Splendit is a Belgian lighting and
sound rental company based in Liedekerke and headed by Marijn Broeckaert, who
has a great passion for the industry and is also an LD / programmer in his own
right.
He formed the company in 2007 with
the ambition of becoming a premium equipment supplier to top-end professional
production markets, offering the highest standards of excellence.
Splendit has built up a great
reputation for servicing some of the leading TV shows and lighting designers.
In the last years Marijn also consciously made the decision to start investing
in Robe moving lights to further service his clients.
The Robes have all been delivered by
Robe’s Benelux distributors Controllux, whose Bram de Clerk co-ordinated the
deal and pulled out all the stops to ensure that the first purchase of 36 x
LEDWash 300s were delivered just two weeks later as they were required for a
show.
“I was really impressed with the
speed and smoothness of the delivery,” comments Marijn. The units went straight
on to “De Neus van Pinokkio” (The Nose of Pinocchio), a TV show lit by Michiel
Milbou, one of the country’s leading TV lighting designers.
Splendit’s purchases – they also
provide audio – and what resides in their rental stock has always been driven
by what is being requested by lighting and visual designers, DoPs, etc., and
the initial LEDWash 300s were soon followed by a second purchase, boosting the
current count to 52.
More recently, Marijn added the first
14 of Robe’s hugely successful multi-purpose Pointes to the rental inventory,
also because they are in demand. “Basically if people are asking for something
… I will buy it,” he comments.
On Robe generally he says, “The
products are very well engineered and definitely seem to be the most popular
moving lights in the country for a whole range of shows at the moment. They are
extremely reliable which is always great news for any rental company!”
He mentions that the LEDWash 300 is a
very well designed unit and easy to access should the need arise!
‘Normal People’ was a recent
production utilising Splendit’s 52 x LEDWash 300s, a brand new entertainment
concept that sees celebrity teams being tested and assessed on their
‘normality’!
It was recorded in Video House
Studios, Vilvoorde outside Brussels, was also lit by Michiel Milbou and has
just started airing on national channel EEN.
The LEDWash 300s were all rigged in
the roof of the studio and used to illuminate the set which featured numerous
elaborate props, each of which was lit in different variations of white – warm
white, cold white, green tinted white, etc., another area in which Robe’s
LEDWash series excels. Treating the props in this way really added depth and
definition to the set on camera, heightening its distinctive look and quirky
feel.
A couple of months earlier, Luc
Peumans of Painting With Light used 32 of Splendit’s LEDWashes and 14 Robe
Pointe’s on music quiz TV show “Oh La La La”.
Marijn also still actively designs
and operates lighting for bands – which is how he started – as well as
supplying the kit – and often uses his Robes on these shows.
Being a small company Splendit can be
agile and make quick decisions, and another reason contributing to their
success has been Marijn’s decision – as the boss – to stay at the sharp end of
the business and purchase quality brands. In turn this feeling of specialness
and attention to detail is passed on to all clients.
