Superhero Germany

For the ProSieben show "Superhero Germany" candidates need fighting spirit, endurance, but above all a lot of muscle strength. Each episode features eight candidates competing against each other in a direct duel. If you lose, you're out!
The challenges to be mastered are not for the weak, and one of them, The Cube, was planned and constructed by PRG. This cuboid, which hangs at a height of eight meters during the show, has a climbing surface on each of its sides, and is divided into nine segments. In order to win, the candidates must claim as many fields as possible for themselves by reaching and pressing a buzzer.

Kuby Concept had sent a request to PRG a few weeks earlier. A concept was to be developed with the following specs: the cube was to be climbable, movable scenically and the lighting of the individual fields was to change colour when activated by a buzzer – and all this in compliance with the safety regulation DGUV 17.
After functional and construction-related details had been worked out in direct consultation between Kuby Concept and the PRG Special Construction Department team, the construction drawings were discussed with the statics service provider Expo Engineering verifying all the necessary material data and safety parameters in order to implement exactly the idea that the creative team around Kuby Concept and RedSeven Entertainment GmbH had developed.
The resulting building plans for the cube with an edge length of approx. 3.50 metres, consisting of 6 sides holding the 54 square metre individual fields, could now go into production.
The first step was to build a steel construction that was lozenge-shaped in the centre of the cuboid to support the light boxes. These consist of 10mm Makrolon® panels, a high-strength, transparent plexiglass material coated with a diffuser layer. 25 Schnick-Schnack C50 LED modules were mounted in each of the 54 light boxes, resulting in homogeneous illumination as soon as a candidate activates a buzzer. The diffuser layer provides an even more efficient light scattering. In addition, the necessary Schnick-Schnack system power supplies have been installed inside the cube to avoid massive cable runs from the hall roof.
In order to safeguard this construction, the team built a steel cage, braced by steel brackets as well as pull and push rods that is attached to two suspension points in the hall ceiling, so that the cube can be moved scenically during the show. The light boxes and the Makrolon® panels are fixed to the steel frame. The total weight of the cube is about 3.7 tons.
In the new assembly hall on the Studio Hamburg site, the cube was set up for extensive testing. For Max Schmelzer, PRG Project Manager Special Constructions, this test setup was indispensable: "We wanted to be safe when we came into the studio and be sure that nothing was left to chance when the cube was set up, that we had already done everything once, that every screw was in place and that we knew that everything was right".
The "PRG Superheroes" also mastered this challenge with fighting spirit, muscle power and skill. Jobst Benthues, Managing Director of RedSeven Entertainment GmbH, is very satisfied with the result:
"We wanted to find a tool that was visually and functionally new and that had never been seen before. PRG presented itself because we were looking for a 360° service provider where everything comes from one single source. We needed a steel construction, we needed game technology, we needed LED, i.e. light, and the whole thing also had to withstand the physical requirements – and PRG was the ideal partner for us!".

Technical information:

• 216 Boulder handles
• 54m² Makrolon® Panels
• 54 light boxes
• 54 Game Buttons (punch and kick)
• 1.350 Schnick-Schnack C50 modules
• 34 Schnick-Schnack LED Controller
• 3.7t Total weight
• 1.6t steel S355
• Scenic Movable according to DGUV17