PRG Provide Lighting For VE Day Celebrations

Production Resource Group (PRG) provided lighting and rigging equipment to the recent celebrations in London that marked the 70th anniversary of VE Day – the victory of Allied Forces in Europe and the end of the Second World War.

At 9.32pm (BST) on Friday 8 May, PRG's team lit the capital's sky with vibrant 'V' beams to coincide with the lighting of over 200 beacons around the country in commemoration of the exact moment in 1945 that Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared peace.

Requested by production manager Chuck Crampton of Horsepower International, PRG deployed two banks of 16 Icon Beam moving heads at St. Paul's Cathedral and beside Big Ben at the Houses of Parliament, along with two banks of 12 Clay Paky SuperSharpy moving beam heads in Trafalgar Square, to replicate the air raid searchlights seen over London during the Blitz.

PRG account manager Mat Ilott, who worked alongside PRG colleague Mick Healey, says: "When we're asked to provide equipment for a searchlight application, we normally tend to suggest traditional, large exterior fixtures, but they are very bulky, power-hungry units and we wanted to reduce our footprint by using multiple Icon Beams which are much smaller but powerful enough to deliver the tight, bright beam that was required."

Available from PRG, the Icon Beam is a compact beam luminaire that offers rapid, fluid movement with a tight ACL beam producing 10,000 Lumens.

Ilott continues: "We positioned the two banks of Icons close enough to provide the flexibility to focus them into two single beams and cross them to create an elegant V-shape. At Trafalgar Square, we went with 24 SuperSharpy heads to create a similar effect."

All of the fixtures were driven by ChamSys MagicQ MQ100 controllers – pre-programmed by lighting designer/operator Chris Scott at PRG's East Molesley office – and powered by a single, small generator on a trailer in each location.

"That was the beauty of choosing these fixtures over the heavyweight alternative,"comments Ilott. "All we needed was a 32 Amp, three-phase supply. The large searchlight route would have required a significantly larger and more expensive power source. We were working on a Friday and Saturday when the city is especially busy. At St. Paul's we were very conscious of minimising our footprint as much as possible, and likewise at Trafalgar Square.

"Our choice of equipment was key to maintaining a discreet presence and keeping the local authorities happy. It was the first time we had responded to a brief with a much smaller solution but still achieve at least the desired result, and I think we set a very good standard for future projects."

The 'V' beams were also an element of the BBC's A Party To Remember concert on Saturday 8 May, which was broadcast live on TV from London's Horse Guards Parade Ground. Hosted by radio and TV personality Chris Evans, the 1940s-themed spectacle united stars of rock, pop, opera, dance and the movie world in a wave of respectful nostalgia.

PRG played a key role in the show with project managers Kelly Cornfield and Mick Healey, along with crew chief Dave Hallett, working closely with event production manager Steve Nolan of Chromatic Productions to deliver a lighting and rigging package to LD Dave Davey's specification.

"Due to the concert being confirmed quite late, we were left with just a few weeks to prepare our side of the show, but our strong relationships with both Steve and Dave proved very helpful in pulling everything together smoothly," says Cornfield.

Davey chose a range of fixtures to light the show. They included 25 of PRG Best Boy Wash, five PRG Bad Boy Spots, Philips Vari-Lite VL5 Arc, VL3000 and VL3500 automated heads, Clay Paky Sharpy Beams and Washes, and a number of LED units in the form of GLP X4s and Philips Color Kinetics ColorBlast IWs. 90 2-lite Molefay blinders along with Robert Juliat D'Artagnan 2.5kW HMI and Strong Super Trouper spots highlighted both the artists and the crowd, while 65 SGM P5 LED wash fixtures lit the historic architecture surrounding the parade ground.

The MA Lighting grandMA2 was Davey's choice of lighting console. Partnering with him were moving light operator Alex Mildenhall and Jack Linaker who ran the Green Hippo Hippotizer media server.

Steve Nolan commented: "This was a truly fantastic show to be involved with and something to be really proud of. The stage and set looked amazing, and I think the show content properly remembered those few to the many of us that owe so much. Hopefully, those that are too young to remember now have some idea of the sacrifices that were made.

"PRG provided all of the lighting and rigging for the show and did an absolutely amazing job, supplying a really great crew and a lot of equipment. The lighting looked just fantastic and only got better throughout the show as it got dark, and the historic buildings surrounding Horse Guards were also illuminated."

Image: PRG's 'V beams' at St. Paul's Cathedral, taken from across the Thames. © Nick Herridge.

www.prg.com/uk

(JP)