Film shoot

The challenge

Professional film lighting

Whenever support is required for film productions, Prangl is always ready to help with expertise and practical solutions. The yellow experts are highly experienced in this field. In this case, as on many previous occasions, aerial work platforms were required to position the lighting for a film scene in an international film production. The location: Vienna’s Karlskirche.

Our solution

Special swivel fork carriage

The client was a Vienna-based lighting specialist responsible for the lighting rig. A company with which Prangl has enjoyed a long and successful partnership. For this assignment, however, Prangl had something new to offer: innovative equipment for the telehandlers designed to make the lighting technicians’ work easier. The solution was a special swivel fork carriage that allows the fork tines to rotate 360° in a full circle. The lighting specialists were able to see the advantages of this swivel fork carriage – presented for the first time in Austria by Prangl – during a demonstration at Prangl’s headquarters.

Telehandlers

At the start of filming, three telehandlers were positioned behind the Karlskirche. They offered maximum lifting heights between 22 and 30 metres, outreach ranging from 18.0 to 25.7 metres, and a maximum lifting capacity of six tonnes. To prevent any damage in advance, kerb ramps and plastic ground protection mats were used to protect kerb edges and surfaces. The stabilisers were used to compensate for the different ground levels. In addition, a telescopic boom lift with a maximum working height of 34 metres was used in areas where lifting capacity and flexibility requirements were lower.

20-metre working height

The telehandlers – two equipped with the new swivel fork carriage and one fitted with a work platform basket – were positioned outside the church. From there, they illuminated the film scene inside the church through the windows at a height of around 20 metres. Both solutions allowed the lighting to be aligned perfectly. Large blackout coverings were also used in some areas to prevent unwanted sunlight from entering. This ensured that the lighting inside the church remained consistent – even as outdoor lighting conditions changed throughout the day.

Technical standby

Thanks to their extensive experience with Prangl aerial work platforms, the lighting technicians were able to operate the machines themselves without difficulty. Nevertheless, technical standby support was available to ensure the best possible service availability from Prangl mechanics, even outside normal operating hours. Thanks to the well-coordinated collaboration between the lighting team and the Prangl team, everything ran perfectly. All scenes were perfectly lit and successfully captured by the end of filming.