Color Kinetics Showcase The X Factor

The US has the ever-popular American Idol, but in the UK The X Factor rules the entertainment air waves. With an estimated 10 million regular viewers, the talent search program is one of the UK’s top-watched entertainment shows. Its vibrant set combines several applications of LED technology to stellar effect – from the studio walls to the stage floor.

Designers Dave Davey and Christopher George conceptualized an LED floor that would generate dynamic effects to uniquely complement the action on stage. They chose Color Kinetics’ iColor® Tile FX, a 2 by 2 foot (61 by 61 cm) panel that encompasses 144 individually controllable tri-color LED nodes. Approximately 171 iColor Tile units were installed beneath the slightly frosted stage floor without a diffusing lens, making the LED-based points of light visible for crisp definition. Because each node in every tile is individually controllable, they are collectively capable of running sophisticated designs, patterns and video across the entire floor.

The set also features Soft-LED, a light drapery manufactured by Main Light Industries with Color Kinetics’ Chromasic® technology – the same custom-designed microchip that drives each LED node within iColor Tile. Six Soft-LED draperies wrap the entire back wall of the studio, each one measuring approximately 33 by 8 feet (10 by 2.5 meters).

Both the iColor Tile units and Soft-LED draperies are controlled by Color Kinetics’ Video System Manager, which allows them to receive video and digital images via Ethernet. A third-party video tool was used to generate the content and feed it to Video System Engine, the hardware device that streams video to iColor Tile and Soft-LED. All LED equipment was supplied by HSL Group in the UK.

“The extraordinary visual impact of Color Kinetics’ systems coupled with their ease of control and rugged, durable nature makes them an ideal solution for The X Factor set,” said lighting director Dave Davey. “LED technology allows a completely new level of creative flexibility in lighting design, and the saturated colors translate very effectively on camera.”

From decorative set lighting to video backdrops, Color Kinetics’ intelligent solid-state lighting technology makes it possible to dynamically tune sets and studio environments on the fly. The LED systems’ compact size and absence of heat allow versatility in positioning the systems on set, including the direct integration into set elements where the use of conventional lights is impractical… even under foot!