Drag Race Belgique, a Belgian French-language reality television series based on the American series RuPaul’s Drag Race, has been using PROLIGHTS’ fixtures for their studio soft lighting.
The lighting was supplied by rental experts CST, where designer and DOP Nathan Melchior from RTBF (Belgium’s national TV) chose 14x PROLIGHTS EclPanel TWC and 12x EclPanel TWCJr with Chimera lanterns.
“My choice naturally fell on the PROLIGHTS EclPanel series. I placed EclPanel TWCJr with Chimera lanterns in a very symmetrical way to ensure good homogeneity of light and the same level on the whole surface of the set. The other panels were placed around the perimeter of the truss and were used to reinforce the various light axes.
When asked about the use of a real set instead of a virtual one, the choice was clear: “Drag Race is an existing format in the United States produced by World of Wonder Productions. To make our version of Drag Race Belgium we had to respect several specifications, and the real set was one of them. The intention was to create a cosy environment that represented the world of Drag Queens with different elements that evoked Belgium. Working with the director and set designers, the idea of mixing a real set with different materials and textures, as well as a variety of props and integrated lighting, seemed like the most believable way to immerse the Drag Queen and the viewers in this world.”
Nathan’s product preferences often include PROLIGHTS: “I’ve been working with PROLIGHTS and especially the EclPanels on various projects for years, and I’ve always been satisfied. If you analyse the relationship between efficiency, reliability and price, the choice becomes clear,” said Nathan, adding: “We would like to thank Christian Stenuit from CST Productions for supplying all PROLIGHTS’ EclPanels and accessories for this production. They were there with lights and knowhow and provided the technical knowledge to make it pop out!”
