The Czech designer Lucie Koldova

Our camera team accompanies the designer in Cologne, Prague and the Bohemian town of Janštejn

You can tell a good TV feature by the fact that you don't see the work behind it. What you do see is a designer who talks about light the way others talk about music – and a Bohemian glassworks where poetry is born from molten glass. What lies behind it: a complete production process that we handled from start to finish for Deutsche Welle euromaxx.

Exposé, shoot planning, three locations across two countries, direction, camera, off-text, editing, colour grading – all from a single source. Stephanie Drescher developed the concept and conducted the interviews, Uwe Schwarze shot on Sony FS7 and Nikon D800, and post-production was completed at our AVID Symphony editing suite in Berlin. The result is a feature that meets Deutsche Welle's broadcast standards – and tells the story that deserves to be told.

Three Locations, One Camera Team – Cologne, Prague and Janštejn

»Light is energy, is emotion, is atmosphere«, says Czech light designer Lucie Koldova. And when we see her lamps for the first time at the IMM furniture fair in Cologne, we know exactly what she means. They have that certain something you simply cannot resist. Some of her lamps are shaped like macarons – the French confection they are also named after – while others hang from the ceiling like two-metre-long sparklers or organ pipes. She plays with light, with forms, with materials.

In 2010, Lucie Koldova graduated from the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague and moved to Paris, where she opened her own studio. Shortly afterwards, her lighting collection »Muffins«, designed for Czech company Brokis, caused a sensation – and marked her international breakthrough. Her lamp creations are understated, elegant, and crafted with great attention to detail. Today, the 34-year-old lives and works once again in her home city of Prague, where she runs her own studio. She is the creative force behind Brokis, a company that has been attracting attention with its extraordinary lighting for several years. She also designs for renowned brands including Per/Use, La Chance and Haymann Edition, and creates not only lamps but also furniture, jewellery and everyday objects.

Light Design with Cutting-Edge Technology and Traditional Craftsmanship

In realising her ideas, Lucie Koldova combines traditional craftsmanship with the latest technologies. She places great importance on the quality of her materials – they must be beautiful and carry a certain poetry within them. What draws her most to light design is the energy. »Light stands for a certain energy: it emits vibrations, and it works in a very seductive way in combination with glass«, she reveals. Her work with glass has earned her the titles »Czech Designer of the Year« and »Elle Decoration Talent«.

At this year's furniture fair in Cologne, Lucie Koldova was invited as »Guest of Honor 2018« to design Das Haus, presenting her vision of living under the title »Light Levels«. But before her lamps can illuminate a room, they undergo a complex production process and pass through the hands of more than thirty people.

At the Brokis glassworks in Janštejn, where Lucie Koldova's lamps are made, the Basiliscus Film camera team is able to witness this process in full. Bohemian glasscraft at its finest.

Glass art in another feature: Swiss glass artist Matteo Gonet