Robe for Qingdao, China TV Station

New Robe moving-lights have been installed into Studio 6 of the Qingdao TV Station in China, which broadcasts six regional channels throughout the Shangdong area.

The new fixtures are part of a recent lighting upgrade, and were specified by Studio 6's lighting designer Liu Zheng Mao and his team, and supplied via Robe's Chinese distributor, Leafun (formally known as Leifull).

The ten ColorSpot 1200E ATs, 10 ColorWash 1200E ATs, and four ColorWash 575 ATs were chosen for their functionality and reliability. It's a multi-purpose studio, hosting a wide variety of shows, so all lighting has to be as flexible as possible to cater for the different requirements of anything from a documentary to a music show.

The studio had originally invested in Robe ColorSpots in 2005. These are still going strong and have been worked extremely hard over that time, so the decision was made hat Robe was the best choice again because of its proven reliability.

Zheng Mao is also the main lighting programmer for the 4,305-sq.-ft studio. With a decent headroom of up to 36', it's a good space in which to be creative, and the new moving lights will give him a lot more scope. The Robes are rigged on the studio's overhead bars, which cover the whole roof space and can be moved and deployed to wherever they are needed.

Zheng Mao likes the gobo selection, the zoom range and the general versatility of the 1200 units. "With this rig I can now light every scenario I need to in the studio. It opens up many more possibilities and makes the task of lighting a show so much faster and easier," he comments, adding that he's delighted with the new fixtures, and that you can do so much with a smaller number of well featured lights and clever programming.

The programs made in Studio 6 range include Go a lifestyle, tourism, fashion, entertainment, and current affairs series which also includes interviews and panels of commentators. Another regular is Poker Hero, a series for those serious about poker.

Other lighting in the studio includes a full set of white lights and numerous LED fixtures, all of which, together with the Robes, are controlled by an Avolites Pearl 2008 console.