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Spiiders for X Factor

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BMFL™ Spot
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Pointe®
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Spiider®
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Spikie®
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Catch all the excitement and Robe Spiiders in action on the 2016 UK X Factor series finale this Saturday and Sunday – broadcast from the SSE Arena Wembley, London - where Matt Terry, Saara Aalto and 5 After Midnight battle it out to win. One competitor will leave the competition on Saturday night and the winner will be crowned during Sunday night’s show – all will have the benefit of a fabulous lightshow co-designed by Tim Routledge and Nigel Catmur … the same team who delivered the 2016 Finals series, recorded and broadcast from Fountain Studios just down the road!

Sixty of Robe’s new Spiider LED wash beam luminaires took centre stage for the 2016 X Factor Finals in the UK, part of a spectacular lighting rig co-designed between two of the UK’s top LDs, Tim Routledge and Nigel Catmur.

The duo presented an impressive combined aggregate of experience and creativity embracing live shows and spectaculars, plus theatre and television sectors. Working together for the series which was recorded and broadcast from Fountain Studios, Wembley, London, brought a fresh and invigorating approach to the high profile show.

They alternated the design duties each week working closely with a top lighting crew from rental supplier, PRG, and programmer Tom Young from Tim Routledge Design.

Tim and Nigel were both keen to use Robe’s brand new and very distinctive looking Spiider LED wash beam moving light. “We wanted some new and contemporary technology to bring a really modern look,” states Tim, so the timing of the Spiider launch was perfect.

The final series show featured a new panoramic LED backdrop, part of an epic looking set design by Florien Wieder of Wieder Design which brought a BIG cinematic aura to the presentation.

This also presented some interesting challenges in terms of positioning fixtures, so Tim and Nigel decided to crown this impressive visual element with powerful lights to produce a signature look for the 2016 series.

Two elegant parallel lines of Spiiders framed the screen – 40 units along the top and 20 along the bottom. They appeared in all the major shots, and with a light output of 50.100 Lux at 5 metres, the Spiider made a massive impact.

From the first weekend of broadcasting, this new look received a hugely positive reaction reports Tim, who himself “loved” the Spiider’s moonflower effect – which can be rotated in both directions at variable speeds - using the 60W central LED chip.

“The camera absolutely loves these fixtures, they have an impressive white but the jewel in the crown is the centre 60w chip which when activated in ‘moonflower’ mode is simply staggering”.

He also enjoyed using the Spiider’s mappable LED rings which circle the central LED, which he also tied in with 17 x Robe Spikies on the rig … in creating a succession of truly sumptuous large beamy looks that looked fantastic live and on camera. “The feel of the show this year was more about overall aesthetics and clever timing of cues rather than seeing lights constantly moving,” explains Tim.

Tim was “genuinely blown away” when they initially fired up the Spiiders in situ at Fountain. “The second we tried them in front of the camera and they looked totally amazing we knew we had made a good decision” … as there is always a degree of the unknown – and a frisson of excitement - in spec’ing totally new fixtures!

He underlines again that the cameras “adore” the Spiider moonflower effect and also the versatility of that supremely bright central LED which can be narrowed right down to a “tiny tight-beamed moving light” … essentially transforming it into a totally different fixture.

“It’s the first time in a long time that I have been so excited about a new fixture,” concluded Tim.

Thirty-two Robe BMFL Spots and 36 x Pointes - plus lots of other lights – also graced the main rig, with specials and extras brought in each week.

The thirteenth series of X Factor UK was broadcast live weekly from Fountain Studios.

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