PROVIDENCE, R.I.—The Boston Media Center (BMC) is the definition of “bleeding-edge technology” for all that is broadcast news and sports. It includes affiliate locations for NBC and Telemundo, and serves as broadcast facilities for New England Cable Network (NECN) and Comcast Sports.

We recently hired Spectum401, a Rhode Island-based lighting design firm, to design and install lighting for NBC, Telemundo and NECN, as well as several specialized sets in the facility. Spectrum401 had previously worked with BMC to convert their original studio location to the NBC Boston station. We wanted the design for the new center to be flexible and adaptable with the ever-changing style of each brand as well as take advantage of the versatility of full-color lighting products as a key technology.

LIGHTING THE WAY

The BMC wanted to be able to move around their studios with ease to create new shots on the fly, and in addition to using full color fixtures, we needed a great soft light that would help fill the space and be flattering to the talent. There were many options on the market for fixtures, and after testing numerous options we found that Cineo’s LightBlade technology had a very versatile fixture lineup that could work in each application.

All three studios have their individual identity, but they are all based on the same similar lighting design concept. The talent’s face is wrapped with soft lights while firm back and side light fills in their figure. To do this, we specifically used the full Cineo LightBlade family to wrap the talent while using the ETC ColorSource family to add the firm back and side lighting.

The decision to use the LightBlade products as the source that would wrap the talent was an easy one to make because of the variable CCT with +/-plus green and the full range of an RGBW fixture. This allowed us to be flexible, subtly altering the lighting depending on the individual skin tones of each talent. Fixtures such as the LB800 gave high output from a great distance, enabling us to use less fixtures in a smaller footprint. We supplemented the rig with Cineo Standard 410 to fill in the rest of the lighting plot. The quality consistency of the various fixtures made it easy to mix and match.

CRAFTING UNIQUE LOOKS

Using Cineo fixtures for most of the lighting design while supplementing with the ETC ColorSource family made the entire rig extremely flexible; having it composed of full color spectrum fixtures allowed us to give each studio its own unique identity.

We were able to create an everyday base look in each studio. Then, without having to hang or refocus additional fixtures, we were able to create moody and edgy light for Breaking News, Special Election Coverage and Special Report broadcasts. This also allowed the rest of the BCM programing to use these studios while maintaining each program’s own unique appearance.

By using high-quality and fully versatile fixtures in our design, we were able to adapt to all the client’s needs.

JM Montecalvo is the CEO/president of Spectrum401 Inc., a bi-coastal lighting design firm specializing in themed entertainment and broadcasting. He can be contacted at jm@spectrum401.com.

For more information, contact Cineo Lighting at 818-777-1814 or visit www.cineolighting.com.

SEATTLE—COVID 19 upset the market for lighting equipment, the same as it did for other broadcast and motion picture gear. But though vendors were unable to push their new offerings in-person at trade shows and traveling road shows, they have been able to introduce products already in the pipeline.

Although the emphasis in recent months has been on remote production—which in the early days of the pandemic forced a number of stations to bypass their studios—the market for studio lighting is still expected to be healthy as broadcasters return to their facilities. Nevertheless, with the lines starting to blur between what defines lighting for studios and remote production, vendors are also stepping up their efforts to add features for IP-based remote control for the professional facility as well as for those broadcasters still working from home.

SET UP AND LEAVE

Last month, ARRI announced that its new Orbiter, a single-point source, six-color light engine, will be shipping soon. The new light is “very versatile,” according to ARRI systems engineer Patrick Schulze.

“The Quick Lighting Mount [QLM] in Orbiter allows for optics with vastly different properties to be connected to the fixture,” he said. “These include open face, 15, 25 and 35 degree projection lenses, fabric sphere for omnidirectional light and softboxes.”

Orbiter features ARRI’s new Lighting Operating System (LiOS) programmed into the fixtures. LiOS includes features from ARRI’s Skypanel and other lights.

Schulze added, “We’ve been working on ways to control fixtures remotely through the internet. Our Skypanel series and Orbiter have a lot of IT-based technology in them. Basically they’re computers that put out light.”

Schulze says COVID-19 has really driven development for new features for its fixtures.

“All of our new lights are going to be IP-controllable,” he said. “They’ll have DMX control, local control, but we’re really working more toward IP connectivity.” In the pandemic workflow television production and motion picture studios are forced to work under, “you can’t have 12 people in the studio at once. The lighting people will set it up and then go somewhere else to control it.”

IN THE PIPELINE

BB&S Lighting’s co-owner Tobi Sali said the company is finding a lot of customers for its Pipeline Reflect System lighting fixtures in studios that are putting in video walls.

“When people put in video walls, they have to go to daylight,” he said. “Then you get your true blacks out of it, and you get real good color separation. That gives you real usable wall. If you use tungsten, you don’t get good color separation.”

The original Pipelines were 1-inch diameter tubes that used remote phosphor technology to provide high-quality 95 TLCI color rendering, according to Sali.

