To mark the occasion the BBC staged a series of televised events and programming including a live concert by Madness outside the building (broadcast on BBC Four), a special 'outdoor' One Show on BBC One which linked live to the concert and a two hour documentary about the building where a host of stars shared their TV Centre memories.
ELP provided lighting for both outside broadcast events. The company already supplies lighting director Dave Evans for the daily (studio based) One Show broadcasts. For this outdoor special Evans specified a completely new rig which included: Arri Junior 650W fresnels; ETC Source 4 profiles; Clay Paky Alpha Beam 300s; Martin MAC 301 LED Wash; Thomas Pixel Pars and Pixel Lines, Chromaflood 200TCs and Chromastrip 900s.
These were hung from an open sided structure built by the ELP crew (including Saul Harris and Chris Rand) from their own Quadralite truss.
"I opted for Clay Paky Alpha Beam 300s to provide sharp beams of light to enclose the outdoor studio space. I considered Clay Paky Sharpys initially but opted for the slightly thicker beam of the 300s." comments LD Dave Evans. "Chromastrips provided decoration for the truss structure, while Martin 301s and Thomas Pixel Lines created a solid bank of light accented in the recognisable BBC News 24 red."
The weather on the night was wet and very cold but one positive effect was that Evans placed clear plastic sleeves over the moving Martin 301 LED wash lights. This had the effect of providing a more diffused wavy lighting effect which complemented the overall design.
The backdrop to the One Show design was the BBC TV Centre building which was lit by LD Dave Gibson as part of the Madness concert event. Evans requested that r Gibson give him a red and mauve backdrop to complement the One Show look.
The closing moments of the One Show saw Madness take to the stage with their hit single One Step Beyond. The rest of the hour long live concert was then transmitted live on BBC Four.
Dave Gibson was responsible for the Madness stage and the lighting of the TV centre building. ELP provided Gibson with the on-stage lights plus their 200KW Twinset power generator. ELP also built the bandstand stage structure. Richard Martin Lighting provided an assortment of fixtures to light the building both from the inside and outdoors.
ELP's bandstand structure, which has previously been used for Songs of Praise and Eisteddfod events, was ideal for this setting because all sides are completely open and TV viewers plus on-site audience could see the iconic TV centre building as a backdrop.
Gibson's two board operators were Rob Bradley who looked after generics and Alex Mildenhall on moving lights.
(Jim Evans)
