Michigan lottery show makes millionaires

It’s not often that Chicago Scenic helps make millionaires, but when the Michigan State Lottery needed a new set for their “Make Me Rich” quarterly television game show, Chicago Scenic was happy to help.

The new set was designed by John Giles of Reunion Design for Producer Russell Best of Brave Street Productions, Inc. Chicago Scenic’s Senior Project Manager Gary Heitz oversaw the variety of scenic elements that the Lottery set required, including a life-sized, 11-foot tall bank vault. The vault’s eight-inch thick realistic door, featuring a gigantic combination lock, was double-hinged so it could fully open and support the door’s substantial weight. The vault was the key focal point of the show; audience members and contestants were told that the vault housed the million dollars that contestants were vying to win.

Chicago Scenic also built the main “dog bone” shaped contestant platform. Contestants stood in the railed, circular platforms at either end during the game. A series of light boxes connected the two platforms and lit up individually.

“Make Me Rich” also featured the “Grand Prix” platform, part of which supported the 3,400-pound Ford Mustang that one lucky contestant took home. A series of individual light boxes formed a path to the car’s platform, and as contestants answered questions correctly, they proceeded to the next lighted square.

In addition, Chicago Scenic built a set of “floating walls” that concealed the cameras shooting through the open spaces between the wall segments. Chicago Scenic also built the 12” x 16” projection screen surround used during the show.

Since “Make Me Rich” has been a hit among Michigan viewers, The Lottery wanted to test a new pilot, “Face the Music”. To maximize their budget, the individual circular platforms used on the “Make Me Rich” show as contestant platforms were built to detach and were then re-purposed for the pilot. Show producers hope the show will pick up sponsorship and be taped quarterly, as “Make Me Rich” is.

Chicago Scenic also built four “sound proof” booths for the pilot. Each circular booth was enclosed on three sides; the fourth side featured a curved door with an acrylic window. Each booth’s exterior featured three bands of LED lights and spelled out each contestant’s name in lights. As part of the game show’s contestant “reveal”, the booths were placed on one of Chicago Scenic’s 18-foot rental turntables. Chicago Scenic lead Jeff Matteson used manual controls to automate the turntable, and rotated the contestants to reveal them to the studio and viewing audience.

During set-up and tear down on site at the Farmington Hills studio, Matteson worked with a local crew of ten. It was a challenging project, he said, because of its compressed time frame. Start to finish, the entire project was completed in about a month. “Onsite, we finished the four to five day project in two days,” he said.

The Lottery shows, which featured former “Brady Bunch” TV star Christopher Knight, awarded $4 million to three winners.

Big 10 Network’s update includes 103” plasma screen; results are versatile and economical

Summer was still in full swing when Big 10 Network Studio staff members first met with Chicago Scenic to discuss possibilities for updating their Studio in time for the college football season kickoff.

The first part of this update centered around safely and securely installing the show’s new 103-inch plasma screen. “Weighing in at about 500 pounds, this was no small feat,” recalls Tom Ryan, Chicago Scenic’s Design Manager.

The Chicago Scenic team built an I-beam “goal post” structure that they bolted to the set and the floor, safely securing the screen in an existing opening. Since the screen was smaller than the existing opening, however, Ryan’s redesign needed to accommodate the extra space.

Ryan designed a Plexiglas and LED system panel that adds color and visual interest to the set. The system plugs into the Studio’s control board, so it’s also easy and effortless to update the set’s look by changing the LED colors and light patterns, matching or contrasting show graphics.

While CSSI was finishing this phase of the Studio update, a new Big 10 Network Director, Mark Halsey, joined the staff and was interested in implementing additional Studio changes.

At Ryan’s suggestion, CSSI added light boxes and hinged frames to hold a variety of ever-changing graphics behind pegged off frosted plexi surrounds to each side of the main anchor desk, bringing additional light and color to the set and providing another option for making quick set changes.

“By designing the panels the way we did,” Ryan said, “the Studio staff can switch out graphics during a commercial break, providing an instant update to the show in a matter of minutes.”

The Studio crew also wanted to be able to widen their camera shots, but an existing door and column at the back of the set were problematic. Chicago Scenic suggested lengthening a back studio wall by adding a four-foot “wild wall”, hinged like a giant door. This solution enables the wider camera angle and still provides accessibility to the studio.

The third Studio update included reimagining the set’s side anchor desk in front of the new 103-inch monitor. To create a more informal broadcast environment and meet the variety of formats required by the many different shows using the Studios, Chicago Scenic designed a “coffee table” to replace the standard Studio anchor desk. The Network wanted the “coffee table” to be used in a low look with talent or guests seated in club chairs, and also in a taller look, with talent standing or seated on high stools.

Outfitted with embedded TV monitors and a front panel light box, the contemporary look of the coffee table met the set’s practical needs and created a strong focal point.

To create the versatility that the taller show formats required, CSSI staff built an 18-inch platform. When the coffee table rests upon the platform, it becomes a 38-inch desk.
The result is an economical way to add another fresh look to the Studio at minimum cost and disruption.

If you’re a cable customer and have access to the Big Ten Network (BTN) channel, be sure to tune in to see the channel’s many shows and formats. Check your local cable listing for location.

Oprah brings outstanding 24th season kickoff to crowd of 20,000; closes Magnificent Mile

Chicago Scenic was pleased to be part of Oprah’s 24th Season Kickoff Party which took place in early September in Chicago.

The spectacular focal point of the Oprah celebration, which closed part of Chicago’s “Magnificent Mile” for two-and-a-half days, was the larger-than-life stage created from vast inventory of Chicago Scenic’s Steeldeck™ staging units.

The Chicago Scenic and Harpo Productions teams worked non-stop from Midnight on Labor Day through 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday, installing – and then dismantling - the event’s stages, control decks, LED video walls, camera and jib platforms and affiliate, and press risers. CSSI also used its low profile casters to make the multiple 8” high rolling Steeldeck™ band platforms.

CSSI provided approximately 80 local Union crew members who worked side by side with the Harpo Productions staff and crew to provide lighting, audio, projection, loading and rigging for the memorable event.

James Taylor, the Black Eyed Peas and Rascal Flatts performed onstage to warm-up the crowd of 20,000. The show’s other guests included illusionist Criss Angel and singer and Chicago native Jennifer Hudson.

Senior project manager Gary Heitz, who oversaw this project, has overseen multiple Harpo Production projects, including her 2009 Washington, D.C. inauguration show, remote broadcasts in New York and Macon, Georgia, and the show’s extensive set redesign in 2005.