Lighting designer for the two shows was Manfred 'Ollie' Olma of Koln-based mo2 Designs. The show was presented by Sting backed by 35 guest musicians, including string and brass sections, and was staged in the heart of the cathedral.
HSL project manager Mike Oates comments, "It was a great privilege to get the chance to work in such an amazing building and also with Ollie, who is one of the most respected LDs in the business. The project entailed huge challenges as this was the first gig of this scale that had been staged there, which produced some superlative teamwork between the production company, our crew and the cathedral staff, resulting in a truly inspirational event."
When Olma was commissioned to light the show, he specifically wanted to use Falcon searchlight and flower effects to accentuate the cathedral's architecture in a unique and memorable way, both for the benefit of the cameras and the live TV audience.
Apart from rigging a large quantity of fixtures into an unusual venue, other challenges included the fact that as a place of worship and as a monument of historical interest, the cathedral was open to the public throughout the get-in, tech and rehearsal periods, all of which had to be co-ordinated so not to disrupt its busy service schedule.
The stage was positioned below the crossing, right at the heart of the church. The key lighting was all achieved using Robe ColorWash 1200s which were attached to the columns around the crossing and those nearest to it in the nave on custom brackets. The fixtures were mounted two per column on bespoke steel bars, designed to take the distributed weight down to the ground, and these were strapped to the columns and tensioned using BB lever hoists.
To illuminate the nave and aisle, more ColorWash 1200s were rigged on top of their flight cases along to the edges of the nave, and where possible concealed behind the pillars on both sides.
To back and side light the stage and highlight all the surrounding architecture, more Robe ColorWash 1200s were rigged on the triforium level, a 12m high balcony running around the crossing area. Additional units were positioned in the quire area behind the stage. The lighting here was also boosted by Robe ColorWash 2500E ATs, for potent cross stage washes from the floor and at height from the triforium. For the regular Evensong services taking place in the quire, all the lights had to be removed and then reinstated during the tech and rehearsal periods.
The set was effectively the interior of the church, with its imposing arches, pillars, vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows - so it was essential that all these areas could be evenly highlighted for the eight-camera shoot. Oates comments, "Ollie was happy to work with Robes for all his key and architectural lighting - and they proved ideal for the job."
The Falcons were positioned on the floor and in the air. In the high altar/quire area were two 7K Flowers, shooting their beams directly down the Aisle/Nave from behind the stage. At the end of the east and west transepts (to the sides of the Crossing) there was a 7K Flower stood on its flight case, skimming the orchestra's heads and shooting up into the ceiling. At the back of the nave was another 7K Flower, placed to fire piercing multi-colour beams from the very back of the cathedral down towards the stage.
For some extremely high-impact over-stage specials, a 7K Falcon Beam and a Flower were rigged 30m in the air from the Bell Tower, directly above the crossing.
(Jim Evans)
