Companhia de Luz Invests in Robe

	Photo: Marcos Hermes, courtesy Companhia de Luz

The Rio de Janeiro-based rental and production company Companhia de Luz, headed by lighting designer/DP Arthur Farinon has invested steadily in Robe moving lights for some years, starting with LEDWash 600s over ten years ago, which they needed at the time to service both live and television projects. They have since been added to with LEDWash 1200s, LEDBeam 150s, Pointes, BMFLS, RoboSpots, and most recently, iFORTES.

The decision to keep investing in Robe has been fuelled by the products being "consistently innovative, very reliable, robust and extremely well engineered -- they are great tools for anyone involved in creative lighting," Farinon comments.

Farinon has worked extensively as a programmer for other lighting designers over the years, and one of his first big design breaks was working for singer/songwriter Milton Nascimento, with whom he worked for ten years.

Companhia de Luz supplies lighting across a wide spectrum of sectors -- television, live events, concert touring -- and is also a technical service for several key venues.

Its TV work includes premium clients like Brazilian free-to-air network TV Globo, which has a huge studio complex in Rio, for which Companhia de Luz supplies both effects and scenic lighting for a range of shows, including Big Brother and The Voice. Around 40 Companhia de Luz staff are dedicated just to coordinating and working with Globo.

"In addition to the fixtures all having excellent and flexible feature sets, Robe is a very well-respected brand, and everyone is happy to work with it here," says Farinon, referring to the many other LDs and DoPs with whom the company collaborates.

He feels RoboSpots are also a "game-changer." The company currently has four RoboSpot systems and was the first in the country with this technology. "RoboSpot is another incredible tool from Robe that can make an enormous difference to how so many productions are lit, both live and TV, and make life easier and safer for the crew," he says.

Farinon thinks the iFORTE is "amazing" for its brightness, high CRI, flat beam field, and other qualities that make it stand out.

He comments that as a brand, Robe is "always innovating and bringing fresh ideas to the table, which in turn provide new options for designers and productions. It's clear that Robe invests seriously in new technologies that are available for everyone's benefit," he notes.

Farinon loves the fact that lighting can enhance and affect emotion so dramatically when used imaginatively, and when used in that context, describes it as "a powerful and beautiful art."

Companhia de Luz retains its family atmosphere. Many of Brazil's new generation of lighting professionals will start their career there, "and we are very proud and happy to sustain this process and be part of this incredible community, ensuring that the knowledge and expertise we are gaining all the time...is shared and valued," Farinon concludes.