BBC Outside Broadcasts’ passion brings RTS Sound Award win

21 November: BBC Outside Broadcasts, part of BBC Resources Ltd, has won an RTS Craft & Design Award for Sound in the ‘Entertainment and Non-Drama’ category for Manchester Passion, which was broadcast on Good Friday 2006 on BBC Three. The one hour live dramatisation in the heart of Manchester City Centre brought together the cream of Manchester bands and members of the public to give a contemporary spin on the last few hours of Christ’s life, with music from Oasis, The Smiths, Joy Division and other home-grown Manchester talent.

BBC Outside Broadcasts was also short-listed for a ‘Lighting, Photography and Camera - Multicamera Work’ award for its work on the programme at the annual RTS ceremony, which recognises the work of professionals behind the scenes in television production.

Manchester Passion was a hugely complex operation, staged across several areas, with two main locations a mile apart, a third mobile location that moved through the downtown streets to Albert Square and the final act outside Manchester’s Town Hall. It involved a professional cast of 26 actors, as well as thousands of members of the public, a 16 piece orchestra, a trio of buskers, a Salvation Army band, plus a huge internally illuminated cross which was to be carried through the streets and the traffic – all at nine o'clock at night on a Good Friday Bank Holiday.

With live transmission cutting between multiple, difficult locations and underscored music linking all sites, sound on Manchester Passion was extremely complicated. There was a huge quantity of equipment to rig and foldback to set up, plus a strict safety and security regime to adhere to, as action took place amongst the public. There could not be any cables, so fibre optic routing was used and linked to a remote site. All the pictures had to be individually delayed so intercutting was possible and the audio delay was inserted to regain synchronous sound.

Communications to all the cameras, artistes, repetiteurs, radio mics, in-ear monitoring channels, public address and artist foldback systems took many hours of planning, preparation and rigging to overcome the problems the multi-location posed.

The live 16-piece string orchestra needed separate foldback chains so musicians could hear each other playing, all with contact mics and amplified to the public address. All the artists needed to hear the relevant music in-ear as the distances were too great for synchronous live sound and even when they move locations the sound team had to ensure they had the correct sound.

The people of Manchester were invited to attend and participate, however exact numbers could not be ascertained in advance. On the day, around 5000 people turned up in Albert Square, which called for rapid on the spot rethinking of shots while on air.

BBC Outside Broadcasts’ camera team used 14 cameras, including 8 digital radio cameras, two steadicams with remote focusing, a Super Technocrane, a Jimmy jib and a large hoist. All these had to work in public areas and adhere to strict health and safety and security regulations. There was limited rehearsal time available, with just two run throughs in daylight for the full crew and then only one complete night time rehearsal in which to address all the extra problems associated with working at night, such as lighting, shadows and lack of depth of field. Three of the main cameras had no sight of the main output or their colleagues’ pictures and had delay in their talkback. However, BBC Outside Broadcasts still managed to deliver nearly flawless multicamera coverage of the drama and music. Many unscripted and unrehearsed shots were used in all areas, as the crew responded to the situations and the opportunities presented to them.

Executive Producer Sue Judd says: “The successful coverage and live transmission of Manchester Passion was entirely due to every member of all the various technical and production teams working to the extreme limits of their ability and experience. The BBC Outside Broadcasts’ team made a major contribution, with their flair, tenacity, enthusiasm and commitment to producing artistic and sensitive pictures and stunning sound from so many locations. The final result was a deeply moving and emotional portrayal of the Passion.”

Steve Chapman, BBC Outside Broadcasts’ Lead Engineer Manager, coordinated a crew of around 45 people, including Camera Supervisors, Sounds Supervisors, Vision Engineers, Communciations Engineers and Riggers to support BBC Classical Music.

Steve, who also worked on the previous FlashMob Operas, says: “Manchester Passion was another wonderful and ambitious idea created by a daring production team directed by the late Phil Chilvers, who displayed imagination, bravery and trust, as well as being a truly nice man. He will be greatly missed. Our crew is becoming very experienced in live multi-camera operations in difficult broadcast environments. We are delighted the production was such a huge success and to have won such a prestigious award”

About RTS Craft & Design Awards

The RTS Craft & Design Awards cover the huge variety of skills and processes involved in programme production, from art direction to lighting, and costume design to digital effects. The winners for the 2005/2006 Craft and Design Awards were announced at a ceremony on Monday 20 November 2006 at the Savoy, Strand, London WC2.

Further information can be found at: www.rts.org.uk/


About BBC Outside Broadcasts
BBC Outside Broadcasts, a division of BBC Resources, is the leading outside broadcast facilities provider in Europe, offering a complete range of solutions from scanners and VT units to design of bespoke OB production units. Combining creativity and flair with technical expertise, project management and customer service skills, BBC Outside Broadcasts caters for both small and large scale events across all genres. Key clients include BBC Sport and independents such as North One, TWI and MTV. Further information can be found at: www.bbcresources.com/ob

For further information, please contact:

Georgie Hollett, PR and Communications Manager, BBC Resources
Tel: +44 (0)20 8576 2250
Mobile : +44 (0) 783484 5612
Email : georgie.hollett@bbc.co.uk