Sutcliffe chose a large palette of moving lights, including nearly 50 Vari*Lite 2202s and 2402s, 11 Clay Paky Stage Zoom 1200s and 12 Stage Scans as well as Martin MAC 300s, 500s and 33 MAC 600s. Entec also supplied 14 Pulsar ChromaBanks, sited around the bottom of Richard Plumb's stylish set, which was built by Frost Scenery. Sutcliffe ran the show with his colleague Svend Pedersen, the latter using a Wholehog II with added ‘Overdrive’ for the moving lights, while Sutcliffe looked after the generics, set practicles and starcloth using an Avolites Pearl 2000. The overstage lights were rigged on four elegant 'finger' trusses, spreading out from upstage centre, and slightly raked from upstage to downstage. All rigging and metalwork was provided, and rigged by Outback Rigging. S+H Technical Support draped the entire back of the stage area with a massive star cloth, and the live audience and galleries were illuminated with six Studio Due City Colors and hundreds of Par cans.
Entec's team was led by their intrepid crew chief Adam Stevenson, a veteran of eight TV Awards with Mike Sutcliffe. The get-in commenced at 2am the day before the show, and the team worked around the clock in shifts. The lighting department was ready for a full rehearsal at 6pm on the first evening, which was followed by a night of programming. The show itself was broadcast the following evening, after a full day’s rehearsals and programming.
Entec's preparation for this show begins months beforehand with meetings and discussions. The set and lighting designs change radically from year to year to ensure that the visual concept is kept fresh, vital and progressive. Being live on national television puts immense pressure on all to perform well. The Awards highlights included Ant & Dec winning three prizes, including one for Pop Idol, voted the Most Popular Entertainment Programme.
(Lee Baldock)
