ELP sponsor STLD visit to Top Gear

An eagerly awaited STLD members visit to the set of Top Gear took place on Wednesday 21 July. The day was hosted by lighting director Stuart Gain, aided by STLD committee member Lee Rickard and co-sponsored by ELP.

STLD members met at a local village pub (where else?) and after a hearty lunch Stuart assembled the rabble. Using the beer garden as his auditorium and pub furniture as his platform, Top Gear's LD outlined the background to the production, its unique location and his role in creating the new look show.

This popular BBC show has been around for many years but its present reincarnation is now in its forth series. Top Gear is now recorded in an aircraft hanger at the former British Aerospace Dunsfold site near Guilford (once the paint shop for the renowned Harrier Jump Jet) where there is masses of space to wheel in demonstration cars and a runway track to test how they perform.

Creating a functional 'minimalist' set

Stuart described how the current minimalist, industrial looking set came into being. "It was not designed like that from the start" he explained. "The pilot show was lit in the round with an 8m x 4m podium area achieved by using over 20 six lamp bars, over a dozen Chromabanks, 20 x 5Ks and a number of Iris 4's as space lights.

After recording the pilot, commissioning editor Jane Rouke concluded that the round set made the show look 'too light entertainment' and she wanted a more 'industrial feel'. Not only this but the production needed to save £10k on the lighting budget!

Stuart responded to the brief and budget constraints by sketching out some basic designs featuring freestanding truss and six lamp bars. With the help of ELP's CAD expert Tim Williamson Stuart's scribbles were turned into 3D visualisations from which detailed lighting plots were created.

"My des igns utilised lighting and structural equipment that I knew I could just about afford on a tight budget" explains Stuart. Aluminium trussing decorated with par cans became part of the set. It was a very raw look but fortunately they loved it. It was in keeping with the rough and ready automotive / engineering theme of the programme and was reminiscent of the exhibition stands you get at the motor show."

Working 'around' the audience

As the series became more popular the audience numbers have risen from less than 100 guests to over 400. With so many people milling around the floor space Stuart and the ELP crew had to be on their toes.

As Stuart explained "Even though we block the show during rehearsals in the morning… things always change. The combined unpredictability of the presenters and the audience mean that we need to be ready to make modifications the whole time. And of course, making alterations and re positioning lamps becomes quite tricky with so many bodies in the way"

ELP were able to supply 23 pole operated 2k Fresnels which helped overcome some of the repositioning difficulties and a further 12 x 2K's on wind up stands.

Stuart mentioned some other challenges he and the ELP crew had to overcome. For example on one occasion, between links, they had to move three cars out and wheel in three more whilst dodging a few hundred onlookers, cable, trussing and lighting equipment. Something else that was noticeable in the hanger was the lack of overhead support on which to hang equipment. Luckily ELP stock miles of truss so it really wasn't a problem to supply 125 meters or so for Top Gear.

Creating 'decorative' lighting effects

With over 200 Parcans, 32 assorted Fresnels, Dedo Kits, and Zap Lights supplied by ELP, Stuart amazed us by revealing that only 35 lamps were actually used for conventional TV lighting. The rest were decorative and used to light truss and other industrial looking architecture. For example in one corner of the studio were the mashed remains of the Toyota Pick up truck which Clarkson and Co. tried (and failed) to destroy.

Vehicles, truss and the Top Gear logo were lit like exhibits in the back of shots and helped to create a motor trade backdrop.

There were three distinct areas as part of the studio floor. The "Cool Wall" and links area where the presenters judge if a car is hip or unfashionable, the seated main interview area and the showroom space where demonstration cars line up to be assessed. Each had its own environment and therefore its own lighting requirement.

* Area 1 - "Cool Wall" and links area utilised four point lighting on the wall and assorted kit to illuminate the audience. Floor stands were used during link pieces to quickly scoot around the set.

* Area 2 - Sit down area utilising basic interview lighting techniques with key back lights and fills. Par Cans were placed under the rostra to frame the set. Trussing and other industrial architecture was lit in the background to frame wide shots and create a moody atmosphere.

* Area 3 - Car demo area where vehicles also needed to be lit. Par cans used in the background to light number plates and provide an extra visual kick on the wheel arches. Dedo kits were placed inside cars to light dashboards. 2K were used as backlights and four point lighting was utilised.

An all round success

The recording STLD visited in July could not have run smoother. According to members of the crew this was pretty typical of the way the series has gone. "We have hardly had a bulb out!" exclaimed ELP Gaffer Snowy Manley

Perhaps it was the jovial banter of the presenters which put us all at ease but the calm efficiency of the LD and his crew was very impressive. STLD guests were able to participate as members of the audience and were also able to sit with Stuart Gain behind the lighting desk (a Jands Hog 500) and ask technical questions.

When asked what he thought were the successful ingredients to lighting this production Stuart replied "Firstly I got a lot of help from John Singer at ELP to keep within budget and the back up from the whole team at ELP was excellent.

Since the second series, I have kept with the same crew of Ian 'Snowy' Manley (Gaffer), Mark Ninnim (Board Operator) and Colin Jones (Electrician) and that has certainly helped to generate an intuitive understanding and a good working relationship between us."

Finally, working with the Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond is also really easy. They are not your usual showbiz luvvies who are precious about the way they look on camera. They are fairly relaxed and just want to get on with the job. I think this positive atmosphere has rubbed off on the whole production and made for a hugely successful show