This year’s fundraising extravaganza is a special anniversary edition, marking 40 years of BBC Children in Need, broadcasting live from BBC Studioworks’ 11,800 sq.ft. Studio D on Friday 13 November.
Mel Giedroyc will be returning to host the annual appeal show alongside Alex Scott MBE, Chris Ramsey and Stephen Mangan for a jam-packed evening of entertainment to help raise money for disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.
The Studio
Standing at over 35’ high, the impressive set took four days to build. The technical rig began on Saturday 8 November, with rehearsals running from Thursday 12 November, through to the day of broadcast.
BBC Studioworks has implemented stringent Covid-19 safety measures and protocols across the studio, such as Perspex screens in the galleries and the spacing of all crew to allow for social distancing.
In light of the new lockdown measures in England there is no live studio audience this year, but there will be a virtual audience watching the show from the comfort of their homes, interacting and reacting to all the action as it happens live on the night. Applause, cheers and laughter from the virtual audience will be mixed together and played out live into the studio and on TV.
Post Production
In addition to the studio, the production is making use of the on-site edits suites and bespoke built multiplexer in BBC Studioworks’ post production village in Elstree.
During the appeal show’s broadcast, the multiplexer will manage feeds from various sources and co-ordinate all of the VT content that is played into the show during the transmission. EVS servers record all content from various sources onto an Avid Nexis system, making it instantly accessible in the edit. These recordings will be edited into packages for inclusion in the live TX.
Not all the post production action takes place on the night. Activities began three weeks earlier with BBC Studioworks’ Avid Symphony suites cutting material for multiple live show features, using Avid Pro Tools for dubbing and voice overs.
Once the live show ends, BBC Studioworks will continue to edit into the night with the turnaround of a highlights programme for delivery and broadcast on Sunday 15 November.
“Despite the challenges of the current lockdown, we have worked with the Children in Need production team to facilitate the annual appeal show in a safe environment, with Covid-19 protocols and procedures being a priority”, said Andrew Moultrie, CEO BBC Studioworks. “It’s all set to be another phenomenal fundraising event.”
