Matt:
Hello, and welcome to the show supported by Mediaproxy. Today we’re speaking to a new company to KitPlusTV. And although in our virtual studio, we do have control of the light coming through our window, they offer solutions that many will find very useful indeed.
Simon:
Yes. So, today we’d like to welcome Rick Smith from Broadcast Blinds. Hi, Rick. Welcome to the show.
Rick Smith:
Hi guys, how are you today?
Simon:
We’re good. And thanks for joining us. So, Rick, you are new to us, as Matt said, and possibly new to many of the people watching this. So, tell us a little bit about Broadcast Blinds and what you do.
Rick Smith:
Well, we’ve been around for about 20 years, and what we do is we help control the amount of daylight coming in from exterior windows and studios. Well, it sounds to me like you guys are in London. Are you close?
Matt:
Not far away.
Simon:
You’re pretty close.
Rick Smith:
Okay. So, over there, I believe Bloomberg has done something like that. And over here, we work with people like Fox News and Good Morning America, sometimes ESPN, to control the amount of daylight coming into the studio so that the talent looks good on camera and the background outside looks good on camera at the same time.
Matt:
So, how does it work? Are you actually fitting physical blinds? What is the product?
Rick Smith:
Well, they are actually physical blinds. We use a combination of scrims and gels in order to allow a neutral density f-stops ranging from one stop to as many as… I think the largest we’ve done is probably 11 or 12 f-stops reduction of light, which really allows you to light your talent properly, but still, in a setting like Dubai, for instance, allows you to see what’s outside. Or in Iraq, for that matter, where it’s incredibly bright outside.
Simon:
In London, for example, you can have four seasons in one day. How do you deal with the changing light conditions? And also, of course, as it gets either lighter or darker at night or in the morning?
Rick Smith:
Well, great question. We generally automate what we do. It’s generally controlled from the lighting console so that your lighting director, as the conditions change during the day, can bring in different levels of density.
Rick Smith:
And we generally make them, so they’re stackable. Most typically, we’ll have one or two scrims and then two or three gels behind them. So, you can stack the gels and use one scrim with them in order to add it up, if you will.
Rick Smith:
For instance, if you use a 2-stop scrim and a 1-stop gel, you’ve got 3-f-stop reduction. Switch that 1-stop gel out and you’ve got 2-stop reduction. Bring in a 2-stop gel and you’ve got 4. And add the 1-stop back, and you’re up to 5. So, it’s just a matter of how we layer them to make sense for a particular location.
Matt:
And I understand you’ve got some pretty high-profile installations. We call them case studies for the sake of the conversation. Give us a clue of what you’ve done, some of the bigger projects, the 12-stop project, for example, maybe.
Rick Smith:
Well, okay. So, that was actually in Iraq and Kurdistan for the Rudaw Network. They’ve got a studio there, which is windows on two entire sides, overlooking the Hills around Sulaymaniyah. So, over there, view it during the day without our system in place, really, it just looks like it’s a blaze of light. It might as well be a dust storm, to tell you the truth. So, as we bring our levels of control in, you can actually see what’s out there.
Rick Smith:
Similarly, a project in Dubai which has a similar situation. It’s not quite as bright there, but still, it’s bright all day. And again, they need multiple levels of stop, and we’re also going to be adding some blackout shades there in the next month or two for additional masking so that we can control the amount of light that comes across the floor based on the position of the sun.
Matt:
And when we say (cause obviously, it’s controlled by the light panel) it’s a physical installation that goes up on the window, what is it on? A motor? Roller? How does it…?
Rick Smith:
It’s multiple motors and multiple rollers. We include light blocking for the edges, because, obviously, if we have light creeping in, it would be like a blaze of a gunshot coming in. It’s just terrible. And that’s generally hidden by set pieces.
Rick Smith:
But sometimes, it just looks like structural, custom-coloured, if necessary, to match whatever’s going on in the building. I mean, to us, it’s relatively simple. To everybody else, it seems to be pretty complex.
Matt:
So, because blinds are very good at reducing the light, do you do anything else? Have you got any other products to do with windows?
Rick Smith:
Well, something we’ve done recently, in fact, for CNBC in New York was they needed a green screen for purposes of their particular set, and on occasion, we’d add a layer of green screen in at the windows to give extra utility to that space. It just helps them utilize the space more effectively.
Simon:
Absolutely. Well, hopefully, Rick, the cutaways and the video we’ve been showing as we’ve been chatting will help explain it and actually visualize it to people watching this, so they can see what it is.
Simon:
Thank you very much for joining us today. It’s been really interesting. And do check out all of the solutions they can offer at broadcastblinds.com. Thanks to Mediaproxy for their support of KitPlusTV. And thank you for watching. We’ll see you next time.
Rick Smith:
See you guys.