“The Reflect Series is the Pipeline in a wedge with a special reflective aluminum material on both sides,” he said. “This allows a Reflect fixture to provide 150% the output of the original Pipeline for the same power draw.” The Reflects are available in 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 6- and 8-foot lengths, and a choice of 3200-degree K, 4300-degree K or 5600-degree K color temperatures.

When the anchor from home revolution hit the television industry, BB&S had a ready solution in its “Reporter Kit,” a ready-to-go two Pipeline arrangement complete with stands and a dimmer that had been developed for webcam correspondents.

A VARIETY OF USES

After virus-caused delays, Cineo Lighting has started delivering its R15 1500W hard LED lighting fixture, according to Rich Pierceall, vice president of operations for NBC Universal, parent company of Cineo.

“We’ve explored a lot of new and patented a lot of new technologies with the Reflex series, specifically with immersion cooling,” he said.

The R15 is a high-output, focusable-beam, fully dimmable hard light. The beam angle adjustment from 15 to 75 degrees is accomplished without mechanical movement, making it remotely adjustable. The reflector can be easily removed and replaced with a variety of soft accessories. A 500W R5 “little brother” is in the works.

Being part of NBC Universal has given Pierceall a perch with quite a view.

“There’s such a diversity of different productions going on, broadcast and streaming, and feature film, what new techniques are being considered to help production get underway,” he said. “And ‘virtual’ is top of mind for just about everybody.

“To be honest with you, we don’t see any dividing line between lighting and virtual lighting, between LED light sources and LED walls,” Pierceall added. “It’s all kind of one environment for us.”

COLOR TEMPERATURE

As far as color temperature is concerned, Ing. Jose Maria Noriega C.A.S, chief revenue and marketing officer at Fluotec in Laredo, Texas, said the studios they’re lighting are falling more or less equally between fixed daylight, fixed tungsten and tunable.

“Though there are customers who want the color temperature tunable feature for their studio lighting, there are studios around the United States that are specifically designed for either tungsten or daylight,” he said. “We have sold thousands of daylight fixtures, and thousands of tungsten.”

Noriega adds that they’re finding a lot of demand for sky lighting, as well.

“We have met that demand with the CineLight line,” he said. “That’s the kind of light they need to light the whole studio.”

But there’s still a healthy market for Fresnel fixtures. Fluotec’s Fresnels avoid color shift between the center and the edge of the beam utilizes the company’s NEBULA technology to emit powerful, high-quality, full-spectrum white light beams, according to Noriega.

TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION 

Kino-Flo has just activated the RDM (remote device management) control communication protocol to enable two-way communication in their lighting fixtures.

“Existing DMX lighting control is one-way,” said Scott Stueckle, Kino-Flo sales manager. “DMX only allows sending instructions to the light, but you can’t see all the settings on the light. With RDM you have two-way communication between the fixture and the control board, which is important.

“With DMX, if you want to change a setting for, say, ‘special effects,’ you have to go to ‘special effects’ on the fixture and adjust the ‘special effects’ setting,” Stoeckle added. “But with RDM, through the control board you can just hit a button on the control board and change the menu setting to whatever you want. That’s really a big deal for board operators.”

The computer chip that runs RDM is built into existing Kino-Flo LED fixtures, but if you just turn it on, “chaos” could ensue, he said.

“So what we did was spend all this time reconfiguring all of our software so that when RDM did come out it’s very intuitive, user-friendly, and with as few bugs as possible. And it will work with our older software as well.”

MORE PUNCH

Pete Challenger, who manages U.S. business development for Italian light maker Lupo says he’s spoken with a number of customers who want a full color panel light that’s also got some “punch” to it. In response, last year Lupo launched the Superpanel Soft Full Color 60 RGBW LED Panel.

“Most panel lights have a kind of ‘soft, wraparound’ type of light output to them,” he said. “If you are needing to use the light particularly close in, it can be quite attractive. The problem with it is getting that level of softness with massive amounts of light.

“So what we’ve done with the Superpanel Full Color 60 is to put a lens over each cluster of LEDs,” he continued. “That gives you a powerful, color flat panel with a 40-degree beam angle.

“If the light is working close to the subject, the effect can be harsh unless diffusion is applied,” Challenger added. “But in most cases in a really big studio, you want some throw. And in that case, having more raw power to start with gives you more flexibility.”

“Best of Show Up Close” is a series about nominees and winners in the annual Future Best of Show at NAB award program.

We spoke with Rich Pierceall, vice president if LED operations at Cineo Lighting, which was a Best of Show winner with its LightBlade Edge lighting system.

TV TECHNOLOGY:Tell us about the LightBlade Edge lighting system, what does it offer broadcasters?

