Painting with Light, a lighting and multimedia expert, has provided lighting & video design and lighting control for the 2020 Belgian edition of the popular game show, Wheel of Fortune.
Painting with Light is pleased to announce that it has created and installed the lighting and video design for ‘Het Rad van Fortuin’ – the Belgian edition of the quiz show Wheel of Fortune. The show is now being broadcast every day on VIER.
The company worked alongside set designers Deusjevoo to develop a new creative concept for the show in just six weeks. The final project features a lot of inbuilt custom LED lighting, and in addition to this, the wheel lighting and audio trigger were transformed with a new design. The result is a modern adaptation that takes inspiration from the classic Wheel of Fortune style book.
Wheel of Fortune
The iconic quiz show has been enjoyed around the world since it first began in the US in 1975. Contestants on the show compete for prizes by solving word puzzles, spinning the giant 3-metre carnival wheel to reveal which prizes or cash amounts that they have won.
This new season in Belgium is produced by SBS and combines the homey, classic design with a fresh new look. Painting with Light’s “theatrical approach” to this project involved creating several appealing visual ‘big pictures’ that stood out on their own whilst encompassing the overall cosiness.
Key visual focal points include the iconic LED puzzle board where players solve puzzles, as well as the famous wheel itself. Contestants sit on banquette seating around the wheel, with a socially distanced audience behind them. There are also three round shop areas where the prizes are displayed. These shops feature swirling curtains which absorb and reflect light, showing the prizes to the best effect.
Lighting design
For a classy feel, the set is edged in pixel controllable LED lighting in strategic places, such as the stairs, the contestants seating, and the wheel, which is packed with RGB and white LED light sources.
The company also created a laser proximity sensor system that connects the wheel’s 72 handles to MIDI notes, triggering cues on the lighting and audio consoles to power multiple visual and audio effects. The lighting effects for the wheel are designed to ramp up viewer excitement, varying according to speed and position. It also provides data on how much the wheel was spun per episode.
The project includes many light strips, rings and spots which light the wheel, walls, shop, floor, clothing, puzzle board and panels. These follow a predefined matrix for lighting angles, backlighting and brightness and allow the atmosphere to be changed by applying warmer or brighter light and specific colours.
Luc Peumans, CEO, Painting with Light, says: “Our team was very pleased with this project as there are many others cancelled or on hold in the events industry due to the coronavirus. Yet it was still a major challenge to amass all the equipment and particularly the scenic and custom assets with stages of the lockdown still ongoing and so many companies having furloughed employees and running part-time with a ‘skeleton’ staff.
“We are very pleased to have pulled it off in a short period, together with our valued partners, and contribute to a great entertaining show for many to enjoy during their staycation.”
Painting with Light also recently announced the launch of its new Virtual Event Studio, now ready for staging dynamic virtual live events at its Genk headquarters.
