Great new look for Big Brother

31 May 2011

  For the fourth consecutive season, Blond Productions were commissioned to cater for the sound, lighting and AV requirements of Big Brother Africa. One gets the impression that Blond must be doing something right, and if at all possible, their contribution to the game show, along with Dream Sets, has raised the bar.   When their client, Endemol South Africa, wanted a new set for Big Brother Africa Amplified, aired on DSTV, Blond approached Sean Hoey of Dream Sets. Together they created magic, coming up with fresh ideas that have pleasantly surprised the client.

More often than not, the set designer and technical team only meet during the set up of a production. It was therefore a privilege for Lighting Designer Peter Rieck (Blond) and Sean Hoey (Dream Sets) to put their heads together from the inset with the assistance of Vector Works. The aim was to create a set that would bring out as much technical and visual as possible. Lighting by Robe fixtures added mood, beams of light and eye candy, while the real “show stealer” were the graphics on screens and plasmas, all running via a grandMA Media Server.  

  Christian Ballot, MD from Blond gives feedback here. “Five to ten years ago, effects were all about lighting, gobos and beam work. Now AV and lighting have become one… with one person controlling it all. It took us a while to get our head around grandMA, but Peter and Ryan Lombaard have cracked it and this brings us to a new standard where we are on par with the rest of the world.”   Blonde Production’s Vivian “Oros” Roux and Peter Rieck  

Peter did an extraordinary design, and he is on site every Sunday for the live show at Sasani Studios in Johannesburg,  where patrons in the house are eliminated. The show runs over a total of 14 weeks.

  Lighting Equipment List:  

12 x     Robe 700 AT Color Spots – hung on trussing over the main stage.

6 x       Robin 600 Beams – on the “deck” with 250s for beam lighting.

24 x     Robe 575 XT Scanners – used on the side of the stage and along the screens for eye candy.

12 x     Robe 250 AT Color Spots – on deck for beam lighting.

48 x     Bright Q LED Stage Bars

36 x     ADB 2KW Fresnel

16 x     ADB 2.5KW Softlights

1 x       GrandMA Full Size and GrandMA Media Server

  “It’s an honour to work on Big Brother,” said Christian. “It’s one of the largest television game shows in the world and it’s a privilege to be connected to it. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate my team. It’s wonderful to have the right people in the right place who want to work. For us it’s really not about the equipment but how we all work tougher and the service we are able to provide the end user.”   That said, Christian believes the grandMA was one of the best buys Blond ever made!

Next year will celebrate Blond’s tenth anniversary. This is team who have managed to stay humble and are always willing to give a 150%.