Nearly ninety Clay Paky motorized spotlights were used in the Italian television variety show “I Migliori Anni” (The Best Years). The programme is directed by Maurizio Pagnussat and hosted by Carlo Conti, and consists of a televoting competition between pieces of music from different decades. The contest between the decades (1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s) takes place with the participation of several guest musicians, and is an opportunity to commemorate historical events and famous celebrities who appeared on the television of the era.
The elaborate set designed by Riccardo Bocchini consists of a double stage, connected with a wide central gangway on which the competing artists move. All around this is the orchestra, whereas the jury and VIP guests are ingeniously arranged inside six “windows” on several levels. The audience is seated on stands at the end of the studio and in two ranks of balconies. There is a total of 400 seats, which makes it one of the largest RAI production studios in Rome.
The Clay Paky effect lights include Alpha Profile 1200s, Alpha Spot HPE 1200s and Alpha Wash 575s. Their arrangement was designed by the director of photography Marco Lucarelli to maximize the impact on the scene. The Alpha Spot HPE 1200s, installed above the balconies, create the effects on the stage, while the washlights are mainly used to light the audience indirectly.
The use of the Profiles is particularly spectacular: the beam shapers cut the coloured light carefully and project it onto the large white sheets that separate the balconies. As Marco Lucarelli said, “we exploited the full potential of the Alpha Profiles. We used them to sculpt the light and highlight limited portions of the scene, which would have been impossible with any other kind of light. The result was that we were able to create an extremely colourful patchwork of images – even illuminating parts that would normally have been in the shadows – and create a bright oval studio perimeter with strong impact.”
Di&Di is the show lighting service. Enzo Lustri and Adriano Barbanzolo are the lighting desk operators, whose precious experience was also very important in defining the lighting design.