Martin MAC 550 a Sure Bet on German TV’s “Wetten dass...?”

“Wetten dass...?” (which translates to “bet that…?”) is a popular prime time German game and variety show broadcast by television station ZDF. Now in its 23rd year, “Wetten dass…?” is nothing short of a German television institution and the most popular TV program in the country.

Broadcast live on Saturday evenings, Wetten dass…?, part talk show and part live performance, features regular segments in which contestants “bet that” they can perform odd feats for prizes. Host Thomas Gottschalk presides over six programs yearly, each regularly seen by more than 50 million Europeans.

Voss & Sollik
Lighting designers Manfred Voss and Andreas Sollik of Voss & Sollik GmbH, one of Germany’s most sought after production companies, designed the show lighting for the program and incorporated 150 Martin MAC 550 profile spots as the foundation of the lighting design. Winkler Veranstaltungstechnik of Switzerland supplied the MAC luminaires to Voss & Sollik through Martin’s Swiss representative ASL Electronic AG/SA.

The "Wetten dass…?" production includes three “action” areas. The first is a center stage sofa where presenter Thomas Gottschalk talks with VIPs such as Renée Zellweger, Boris Becker or Angelina Jolie. A second area is reserved for the bets – for example, trying to recognize a camera by the sound of its shutter release. The third area is a show stage on which stars such as Elton John, Mick Jagger, Kylie Minogue or Ozzy Osbourne perform. For each of these acts Voss & Sollik create individual lighting designs, as well as program and operate the show’s lighting, all in coordination with the artists and client, ZDF.

MAC 550
Voss & Sollik have gathered together an effective team in shaping the lighting design for an impressive television studio illumination. Other essentials of the lighting design include the use of 32 MAC 2000 Wash, conventional lighting and video elements. Besides the show illumination, Voss & Sollik also handle the equipment and rigging, which comprises approximately 500 meters of truss with 80 motors.

But it is the MAC 550 that dominates. Manfred Voss comments, “We use 36 MAC 550s as floor lights, which are set up and removed again for each act. As the available changeover time is only ten minutes per act ("Wetten dass…?" is a live broadcast) we decided to use a lightweight and compact moving head. Another 104 MAC 550s are mounted on the rig, 48 of them on eight BGV-C1 electric chain hoists. Again, its low weight played an important role in the decision to go with the MAC 550. With the MAC 2000 our design wouldn’t have been possible because of its higher weight.

“For the projections we equipped each MAC 550 with four custom gobos. Unfortunately the Patrick Woodroffe gobo series, which has recently been introduced by Martin, is only available for the MAC 2000,” Manfred comments.

He continues, “The MAC 550 has a good cost-performance ratio, an attractive design – which is very important with TV productions if the fixture is visible on screen – and, as previously mentioned, its weight fits the requirements. In addition, the luminous intensity of a lighting fixture is of course crucial on TV productions.”

Voss & Sollik
Manfred Voss and Andreas Sollik founded Voss & Sollik in 1999 with an emphasis on planning, organization and design of stage and show productions, as well as presentations at trade fairs. Production management tasks include event planning, logistics, and design. Voss & Sollik’s client list encompasses event agencies, TV broadcasters and other relevant enterprises. Clients include Electronic Arts, Campbell’s/Erasco, Robinson Club, Cartier and Pioneer.