The set design for the event comprised a backdrop of white sails, stretched in a variety of shapes framing a central entrance through which guest presenters would appear. The design required an extension to be built in front of the existing Albert Hall stage, as the client wanted to use the stage as a dance floor for the after-show party. Over 100 pieces of Maltbury Metrodeck, three pallets of chipboard and 200m of white vinyl flooring later, the Stage Electrics team had built a custom stage extension that followed the curve of the arena and met all of the venue's Health and Safety requirements.
Stage Electrics' lighting designer Tim Routledge's brief was to provide a flexible rig that could deal with the requirements of both the main awards ceremony and the after-show party. As the set was white, covered a large area of the stage and had no graphics or branding, the use of lighting was a key element of the show. Routledge's design utilized over 100 fixtures, which included the MAC range of moving lights, Citycolors and a pair of PixelLine LED battens for the custom built DJ booth.
The show also gave Routledge the opportunity to use the Grand MA lighting desk in a working situation for the first time. Routledge has recently undertaken an intensive training course for a project on the Queen Mary 2 liner - another assignment in which Routledge is heavily involved. He commented: "Using the Grand MA for the first time on a show of this size was a daunting task, however, the speed of programming and flexibility of playback functions gave me the confidence to achieve the wide variety of looks required. I look forward to using the desk to its full potential on board the QM2 ship this December."
In order to tame the Hall's notoriously challenging acoustics, Stage Electrics' head of audio Glen Beckley fielded the latest addition to the company's hire inventory, EAW's new KF730 SLAM (small line array module). The system, was hung in a single long array high above the front of the stage extension, so as not to interfere with the visual aspect of the show. Additional JF260 side hangs and JF80 front fills completed the coverage, whilst SB1000 sub-bass enclosures hidden under the stage added extra impact to the music elements of the evening. Beckley commented: "I was quite nervous about taking on the Albert Hall, especially with a show format that demands absolute intelligibility at all times, but the system has performed exactly as we expected it to, giving clean, present dialogue reproduction across the entire audience with plenty of 'punch' for the music elements. To have achieved all of this from such a physically small system is amazing really - a real testament to the design of the boxes."
The system was driven with Lab-Gruppen amplifiers and XTA DP-series processors, and FOH operator Steve Brierley mixed from a Soundcraft Series Five console. Joanna Lumley and Kristin Scott-Thomas presented the awards and the event attracted many celebrities with plenty of media attention. Naomi Campbell, Rachael Hunter, Ulrika Jonsson and Tess Daly all attended; and the event received coverage on GMTV and Sky One the following morning.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
