This week’s VE Day 80 celebrations culminated last night in a special concert broadcast live on BBC One.
The concert featured musical performances as well as actor Brian Cox reading one of Winston Churchill’s speeches, and a special Dad’s Army tribute.
But what many viewers may not have noticed is that all the performers were wearing two microphones.
The show’s complete audio solution was provided by Terry Tew Sound & Light, including the Front of House PA, artist monitoring, orchestral and military band microphones, as well as a wireless cello.
The company’s head of RF Jonathan Edwards worked with Zen Broadcast to coordinate and oversee all elements of the RF planning, from licensing duties with Ofcom to deciphering artist riders, contributing to input lists and ensuring all related production requests were fulfilled.
Edwards selected technology from Wisycom, Shure and Sennheiser, while deploying an RF-over-Fibre system to widen the antenna coverage needed in the main arena for the sequences and links that were required out there.
“We split everything between UHF and DME spectrum and used almost of all what was available in both bands to deliver the show the viewers enjoyed and the tech behind the scenes that made it all happen,” he tells TVBEurope.
All audio inputs were split between the FoH PA, monitors and the OB truck, giving them clean dedicated sources.
The production team opted to use RF due to the limited time between sequences and to limit the audience seeing stage hands running to clear mic stands and props, as well as keeping the stages clear of cables.
“Every artist was wearing two microphones for redundancy and they were split between UHF and DME spectrum,” explains Edwards. “FoH and monitors needed a close mic headset source and broadcast needed the other – however everyone had both sources available at their fingertips should the need arise.”
The orchestra and military bands all wore wireless in-ear monitors to again keep the stage as clean and clear as possible, as did the 24-piece choir, who needed to have the flexibility to be choreographed anywhere on stage.
“The Winston Churchill speech performed by Brian Cox was where we needed to deploy an RF over Fibre system in order to reach the performance space in the arena,” adds Edwards.
Antennas were placed in front of the stage in Horseguards’ Parade, sitting just below the stage to keep them out of shot, with more sat backstage so the crew could ensure everything was working OK before the transmitter went out on stage. “A couple at the end of the fibre run, again out of shot, and the IEM antennae were cleverly hidden on stage so that even I had to squint to see them.”
As part of the project, Edwards and the team at TTSL chose to use 695 rechargeable batteries, helping the TV production achieve albert certification. “BBC Studios has clear sustainability guidelines, and here at TTSL we’re also focused on making greener choices wherever possible,” says Edwards. “Using rechargeable batteries is a simple and effective step to align the thinking.”
“The biggest challenge was balancing the scale of the event with the sensitivity of the subject matter,” he continues. “We were working with a full orchestra, live performers, and pre-recorded elements, all in a large open-air setting—so technically, it was complex. But at the same time, the tone of the event was commemorative and deeply emotional, so the sound design had to be powerful without ever feeling overwhelming. Getting that balance right, especially in a live broadcast environment, was probably the most demanding part. The rest of it is just what we do as a company and as an industry.”
