UK - There was a time when lighting a live act for television consisting of adding a few key lights to the rig and hoping that between them, the director and the cameraman would be able to avoid the unavoidable flare and still keep the artist in the audiences’ view. How things have changed! In today’s TV studios, there are plenty of mass entertainment shows where the lighting itself is almost as newsworthy as the performers it is enhancing.

　　Among the latest generation of LED moving light fixtures to enter this arena is the Shapeshifter. Designed by Richard Bellliveau and manufactured by High End Systems, the Shapeshifter boasts seven independently controlled modules with, in total, 126 of one of the rightest LEDs on the market. The combination of the fixture’s design, speed and control provide the user with almost endless options, from subtle colour to an array of dynamic effects.
　　Television applications provide the perfect platform to demonstrate this versatility. Aurora Lighting Hire have supplied them for two high profile entertainment shows, The Voice and The Graham Norton Show. Managing director Nick Edwards explains his reasons for opting for the Shapeshifters: “Richard Belliveau has delivered another mould-breaking concept with the Shapeshifter. A huge credit to High End for backing a fixture which some might see as a little ‘left of field’.I can easily imagine pressures in the market are to back a more conventional design influenced by the latest rental fad. High End’s LED range as a whole is something we will continue to monitor closely . . . The LED source is fast becoming a prerequisite on certain TV productions with new environmental incentives such as the BAFTA Albert+ scheme.”

　　The Voice is a show that requires a huge range of visual effects to cover the array of musical genres: it’s a significant challenge for an LD to keep generating fresh and original looks.Renowned designer Gurdip Mahal and board operator Ross Williams are under no illusions about the challenge, as Williams explains: “With more than 15 performances each week it’s hard not to recycle looks over the live shows, so we choose to mix things up a little each week,whilst keeping the core lighting rig the same. This is where a unit like the Shapeshifter comes into its own. We added them to the final show to provide a totally new look to the moving light pods. We had used the C1 model once before,but this was the first time Gurdip opted for the W1 - the all-white variant.”
　　Mahal himself adds: “We used the C1s on the first design as the whole theme was rich reds and oranges. This was on a production to be transmitted later this year, where we used them successfully to bridge the gap between effects and wash lights, despite them clearly being a special effects light first and foremost. For The Voice we wanted the W1s as more of a statement for specific music performances.They’re a striking fixture to look at, and therefore instantly recognisable. They’re a versatile effects light and they were certainly very bright on camera. There’s something nice about having an all-white product and it fitted the overall show design very well.”
　　The Voice design included a whole mixture of fixtures, but also featured the High End Showguns heavily each week and Williams was more than happy to have a Hog 4 console for control. As he says: “Aurora has a great relationship with High End Systems and have known the people at AED in the UK for many years. This naturally creates a trusting and positive environment which we, as end users - in this case myself and Gurdip - benefit from. We didn’t have any failures or other issues on either show with the Shapeshifters, so I would rate their reliability as being better than just good.”
　　For The Graham Norton Show, Aurora found the Shapeshifters to be the ideal choice for the live performance stage.Lighting director Chris Rigby opted to include them for a performance by Charli XCX and featuring The Voice coach Rita Ora.“I designed the rig using moving profiles and IntelliFlex provided by Bryn Williams at Light Initiative.We needed a feature light that would become the focal point to the lighting and the Shapeshifters fitted the bill perfectly and exceeded my expectations. They performed well; the dynamic movements from the individual segments of the fixture helped bring the performance to life. The white LED lights we specified were very bright when they needed to be, but were not so directional that when viewed off-axis they became dark, as some units do. The variety of focuses made them a very versatile unit, which I’d have no hesitation in using again. Perhaps the most telling endorsement of their success is that both Charli and Rita commented on how much they loved the lighting - now that doesn’t happen very often!”

　　“The lamps were programmed by Theo Cox,” continues Rigby, “who, in a short amount of time, mastered their control using a High End Road Hog 4 console. In all my years as an LD, I’ve only ever allowed Whole Hog products on my shows, and since Aurora was founded 23 years ago we’ve only ever used Hogs as a company endorsed product. We’ve found Hogs to be the most reliable platforms for live television and events and have found that most operators we collaborate with find Hogs to be the most intuitive consoles on the market.”
　　AED Distribution’s David March is in no doubt about the quality of the unit and is delighted that the Shapeshifters have joined the ranks of High End products that are the ‘go to’choice for so many television productions:“Shapeshifter follows a long tradition in High End Systems; it offers the end user a truly flexible, unique and inspiring luminaire. We are grateful and thrilled that highly respected LDs such as Gurdip, Ross, Chris and others in conjunction with our friends at Aurora have put the Shapeshifters through their paces and used them to deliver a really unique and innovative look to these shows.”