
The follow-up release for Sonora Cinematic's Pure Nylon has arrived, and becomes the latest addition to the...
Robe for Melodifestivalen 2021 posted: 19/04/2021 
