Gemini And Astra Soft Leds Bring Lighting Flexibility And Versatility To 'Dan Patrick Show'

Gemini And Astra Soft Leds Bring Lighting Flexibility And Versatility To Dan Patrick Show posted: 07/08/2019

Litepanels Gemini and Astra LEDs illuminate the new 20,000-square-foot production facility that is home to the popular Dan Patrick Show.

Litepanels Gemini 2x1 Soft RGBWW and Astra 1x1 Bi-Color LED panels are lighting up the action for the popular Dan Patrick Show, a syndicated radio and TV sports talk show hosted by former ESPN personality Dan Patrick. Produced by the AT&T Entertainment Group, Dan Patrick Show has installed 30 Gemini 2x1 Soft and 30 Astra 1x1 Bi-Color LED panels to light its new showpiece 20,000-square-foot production facility.

Based in Milford, Connecticut, the daily Dan Patrick Show broadcast showcases many of the biggest stars in sports and entertainment. The show is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks and televised on DirecTVs Audience channel, three AT&T SportsNet affiliates, and Bleacher Report (B/R) Live, and it can also be heard on SiriusXM Radio channel 211 (Dan Patrick Radio). The shows vast new facility includes two 2,800-square-foot studios and a 4,500-square-foot Fieldhouse. This man cave is complete with a miniature AstroTurf football field and a basketball half-court for the on-air personalities and guests to practice their moves.

With so much territory to light, the Dan Patrick Show crew decided to migrate the production to all-LED lighting. After evaluating the markets range of LED soft panels, the production team chose the Litepanels Gemini and Astra panels for their reliability, light weight, and ease-of-rigging. Other big selling points for the Gemini Soft LED panels were their extremely high-quality full-spectrum white light, RGBWW color versatility, and integrated power supply and ballast.

Since we had only 11 weeks to go from initial construction to on-air, time was of the essence. The Geminis and Astras are incredibly quick and easy to install and mount, which made a big difference in our tight schedule, said Eric Jones, associate director - creative operations, AT&T Mobility & Entertainment Group. Gemini was an especially easy choice compared to the closest competing light on the market, which is much heavier and has an external ballast. The Geminis built-in power supply makes it a much more compact unit and means no extra cables, so rigging lights becomes quick and easy. Plus, we love its plug-and-play DMX control, precision plus/minus green adjustment, and the ability to do gradual RGBWW color changes.

The majority of the 15-camera Dan Patrick Show is a sit-down studio production, with a combination of permanently mounted Gemini and Astra panels providing keys, fills, and backlights for the main talent positions. We rely on Geminis flexible color temperature adjustment to create a particular aesthetic in the studio; for instance, we can warm up the color temp of the walls to match the overall lighting of the room, Jones said. The ability to change the color of all of the keys from a single lighting console is a huge plus.

In addition, the shows hosts often roam around the man cave space to conduct additional interviews and activities for the TV production. The plus/minus green control on the Geminis makes them particularly useful in such ENG-style situations, enabling the crew to match lighting from existing fluorescents and other permanent fixtures. On certain occasions, such as a performance by a guest band, the crew employs the Gemini panels dial-up color options and special effects modes to create color backlights and other unique effects without having to add gels.

The versatility of the Geminis is their biggest asset, Jones said. The ability to hang the light up on a grid one day, and then take it down the next day, throw a battery on it and walk around with it for an ENG shoot, is something you simply dont find with any other light in the industry.

A Snapshot of Litepanels

Litepanels, a Vitec Group brand, was founded in 2001 by five professional gaffers and engineers who saw the future and pioneered LED lighting for motion pictures, television, and the audio-visual industry. Their Emmy award-winning technology has now been used on thousands of productions worldwide and is trusted by the worlds leading broadcast organizations. Litepanels continues to expand its suite of flicker-free, color-accurate, fully dimmable soft lights that talent and lighting directors admire. These environmentally friendly panels can pay for themselves with power savings and long life, setting a new standard in professional lighting.

LINK:	https://www.live-production.tv/news/shows/gemini-and-astra-soft-leds-b...
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