MEDIA RELEASE

Lighthouse fields record-breaking screen for Italian talent show

Mediaset’s “Io Canto” features high-res LED screen as key set component

Italy, 14th June 2010 -- One of the most popular Italian TV formats in recent months has been song contests for very young talent and one of those, “Io Canto”, produced by RTI and directed by Roberto Cenci for Mediaset channel Canale 5, chalked up some really impressive figures: as well as a live audience of about five hundred spectators, the show reached a peak audience of almost seven million viewers.

The prime-time Saturday show, MC’d by Gerry Scotti, featured 29 singers aged between seven and 15 from singing schools across the country, competing for a trip to the US for a study vacation under the wing of top international producer David Foster. The entrants sang solo and together, as well as duetting with some of Italy’s top pop names, accompanied by a resident 33-piece band.

The show’s impressive set, designed by Marco Calzavara occupied a third of Studio 20, one of the country’s largest TV studios located at the Mediaset production centre on the outskirts of Milan, and featured a huge curved Lighthouse screen, which was reputedly the screen with the highest resolution ever mounted in a TV studio and fed with a single signal.

Video and lighting contractor EVR Media of Udine installed a Lighthouse LED screen made up of 698pcs R10 SMD 10mm panels with a configuration of 7680 pixel (horizontal) and 576 (vertical). The screen was flown from a custom-built structure forming a sort of semicircular shell round the band and the performers and positioned in such as way as to enable a camera to run along below it for eye-catching upstage coverage.

The high resolution was possible thanks to the generation of graphic signals, realized by specialist firm Clonwerk and processed by the EVR Media team with two Vista Spyder, 344 video processors and 22 Lighthouse Interface Processors, suitably calibrated and fined tuned as far as size, colorimetria and brightness were concerned.

The impressive setup was conceived by the set designer and director. Technical aspects, structural installation modifications and signal management were managed by Mario Prataviara from EVR, assisted by Davide Pontarini. Structural metalwork was by OCM Costruzioni Meccaniche and CATE costruzioni meccaniche.

Prataviera explains the brief received: “The director specified that he wanted the content on the LED screen to be a single signal feed from the control room, consisting in graphics with windows of pre-recorded and live in-studio shots. The director of photography, on the other hand, insisted on coordination and absolute precision as far as the LED’s colour and brightness were concerned.A total workforce of over 40 was involved in the video project, including those responsible for hardware and control.

Io Canto’s LD and director of photography was Mediaset veteran Franco Fratus, who confirmed, “Director Roberto Cenci wanted video to play a very important role in the show and it was an installation with one if the highest resolutions ever in a TV studio. When I saw the LED wall, I was rather worried that with such a bright screen the lighting would not have been seen, but, after working on the graphics and running various tests to fine tune brightness and effects, we obtained good results.”

Prataviera concludes: “The results achieved were extremely satisfactory and all the staff involved on the projected carried out an extremely precise, punctual job. The show was a great success – an album was released of the most popular songs and Canale 5 has already confirmed another edition.”

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Lighthouse Technologies Limited is a global leader in LED display technology that develops, manufactures, and markets LED video display solutions for multiple indoor & outdoor applications, media and entertainment events, and sports arenas across the globe. With numerous technological breakthroughs to its name, Lighthouse has established itself as a multi award-winning leader in the LED display industry that holds itself to the highest standards of quality.

Founded in 1998, Lighthouse has a strong global presence with regional offices in Europe, North and South America, the Asia Pacific and China. Employing the most advanced technology, the highest manufacturing facilities, and world-class, round-the-clock technical support, Lighthouse satisfied customers on every major continent, captivating the imagination of millions. For more information about Lighthouse, please visit www.lighthouse-tech.com

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