RICH PIERCEALL: The LightBlade Edge system is a high-output linear soft light system that offers all of the benefits of Cineo’s larger fixtures, The Edge Blades are available in two lengths, 2-feet and 4-feet, both with 80 watts of output power. Modular mounting systems support multiple Edge Blades to be ganged into larger fixtures.The big advantage to broadcasters is that extremely high-quality, high-output light sources can now be configured to fit in a variety of confined spaces, particularly low-ceiling environments such as newsrooms and office/bureaus. We have also seen the LightBlade Edge used in ring-of-fire applications, and circular configurations used to light swing stages.

TVT:What is it about LightBlade Edge that sets it apart from similar offerings?

RP: The LightBlade Edge products have a higher lumen density than any other linear production lighting fixture: up to 8,000 lumens per Blade. They deliver Cineo's high-CRI variable white light spectrum and include a REC.2020 saturated color engine, with both local and DMX/RDM control.

TVT:Has the LightBlade Edge been used by any major productions as of yet?

RP: Yes. Several broadcast installations have specified the LightBlade Edge system, including the new Comcast broadcast facility in Philadelphia. LightBlade Edge units have been used on many feature and episodic productions for NBCUniversal, as well as streaming services and other networks.

TVT:What does it cost? Is it shipping?

RP: The LightBlade Edge series starts at $995 USD list. The flexibility of configuration allows it to be configured in a wide range of sizes and prices.

TVT:What else should we know about LightBlade Edge or Cineo in general?

RP: Over six years ago, Cineo Lighting was started by a small team of lighting professionals, focused on changing the way LED technology could be effectively applied to production lighting. NBCUniversal acquired Cineo Lighting in June of this year. The Cineo brand, its products and staff are all remaining intact, and in fact we are now able to accelerate our efforts to provide even more tools and techniques to help production professional tell their stories.

LOS ANGELES—After what Cineo Lighting described as a long-time strategic partnership, Cineo and NBCUniversal are officially coming together, as the lighting company announced that it was acquired by NBCUniversal.

“A little over six years ago, Cineo Lighting was started by a small team of lighting professionals, focused on changing the way LED technology could be effectively applied to production lighting,” wrote Rich Pierceall, now vice president of LED operations with NBCUniversal, in Cineo’s announcement. “We are pleased to share that Cineo started a new chapter in its history this past week.”

Pierceall announces that the Cineo brand, including its products and staff, will remain intact and that this acquisition will accelerate the company provide its tools to production professionals.

“You can expect the same great products and service from Cineo moving forward, enhanced with the support of NBCUniversal to better serve our valued customers in motion picture, television and broadcast production,” Pierceall wrote.

HANOVER, N.H.—The creation of a new studio for educational content at Dartmouth College required a new set of lights, so to take on that task the school’s Media Production Group went with Cineo Lighting. Specifically, the school went with three HS2 Wave and six Maverick fixtures to fill out the 35x26-foot space.

The HS2 is a high-powered fixture that Dartmouth is using to create a daylight balanced lighting package. The lights can also be controlled wireless via DMX, enabling users to remote control them through an iPad app.

The Maverick mid-powered fixtures are used for chroma keying as it comes with chroma green phosphor panels to light a 14x10-foot green curtain.

Both lighting fixtures come with Remote Phosphor Technology.

NEW YORK—Cineo Lighting willshowcase theStandard 410 at NAB Show New York, which rounds out the range of Cineo fixtures that provide high-quality, easily controllable light. The S410 sets a new standard for motion picture, television and episodic lighting within an under-27-pounds compact design.

With a 1x2-foot diffused illuminating surface, this new fixture is suitable for lighting talent, sets and creating saturated color effects. The S410 harnesses Cineo’s phosphor-based, tunable white light in combination with a full-gamut RGB lighting system to provide different lighting options. The four-channel interface provides control locally, using the system’s graphical control panel, through traditional wired DMX or with the Integrated LumenRadio CRMX bidirectional wireless DMX/RDM control.

Other features include photo-accurate dimming, variable CCT from 2700K to 6500K, and an RGB/CMY color system that provides variable saturation without degradation of the white light quality. The S410 features flick-free operation and a passive cooling system to ensure noise will not disrupt a shoot. The Cineo S410 will be available to customers beginning Q4 2017.

Cineo Lighting will exhibit in booth N771.

UNIVERSAL CITY, CALIF.—A partnership between NBC Universal and Cineo Lighting has resulted in the development of a new LED production lighting system, the LightBlade.

The LightBlade series of lights are available in three configurations: the LB50 stand-alone linear source; the LB1K, an integrated 4x4-foot soft source; and the LightBlade Ladder Light, which is based on NBC Universal’s backdrop lighting system. The 50 W, 1.5x48-inch light engines can operate in a variety of physical layouts, including stand-alone operation.

Additional features of the LightBlade products include reference-quality variable white light from 2700K to 6500K; color rendering with CRI>90, R9>95, and a saturated color engine that works with high-CRI white light.

More products are currently be developed for use on location and on stage.

NBC Universal and Cineo Lighting are showcasing the new LightBlade lights at Cine Gear Expo in Stage 14 at booth S126.