Broadcast on BBC One every morning at 9:15am, Morning Live is a topical live programme which combines a fresh mix of lively and entertaining topical content and expert guidance. Presented by Kym Marsh and Gethin Jones, the show was first broadcast last year and immediately became a slot-winner, beating its rival channels. It was quickly commissioned for a second series, which saw the show move from its previous London base to a new home in Salford, Manchester. Having worked on a multitude of live broadcasts, ELP, a trading division of White Light, was asked to supply the lighting for this latest series.  

The move of Morning Live comes as part of the BBC’s wider ‘Across the UK’ plans, in which the organisation is actively looking to create more work outside of the capital. Morning Live’s new home is the brand-new Versa ABT Studio, which is located on Quay Street in Manchester. ELP Sales Director Darren Fletcher comments: “We were approached by Versa to supply the lighting for Morning Live, which would be filmed live within their 11^th floor ABC Studio. Our job was to work closely with the lighting designers, Dave Evans and later Andy Stagles, to not only maintain the fresh and breezy look that was established in the first series but to also enhance this within its new space”.   

Prior to the move, the lighting designers visited the space, from which a spec. was created and passed over to Darren and the team. He explains: “The set itself has these vast windows in the background, which the presenters stand and sit in front of more or less for the entirety of the show. As such, one of the biggest challenges was to create a set-up that would not only counter this additional light but be able to adapt to the ever-changing weather conditions”.   

Once the equipment was specified, it was then down to Darren and his team to source this and install it on a long-term hire basis within the studio. He explains: “The Elation KL Fresnel 8FCs were a key component to the rig and we actually invested in several specifically for this project. These are a full-colour-spectrum LED fixture that provides high output, precise colour temperature control, full-spectrum colour rendering, and even wash coverage. They also have been optimised for the tunable white light requirements of live television and for used for all the key lighting, back lighting, fill and general coverage. We also drew on the Arri S60-C Sky Panels and, given the fact this fixture puts out a tremendous amount of light, in a soft and uniform beam field, it was ideal to provide an overall soft light fill. The Martin Rush Par 2 was also used for colour and accent on the set, with its fully premixed colour from 12 RGBW LEDs making it the ideal choice”.   

All of the lighting is run through an ETC network, using the ETC Ion 6K Desk and with back-up from ETC Puck. The installation of the lighting took place over four days with four ELP team members on site, led by Darren himself.  

The first show of the new series was broadcast on Monday 21^st February. It was also recently announced that Sara Cox, Kimberley Walsh and Sam Quek have joined Kym Marsh and Gethin Jones on the line-up of permanent presenters.  

Darren concludes: “It was fantastic to be involved in such a high-profile show, that is currently one of the most watched on morning television.  As a company, we have a reputation of fulfilling the lighting requirements of our diverse range of customers; something we were able to do once again on this occasion”.  

The post ELP Brings Light to Morning Live on BBC One  appeared first on White Light.