ARD Christvesper

01. The challenge

Altenberg Cathedral is one of the most important religious buildings in North Rhine-Westphalia and has particular technical and organizational requirements as a venue. ARD Christvesper, which was recorded live in tape by WDR on 23.12.2025, had to implement a high-quality lighting solution suitable for television in a listed church interior — while maintaining the highest standards of safety, restraint and respect for architecture.

The construction took one and a half days and was characterized by very long cable routes, complex cable routes and limited options for intervening in the building fabric. Particular attention was paid to visitor safety, the clean routing of all cable routes and electrical safety throughout the church interior. At the same time, uniform, camera-compatible illumination had to be ensured for TV production.

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02. Our solution

We were responsible for the complete implementation of the lighting technology and implemented the lighting design specified by WDR precisely and suitable for broadcasting. The central element was massive light poles up to four meters high, which were specifically inserted into the church interior in order to provide optimal illumination of the altar, choir, liturgical acts and public areas — without distorting the spatial impression of the cathedral.

A total of just under 100 spotlights were used, which performed various tasks: basic lighting, accentuation, camera lighting and targeted illumination for close-ups and totals. All components were set up, set up and calibrated to be suitable for television lighting.

In addition to lighting technology, we were responsible for the statics of the lighting towers, the complete logistics, assembly and dismantling, technical support during production and operator operation during recording. All work was carried out in close coordination with the editorial, production and church.

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03. The result

Through detailed planning, clear security concepts and precise implementation, a high-quality, quiet and at the same time effective lighting atmosphere was created, which both preserved the sacred character of Altenberg Cathedral and met the high requirements of ARD broadcast production.

The Christvesper was implemented in a technically reliable, safe and at the highest level. The result was a coherent, broadcast-ready production that respected the particular location and effectively transmitted the liturgical atmosphere to television — supported by unobtrusive but essential lighting technology in the background.

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