Maxedia Digital Graphics For Swedish TV’s “Idol 2004”

As testament to the success of the “Pop Idol” reality concept, Sweden was the 30th country to sign up for its own local version of the wildly successful show. “Idol 2004” airs on Swedish television channel TV4 in primetime every Friday night, offering those who dream of fame a chance at pop stardom.

A show like “Idols” relies on a considerable amount of high tech lighting and graphics as accompaniment to the budding stars. Martin’s new digital media composer, Maxedia, is used to provide visual support, along with a smattering of other Martin gear including the MAC 550, modified MAC 600 washlights, and MAC 2000 Performance and Profile. LED and other automated lighting is also used. All lighting gear was supplied by PROCON of Sweden through Martin Scandinavia.

PROCON’s Henrik Rydell completed the Maxedia programming while Viktor Fabricius handles the weekly operation. “The Maxedia has been working very well during the show,” Henrik comments. "We use it throughout the program to project different color graphics onto 10 Plasma screens and one big projection screen. The graphics we use came with the Maxedia and we shift them fairly often depending on the color of the lighting.”

Viktor Fabricius, whose customary job is that of cameraman, went through a crash course in how to operate the Maxedia. “To get Viktor started operating on the Maxedia took only a few minutes,” Henrik states. “He almost did it by himself. It’s simple to understand, and fast and easy to get started. It´s also easy to hook up with the lighting controller.” Initially, the Maxedia’s graphical effects were operated through the lighting desk but are now handled directly from the Maxedia.

“We used another media server before and wanted to try something new,” Henrik adds. “We have a good relationship with Martin Scandinavia who supplied the Maxedia for the “Idols” show. It was a good tryout and we are grateful to have access to the system to see how it works. The support by Martin Scandinavia has been excellent. They have really helped us out and even flew over to lend support.” 

Henrik concludes, “The MAC 550 was also a new, great experience for us. The MAC 500 has been around now for a number of years and we were really impressed about how great the 550 version is. The output is just awesome for just a 400W bulb!”

Crew:
Lighting Design: Per Ax
Lighting Operator: Per Ax, Peter Lycke
Maxedia Programmer, Technician: Henrik Rydell
Maxedia Operator: Viktor Fabricius
Dimmers: Christoffer Engström
Followspot Operator: Per Arne “PA” Grönblad