Lighting Designer, Arkin Atacan from atacan design turned to various lighting solutions from GLP to ensure that the lovingly designed costumes, comprising dragons, sloths, and robots that appeared on the second season of the TV show, The Masked Singer (TMS).
The stage concept by Florian Wieder was key to his lighting design. “The set includes many straight lines and polygons,” explained Atacan. “Wherever possible, I try to continue these design lines so that both the set and lighting function as a coherent unit, which in turn makes the overall picture look much more homogeneous and larger.”
The set itself consists of a pair of 8m-high masks covered with fabric, the mouths of which are fitted with linear LED elements, which serve as an entrance tunnel. Added to this are a 12m-wide LED back wall, a stage in the form of a double rhombus with a five metre by five metre LED floor, the public stands and the rate panel.
The lighting design remains largely unchanged from show to show, with only a few fixtures partially replaced. With a view to such important issues as energy efficiency and sustainability, greater emphasis was placed on LED-based solution, which is why 76 GLP impression X4L, 66 X4, 60 X4 Bar 20 as well as nine KNV Line and 22 KNV Dot were used. In addition, 12 of the brand new JDC Line from GLP made their TV debut on TMS.
In addition to colour illumination of the masks, the impression X4L also serves as backlighting for the public, while the X4 Bar 20s follow the truss lines and reflect the basic design. “For me, the GLP X4 series has become a real all-purpose weapon,” said Atacan. “I have been using these products for a long time. Not only are they very reliable, they are also very versatile. I don’t know of any service provider who doesn’t have something from the X4 range in stock. ”
The modular KNV systems from GLP, which Atacan had already used at the Hapag-Lloyd inauguration in 2019, are new to the lighting design. Afterwards it was clear to him that he also wanted to integrate these products into the design for TMS. “The KNVs are nice, small hybrid solutions to hide stroboscopes in a set. The size of the units is extremely small, making their impact all the more effective,” said Atacan.
However, Atacan’s highlight was deployment of 12 of the brand new GLP JDC Line fixtures, which celebrated their TV premiere at TMS. “I knew that GLP was working on a JDC line and I already had some information about the fixture in 2019, but I didn’t know when the launch would be. I was all the more pleased when I received a call from GLP Key Account Manager Olli Schwendke, who said that the first 14 pieces of this series were now available. I didn’t hesitate for long and requested 12 demo models for the season finale.”
JDC Line is a new hybrid strobe based on the successful GLP JDC1. The linear light effect combines the extreme brightness familiar from the JDC1 with an LED pixel mapping stick. Two independently controllable RGB LED elements frame a central line of ultra-bright, white LEDs. The JDC Line owes its distinctive look to the fact that all LEDs are installed behind the same optics.
Atacan placed these new arrivals between the KNV Lines as well as to the left and right of the masks that shaped the set. “The effect was sensational!” he exclaimed. “It was not only that the Lines sit extremely flat on the floor and have a massive strobe, but the two RGB lines above and below the strobe also allowed for very nice effects. I am convinced that these devices will now find their way into my tenders more often.”
In addition to the lighting design, atacan design was also responsible for the entire operation of these productions. Atacan’s team worked closely with the choreographers, vocal coaches and content producers. The lighting team around Atacan and the DoP consisted of show Operator, Tobias Reinartz, White Light Operator, Markus Ruhnke, Video Operator, Paul Happ, Lighting Tech, Steffen Zimmermann as well as Media Server System Specialist and Content Manager, Uwe Schröder.