Summer festivals keep ELP crew busy

Two trips to the new Wembley Stadium kicked off a busy summer for ELP. They kitted out a number of BBC interview studios for the Concert for Diana and the Live Earth event.
Nigel Catmur was the Lighting Director for the Diana concert which was broadcast live on BBC One on 1st July. He chose a selection of Tungsten Fresnels, Kino Flo and LED lighting including Pixel Pars and Chroma Strips to fit out the interview studio.

Concert for Diana was an event organised by Princes William and Harry to mark the 10th anniversary of their mother's death and to celebrate her life. The concert featured an array of live music performances from artists known to have been amongst the late Princess’s favourites.

The following weekend, ELP were back at Wembley for Live Earth. Mark Kenyon was the LD and Justin Denchfield was ELP’s main man on site. “In fact Justin performed a key role for us” says ELP’s project manager Tony Slee. “Justin looked after the BBC and NBC studios at the Diana concerts and so he was in an ideal position to be the link man for the following week. We were able to store a load of equipment on site and save on set up time. Justin co-ordinated between the venue, the BBC staff and the two LD’s. Thanks to him the handover went very smoothly.”

Live Earth had three studios, one for each of the presenters - Jonathan Ross, Graham Norton and Edith Bowman. In keeping with the energy saving theme of the event the studios used predominantly LED fixtures. ELP built three separate ground support structures for these areas.

Another live event this summer to which ELP contributed was Saving Planet Earth – Live. Hosted by Alan Titchmarsh and Graham Norton, this fundraising event was broadcast live from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London on Friday 6th July.

Bernie Davis was the Lighting Director supported by a 6 man ELP crew headed up by Joe Sherno. ELP provided power for the site using two of their twin set generators and they installed complex power distribution across the huge landscaped site.

There were different areas across Kew requiring alternative treatments as Bernie Davis explains ….”The Temperate House was lit with 8 City Colours and a few 1.2 and 2.5 MSRs. There was also a stage for the bands - the Pagoda Stage I last saw in Buckingham Palace at the Jubilee Concert and that was lit with Mac 600s and 700s, and decorated with Chromastrips and Pixelpars.”

Bernie continues….”Then the final act was set in front of the Temperate House which was dressed with Mac 300s, Mac 600s and some Mac 2000s. The difficulty was keeping up with the rehearsals which all happened in daylight, and planning how it would work as the light died - transmission was 19.00 to 22.00 with half hour off for East Enders. The finale was only focussed and programmed during the transmission, as you couldn't see anything during the day!”

Next this summer, ELP’s structural engineering department were required to come up with a studio solution for Radio 1’s Big Weekend summer festival. The BBC OB resources department wanted an ‘open’ style studio overlooking the concert site in Moor Park, Preseton. ELP MD Ronan Willson designed a mobile, self climbing studio tower with Perspex sides to provide a panoramic over-view of the site.

The studio tower solution was such a success that it was instantly commissioned for a series of other festival events during the summer months such as T in the Park.

Inside the studio tower LD Carol Sadler lit the space with an assortment of ELP’s Tungsten heads and LEDs. Justin Denchfield was ELP’s main representative on site.

Hosted by Radio 1's roster of DJs, the Big Weekend is Europe's biggest free ticketed festival. With a 30,000 strong capacity across the two days, the event was broadcast on Radio 1; had a major interactive presence online and was available to watch on BBC Three and via the red button on interactive television.

Another televised summer pop festival was Channel 4’s T4 On The Beach which took place in Weston-Super-Mare on 22nd July.

Now in its 5th Year with over forty thousand revellers, this year saw the introduction of a second stage - The 4Music Stage - which will played host to exclusive short sets from young bands tipped for future success. The event was, as usual, broadcast live on Channel 4 direct from the T4 double decker bus, where fans had the opportunity to "hang out" with presenters and celebrities.

LD Mike Sutcliffe along with his long standing right hand man Dave ‘The Colonel’ Smith used a vast array of ELP’s MSR pars with various LED fixtures decorating the stage including Chroma Strips and Pixel Lines.
ELP - T4 on the beach Unfortunately, the set up days were two of the wettest days in living memory and at one point the Colonel was heard to say “it was like working in quick sand” as he watched the Cherry Pickers slowly sink into the ground. Thankfully the show day was bright and sunny.

The same duo of Mike Sutcliffe and Dave Smith also worked with ELP on a Dancing On Ice DVD shoot for Universal Pictures this summer. The DVD was shot at the Sheffield Arena and was part of further promoting the ITV Series and its subsequent tour.

The ELP Manchester team headed up by Darren Fletcher were back in Wales this summer for a very wet and windy National Eisteddfod. They supplied an assortment of production vehicles, rigging services and lighting to this cultural event. The LD was Henry Roberts.

Also in Wales this summer ELP supported Bernie Davis with a BBC Wales production of the Cardiff Singer of the World. This event, in conjunction with Welsh National Opera, is the premier global showcase for opera and concert singers at the start of their careers. ELP supplied Mac 700s, Mac300s, Chroma Strips and Chroma Balls to further augment the in house lighting rig at St David’s Hall in Cardiff.

Also in Cardiff this summer ELP supplied James Campbell with hardware for BBC’s Mastermind. The kit included Source 4’s, Cyc units and Mac 2000 spots.

ELP also worked with James on the prestigious Samuel Johnson Awards for Non-Fiction. This awards ceremony was held at London’s Savoy Hotel on 23rd June and broadcast on BBC Four. The rig comprised mostly Fresnels and par cans augmented with a few pixel pars and pixel lines. ELP’s crew chief was Mark Gardiner.