For the first time in seven years NBC’s iconic “The Today Show” has introduced viewers to a new set enhanced by a moving light package from WorldStage. The complement of fixtures supplied to lighting designer Fred Bock includes nine Martin MAC 350 Entour LED spots, 10 Martin MAC Aura LEDs, nine Clay Paky Sharpy Washes and six Clay Paky Alpha Profile 800 STs.
The new set is “a combination of modern and homey at the same time,” says Bock, who previously teamed with WorldStage on NBC upfronts and the ESPN booth at the US Open. “There’s a lot of automation and a lot of displays. The Home Base Desk is on a turntable, which allows the home base for the opening of the show to turn around and face Rockefeller Plaza for the first time,” he explains. “Viewers can come in and look right into the window and then pull into the studio.”
According to Bock, “the moving lights are mostly used in the production area where big interviews, cooking demos and music performances take place. They have to keep that space as flexible as possible to deal with all types of production in a small space.”
The network has been promoting LED usage where practical and Bock says the MAC Auras and 350s fulfill that mandate and “give a more natural look” to the new set. The Clay Paky Sharpys provide “a nice punchy light” for music. “They do many different things, from a tight beam to a nice wash on the floor – they help modernize the look of the studio,” he reports.
Bock is also “enamored” with the flat beam of the Clay Paky Alpha Profiles. “Their shutters work really well,” he adds. “They have great effects and smooth dimming.”
Choosing WorldStage to furnish the moving light package was “a no brainer,” says Bock. “WorldStage has a very strong working relationship with NBC, and I have a great relationship with them. They’re always there whenever you need something; they respond at a moment’s notice.
“We needed to test equipment, and WorldStage got it to me very quickly. They were so responsive and helped us make our decisions. It’s very helpful to be able to rely on WorldStage for a changing project like this where you can’t plan for everything.”
At WorldStage Drew DeCorleto who was the account executive for the project, stated “We were very pleased to be part of the team supporting this update. At WorldStage we understand the particular demands of the network environment and we have always worked hard to be an ideal vendor for NBC and other broadcast projects.”.
WorldStage Inc., the company created by the merger of Scharff Weisberg Inc and Video Applications Inc, continues a thirty-year legacy of providing clients the widest variety of entertainment technology coupled with conscientious and imaginative engineering services. WorldStage provides audio, video and lighting equipment and services to the event, theatrical, broadcast and brand experience markets nationally and internationally.
