There are times when you work in video production and the stars align and you get to help save the planet with a real-life star on a rooftop in New York City.
Recently, we worked hand-in-hand with BBC One to capture Shawn Mendes’ performance for the Earthshot Prize Ceremony–the grand culmination of a televised season that spotlight potential solutions to help bring Earth back from the brink of climate, environmental, and ecological disaster. The star-laden ceremony itself revealed the solutions that would receive an Earthshot Prize: £1 million a year for the next ten years.
The BBC provided the stars–the likes of Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, and particularly Sir David Attenborough’s stirring and emotional speech–while we provided a planet’s worth of production services for Mendes’ impactful performance filmed against a backdrop of New York City at sunset.
Our in-house team of coordinators ascended the crewing mountain by securing a live event producer, a sterling camera department (DP, AC, Jib Op, & Steadicam Op), an electrified lighting department (Gaffer, Grip, and a Swing), a decked-out art department (Set decorator, Prop master, and assistants), an ace sound team (Lead audio engineer & an assistant), and a full suite of production gear including Sony FX9s, Sony FS7s, jibs, sound boards, and a sea of lighting & grip packages.
If you’re in the UK, you can check out the entire episode on BBC iPlayer here. And below, you can also check out some behind the scenes stills of how the shoot came together.
(And rest assured: our set dec team surrounded the stage with real plants.)
