A number of high profile lighting designers from the worlds of television and live events attended the day, including Mark Kenyon, Vince Foster, Ian Dow, Mike LeFevre, Bernie Davis, Graham Banks, John Pope and John Fyfe.ELP had adorned the various areas of the extensive premises to provide a flavour of what they can offer: their mobile broadcast studios and production vehicles, including those returned from ITV’s coverage of the 2002 Formula 1 season, were erected by the roadside. These innovative structures, designed by Millennium Studios/ELP founder Ronan Willson, are supplied under the company’s ‘First Facilities’ banner.
The entranceway to the premises was adorned with a ground-supported lighting truss; the lighting studio demonstrated equipment from among the company’s extensive range of moving lights, plus an effective demo of Pulsar’s ChromaBank LED fixtures, which are finding their way into increasing numbers of television productions. Our tour of the premises, conducted by production manager Tony Slee, took in the full range of facilities, including the extensive hire department, the main ‘X’ stage, transport and mobile generators, and ended at the epicentre of Millennium Studios - the Rocket & Roll’em Bar, where the excellent catering was laid on by LD-turned-chef, Alexander Nisic.
Recent projects for ELP have included the Tomorrow’s World Roadshows; the ground support system for Big Brother 3’s outside stage; lighting for the Proms concerts at the Royal Albert Hall; truss, lighting and rigging for the National Music Awards and the new series of Top Gear; and trussing and ground support systems for the Fame Academy house in Highgate. The company has also recently welcomed back Jim Henson Productions, who are using ELP’s motion control facility to film the latest series of popular children’s animation ‘Construction Site’, due to air in the UK this autumn. Other TV credits include The Hoobs, All About Me, Under Pressure, Question Time, Robot Wars, The Chair and Later with Jools Holland, plus a number of special events and services in Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral.
ELP’s general manager Paul Mayer told L&SI: "These are exciting times at Elstree Light & Power. We have expanded considerably this year and wanted to share some of our excitement with existing, and potential new clients. We find that many people are surprised by the diversity of our expertise and often don’t appreciate just how creative we can be. The Open Day was a resounding success with dozens of key industry figures, and well over a hundred personally invited visitors joining us for, what one person described, as ‘a real eye-opener’
Lee Baldock
