Lighting rental specialists Version2 are delighted to have supported The Brits Are Coming at the newly re-opened Riverside Studios. Working with award-winning Lighting Designer Tim Routledge, the Version2 team supplied a comprehensive lighting package, including a healthy selection of recent additions to the company’s growing inventory.
The Brits Are Coming TV special is the highly anticipated, exclusive reveal of the nominations for the prestigious BRIT Awards 2020. Hosted by broadcaster and presenter Alice Levine, the show featured special guest performances by nominated artists including Liam Payne, Aitch and Mabel.
Recorded for ITV in front of a live audience, this was one of the first and one of the largest productions staged within the newly opened Studio 3 at Riverside Studios. Following the extensive re-development of the historic West London site, Riverside’s hosting of the show conveyed a clear message that the production centre is back open and ready for business.
The show’s look was created by multi-award-winning Lighting Designer, Tim Routledge. Having been acknowledged by, amongst others, The Royal Television Society, TPI and Knight of Illumination Awards, Tim is one of the industry’s most renowned LDs. Having supported him on a variety of previous projects, the team at Version2 are proud to have forged a strong working relationship with the LD.
Commenting on working with Version2 at Riverside, Tim says “I use V2 a lot for my broadcast work as they always go the extra mile and have a want to make a great show every time. This was also only the second show in the all new Riverside Studios which was a blessing – a fantastic new studio with a saturated overhead grid of lighting hoists and the ability to patch data anywhere, it was a really easy studio for this show to move to and it worked for us brilliantly”.
Over the past year the V2 have been steadily growing their inventory to increase both the scope and range of products they have available. Ahead of the Brits show the company made significant investment in a fresh stock of Robe equipment, including the revolutionary new RoboSpot system which allows follow spot operators simultaneous remote control of up to 12 fixtures.
Making full use of the Riverside lighting grid, V2 provided over 50 Robe Spiider plus an additional 60 Robe Spikie LED wash fixtures, allowing Moving Light Operator James Scott a huge amount of flexibility to deliver colour and shape to the show. Additional automated versatility was delivered using a mixture of Robe MegaPointe and new Robe T1 Profiles which were managed via the RoboSpot system. A mix of Pro Lights Arena Cob, Astera Titan Tubes and GLP JDC1 LED Strobes provided additional creative effects throughout the studio.
The stage set featured a huge upstage video wall flanked with waves of colourful LED along with a number of giant chrome globes suspended throughout the studio. Creating a design that complimented the set, Tim made fantastic use of the selection of Robe fixtures on offer to create powerful beams and vibrant colours, adding artistic highlights to the performances without distracting from the overall look and feel of the show. The lighting also allowed for the highly polished surfaces of the globes, using the shapes to form stunning covex images rather than reckless flares that could potentially impact on the recording.
Tim continues “The Brits Are Coming set gave me the basis for the design – Bruce French’s undulating flowing LED curves in the walls and routed in the floor plus his huge chrome balls were the starter. With such a flowing curved set I didn’t want to overpower what he was doing so a real simple but powerful grid of lights both along the walls and overhead which sat behind the set and give it real depth and a structure to the show”.
Showcasing the new studio space, Tim’s design delivered a variety of highly creative, individual looks to perfectly match the mix of performances, which ranged from Freya Ridings’ intimate acoustic version of Lost Without You to R&B sensation Mabel with her pulsating rendition of ‘song of the year’ nominated Don’t Call Me Up. Throughout the broadcast, the atmospheric washes and intense beams delivered an illuminating performance that danced, sang and held its own against the vibrance of the accompanying video imagery.
The LD adds “On the main stage there is a huge 16:9 video screen which takes up most of the real estate and so with a gap top and bottom this gave me positions to add strobes and beams to fill out the design. The first things on my plan are the keylights and this show was predominantly lit with V2’s brand new Robe Robospots and new LED Robe T1 Profiles which are perfect for keying in a studio of this size and with a number of setups for different bands where traditional keys would be prohibitive”.
Version2 Managing Director Nick Edwards says “We’re proud to have supported Tim on a number of previous broadcast projects. Our experience working with him has allowed us to develop a good understanding of his approach. He always gets incredible results from the fixtures he specifies and I’m delighted that he’s been able to make put our newly acquired ROBE kit to such fantastic use. In particular, it was great to see our new RoboSpot system in action. The whole team delivered a stunning show; a fitting launch to the 40th BRIT Awards”.
Tim concluded: “V2 was the perfect choice for this show with their attention to detail and cutting edge inventory of brand new fixtures – you know it will all work first time”.