Over 100 Robe Show Lighting moving lights have been specified for Top Of The Pops Germany, being recorded in Studio 50 of the Magic Media Company in Coloneum, Köln. The lights have been specified by lighting designer/DOP Patrick Nicolas, who has been lighting the show for the past 7 years for Germany’s largest privately owned channel, RTL.

The move to Robe follows the latest redesign and launch of the famous music series. Nicolas was previously using other moving lights, but decided to test some Robe products after hearing good reports on the kit from his LD contacts. This took place in another studios in Munich .. after which he decided to swap the rig out to Robe at the first possible opportunity.

The new look show features two stages, The central floor area is also utilised as an impromptu stage area for recording some elements of the show, so the lighting installation was designed to ensure that all areas of the space can receive plenty of lighting coverage.

Nicolas is using 35 Robe ColorSpot 1200 ATs, 20 ColorSpot 575 ATs, 31 ColorWash 1200 ATs and 10 ColorWash 575 ATs, plus a large generic rig and lots of LED lit scenic pieces. He also designed the set. The Robes are all being supplied by Magic Light + Sound GmbH from Köln, one Germany’s largest TV lighting rental houses.

The ColorSpot 1200s are fitted with a selection of custom gobos, and the Robe fixtures are used generally for all the main effects lighting.

Nicolas has to light between 8 and 16 bands and performers each week for TOTP. Apart from all the domestic stars, there’s also a regular pool of international artists, which have included Robbie Williams, Britney Spears, Madonna and many others. The show is rehearsed the previous day and during the afternoon of the show day, and then recorded in the early evening. Nicolas has to work very fast to create the necessary visual magic on camera quickly and smoothly - achieved by some close collaboration with his moving light programmer Bjorn Hermann.

He creates a different dynamic and look for each band - a WholeHog 3 is used for control, run with 2 wings, one operated by Nicolas and the other by Hermann. It’s essential to keep the lighting looking fresh and new for each artist and show - and to keep apace of the attentions spans of TOTP’s primarily young audience. Working with Robe luminaires gives his work an enormous imaginative scope.

Nicolas likes many elements of the Robes, including the overall quality of the light output. "The 1200ATs are incredible" he states "They are so bright, both the Spot and the Wash versions, and the CMY colour mixing is really excellent" . He thinks the ColorWash 1200AT’s zoom facility (between 10 and 87 degrees depending on the type of lens used) is a real asset as is the variable CTO, available on both Spot and Wash 1200ATs. This is "Essential for TV lighting" he adds.

Nicolas thinks the ColorSpot 575AT is an extremely well engineered unit. It features two colour wheels rather than a CMY colour mixing system, but he is adamant that you can get every colour you want from the fixture with the precise and correct combination of the wheels. From the purely technical angle, the crew is impressed with Robe products because when they open them up - not that it’s a common occurrence - everything is laid out in a logical and accessible manner. So far, the units have all been 100 per cent reliable, and Nicolas also comments that he’s heard this from many other sources using Robe.

Top Of The Pops Germany is broadcast on Saturdays at 5.45 p.m., competing directly with all the sports programmes. However, it holds its own admirably with consistently good viewing figures. The show is recorded with a live studio audience of 250.