November 2009: Elstree Studio D supported its first HD production this autumn, when it was chosen to deliver key elements of the new CBBC series Relic- Guardians of the Museum.

In the show, a team of children face the challenge of a lifetime – to enter the British Museum at night to unlock the mysteries behind its most famous artefacts. As they search the museum they must complete complex challenges and confront visions from the past in their quest for answers. On their journey they discover some of the museum’s most famous exhibits, including the Rosetta Stone, unlocked secrets of Ancient Egypt and the premonition that led to the discovery of the Sutton Hoo ship burial.

Part of the programme is recorded on location at the British Museum, but a multi-camera studio environment was required for the challenges and chroma key work for flying sequences, where the children and the museum tour guide travel to a far off time in space, for example a doctors surgery in the middle ages or a nineteenth century Egyptian archaeological dig.

Elstree D was chosen to provide a set standing solution to enable maximum production work flow efficiency. There were five sets, cleverly designed to be reconfigured and redressed very quickly to reduce design and turnaround costs. Thirteen 30 minute episodes were recorded over the course of two weeks. Four Sony HDC-1500 cameras, recording onto HD XDCam were used to capture the action. In addition, a SD vision mixed feed was sent to the studio floor and camera cues for a guide and also to help reference background shots in the chroma key sequences.

The adjoining Studio E facility was used as a design and make room and various dressing rooms and green rooms were provided for the presenter, children and parents, as well as a production office for the production team. The configuration of the studio was extremely child friendly, as all support areas were located next to Studio D. BBC Studios and Post Production also offered the production team pre-production studio space, close to BBC Childrens’ offices at Television Centre, to develop and test out game ideas.

As well as facilities, BBC Studios and Post Production provided crew, including the sound team, lead by Sound Supervisor Adrian Harding-Jones, who also recorded the sound on location at the British Museum, plus electricians, led by PE Martin Bull, Lighting Vision Supervisor Andy Louca, Engineer Phil Lamb and the design operations team, led by Neil O’Sullivan.

Resource Manager Tim Deane says: “The main challenge was the volume of material which needed to be captured within an extremely tight schedule, with two groups of children onsite each day with two different game sets plus green screen sequences.”

He continues: “This meant two studio inductions, two safety briefings and two game demonstrations daily, as well as the actual recording. We worked with the Production team to ensure that the process ran like clockwork and maximise the time available for recording.”

Production Manger Debbie Deeney says “We had a very successful time at Elstree, which was incredibly good value for money, efficient and stress free. The BBC Studios and Post Production team were brilliant, providing continual advice and support to help us deliver fantastic results within our tight budget. Their advice in shooting HD with Green screen elements was infallible and they were only to happy to run test shots prior to our production to ensure everything would work out in Post. Nothing was a problem - ordering stock for XD, changing light rigs last minute and continually suggesting cost savings in the rig and de rig process.”

Rob Hyde, Series Producer says “It was the second time I have used Elstree D and I simply love the experience. The BBC Studios and Post Production team made us feel very welcome and helped us work through a challenging schedule with absolute ease and enabled us to not only shoot some fantastic material but ensured we all had fun doing it! We could not have brought the games and there environments to life without all that fantastic space and we are thrilled with the results so far.”

Commissioned by Anne Gilchrist, Controller of CBBC and part of the public service partnership between the BBC and the British Museum, Relic – Guardians of the Museum will broadcast early next year. The Executive Producers are Jamie Rea and Gillian Scothern and it’s Series Producer is Rob Hyde.

BBC Studios and Post Production offers competitive deals and special non-peak rates on its Elstree D studio offering and a fully managed service, including all power and servicing, so there are no hidden costs. There are also special discounts for pilot shows, to help production teams spend more money ‘on screen’ and win commissions.

Elstree Studio D has a rich history of supporting all kinds of television, from variety classics such as Morecambe and Wise and The Muppet Show to contemporary comedy, entertainment and high tech interactive virtual reality shows, such as Bamzooki.

Credits:

Series Producer Rob Hyde
Director Ollie Brack
Production Manager Debbie Deeney
Resource Manager Tim Deane
DoP Peter Edwards
Designer Sarah Milton
Sound Supervisor Adrian Harding-Jones
PE Martin Bull
Engineer Phil Lamb
Lighting Vision Supervisor Andy Louca
Design Operations Supervisor Neil O’Sullivan

For further information, please contact:
Georgie Hollett, Head of Communications, BBC Studios and Post Production
Tel: +44 (0)20 8624 9495
Mobile : +44 (0) 783484 5612
Email : georgie.hollett@bbc.co.uk

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