Linear LED lights from Element Labs outline X-Factor TV set

Nov. 25, 2004
Around 240 metres of Element Labs VersaTUBE linear LED effects fixtures have been used on the set of a leading UK TV show.
Supplied by Projected Image Digital to Creative Technology, the fixtures are used for the current series of ITV1's top-rated talent show, X-Factor, which is being recorded at Fountain TV Studios in Wembley, London.

The VersaTUBES are integral to the large set. They are used as decorative delineative edges for the main X centrepiece above centre stage; for another X shape built into the floor directly underneath the main overhead X, and for marking out the centre stage staircase.

The fixtures measure 1 metre in length, and contain 16 pixels, each made up of a red, a green and a blue LED. The fixtures have a brightness of 900 nits (cd/m2) and consume 28 W per metre.

With an IP65 rating and taking video input (DVI), the VersaTUBES are used to create incredibly complex and fast moving patterns and vibrant colours and effects.

They are also used statically, as neat, architectural outlining devices for the shapes and contours of the set. Furthermore, they provide a "livening up" effect for razzmatazz moments and up-tempo performances, while also being able to tie in with the show's moodier moments.

With the set being so vast and wide, the VersaTUBES also play an important linking role, uniting the four separate set-piece X shapes in the studio. Being placed in the air, on the ground and over the audience's heads, they're effectively the common denominator of the entire lighting rig.