InBroadcast - March 2022 - 26

TM
26
www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 12 - Issue 3 | March 2022
InStudio
Astera Boxes Clever
Astera AX2
PixelBar 100
Astera AX9
PowerPAR
F
reelance gaffer and
lighting
programmer / operator Gafin Riley
and lighting designers Andy Cottey
and Chris Hollier utilised three of
Astera's newest products - the AX9
PowerPAR, AX2-100
battens
and
PixelBricks - to light a recent edition
of Bocsio Byw, an exciting series
of live boxing matches directed by
Geraint Rowlands and produced by
Media Atom for Welsh language TV
channel, S4C.
This
instalment
featured
Commonwealth Lightweight
the
Title
- Gavin Gwynne vs Jack O'Keeffe
and the Welsh Middleweight Title -
Morgan Jones vs Geraint Goodridge
among several other fights.
Gafin, Andy & Chris frequently work
together on international sporting
events, and their projects
have
included this specific show for a few
years. One of the goals for this latest
broadcast, staged
at The LC in Swansea,
was
Another huge
advantage
of
to use an all-LED
lighting rig. The timeframe was
extremely tight, having an evening
to install and rig the lighting. The
OB would then setup in the morning,
and matches
commenced in the
evening.
" These Astera products fitted the
bill in multiple ways, " commented
Gafin, who utilised 12 x AX2-100
PixelBars, 12 x AX9 PowerPARs, 24 x
AX5 TriplePARs and two PixelBricks.
Being a live event, if power or data
to any of the fixtures had been lost
for whatever reason, it would have
been near impossible to get to the
fixtures and sort it! " The majority of
the fixtures were hard wired, and we
had the luxury of a safety net of full
redundancy with the Astera's battery
backup and CRMX. "
All
using
Astera products
explained Gafin, was
having continuity in colours and
quality of light across all the Astera
units, so a single fixture personality
could be used for all the white
balances and replicated across all
luminaires.
" We didn't get to see any pictures
from the cameras until a few hours
before the show so having the ability
to instantly deploy a fixture was
perfect for rapidly filling any gaps
in the back-of-shot! " elucidated
Gafin, adding that the high CRI
and variable CCT of all these Astera
fixtures
additionally
meant
they
can also be used for quick-grab
hand-bashers.
He reckons that being able to
reliably set the battery hours was
a real " game-changer " for Astera,
putting them " way ahead " of the
battery
powered
products
field.
" Any production needs to have that
confidence that they will not fade or
stop mid shoot! "
The AX5s and AX9s were alternated
on the top and bottom chords of
a truss running along one side of
the ring providing camera candy
- the idea being that once a 'cross
filter' was added to the broadcast
cameras, the different size fixtures
would produce interesting & verified
star bursts for the 'glitz' element
that the production required, and
once settled, these units would also
give a secondary look of an even
static wash over the audience.
these Astera luminaires
together with the other lights on the
shoot were supplied by Bristol based
lighting rental specialist Utopium,
and were running via a grandMA3
console.
Gafin has been an Astera advocate
for some time having utilised various
products on numerous films and
TV shows, starting soon after the
AX5 was launched, followed by the
first Astera AX1 tubes. " Having a
set of Titan tubes is almost a given
nowadays on every project! "
He thinks the range is " perfect` "
for outside broadcasts
and
LE
programmes and similar applications
and notes that the products are
physically well designed with nice
ergonomics that look good if they
happen to be in shot.
" For me, it's
always
redundancy and knowing you can
immediately have a solution ready to
deploy that you know will work, " he
concluded.
https://astera-led.com
about
Astera
PixelBrick PB15
http://www.inbroadcast.com https://www.astera-led.com
InBroadcast - March 2022

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