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Manfred Ollie Olma, CEO and founder of Cologne based mo2 design, cut his teeth touring with rock legends like The Scorpions, AC / DC and Led Zeppelin … when computer-controlled lighting technology was still a mere vision to a few ‘out-of-the-box’ thinkers, imagineers and innovators.
Today mo2 design is one of Germany’s foremost lighting and design solution practices, known for its invention, imagination and lateral approach to any project.
mo2 design has built up a formidable reputation for solving complex lighting problems especially in the television environment – whether it’s for assorted TV shows, stadium lighting for a German comedy or the sports broadcast lighting elements of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, mo2 offers lots of varied experience and expertise gleaned from an extensive array of dynamic lighting projects.
Recently, mo2 design has set standards for others to follow with pioneering planning and specification of lighting in high profile TV studios utilizing LED technology, in the process, taking the whole concept of ‘good light quality’ to new international standards.
With this in mind, Robe’s proactive reporting team from Germany asked Manfred Ollie Olma about his first impressions of their new flagship "BMFL Spot" product.
Robe: As one of the first companies worldwide to use moving lights in television not only to light the stage action but also the audience and public areas .. when did this transition start happening … and what experiences could you gain from it?
Manfred Ollie Olma, mo2: It started in the mid-80s with the first moving wash lights coming to the market which began a trend … which continues to this day!
In 1997, the first TV show I lit with moving lights was “Bitte Lächeln” (Please Smile) for RTL 2 which was completely revolutionary at the time.
For about five years until now, we’ve preferred multifunctional solutions for TV lighting scenarios as that gives both more flexibility and control. To date, relatively few types of lamps have been able to provide a sufficiently good ‘quality’ of light to be used exclusively in TV environments.
Robe: Where is moving light technology today in relation to a studio environment ? How does mo2 see the design developments of recent years - and where might these lead?
Manfred Ollie Olma, mo2: In the last two years, we have seen a trend among manufacturers that is looking more at improving the specific ‘quality’ of the light output rather than extreme brightness or multiple features on a fixture.
For studio applications, this is a good development. We have now designed and specified several studio lighting schemes with moving lights: Phönixhof in Hamburg, for example, where we utilized Robe’s ColorWash 750 AT Tungsten.
In more recent projects, we used a special version of Robe’s Robin LEDWash 800 SmartWhite luminaire for people in the new Al Jazeera studio in London.
In general, moving lights are being increasingly used in studios. As we say … If the quality of light is comparable with fresnels or other ‘standard’ conventional lights, the additional functions of an intelligent lamp … are just too tempting for us not to make that choice.
Robe: Where - within the above described development – does Robe’s BMFL range fit? What impressions did you glean during the recent production of the MBE end of year show?
Manfred Ollie Olma, mo2: We find the BMFL really good. It is suitable to studio environments due to its substantial output and in particular for larger studios and indoor shows – and also for OBs and outdoor projects.
The BMFL’s quality of light is very impressive – and that’s increasingly important as I mentioned before! In addition to that, its many dynamic features are really good fun to use! We think the BMFL is a huge step forward in the right direction for Robe.
Robe: What and how does the BMFL compare to other lamps ‘latest generation’ lightsources ?
Manfred Ollie Olma, mo2: No comment !!!! (he laughs).
Not wanting to be drawn by such a leading question, but he does say:
A comparison is really difficult … not just because of the different performance characteristics of the various fixtures … but also because of the different target user groups, which strongly influence the design of a light, so making a comment based on this exact question …. would be hard at the moment!
Photo Credit: Philipp Klak
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