“L’eredità” (the inheritance) is a successful quiz show on Italian television channel RAI 1, in which competitors challenge each other in various games. Contestants who make a certain number of mistakes are eliminated, and consequently their opponents win the right to their part of the “inheritance” (hence the name of the programme).
The Director of Photography Vittorino Piccolo spoke to us about his lighting design: “The set is a sort of circular ‘canister’ consisting of strips of simple white plastic that house LED strips. They may also be illuminated by the studio lights. Since the show consists of six different games on a single set, the lights have to be used to try to differentiate as much as possible: my task is precisely to characterize the different sections of the game with various colour effects.”
The lights include Alpha Beam 700s, Alpha Profile 1200s, Alpha Wash 1200s, Alpha Spot 575s, CP Color MHs and Super Scan Zooms. Almost all the lighting equipment is Clay Paky: “I’ve insisted on Clay Paky for years, because they are extremely reliable lights, and the support service the company provides is priceless,” said Vittorino Piccolo, who also explained how the lighting effects were used: “The design entails a batten around the whole studio perimeter, fitted with washlights and scanners, while above the stage, right in the middle of the studio, there are beam shapers, spotlights and other washlights. The CP Color MHs are instead used to backlight the studio.”
Vittorino Piccolo also explained that the competitors are normally mainly lit with white light, but “when the tension is at its highest, I choose deep blue or red on them too: they are dark colours that amplify the atmosphere and isolate the contestants from the others.”
Among the best known characteristics of the programme are the use of a circular LED tile under the host’s desk and a high resolution LED table (3 mm pitch). These are especially picked out in shots from above with an agile Jimmy-jib.
The programme is directed by Maurizio Pagnussat, and the renewed set is designed by Riccardo Bocchini. “L’eredità” is produced by Rai 1 in collaboration with Magnolia S.p.A. and is designed by Carlo Conti himself with Mario D’Amico, Emanuele Giovannini, Umberto Sebastiano and Leopoldo Siano. Claudio Salvapicchio is the lighting operator.