Across the course of this week, BBC Studioworks is providing full studio facilities and technical support for the live finals of ITV’s primetime entertainment series, Britain’s Got Talent.
Britain’s Got Talent live finals take up residency with BBC Studioworks in Elstree
Produced by Thames and Syco Entertainment for ITV, the week of Britain’s Got Talent live shows kicked off on Monday 29 May and includes five daily semi-final showdowns, each followed by a separate results show after a public vote, climaxing in a spectacular two-and-a-half hour finale on Saturday 3 June. The week of live transmissions culminates to over 12 hours of content.
BBC Studioworks’ 15,770 sq. ft. George Lucas Stage at Elstree is a flexible studio space designed to support large-scale TV productions. Britain’s Got Talent is using every inch of space available to showcase the wide variety of acts, including performances from dance troupes, magicians, contortionists, comedians, singers and more.
The technical set-up for the Britain’s Got Talent live finals follows a design BBC Studioworks has perfected from supporting other world-renowned entertainment shows from the George Lucas Stages, including BAFTA award-winning Strictly Come Dancing. The set-up includes 13 cameras, including a 44’ MovieBird Technocrane, a Jib, six pedestal cameras, two hotheads, a radio Steadicam and a number of handheld/lightweight tripod cameras to capture all the action.
BBC Studioworks’ powerful Studer Vista X large-scale mixing console for broadcast is the backbone of the Britain’s Got Talent audio set-up. Housed in BBC Studioworks’ George Lucas Galleries, the desk handles everything captured on radio microphones in each show, including the judges’ and audience’s reactions and the audio of the various performers.
John O’Callaghan, Head of Studios and Post Production at BBC Studioworks, said: “It’s a real privilege to welcome one of the biggest talent shows in the world to Studioworks. Our renowned HD galleries continue to offer resilient delivery and support for large-scale, live, primetime productions like Britain’s Got Talent. Our past experience of managing fast-turnaround entertainment shows means we’re highly skilled at this type of production.”
The Britain’s Got Talent live shows sees the final 40 acts perform live in the hope of impressing the judges, Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams, as well as winning that all important public vote. Alongside the judges are the nation’s favourite TV duo, Ant and Dec, who will be welcoming eight acts onto the stage each evening for a chance of winning a life-changing £250,000 and a spot at this year’s Royal Variety Performance.
