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With the eyes of the world watching, ELP supply lighting and power for the Royal Wedding ….No pressure then?

Two billion people around the world tuned in. Or so they reckon. The marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton was billed as the global media extravaganza of all time with the biggest audience in television history.

BBC cameras provided the ‘host feed’ from within Westminster Abbey for the world’s media. There were also cameras along the route, down Horse Guards Parade from Buckingham Palace and several other key locations around the UK. The BBC, whose coverage was anchored by Huw Edwards and Sophie Raworth, broadcast their commentary from two on-site studios to locations across America, Asia, India, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.

Lighting director Bernie Davis commented “As soon as it was announced that the marriage ceremony was taking place in Westminster Abbey I knew that ELP were the right crew for the job. Over the last eight years or so I’ve used ELP as the lighting supplier on so many high profile broadcasts from the Abbey that by now ELP riggers and electricians know every square inch of the building. They are trusted by the facilities staff at the Abbey and virtually on first name terms with the Vergers…so when thinking about risk management, who else was I going to use?” 

Manage risk, keep it simple and make it perfect

With so much cutting-edge digital technology on display from the words broadcast media, high definition cameras and satellite communications its fascinating to see that Bernie chose to hire over 300 Thomas PAR 64 long nose black cans from ELP as the main lamp within the Abbey. These low-tech, old-school lamps, often associated with rock and roll lighting rigs of the 1970s and 80s were the perfect solution for Bernie’s design.

“Par Cans provide maximum light coverage for the weight of the lamp which is a huge consideration in such an ancient building and they look very tidy with no intrusive barn doors to worry about” remarks the Lighting Director. The ELP crew which consisted of Paul Tibbles (crew chief), Mark Gardiner, Greg Fitzgerald, Justin Denchfield, Colin Jones, Saul Harris and John Murray were able to carefully position these highly portable lamps exactly where the LD required without fear of overloading or damaging the fabric of the Abbey. The warm white light effect they produced gave a balanced illumination across every section of the Abbey bringing to life the intricate architecture of the building and enhancing the freshness of all the trees and flowers which surrounded the congregation.

The other lighting kit supplied by ELP inside the Abbey included an assortment of Arri Junior Fresnels, Thomas Pixel Pars and Source 4 profile spots which were used to light ‘specials’ such as the fanfare conductor or readings from the pulpit.  

“As a broadcast this was another step up from all previous state occasions” comments Lighting Director Bernie Davis. And that’s quite a something when you know that Bernie has lit many state occasions and high profile religious services along with ELP such as Prince Edward’s wedding and the Pope’s recent visit.

“I don’t like to jeopardize a show by adding unnecessary technical complexity” says Bernie and so for important events like this I think that simple is best. You just have to make sure that it’s perfect.”

Bernie explained that his design made certain there wasn’t a single important space within the Abbey where, if any light should fail, it would result in leaving a dark patch, and every light had its own purpose. “My design allows for the occasional lamp failure while not needing to rig spares. But on the day nothing failed”

Nigel Catmur assisted Bernie as the board operator but as Bernie explained “Nigel is so experienced that he could have stepped in as deputy lighting director should anything have happened to me. So much about this job involved risk management.”

Taking no chances with power to TV cameras and lights in the Abbey

Due to a recently condemned local power supply adding to the potential risk ELP supplied a 200 KW Twinset Generator to power all lighting controls on the north side of the Abbey plus a 140 KW Twinset Generator for the south side.

All technical vehicles, broadcast scanners and vision trucks in the outside compound took their power feed from four of ELP’s unique LitePower 150kva Super Silent Generators.

ELP production manager Tony Slee comments “The LitePower 150kva Super Silent Generator is one of the most compact generator units in the world, this highly portable generator has the performance of much of larger systems and yet it’s light enough to be air freighted. ELP’s range has been uniquely customized with an IntelliGen operating system which allows syncing across multiple units. They had their very first run out during the Pope’s recent visit to the UK and they were a real hit with OB crews”

Paul Helm and Colin Goodacre baby sat the ELP generators during the set up week, and on the big day. “The Gennys behaved impeccably for the Royal Family” concludes Tony Slee “And ELP are honored to have been part of such an important occasion”

‘Belt and braces’ lighting in the BBC commentary studios

Two identically designed BBC studios were positioned in prime locations. One opposite the Abbey and one opposite Buckingham Palace. Both featured a large viewing window framed with an LED border in order to make the most of the majestic backdrops.

The BBC Studio opposite the Abbey was situated on the roof of the Methodist Central Hall. It was hosted by TV presenter Sophie Raworth and the Lighting Director in charge was Lee Allen. ELP’s T.C. Thomas was the Gaffer.

The Canada Gate studio hosted by Huw Edwards was lit by LD Dave Gibson with ELP’s Barry Dennison on Gaffer duty.

Both BBC studios were similarly kitted out with ELP lighting and used Source 4 profile sports as ‘key lights’ and 1ks, 2ks and 650w Arri Junior Fresnels as ‘fills’. An assortment of Thomas Pixel Pars and Chromafloods were also on hand to augment the set with colour changes as required.

“Absolutely no chances were being taken and we tripled-up on every lighting position. Talk about ‘belt-and-braces’, I’ve never seen so much kit crammed into such a small studio. It must have been the biggest use of cross key and back fill lighting ever.” exclaimed ELP Gaffer T.C. Thomas.

The eyes of the world were treated to a perfect wedding ceremony broadcast and production crews breathed a huge sigh of satisfied relief.