Robe Provides a Splendit Solution for Normal People

	Normal People with Robe luminaires

Splendit is a Belgian lighting and sound rental company based in Liedekerke and headed by Marijn Broeckaert, who has a great passion for the industry and is also a lighting designer / programmer in his own right.

He formed the company in 2007 with what he describes as the ambition of becoming a premium equipment supplier to top-end professional production markets, offering the highest standards of excellence.

Splendit has built a reputation for servicing some of the leading TV shows and lighting designers. In the last years Broeckaert also consciously made the decision to start investing in Robe moving lights to further service his clients.

The Robes have all been delivered by Robe's Benelux distributors Controllux, whose Bram de Clerk coordinated the deal and pulled out all the stops to ensure that the first purchase of 36 LEDWash 300s were delivered just two weeks later as they were required for a show.

"I was really impressed with the speed and smoothness of the delivery," comments Broeckaert. The units went straight on to De Neus van Pinokkio (The Nose of Pinocchio), a TV show lit by Michiel Milbou, one of the country's TV lighting designers.

Splendit's purchases -- they also provide audio -- and what resides in their rental stock has always been driven by what is being requested by lighting and visual designers, production designers, etc., and the initial LEDWash 300s were soon followed by a second purchase, boosting the current count to 52.

More recently, Broeckaert added the first 14 of Robe's successful multi-purpose Pointes to the rental inventory, also because they are in demand. "Basically if people are asking for something ... I will buy it," he comments.

On Robe generally he says, "The products are very well engineered and definitely seem to be the most popular moving lights in the country for a whole range of shows at the moment. They are extremely reliable which is always great news for any rental company!"

He mentions that the LEDWash 300 is a very well designed unit and easy to access should the need arise.

Normal People was a recent production utilizing Splendit's 52 LEDWash 300s, a brand new entertainment concept that sees celebrity teams being tested and assessed on their "normality."

It was recorded in Video House Studios, Vilvoorde outside Brussels, was also lit by Milbou, and has just started airing on national channel EEN.

The LEDWash 300s were all rigged in the roof of the studio and used to illuminate the set which featured numerous elaborate props, each of which was lit in different variations of white -- warm white, cold white, green tinted white, etc., another area in which Robe's LEDWash series excels. Treating the props in this way really added depth and definition to the set on camera, heightening its distinctive look and quirky feel.

A couple of months earlier, Luc Peumans of Painting With Light used 32 of Splendit's LEDWashes and 14 Robe Pointe's on music quiz TV show Oh La La La.

Broeckaert also still actively designs and operates lighting for bands -- which is how he started -- as well as supplying the kit -- and often uses his Robes on these shows.

Being a small company Splendit can be agile and make quick decisions, and another reason contributing to their success has been Broeckaert's decision to stay "at the sharp end of the business" and purchase quality brands. In turn, the company says, this feeling of specialness and attention to detail is passed on to all clients.