As part of this year’s season of Lent, BBC 1 commissioned five Sunday Worship: Lent Worship programmes, all of which were filmed at different churches across the UK. Having already worked on several BBC broadcasts over the past twelve months, ELP, a trading division of White Light, was called upon to supply the lighting solutions once again on this occasion.
The first Sunday Worship: Lent Worship was broadcast on Sunday 21st February 2021; with subsequent episodes being aired on a weekly basis. The broadcasts all took place from different locations across the UK, including St Martin’s Church, Maidstone; St Cuthbert’s Church, Preston; and All Saint’s Church, Hale Barns. Each service would contain a range of performances and readings, all of which were socially distanced and adhering to government guidelines.
Overseeing the broadcasts was ELP’s Sales Director Darren Fletcher, who comments: “As a company, it was our job to work on-site in the three different locations and provide the lighting support needed for broadcast. To achieve this, we worked closely with two different lighting designers: Lee Allen for the Preston and Hale services as well as Bernie Davis for the Maidstone episodes”.
Following site visits to the different locations, the lighting designers sent across their plans to Darren and the team. He explains: “Whilst it was important to get a uniformed feel across the series, each space obviously differed in terms of scope and dimensions which meant that the lighting equipment had to be modified to accommodate this. It was also important that the equipment we used was entirely LED, in order to not require the use of generators, which in turn, would ensure we were adhering to the ethos of Albert; an organisation which promotes environmental sustainability in tv and film”.
For the broadcasts in the North-West, Lee Allen’s designs largely utilised Miltec MTC Battens, Martin MAC Auras, ETC Source Four LED Lustr Series 2s as well as Aryton Ghiblis. In Maidstone, Bernie Davis’ design was a mix of ColourSource Batten 12s as well as arri S30 and S60 Sky Panels. All of this equipment had to be set up socially-distanced and in line with government regulations. Darren explains: “Whereas the broadcasts would normally be filmed live, this had to be pre-recorded due to the lockdown. Similarly, the traditional congregation had to be replaced by individual musicians and speakers. We set up a day before the actual recording to allow enough time to ensure everything was in place prior to filming. Thankfully, we’ve worked on enough broadcasts since the first lockdown to know what is required by us as a company and what we have to adhere to in order to deliver a safe, yet impressive, lighting broadcast package”.
After a month of broadcasts, the final Sunday Worship: Lent Worship will take place this Sunday 21st March at 11:30 on BBC1. Darren concludes: “While we are hopefully heading back to normality in the very near future, in the meantime, we are delighted to be able to continue supporting high-profile broadcasts such as these and ensuring that, despite the restrictions, we still provide the very best technical service possible”.
Photos courtesy of BBC1.