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Astera selected for ‘Love Island France’ filming in South Africa

South African rental and technical production company Blond Productions invested in its first Astera products - Titan Tubes and AX3 Lightdrops - for the first series of reality dating show ‘Love Island France’. This was filmed earlier in the year at a luxury villa in Elgin Valley, on the banks of the Palmiet River - and with its own private lake - about an hour’s drive from Cape Town.

Paris-based director of photography (DOP) Florian Sinopoli last year also lit ‘Celebrity Love Island’ in South Africa for producers ITV Studios. He initially specified the Asteras, which were supplied by Johannesburg-based distributor for Southern Africa, DWR, and delivered straight to site in Cape town.

There were specific areas like the swimming pool, lake and the gardens that needed special lighting to ensure they looked their best on camera. In fact, around 50% of the lighting in the house was sourced from standard commercial retail outlets, and the rest was created using conventional film and TV lighting fixtures and treatments.

Sinopoli spent three weeks on the ‘Love Island France’ set preparing all the lighting before departing back to France to work on another show. Immediately before ‘Love Island’ started, he was working on a show using around 70 Astera Titan Tubes. Looking after lighting in the ‘Love Island’ villa after Sinopoli left were gaffer Eldridge Jacobs and Blond’s own gaffer David Nhlanhla, who worked with a crew of four lighting technicians from Blond.

They used the AX3s during night shoots for highlighting plants and foliage in the background and for picking out some more detailed architectural features around the house and its outside areas. As it turned out, with the sudden spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, filming had to be cut short. They shot a special finale episode just before the lockdown was imposed.

(Photos: Blond Productions)

www.astera-led.com

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