The Voice Thailand shines with zactrack

For The Voice Thailand 2024, the lighting team leveraged the zactrack SMART automated tracking system to ensure performers were consistently kept in the spotlight—providing reliable support to the show's production week after week.

Lighting designer Ryan Attig turned to zactrack for the 9th season of The Voice Thailand, aiming to enhance lighting precision and impact during the show's highly popular live broadcasts. Photo © Aofotwo Photography / L&E Beyond

Produced by Exit 365 and co-produced by Lighting and Equipment, The Voice Thailand is the country’s version of the famous singing competition, a format known across the world from its various regional productions. It features a vast array of high-energy visual delights, from celebrity judges’ performances to the iconic blind audition rounds and the various knockouts and finals.

SMART Tracking meets showtech

Responsible for creating the 9th season’s multiple looks was lighting designer Ryan Attig, whose varied résumé includes work in broadcast, live music, and opera. Joining him as co-designer was Arunroj Thomma, his colleague from the lighting design company Lightist. They also received specialist support from Total Solution Marketing (TSM), the zactrack system supplier and the manufacturer’s distributor for Thailand.

Once Ryan had set up the zactrack system for this fast-paced shooting schedule, it was looked after by Wichayapol Chansam, a member of the team from Lighting and Equipment Public Company Limited, provider of lighting, audio, and video for the production.

TSM first introduced the briefcase-sized zactrack mini to the show’s lighting team, who were happy to integrate it into their workflow. However, after trials, the team switched to the zactrack SMART system—a larger setup that provides wider coverage for the performer-worn trackers, additional anchor receivers, and the capability to track movement along the Z-axis (height).

The Voice Thailand’s Co-executive producer Arocha Kittivittayakul chose zactrack after noticing the system’s capabilities. She comments, “The choice of equipment is a critical factor in creating content that stands out. zactrack greatly improved the precision of our lighting scenes—for example, during the buildup before a song, where the lighting needed to create tension, or even when performers were moving around during a dynamic segment.”

Arunroj on zactrack’s impact in The Voice Thailand

Arunroj points to the positive impact the zactrack system had on streamlining the technical process: “zactrack works for us because it reduces the burden on communication between the followspot operator and the LD. It is both accurate and easy to control with the lighting console. Integrating zactrack with our regular workflow was straightforward and involved no extra work for us—in fact it improved our workflow: it’s easier when we don’t have to communicate with spot operators.”

In the 9th season of The Voice Thailand, zactrack played a key role—not just as a technical solution, but as a creative enabler that helped the production team craft standout live content. Photo © Aofotwo Photography / L&E Beyond

zactrack uses ultra-wideband radio technology to send a tracker’s position to the anchors. To keep the signal strong at all times, the team carefully planned the placement of anchors around the stage. The performers wore small, discreet clip-on trackers, which were often attached to the back of their costumes so that each tracker stayed within range of at least four anchor receivers during their movements. The anchors connected to the system’s central server, which then sent information to the grandMA3 lighting console via sACN.

The tight studio environment placed limitations on throw and angle, but zactrack delivered peace of mind, offering direct control of brightness, colour temperature, focus, and beam edges. Arunroj says, “It’s a very effective system because we can easily balance the follow light from the console, reducing the risk of miscommunication or any human error. Using moving lights as followspots, we can program colour, size, gobo, and which singer the light should follow into the cue—and it cannot go wrong!”

zactrack proves vital for concert lighting

The experience has been positive for all involved, and Arunroj believes there are many more opportunities to come. She says, “The Voice is like a mini concert: I would like to use zactrack in a bigger production because I believe it would improve the lighting scenes. In a big concert arena, the followspots are often far away from the stage, so there’s a risk of lighting other objects behind the target that you don’t want to hit. This is especially so when it’s not just a concert but also has a wider ‘show’ element. For example, the show director needs to light a small spot on the stage, but the followspot might spill the light.”

In such environments, the ability of zactrack to pinpoint a target’s location in 3D space with an accuracy of +/- 5 cm is an attractive feature. “With zactrack,” Arunroj continues, “we can accurately use moving lights which are easy to control and can easily be installed in the correct position. Also, we can use it to highlight the singer from the back.”

Arocha Kittivittayakul adds, “It also proved invaluable at moments when the performers were still, such as during a conversation. The use of this tracking technology allowed for smoother scene transitions, creating a significant impact on the lighting design and enhancing the overall visual experience.”

Summing up, Ryan comments, “What stands out for us is the accuracy and speed of zactrack and the ability it gives us to freely control moving lights as powerful followspots.”

Klick here to read the original article by Total Solution Marketing.