The new MDR high-definition TV studio in Erfurt, Germany, has upgraded its lighting system to feature 28 ADB ALC4 multi-purpose modular luminaires in the function of asymmetrical cyclorama lights. The studio is home to a variety of programming for popular children’s channel Kika.
Camera operators at the 600sqm studio at MDR’s headquarters laid down a stringent specification for lighting the huge cyclorama, which has a curved base with a 1m radius that merges smoothly with the floor to avoid a hard lighting transition. This stipulated a maximum variation in lighting of +/- 70 lux across the cyclorama, within the cameras’ operating range on Kika of between 300 and 500 lux.
“The existing facilities, with 90 kilowatts of light, were no longer acceptable as the standards of illumination intensity and uniformity have changed greatly with high-definition television,” explained Thomas Jacobs of ADB Germany, which supplied the new luminaires to MDR. “There is a much higher demand on the uniformity of the light, and the differences in light levels created by using Fresnel lens spotlights would not deliver that uniformity.”
A series of tests resulted in the Kika lighting team determining that ADB’s ALC4 was the only luminaire to meet its uniformity requirements. The ALC4 actually outperformed the specification with a deviation of just +/- 35 lux.
A total of 28 ALC4s have been installed at the MDR studio. Each one is fitted with an asymmetrical reflector and hung above the camera view area at around 3m high, spaced apart by 2.4m.
“The ALC4s deliver the uniform and easily controllable light that we require, and are also light in weight, consume much less power than conventional lights, and had lower installation costs because they don’t require dimmers or as much cabling,” said MDR lighting director Toni Schulz. “They are an excellent addition to our HDTV lighting set-up.”